He broke the concrete ceiling, proved himself to be a super goalkeeper against all odds, and his trophy cabinet is the best proof for the skeptics. Now, at the age of 36, the Costa Rican arrives in the Premier League for a historic club – and everyone is happy. The next big challenge (17:00, Sport2): Manchester City
John McGovern, the Scottish captain of Nottingham Forest who lifted the Champions Cup twice in 1979 and 1980, still lives in the city and holds an official position As the club’s ambassador. “I asked him how it feels to see here a player who has won the Champions League more times than him, and he replied that it’s great. I haven’t introduced them yet, but I promise it will happen,” smiled manager Steve Cooper, and this is a popular topicLots of jovial jokes at the club since Keylor Navas joined him. The fans, who watched the Costa Rican give a great performance in the debut game against Leeds United, keep a clean sheet in an important 0:1 win and receive the best player award, still find it hard to believe that a star of his caliber has arrived at their modest club. A matter of heritage, isn’t it? The Champions Cup unites them. The truth is that Navas should have reached the Premier League a long time ago, and then he might not have won anything. Manchester United had already agreed with Real Madrid for the sale of David de Gea on the last day of the transfer window in August 2015, and Navas packed his bags to do the opposite and become the first goalkeeper at Old Trafford.Everyone knows how it ended because of the fax that was sent seconds late, and Navas was actually very pleased with the development. He wasn’t excited to leave Spain exactly when he was finally promoted to the position of first goalkeeper following the departure of Iker Casillas and fulfilled the dream that seemed completely impossible for so many years. After all, until the age of 23, Navas played in his homeland, in the uniform of the Saprissa team. His agent, Ricardo Cabanias, knew very well how bright and unusual the client’s potential was, but was really unable to find a team for him across the ocean. He prepared a nice collection of his performances, prepared detailed reports, organized many meetings with goalkeeper coaches, flew to England and Spain and offered theThe lift to any place is possible. Everyone flatly refused to even summon him to the tests. In 2008, for example, Cavanias heard from a representative of Pep Guardiola’s new team in Barcelona the simple and decisive statement: “He is excellent, but no one will sign a goalkeeper from Costa Rica. There is no chance, certainly not in a top club.”
It was not a glass ceiling. It felt like a concrete ceiling. It takes rare mental fortitude and extraordinary determination to believe that this ceiling can be broken. Navas crushed her to pieces in the end, but the road there was exhausting, and the compromises were not easy. He understood, together with Cabanias, that there was no choice but to start from the bottom. His first season in Europe was at MediAlbasta, who dropped to the third division from last place in the second division with a poor defensive record in 2010/11. There, faced with countless opposition scoring situations, he excelled enough for the diminutive LaBanta to agree to take him on loan to serve as bench backup to Uruguay’s Gustavo Monoa. A year later, his ticket was purchased in total media silence for 150,000 euros. Because how much can a Costa Rican goalkeeper cost? Then, after two more years, Levante sold Navas to Real for 10 million. The long wait paid off, and there were two main reasons for this. First, Levante didn’t have the money for a new goalkeeper after Monoa’s departure, and Navas got a chance in the squad in the 2013/14 seasonDuring this time he became a huge hit in Spain – he was undisputedly awarded the title of goalkeeper of the season. Second, with perfect timing, the World Cup came that summer, and there he was already upgraded to the level of an international star in every sense of the word. Costa Rica’s performance at Brazil 2014 wasn’t just amazing – it was insane. It was impossible to dream of first place at home with England, Italy and Uruguay. It was impossible to dream of qualifying for the quarter-finals with such a gray squad. Navas conceded only twice in 5 games even though two of them were dragged to extra time – that is, he took two balls out of the net in 510 minutes, and recorded 21 saves along the way, including performances at the highest level. This time, for a change, being Costa Rican is notwas an obstacle, but on the contrary. “The World Cup changed my life”, he said later – and was not exaggerating at all. The point is that even when he became a top goalkeeper, he was never “good enough” for the big bosses. Florentino Perez dreamed of bringing a top goalkeeper from a “normal” country to the Santiago Bernabeu, and the De Gea deal underscored that. Even later, even though Navas was a senior partner for 3 consecutive wins in the Champions League, the courting of Thibaut Courtois continued – and they ended with great success in 2018. Keylor gave an excellent fit to the Belgian, but in the long run he had no chance, and he moved to Paris Saint-Germain to receive a handsome salary and play in the squad on a weekly basis. But even there, it turned out, the Qataris wanted someoneA flashier with a chance of going further at the 2022 World Cup, and Gianluigi Donnarumma was brought in with the aim of knocking him out with the European Championship gold medal around his neck.
This was not a glass ceiling. It felt like a concrete ceiling. It takes rare mental fortitude and extraordinary determination to believe that this ceiling can be broken. Navas crushed her to pieces in the end, but the road there was exhausting, and the compromises were not easy. He understood, together with Cabanias, that there was no choice but to start from the bottom. His first season in Europe was with Albasta, who were relegated to the third division from last place in the second division with a poor defensive record in 2010/11. There, when faced with countless situationsA scorer of rivals, he excelled enough for the little Banta to agree to take him on loan to serve as a back-up on the bench for Uruguay’s Gustavo Monoa. A year later, his ticket was purchased in total media silence for 150,000 euros. Because how much can a Costa Rican goalkeeper cost? Then, after two more years, Levante sold Navas to Real for 10 million. The long wait paid off, and there were two main reasons for this. First, Levante didn’t have the money for a new goalkeeper after Monoa’s departure, and Navas got a chance in the squad in the 2013/14 season during which he became a huge hit in Spain – he was undisputedly awarded the goalkeeper of the season. Second, with perfect timing, the World Cup came that summer, and there it wasHe has already upgraded to the level of an international star in every sense of the word. Costa Rica’s performance at Brazil 2014 wasn’t just amazing – it was insane. It was impossible to dream of first place at home with England, Italy and Uruguay. It was impossible to dream of qualifying for the quarter-finals with such a gray squad. Navas conceded only twice in 5 games even though two of them were dragged to extra time – that is, he took two balls out of the net in 510 minutes, and recorded 21 saves along the way, including performances at the highest level. This time, for a change, being Costa Rican was not an obstacle, quite the opposite. “The World Cup changed my life,” he said later – and was not exaggerating at all. The point is that even when he became a top goalkeeper, heThere was never “good enough” for the big bosses. Florentino Perez dreamed of bringing a top goalkeeper from a “normal” country to the Santiago Bernabeu, and the De Gea deal underscored that. Even later, even though Navas was a senior partner for 3 consecutive wins in the Champions League, the courting of Thibaut Courtois continued – and they ended with great success in 2018. Keylor gave an excellent fit to the Belgian, but in the long run he had no chance, and he moved to Paris Saint-Germain to receive a handsome salary and play in the squad on a weekly basis. But even there, it turned out, the Qataris wanted someone flashier with a chance to go further in the 2022 World Cup, and Gianluigi Donnarumma was brought in with the aim of dethroning them with the gold medal from the European ChampionshipsOn the neck.
So in the previous round Navas tasted a loss for the first time, when Manor Solomon scored against him in Fulham’s 0:2 at Craven Cottage, and on Saturday he faces the new leader Manchester City with the aim of causing a sensation, or at least prevent defeat. For the champion, it will be a non-trivial challenge – exactly the unwelcome opportunity to stumble after the artificial victory over Arsenal in the game of the season. 15 years have passed since Guardiola’s team outright rejected the possibility of signing Navas. Since then, the Catalan has often thought in his direction, and in 2019 Manchester City even seriously examined the option when Claudio Bravo was injured, but the Costa Rican really did not want to be Ederson’s backup. heHe longed to play, and in the coming months his place in the team is guaranteed, even when he is 36 years old. Cooper even speaks enthusiastically about the desire to keep him for the coming years. And maybe he didn’t think of Forrest as an attractive destination when he decided to become a goalkeeper at the age of 5 with the aim of breaking all possible ceilings, but no one will take away from her the two wins in the Champions Cup. Together with Navas, they have 5 of them. Manchester City and all its players together have a round zero, and if we add the coach to them we reach two – still less than Navas himself. He is a legend in every sense of the word, and his story is especially fascinating precisely because he is Costa Rican.