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Last Friday, on the rest day of the Spanish team, Koke (Madrid, 1992) had extra work. He took up the marker and dedicated himself to signing a good handful of Atlético shirts that he was going to give away. "He always has some details that are the milk," they recognized from the Las Rozas concentration, hours before heading to Copenhagen, where this afternoon they will play the pass to the quarterfinals against Croatia. Yesterday, the midfielder jumped smiling onto the Parken Stadium lawn, after having taken the floor for the second time since Spain began its preparation for the Euro, almost a month ago. «Here it is key inside and outside the dressing room. His role is fundamental because it is a point of balance and consensus ”, are the intramural praise for a footballer who, before the pandemic broke out,he seemed destined to watch the European Championship on television.

December 2019. Cerro del Espino de Majadahonda facilities, where Atlético regularly trains. A few days before his son Leo came into the world: «In my club I give everything. Maybe the coach doesn't like me or what do I know ... I'm trying to do well and be strong. In any case, if I don't go to the Eurocup, I will be cheering for the team like just another Spaniard ». In an interview with EL MUNDO, Koke reflected in those days on his (complicated) situation with the Spain shirt. A hard year was coming to an end in which neither Robert Moreno nor Luis Enrique had counted on him even once. During that freezing autumn, the Wanda

Metropolitano

grandstand

had come to dedicate the odd whistle to him. His game was far from the one that now places him as the team's beacon.

Koke did not play any of the 10 qualifying matches on the way to this European Championship.

What's more, until November 11, 2020,

after two years and 15 matches

, he remained in a forced silence in which he could not defend the team.

“If they told me a year ago that I was going to play the Eurocup, I would not have believed it.

I was not coming and it was a difficult time for me, "he recalled yesterday in Copenhagen.

The stoppage of the pandemic opened a door for him that he did not expect.

His recital against Germany

Of course, that November night, in Amsterdam, against the Netherlands, with

Sergio Ramos

on the bench, he reappeared as captain.

It was his first time.

And as captain, handling his sharp scalpel with precision, he experienced on the table the historic defeat of Germany (6-0) in La Cartuja.

He played the entire game, touched the ball 90 times and gave 77 passes with 95% accuracy.

It has been his most stellar night with La Roja.

Luis Enrique, obviously, took good note.

«Koke exercises leadership from humility and silence, like

Busquets

and

Azpilicueta

. And that, despite the fact that he is a legend in his club and the captain of the League champion (since 2019). His great secret lies in being himself at all times ”, are drawn by those who live under the same roof and share their day-to-day life at the team. Accustomed to serving as team leader, during Busquets' absence (12 days at home with coronavirus), he has been one of those who, without making noise, has carried the weight of a young locker room. Like César Azpilicueta, Chelsea's visible head. And although the bracelet was worn by Jordi Alba by seniority, it was he who led the team in training, during the first two matches of the Eurocup (Sweden and Poland), and who asked the public for support. Koke also took out the umbrella when

Álvaro Morata

, a childhood friend and former teammate at Atlético, came across the whistles from the La Cartuja stands.

A support that goes beyond what happens on the lawn.

"When I got to the captaincy of Atlético, they gave me advice: 'don't change your way of being and don't stop being who you are or believe yourself more than anyone else,'" he explained.

Principles that he has by habit to respect to the limit.

Koke, with his son Leo in his arms.Jose Manuel Vidal / POOLEFE

Only Kroos surpasses him in passes

Koke's attractive cocktail combines his personality with a visible evolution in the game. His impact has multiplied since Atlético changed his skin and

Simeone

gave him the helm, before starting this unforgettable season. It is perceived on the field and confirmed by their numbers in the group stage. The Madrilenian is the Spanish midfielder who recovers the most balls (17) and the second with the most kilometers in his legs (31.1), only behind

Pedri

(31.9). In addition, in the overall competition, only the German

Toni Kroos

(288/314) completed more passes than he (227/263) and his passing accuracy hovers around 90 percent. Hence, since that afternoon in Amsterdam, it has become one of the non-negotiable for Luis Enrique, who does not usually have favorites. Between the games against Sweden, Poland and Slovakia he adds a total of 245 minutes.

His first day with the national team, when he was only 21 years old, is already perceived as far away. It premiered in 2013, during a friendly in Ecuador, and since then it has played 53 games. Only

Busquets

(124) and Jordi

Alba

(75) add more than him. Except for

Robert Moreno

, the rest of the coaches (

Vicente del Bosque

, Julen

Lopetegui

, Fernando

Hierro

and

Luis Enrique

) have always had him on their agenda. More than fifty games, with two World Cups and two European Cups, in which he has not yet made his debut as a scorer.

Yesterday, Koke was scrutinizing Copenhagen's Parken Stadium. A green that he already stepped on and conquered in 2018, during a Europa League tie. It was February and it was cold in the Danish capital. Very cold. It was snowing. That footballer, who would play the World Cup in France and miss one of the penalties against Russia (the third from Spain), has little to do with the one who now manages the compass of the Spanish team. If anything in his convictions, which remain intact. After the game against Slovakia, with his son Leo in his arms, he showed some shin guards with pictures of his best moments at Atlético. An amulet in which, among others, his friends

Juanfran

,

Gabi

,

Antonio López

or

Godín appear

.

'The blood brothers', as they called themselves.

They also accompany him on his sweetest journey with the Spanish team.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • sports

  • Euro 2020

  • Croatia National Soccer Team

  • Spain Soccer Team

  • football

  • HBPR

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