When Unai Simón received the “Yashin” Trophy, attention was focused on him. The Spanish goalkeeper, however, once again redirected the conversation toward the people around him. This is in keeping with the story of his career – far from the noise, yet increasingly close to the greatest recognition.
Simón won the award for the best goalkeeper in the world with 351 points in the Ballon d’Or voting. David Raya finished second with 128 fewer points, while Thibaut Courtois came third. Two years earlier, Simón had finished second behind Emiliano Martínez with 213 points, while last year he did not even make the list of ten nominees.
A Starter Almost by Chance
Unai Simón was born in Vitoria in 1997 and grew up in Murgia – a village where, as a child, he helped his grandmother and grandfather fill their water containers from a tanker. In 2011, at the age of 14, he joined Athletic’s academy.
His path to a starting place in the first team was not planned. In 2018, Athletic sold Kepa Arrizabalaga to Chelsea. At the time, Simón was a young goalkeeper who had come through Basconia and Athletic Bilbao, and in the meantime he was sent on loan to Elche.
After just 20 days, he returned to Bilbao. The reasons were the injury to second-choice goalkeeper Iago Herrerín and Alejandro Remiro’s refusal to renew his contract. Many expected Simón to be a temporary solution. He used the opportunity, however, and made the position his own.
From Doubts to the Top
A year later, Simón became European champion with Spain Under-21s. The team was coached by Luis de la Fuente, who later continued to show faith in him with the senior national team as well.
The goalkeeper’s game also changed. Luis Enrique saw that Simón could actively participate in build-up play with his feet and gave him time to develop this aspect of his performance. The goalkeeper himself describes the process as a combination of analysis, training and courage.
The doubts, however, did not disappear completely. During the most recent edition of the Nations League, even De la Fuente admitted that Simón had been treated unfairly for a long time. Despite this, the coach continued to select him.
The Choice to Stay at Athletic
In 2024, Simón signed a contract with Athletic until 2029, without a release clause. He stated that he wanted to become the best goalkeeper in the world as part of the Basque club.
“I owe the life I have to Athletic,” Simón said. The club’s policy of relying on players of Basque origin means that participation in the Champions League is not guaranteed every year, while the path to individual honours is more difficult. Nevertheless, it was with Athletic that he reached his first “Yashin” Trophy.
Simón describes himself as shy around people he does not know and prefers to “stay away from the noise and fuss”. He no longer has social media profiles after he began allowing comments to determine his mood – from bad when the reviews were negative to excellent when they were positive.
During one of his most recent visits to Murgia, he arrived in the car he had been driving for eight years, gathered the children from the village and took them to play football. It is the same approach with which he accepts his greatest personal award – without turning it into his story alone.
Sources: bbc.com