Loris Karius is back in the spotlight. In the final defeat in the League Cup against Manchester United, the German goalkeeper celebrates a surprising comeback. He does his job well and gets a lot of encouragement. But now he’s slipping back in the hierarchy.
When the hoped-for happy ending of his little goalkeeper “fairy tale” had evaporated, Loris Karius sat with his head hanging down on the holy lawn at Wembley. “We did our best, but unfortunately we didn’t get the result we wanted,” wrote the 29-year-old on Instagram after his unexpected comeback on the big stage. Karius wasn’t to blame for Newcastle United’s 2-0 loss to Manchester United in the League Cup final, but he couldn’t prevent it either. But the fact that he was allowed to play in goal again almost exactly two years to the day after his last competitive game, back then for Union Berlin, was a small triumph.
“It was an emotional day for me to return after such a long time,” said the Magpies’ nominal number 3. Nick Pope, the red-banned number 1, gave two heart emojis, national player Nico Schlotterbeck celebrated Karius as a “machine”. But: Finals are and will remain his great destiny, the unfortunate appearance with Liverpool FC in the 2018 Champions League final against Real Madrid, when he conceded two goals (apparently affected by a head hit, caused by defensive legend Sergio Ramos) and one anything but sovereign had looked almost destroyed Karius’ career.
On the day of the final, his girlfriend, the Italian TV journalist Diletta Leotta, wrote in an open letter about “sad nights” and “bad thoughts”, but also about the “rebirth” of goalkeeper Loris Karius. “As a child, I always loved fairy tales,” she wrote “in love,” and she “can’t wait to read the happy ending.” Karius could hardly be blamed for the fact that it didn’t happen, in the end he prevented a higher bankruptcy with his strange brown gloves. “I think he did a really good job, he had some great saves,” said team manager Eddie Howe: “He can be really, really proud of his performance.”
How it goes on? “I’m sure it’s just the beginning for this club,” said Karius of the nouveau riche Saudi Arabia-funded Newcastle. But he himself has to line up behind Pope and Martin Dubravka, who is not eligible to play in the cup. The happy ending will have to wait.
