Andriy Lunin (Ukraine, 1999), on loan from Madrid in Oviedo, he had taken flight before the break by COVID-19. Now, With AS, he remembers his Christian beginnings, offers details about his arrival in Spain, with special affection for Florentino, and confesses that since the Bernabéu he has not been told what he will do in 2020-21.
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In Spain it is not known much. How was your childhood?
I started playing soccer in my very small city as a striker. All the children want to score goals and celebrate them, but from the age of eight they did it in Kharkov, 100 kilometers away. He traveled once a week to play as a goalkeeper, although during the week he was a player.
Why this change?
We played futsal and, since I didn’t like running and I saw it as nonsense, in the hall I worked very well, I scored a lot of goals and I have quite a few trophies for best player, top scorer, top assistant… But in Kharkov the field was football 7 and It was not for me, so I spent three years like this. Then I did three tests, at the Shakhtar, at a school in Kharkov and at the Metalist Kharkov, and I chose the Metalist. I was living and going to school there from U12 to U18. It wasn’t hard because it was what I wanted to do.
Was he a good student?
Yes, he had no bad grades.
“I started as a forward, my first shirt was for Cristiano”
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What were your parents working on?
My father, in a bank and my mother, for the country, as an official.
And when you were a forward, who did you imitate?
To Cristiano. My first shirt was his.
And when did you start as a goalkeeper?
To Casillas.
How did you find out that Madrid loved you?
In the sports city of Zorya, after training. I reacted very strangely: with a lot of happiness, because it was my dream as a child, a little bit of concern and a little bit of fear for the club that it is… But with a lot of desire.
“Florentino made me feel like I was his son”
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Did you have more offers?
Yes, of course, but when they told me “Madrid” I was not interested in anything else, I did not care about everything. And my club knew that. In a week or so, it closed.
And he came to know Madrid.
Buah, it was all wonderful.
Did something or someone especially catch your attention?
President. I did not expect Florentino to be there to greet me and he welcomed me, told me that he was glad that he arrived and that in the future he could help the club. It sounds too much, but it made me feel like I was his son.
And on July 23 of that 2018 they present him.
I thought it was a great detail. He did not know Spanish, he had been studying for 10 or 14 days. When they explained that I had to speak, they offered to do it in Ukrainian, Spanish or English. At first I wanted to speak Ukrainian, of course, because I didn’t speak English very well and didn’t know any Spanish… But I mentioned it to the club and they said it would be incredible if I spoke Spanish. That was about five days before the presentation, so that week I was studying a text; not grammar or anything, just that text. It was two or three hours a day, or even four, to say it well and remember why they were new lyrics for me.
Now he speaks almost perfect.
It was that I had a teacher and we were studying hard, two hours in the morning and about an hour in the afternoon, six days a week for six months. The club told me that I had to learn more or less quickly. Those first six months my head almost exploded (laughs). It was difficult to learn. Then I went on, but not at that rate: two, three, or at most four times a week. Sometimes with a teacher and sometimes alone, adding vocabulary on my own and trying to understand better.
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Last May, he told his teammates at Leganés that he was staying at Madrid. Did the Keylor situation change everything?
It was kind of weird. I worked in Madrid because I wanted to stay and fight for number 1. I am young, but if I came to this club it is because I want to show what I am worth. I came to play. But with Courtois and Keylor waiting for an opportunity was quite complicated and we decided that I had to leave on loan to show my level. In a short time Keylor left …
What did you think
Nothing. It is his career and he chooses what he wants and how he wants, the best for him. That’s life.
A year earlier, in the preseason of 2018, he entered that locker room for the first time, full of stars and … what did he think?
Damn, I… poof… I didn’t even think. I was silent, I couldn’t think.
Who did you have the most dealings with?
Especially with Odegaard, who was young and spoke a little English, and with Keylor. And a little with everyone. Now with Take (Kubo).
How would you describe Courtois?
He is a good goalkeeper and, from what I have known, a good person. We had no problems in the month or so we agreed.
What do you like most about him?
He is similar to me because he is quite tall, he a little more. I like how he uses that height because it is not as simple as you think.
“Madrid’s goal is the most difficult in the world”
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Are you coming back for 2020-21?
I still don’t know, they haven’t told me anything.
You want to do?
The first thing is to finish this season without risk. We are looking forward, that two months stopped are too many. It shows in some things more than others. I want to achieve the goal with Oviedo.
Will they be saved?
Yeah right. And I will be able to demonstrate my level so that Zidane sees that I have to return to Madrid, that he has one more option. I’ll try everything for that and we’ll see. I give everything to return to Madrid, but in the end the coach and the club decide.
And what does it feel like?
Positive. I try to stay like this.
When did you last speak to Zidane?
In the preseason. I am in contact with Juni (Calafat) and the goalkeeping coach (Roberto Vázquez).
“My feeling about returning to Madrid is positive”
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Do you already feel ready to make the leap to Madrid?
Yes. And I continue to prepare every day in Oviedo.
After the few opportunities they gave him in Leganés and Valladolid, did he come to doubt himself?
No, you can ask anyone how that situation worked and lived. It is past. It is clear that the coaches did not trust me so much, I do not know why, if they were his or mine. In training I saw that it was not worse, although the coach decides and there is nothing you can do. I am convinced that those two situations have made me stronger.
Do you think Madrid’s goal, where the best have been called, is the most difficult in the world?
Yes.
How do you carry the criticism?
I manage them well. There always was, there is and will be. It is normal, it is the work of some people. I have the coach, the coaching staff and colleagues to help me, advise me …
In June he won the U-20 World Cup as a Golden Glove and with the Absolute he has played five games (four goals conceded, two doors to zero, no defeat). What does Shevchenko say to him?
Shevchenko helped me and continues to help me a lot with his confidence, because when he was not playing for Valladolid he kept calling me for the Absolute and he counted on me in all friendlies. Not playing for a year is a disaster, so that helped me a lot. One of my goals is to be number 1 and for that you have to play in the club, that’s why Oviedo has given me a lot of confidence. I hope that works for the future.
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