One of Spain’s top goalkeepers over the past decade, Pepe Reina completed his 1,000th career game on Wednesday. Defending the jersey Villarrealthe 40-year-old athlete reached the mark in the duel against Cádiz and received tributes from the club.
Before the ball rolls, the goalkeeper receives a ceramic sculpture representing the archer’s gloves. The work was delivered by Marcos Senna, former Spanish-Brazilian player and Villarreal ambassador. Reina’s family also entered the field to present him.
Pepe Reina celebrates 1000 games as a professional in the #VillarrealCádiz!
Absolute legend 💛! pic.twitter.com/AyY8TOIwf4
— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) May 24, 2023
In addition to the club’s tribute, the fans also prepared a flag, which celebrated the 1000 matches of the number 1. With the ball rolling, the home team did not concede goals and managed to beat Cádiz by 2 to 0.
Revealed by Barcelona, Reina left the giant of Catalonia to go to Villarreal in 2005. Currently in his second passage, the goalkeeper passed through Liverpool, Napoli, Bayern, Milan, Aston Villa and Lazio before returning to the Spanish team.
This season, Reina took over after Rulli’s transfer to Ajax. The Villarreal athlete joins other greats under the goal posts, such as Casillas and Bufon, in the list of archers who also reached more than 1000 games in their career.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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