Mikel Merino was Spain’s unlikely hero on Thursday night at Euro 2024, and amongst the jubilation he still had time for a history lesson.
The Real Sociedad midfielder lept extraordinarily in the 199th of Spain’s quarter-final clash with Germany, nodding home and putting his side into the final four.
After that, he sprinted over to the corner flag and danced around in a unique style that will certainly make the competition’s highlight packages.
However, the celebration has been seen before, 33 years ago in fact, by Merino’s father Miguel in November 1991.
It was also at exactly the same stadium, when Osasuna knocked Stuttgart out of the UEFA Cup with one of their most famous victories and one of Miguel Merino’s most famous goals.
On top of that, Miguel was present in Stuttgart to see his son’s greatest moment in a Spain shirt, and commented: “I feel very proud. He deserves it because he is a fighter who gives his all at every moment. He had a cool head to finish that.
When asked about the celebration, he replied: “It’s a huge pride. We were always laughing about all those details, but I wanted to leave him to it.
“If he had already surpassed me as a player, now I don’t have the exclusivity of Stuttgart’s goal either.
“Now I have to shut up and give him a big kiss because he deserves it.”
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