The night belonged to Josel at the Bernabeu after his brace broke Bayern's hearts and sent Real Madrid to another League final champions. Photo: Burak Akbulut/Getty Images
About nine years ago, the Spanish striker could be seen on the Clayton Wood training pitches doing extra finishing sessions after the other Stoke City players had left for lunch. Joselu, a £5.75 million signing from Hannover 96, failed to make the team but, as one of his team-mates says, “he was happy to be a footballer.”
There was nothing in the 2015/16 season to suggest that Joselu was unlikely to become a Real Madrid hero, scoring two goals this week to send them into the Champions League final when Bayern Munich appeared to have put them through from the game.
But according to Peter Odemwingie, his teammate at the Bet365 Stadium, it was his hard work during this time that paved the way for the football miracle. Joselu moved to Deportivo La Coruña, Newcastle, Alaves and Espanyol before being loaned to Real Madrid, where he was considered a temporary striker until Kylian Mbappe became a free agent. When Real Madrid last played in the Champions League final, two years ago, he was there as a fan with his father.
“He wasn’t particularly slow or fast, but he had a good touch, a good finish and the one thing that stood out to me was that he was interested and happy to be a footballer,” Odemwingie told Telegraph Sport. “He was very athletic, tall and very well built for a striker.
“He played sporadically, but among those who were not in the team he did not worry or get angry, he was a reserved person. He wasn't toxic and he was nice to have around, although he wasn't as active as I'd like. I remember that at this time he was working hard to finish his studies.
“He didn’t speak much English, but it wasn’t zero communication. There were other Spanish players in his squad and he was fine. These players helped him settle in. He was a great guy.”
Josleu for Stoke City against Watford in 2016 🎯 pic.twitter.com/fAbL8TBV6C
— Sky Sports Retro (@ SkySportsRetro) May 9, 2024 < p>Joselu made 10 Premier League starts in that first Premier League season, scoring four goals. A fairly healthy ratio, although he failed to break into Mark Hughes’ team. Behind the scenes he was friends with compatriots Bojan Krkic and Marc Muniesa, as well as Ibrahim Afellay, who had links to Spain after playing for Barcelona. A year later, Joselu was loaned to Deportivo, where his journeyman career continued.
“He was humble when he was at Stoke and never gave up,” Odemwingie said. “It shows that miracles can happen in football. A career is like 90 minutes of football, you have to play until the last minute and you never know what can happen. Two goals and his name will spread around the world. It's great to see someone like that reach such a high level, it gives hope to any athlete.”
Joselu succeeded where Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior failed on Wednesday night, scoring goals that broke Bayern's hearts. . and earned a place in the Champions League final.
After joining Celta Vigo's academy, he played for Real Madrid's reserve team as well as Hoffenheim before moving on to Hannover and Stoke. Those moves to mid-tier European teams were a world away from the Bernabeu as he latched on to Manuel Neuer's cross for an 88th-minute equalizer before converting Antonio Rudiger's cross in the first minute of stoppage time.
From Stoke, Joselu moved to Newcastle via Deportivo, the Spaniard played 46 times for St. James'. Park's team scored six goals. Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images
The Spanish striker, who has 10 caps for his country, is on loan at Real Madrid from Espanyol, who were relegated from La Liga last season despite Joselu scoring 16 goals in 34 league appearances.
“I don’t know anything about being a hero, but I’m very happy… You can imagine,” Joselu said after the match. “It was incredible, something impressive. This team never gives up, it’s in their blood to fight until the end, and that’s what we did.
“You always dream of such a performance, but even my most beautiful dreams are not so great. like what happened today.”
Joselu is not the first Stoke player on his CV to do well in the Champions League. In a curious quirk, Joselu became the seventh player in Hughes' Stoke City side of the 2015-16 season to reach or reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. Two years later, Stoke were relegated.
Joselu will become the fifth member of that team to be included in the squad for a Champions League final if he is fit and ready to face Borussia Dortmund at ” Wembley” June 1st.
Peter Crouch came on as a substitute for Liverpool in the 2007 final as they lost 2-1 to AC Milan in Athens. Bojan was an unused substitute for Pep Guardiola's Barcelona when they beat Manchester United in the 2009 final, while Afellay came on as a stoppage-time substitute in a repeat of the same match in 2011. Xherdan Shaqiri was an unused substitute for Bayern Munich in the 2013 final. , and also for Liverpool in 2019. Marko Arnautovic was a member of Inter Milan in 2010, but was not part of their squad for the final against Bayern Munich.
Two-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid, Jese will also continue to play for Stoke in the 2017–18 season.
“It was the ball” Stoke City.” ” is how TNT Sports pundit Paul Scholes described the cross into the box that led to Joselu's stoppage-time winner against Bayern.
Joselu would later make 25 Premier League starts for two seasons at Newcastle United, scoring six goals. , most recently against Chelsea in a 2-1 defeat in August 2018. Rudiger was in the Chelsea team that day. His last England appearance came in Newcastle's 2-0 win over Burnley in February 2019. His next match in England will be at Wembley thanks to two goals against Bayern.
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