From Stuttgart to stardom via Stoke-on-Trent
One of Spain’s oldest ever debutants stole the show with a late brace. Luis de la Fuente’s era got off to a winning start as Spain beat Norway 3-0 in their opening Euro qualifier.
“The truth is that I still don’t believe it. Age doesn’t matter for me because I feel like an 18-year-old kid”. — Joselu on Spanish TV channel RTVE post-game.
The words of the jubilant striker, who had just produced one of the best international debuts in a very long time. Joselu came on to the pitch with less than ten minutes to go, and within five minutes he already had a brace to his name.
He turns 33 on Monday. The road to stardom has been a long and often arduous one. Born in Germany, Joselu came through the academy at Celta (coincidentally the top three Spanish scorers in LaLiga this season are all Galician and have all passed through Vigo).
He then joined Real Madrid Castilla and a squad that contained three of the players also involved in this game: Dani Carvajal, Nacho and Álvaro Morata. With 14 goals apiece, Joselu and Morata were joint-top scorers for Castilla in 2010/11, earning them both debuts with the first team. The similarities end there though. Joselu’s two cameos were his only appearances for the senior team. Morata made 95.
The frontman became a journeyman, playing for seven clubs in as many seasons, from Hoffenheim to Stoke City to Deportivo La Coruña before finally staying at Newcastle United beyond a single season. However, it wasn’t until he returned once more to Spain that he became a goalscorer of note. 2019/20 at Alavés was the first time he had ever reached double digits for goals in a league campaign in the top flight. He has reached them in every season since, including the current one.
One of the game’s late bloomers, there was criticism from some quarters that Spain selected him at all. Yet they were probably the same people who decried Spain’s goal-shy performances in Qatar. Joselu is by definition a pure number nine, winning duels and scrapping for any opportunity or loose ball. He has the ‘smell of the goal’ as they say in Spain, and it is something Spain have been seeking. You would need to be cold-hearted not to be happy for him, particularly when he described his routine of kissing his shin pads, one for his late father and the other for his wife and children, who he says give him strength.
“I want to enjoy it, I want to hug my family because today is an incredible day”. — Joselu revels in his dream debut.
Records fell at his feet. He is the first Spaniard to score a doblete while making his debut as a substitute, and he scored the quickest double of any Spanish debutant, breaking the record held by Fernando Morientes, which had stood for exactly a quarter of a century.
In truth the scoreline ended up flattering Spain, and had the game ended 1-0 the headlines would all be about Kepa and his impressive return to the national team. He produced a sensational first-half stop to deny the Norwegians and proved his recall was justified. Norway kept pushing, Martin Ødegaard thought he should have had a penalty, while Alexander Sørloth missed a presentable chance to equalise. Substitutions helped to freshen Spain up, with Dani Ceballos and Fabián – two of Luis de la Fuente’s lieutenants from the U21s – catching the eye.
“I’m happy above all for the attitude, but we have a tremendous margin for improvement”. — Luis de la Fuente assesses his side’s performance.
It was never going to be easy. The inevitable evolution following a break with such a dogmatic, albeit charismatic, coach in Luis Enrique was bound to be a rocky road. The turnover of players has been significant. Only four of the starters against Morocco in December started in Málaga.
De la Fuente knows he has to do things his way, but also build on the positives of the Lucho era and maintain the Spanish identity. But it is a fact that excluding the freakish 7-0 demolition of Costa Rica in Qatar, this was the first time Spain had scored three goals in a competitive game for 18 months. In four minutes and 15 seconds, Joselu scored as many goals as Spain managed in the 300 combined minutes of their final three World Cup matches. Optimists will point to that as progress.
As a start it ticked many boxes in terms of the result and the reintegration of players who can benefit the squad. There is plenty of room for improvement, but on a night when Joselu grabbed the headlines, this was an adequate start. Good things come to those who wait.