The Ukrainian goalkeeper from Real Madrid arrived at the club in 2018 and was only able to establish himself in the starting team in 2024.
He real Madrid eliminated the Manchester City on penalties, and the shootout that defined the pass to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals had an outstanding protagonist: the goalkeeper Andriy Lunin. The Ukrainian blocked the shots from Bernard Silva and Matthew Kovacic and took all eyes. I know his story.
Lunin’s name was not well known, even to Real Madrid fans themselves. The 25-year-old goalkeeper, originally from Krasnogradcame to the merengue team in 2018, when the Spanish team bought him from the -now extinct- team. Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, for 8.5 million euros.
In Dnipro, he made his professional debut at the age of 17, and his short career took off when he was hired by the Zorya Lugansk, also from Ukraine. There he quickly gained ownership and played the UEFA Europa Leaguewhich sparked the interest of several renowned clubs.
A fight for position that lasted years
He came to the merengue team in 2018 as a long-term bet, and had three loan exitsfirst in the Leganesthen passed through Valladolidand finally in the Oviedo. Since then he was in the shadow of Thibaut Courtois, whom he replaced in some games of the 2022-23 season.
In between, he played in the 2019 U20 World Cup, where he was the starting goalkeeper and one of the top figures of Ukraine, which won the title in Poland, where even won the Gold Glove award.
When the Belgian, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, tore his cruciate ligaments at the beginning of last year’s season, It seemed that Lunin’s time had arrived. But from one moment to the next, Real Madrid hired Kepa Arrizabalaga, a Champions League champion with Chelsea who wanted to leave the English club.
Little by little, the Ukrainian won the fight against the former Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper and took over the White House goal, reaching its peak this Wednesday night when Thanks to their performance, they eliminated Manchester City of Pep Guardiola and got their ticket to the semi-final, where they will face Bayern Munich of Germany.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
