You have to erase your mistakes, forget about them. “This a euphoric moment, I got very excited, very emotional, all that fury, all that desire. We deserved this before extra time, we deserved it after extra time, but it wasn’t to be,” the goalkeeper said. At the end of this, he was keeping it but as he stood waiting to be presented with his man of the match award, he stood shouting: “This is for you.” It was for all of them, a place in the semi-finals, a strength, a togetherness, echoes of Italy in 2008. After the Croatia game he had thrown his shirt into the crowd. “This shows what stuff he’s made of,” Luis Enrique said. Here he did so too, getting the reward Sommer would have deserved too. Simón carried on against Croatia and saved them. Which was partly why if that was an accident this was not. Luis Enrique noted how Rafa Nadal extolled having “a goldfish’s memory” and insisted that Simón was the same. It was, he said, just an “accident”, an “error.” One that didn’t affect him then and wouldn’t again. Taking advice from the Jacksons, he refused to blame it on the sunshine. Simón’s approach was blunter, startlingly matter of fact, no room for excuses. What that had meant was almost metaphysical, according to another former Athletic and Spain No 1, Andoni Zubizarreta who wrote in El País of Albert Camus – the philosopher-goalkeeper who learned all he knew about morality and obligations from football. Photograph: Gonzalo Arroyo - UEFA/UEFA/Getty Images Unai Simón of Spain saves the second penalty from Fabian Schär of Switzerland in the penalty shootout after the 1-1 draw in St Petersburg. If redemption had come with that decisive save and Spain’s comeback against Croatia, what was this? Something big, that’s for sure. So did everyone else, streaming from the halfway line and the touchline, meeting in the corner. Last time, he had been on the line unable to prevent Oyarzabal from scoring the only goal in the Copa del Rey final: opponents then in the first all-Basque final, now they were teammates, their parents sitting on the flight to Saint Petersburg together, and when the Real Sociedad forward scored he made straight for the Athletic keeper. Simón still had to stand and watch Mikel Oyarzabal place the ball on the spot for the second time this year. “Are you giving me that too?” Simón would grin afterwards. Then he watched Rubén Vargas hit over the bar, and break down in tears. But since receiving his first call up to the senior squad in August (on the same day he signed his new contract), he has continued to impress and Enrique rewarded him with his first start against the Netherlands in La Roja's first November game.Which may have been why Fabian Schär, who put his foot through the ball against France, struck with less power and less conviction this time. On the international stage, the Euro Under-21s winner was expected to compete for the third goalkeeping spot in the senior squad with the likes of Pau Lopez. There's no doubting his position at club level anymore. While he was later dropped to the bench, he went on to become the regular first choice in 2019/20 and has started every game so far in 2020/21 as well. Initially brought back to be the backup to Alex Remiro, Simon quickly found himself in the starting lineup. But just a matter of weeks after making the loan move, he was recalled following the departure of Kepa to Chelsea and an injury to Iago Herrerin. Simon may well be Spain's first choice at the moment, but it wasn't actually that long ago when he was on the books at Elche in the Segunda Division. ❤️ Unai Simon ❤️ #BarçaAthletic /Q4uZNW9GpG- LaLiga English June 23, 2020 Rapid Rise at Both Club and International Level I was found a home in which they looked after me like I was their own child, they put me in a secondary school that gave me an education, they’ve given me teammates with whom I enjoy being around.all those things are worth a lot. “They’ve not only formed me as a footballer but as a person. He told the club's official website: "My thought when signing was to be playing until the end of my contract, and hopefully I’ll be playing here until the end of my career. And after signing, Simon made it very clear that he hopes to be able to spend the rest of his career with the club he joined aged 14, such is his love for Athletic. The shot-stopper put an end to rumours linking him with a move away - Real Madrid and Inter were said to be interested - by putting pen to paper on a new five year deal back in August. But for Simon, he has a real love for Athletic. It's become all too frequent hearing a player claim they have always loved for as long as they can remember after signing for them or penning a new deal, hasn't it? Sometimes, it comes across a bit meaningless, as.well, it isn't always true. Simon signed a new deal in August / DeFodi Images/Getty Images
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