He is the transition target to temporarily upgrade Karim Benzema ahead of Kylian Mbappe’s arrival.
But the guy who was once thought not smart enough for Stoke City will now be etched in Real Madrid folklore.
“Joselu. . . I don’t think I’m going to sleep much tonight. Tomorrow he will be dead in education!” Real midfielder Jude Bellingham told TNT Sports after the 14-time European champions made another impressive comeback.
“He deserves everything. He’s been a member of the team all season and this is his night. “
This is the classic rags-to-riches story. Two years ago, Joselu attended the Champions League final in Paris as a supporter.
Earlier next month, he will be part of his squad (likely where he will play Wednesday’s thrilling semi-final against Bayern Munich) on Carlo Ancelotti’s bench as Real head in search of a record 15th European Cup.
Joselu toasts Madrid after scoring more goals in three minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu than in an entire Premier League season at Newcastle United.
Joselu is the 34-year-old striker whose two most recent clubs, Alaves and Espanyol, from which he is on loan at Madrid, have been relegated from La Liga in the last two seasons leading up to the current campaign.
But Joselu will be the ultimate rejection for Stoke City, who have already scored more goals in the Champions League semi-finals than they did at the Britannia Stadium.
Joselu’s story has been slow for our country.
Born in Stuttgart and raised in Galicia, he won his first senior selection in March 2023, two days before his 33rd birthday, making him the oldest Spanish debutant since 2006.
Before that, there was a torturous fight with Celta, Real Madrid (promoted from the B team in 2011, but scoring in their La Liga match proved to be a false dawn), Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hannover before the Premier League called him up.
Everton fans will remember the days of the 2015/16 season when, trailing 3-2, Mark Hughes called Joselu to the bench to equalise and then kissed Mark Clattenburg for conceding a late penalty as Stoke staged a stunning comeback.
But highlights from his time at the Potteries are sparse, in part because he was a fringe player in a strong team that finished ninth in the Premier League. He soon left in search of more consistent first-team football. He was loaned to Deportivo and sold to Newcastle with Rafael Benitez the following season.
Speaking about his time at Stoke, Joselu said in a recent interview with The Guardian: “It’s been a smart year: we finished ninth, beat Manchester City and Manchester United and reached the semi-finals of the [League] Cup, wasting only on consequences. at Anfield. . . I played with smart players: [Peter] Crouch, [Marko] Arnautovic, Jonny Walters. “
He added: “I enjoyed Jonny Walters. He worked, he committed, physically he’s a beast, he scored more than a hundred goals. Crouch is an amazing guy. Jude calls me Crouchy now because I’m a great striker who loves cross-country. Others followed Jude and he got stuck, but he’s 2m tall, I’m only 1. 92m tall. It was a lot of fun and helped me a lot. When I was a kid, I had a lot of fun with it.
Madrid needed a hero, and the most unlikely source answered their emergency call when Joselu capitalized on a mistake by Manuel Neuer to equalize in the 88th minute. Three minutes later, he directed a second, which was first disallowed before being awarded by VAR. intervention.
While he singled out Thomas Tuchel for his decision to update Harry Kane in the 85th minute with another former Stoke striker, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Ancelotti was able to toast another special Champions League evening for the club after his decision to send him off. . Joselu paid.
“It’s very useful that at the Bernabeu our fans can do anything unexpected,” said Ancelotti, who would have liked Kane to update Benzema in the same way.
“Joselu did a job. He’s a striker and we were able to take more advantage of the width to cross and we did it very well. We had a lot of power at the end of the game.
“It’s an unbelievable [mentality] and I’m grateful to the players because they paint really hard, they create a fantastic atmosphere. They’re humble, they’re generous, and I think it’s the most productive team I’ve had in my career. “.
A club of the so-called galacticos will be even more so next season with the probable arrival of Mbappé. Brazilian prodigy Endrick will also move to the Spanish capital.
But it’s Joselu’s time in the sun. A 2018 tweet from a Newcastle journalist that said “Joselu just hit the corner flag with a shot from 20 yards” was picked up and re-edited with fury after Wednesday’s Champions League exploits.
His career was coming to an end at Alaves and Espanyol, but La Real returned in June 2023 to announce a loan, with an option to buy at the end of the season.
Former Stoke teammate Shay Given described it as “almost like a Roy of Rovers tale”, although Real Madrid fans waiting for the arrival of World Cup winner Mbappe from PSG were perplexed.
However, the gamble paid off, as Joselu found himself in the right position at the right time in 17 events this season. He scored for Spain, won La Liga (his first major club trophy) and now has his sights set on European football’s biggest prize. .
He couldn’t do it on a “cold, rainy Tuesday night at Stoke”, but the German-born Spaniard will still have the night when he made one of the wonderful Champions League comebacks in living memory.
Their wedding was attended by former colleagues from Newcastle and Stoke, and now they will watch the biggest game in European football at Wembley in the hope that Joselu’s fairytale with Real Madrid will end in bankruptcy.
Bellingham praised Real Madrid’s uncompromising attitude and insisted he felt no nerves after a dream evening in which they put in a late performance to defeat Bayern Munich and reach the Champions League final.
It may have been a different story at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Madrid’s 13-month unbeaten record at home was in serious jeopardy after Alphonso Davies gave the visitors the lead in the 68th minute.
Carlo Ancelotti kept his cool, as did his team, and substitute Joselu equalised with two minutes remaining before the same player went home in the first minute of stoppage time for a dramatic 2-1 victory.
Bayern remained furious until stoppage time, when Matthijs de Ligt had his shot sent off for offside after the whistle before the ball ended up in the net, but the carnival atmosphere in Madrid was already in full swing and they will now be aiming for the 15th European Cup. to accompany the LaLiga crown won a few days ago.
“We’ve noticed it a few times this season, where we feel like we’re dead and buried. It doesn’t matter who scores the goal because someone gets there. This never-say-die-to-die mentality,” Bellingham told TNT. Sports.
“They [the fans] are amazing. They are far from the world.
“Coming here, there is an explanation of why we shot so many games or why when we are behind in some games we managed to come back in the second leg. It’s thanks to them. They give you a power that you can’t get. ” anything else.
“You come here and that’s all they talk about. They say they gave you the 14, but they need the 15. The guys said the same thing when we won the 10, all they asked for was the 11, but that’s why I like it here because you can never settle down. “
Bellingham produced an action-packed Madrid and managed to get past fellow Englishman Harry Kane on Wednesday night.
It is a reunion with former club Borussia Dortmund in the final at Wembley on June 1.
Asked if he felt nervous as the seconds ticked by with Madrid behind, Bellingham insisted: “NoArray, I’d like to say yes, but in the dressing room I was looking and thinking I couldn’t be in a better position with more people.
“Where else would I rather be? I’ve been in Birmingham for seven years and I’ve been dreaming of nights like this. Coming here and not being anywhere else doesn’t make sense to me. Yes, I am very pleased to be here and to be a part of tonight.
“At Wembley, unlike Dortmund, it’s strange. I can’t. I can’t wait to see it, the vibe, the setting itself. A Champions League final, man. “
It is one of the most important sporting events of a generation. Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk face off for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship on Saturday, May 18 at the Sky Sports box office. Pre-order the fight now.