SUMMARY
- In the 2019 Carabao Cup Final, Chelsea faced Manchester City.
- One incident involving the goalkeeper Kepa Arizzabalaga in the Carabao Cup 2019 final stood out.
Managers often prepare differently for cup finals. One of their preparations includes sending out some players in the dying moments of a match in the hope of getting a favorable result. The players in such situations more or less act following the manager’s decisions. But, one incident involving the goalkeeper Kepa Arizzabalaga in the Carabao Cup 2019 final would suggest the opposite.
#OTD in 2019 it was confusion and confrontation in the Carabao Cup Final…
Kepa Arrizabalaga testing Maurizio Sarri’s patience at Wembley 😬 pic.twitter.com/94SfsgyliK
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 24, 2020
The Chelsea goalkeeper refused to be subbed out and went against the manager Maurizio Sarri’s whims. The Italian manager was visibly very frustrated with the Kepa’s antics in such an important match. The incident was the highlight of the match against Manchester City.
A confusing moment led to Kepa’s refusal
The soccer fans were pretty confused after the player’s rebellious decision. However, the fans have finally got hold of what actually happened on that day. Massimo Nenci, the goalkeeping coach of Chelsea during the infamous incident revealed in an interview with Daily Mail about the events leading to Kepa’s refusal. The Italian coach said that the Spanish goalkeeper suffered a minor injury the day before the final.
After the end of the 90 minutes, the former Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper was receiving some medical attention. Massimo went on to say that Antonio Rudiger, who was a defender for Chelsea in the final urged the Kepa Arrizabalaga not to give up on his position as his teammates wanted him to continue. However, Maurizio Sarri had already made up his mind to substitute the Spanish goalkeeper for Willy Caballero.
The Argentine goalkeeper was an expert penalty stopper and Sarri believed the goalkeeper was the need of the hour as the final was approaching a penalty shootout. However, to everybody’s surprise, Kepa gestured with his hand and told his manager that he wouldn’t be subbing himself out. Kepa Arrizabalaga allegedly thought that the manager had decided to sub him off due to his injury while it was purely a tactical decision.
Massimo said, “But Kepa didn’t understand that the substitution was for tactical reasons, not because of the injury. Willy is a big, big penalty saver.” The Italian manager has followed Maurizio Sari to Serie A and has been a Goalkeeping coach at Juventus and SS Lazio.
Kepa Arrizabalaga had completely misread the situation and was reportedly very sorry about his mistake. Massimo Nenci said that Kepa kept on saying to Sarri in the dressing room, “I’m sorry mister, I’m sorry. I didn’t understand.” Kepa was dropped from Chelsea’s next Premier League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur and fined a week’s wage. Manchester City won the final 4-3 in the penalty shootout.
Where is Kepa Arrizabalaga now?
Despite the infamous incident, the Spanish goalkeeper had continued starting for the West London team. However, the world’s most expensive goalkeeper found a new home in 2023. Spanish giants Real Madrid ahead of the 23/24 season signed the 29-year-old on loan for the season. Their first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had ruptured his Acute Cruciate Ligament (ACL) ahead of Real Madrid’s La Liga opening fixture against Athletic Bilbao.
Kepa officially signs for Real Madrid. pic.twitter.com/GB7YzQjzJM
— Managing Madrid (@managingmadrid) August 14, 2023
Kepa had a decent start to his life at Real Madrid with the Spanish goalkeeper putting on some very confident performances. But, as the season went on, the 29-year-old became more vulnerable to making mistakes.
Fans in particular questioned his ability to deal with crosses and it was becoming clearer that his teammates had lost confidence in Kepa. Andriy Lunin, the club’s Ukranian goalkeeper has since replaced Kepa and has put on some convincing displays.
It seems that ‘Los Blancos’ are not in the mood to make the Spanish goalkeeper’s move permanent. Thibaut Courtois is on his road to recovery and the club’s fans seem to like Lunin’s goalkeeping style. Chelsea too would love to have Kepa Arrizabalaga back, as their new goalkeeper Robert Sanchez has had terrible luck with injuries and poor performances. It would be interesting to see what the future holds for Kepa.