Now that the World Cup starts on Sunday and with the list of players from Athletic’s first men’s squad it is time to study the figure of Iker Muniain, the truth is that I think the man from Txantrea could be in the last stage. of a world championship. I’m not saying to be a starter, but to be an alternative on the bench.
The fact is that the rojiblanco captain has been a full international in Spain on only two occasions. The first was in a friendly against Venezuela by his former teammate and friend Fernando Amorebieta in 2012. Del Bosque was the coach, months before the Euro Cup and this was a team that had just finished being World Champions in 2010.
Muniain came on to replace Cesc Fábregas and never featured in the Salamanca man’s plans again. And seven years after that appointment at Malaga, Navarrese was summoned by current coach Luis Enrique. The Asturian called up the man from Txantrea ahead of two qualifying matches for Euro 2020: against Norway and Malta.
The rojiblanco participated in the second match, replacing Bernat and played again seven years after their previous meeting. Muniain disappeared from Luis Enrique’s plans. And that the Asturian came to say about him that “he has an overflow, one on one, when he comes to the area, defensive attitude. I like his profile, he is a complete player”.
He hasn’t called her since then and it looks like the World Cup train has passed for Muniain. It seems, I’m trying. He has lived the experience of an Olympic Games. It was in London 2012.
Come down before the break
The Athletic captain has missed several games in the latter part of the season before the World Cup break. At Camp Nou by technical decision, against Villarreal and Girona due to injury. He returned to the squad against Valladolid. He is a substitute. He played in the final minutes providing his first goal assist of the season, an assist that Vivian took advantage of to score.
In Alzira, he was on the bench, but without minutes. The fact is that for one reason or another it has disappeared from Valverde’s plans, we will see what happens in the return to the competition. At the beginning of the season, Navarrese was a starter, a very regular starter for Valverde. I think the captain’s physical discomfort has more to do with his absence than football in Valverde’s latest plans. I am one of those who think that the Athletic captain still has a lot to contribute to this team, I also think that at times he gets more minutes than he deserves due to performance. But that’s not Iker’s fault, it’s the coach’s responsibility.
Can you imagine Muniain doing Piqué? Announced in the middle of the season (barely that) that he was leaving soccer practice? No, me too. Even if he stopped having the little fame that Barça’s central defender had, Muniain has more categories. On the way to historical numbers, there are those who are also annoyed by that, that he will be one of the players with the most official matches played in the history of Athletic.
Muniain continues to work his way up and will continue to be an important player on and off the pitch. It wouldn’t be a thing on any other Thursday.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
