Seville (EFE) club of a lifetime
The winger from Porto, who has an outstanding package of Betis shares, has spent almost 23 seasons as a professional, fourteen of which he spent at the Heliopolitan club, while he passed through Valencia, Málaga and Fiorentina; and since the beginning of this campaign there has always been talk of whether he would continue one more in the Verdiblanco team, which was taken for granted if the team entered the ‘Champions’, although in the end he has decided not to continue in active football.
Joaquín (El Puerto de Santa María -Cádiz-, July 21, 1981), flagship and emblem of the Betis homegrown players since his debut with the first team in September 2020, laments in the video how “fast” time passes time and affirms that “for twenty-three years” he has tried to make his “soccer an art and to be remembered from generation to generation”.
Joaquín’s reflections on his career at Betis
“Life is a constant evolution. The secret is to have the ability to adapt to changes, face each day as a challenge and always put a little bit of art into everything. The road is full of emotions; Names and moments do not resonate in my head, ”says the fine and stylist player from El Puerto in the video published by Betis.
He also reflects on specific moments and memories of his vast career as an emblematic footballer who emerged from the Betis youth academy.
“Oh, that magical night at the end of April in which I was able to fulfill a dream! How quickly time passes! Nothing is forever, they say… but they are wrong. Don’t they know art? It is inspiration, emotion and transformation. For 23 years I have tried to make my football an art and to be remembered from generation to generation. From the classic to the contemporary. Now all that remains is to hang up my boots, my art. A window into eternity”, emphasizes Joaquín.
Illusion and always help your team
The charismatic Betis captain, who at 41 years old continues to contribute as the leader of the Betis dressing room and also when the Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini gives him the option of jumping onto the pitch in matches, has experienced moments of all kinds at Betis, since the time of Manuel Ruiz de Lopera as president, with whom he had some run-in, up to the present.
The portuense has had bitter drinks, when the Verdiblanco team was not well, but also absolute happiness like the two Copa del Rey titles won in 2005 and 2022, plus the one he won in 2008 with Valencia, apart from his participation in competitions European.
Awarded with various distinctions in Seville, El Puerto -his town- and Andalusia, Joaquín has always stood out for expressing his ambition and enthusiasm to remain active and help his usual team, Betis, to the maximum.
The legendary Betic captain, the ’17’, will complete a brilliant career as a player from Verdiblanco and Spanish football at the end of the season, being currently the second player who has played the most games in LaLiga, with 615 and only 7 from goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta.
Several broken records
At Betis, the Spanish international has broken several records, such as the most games played with 521 so far, ahead of the legendary José Ramón Esnaola, Julio Cardeñosa and Rafael Gordillo. Of these, 400 have been in the First Division, 38 in the Second Division, 42 in the Copa del Rey, 32 in the Europa League/UEFA Cup, 8 in the Champions League and 1 in the Spanish Super Cup-, with 66 goals scarred.
He is also the only player in the club’s history to have won two titles with the Verdiblanca shirt, those of the Copas del Rey in 2005 and 2022, in addition to the one achieved in the youth category in 1999.
In the summer of 2006 he signed for Valencia, where he played for five seasons, before moving to Málaga with which he reached the quarterfinals of the ‘Champions’ with Manuel Pellegrini on the bench. His only adventure away from Spain was in Italy, at Fiorentina, until he returned nine years later to his home, at Betis, in September 2015.
Real Madrid: “Joaquín represents the best values in football”
Real Madrid recognized the career of Joaquín through social networks, who on Wednesday announced that he will retire from professional football when the current season ends, and stressed that he is “a Betis legend who represents the best values” in football.
“Given the announcement of your retirement, from Real Madrid we wish you and your family the best in this new phase of your life, Joaquín”, begins a tweet from Real Madrid, citing the video announcing Joaquín’s retirement.
“It has been an honor to share all these years of football with a Betis legend who represents the best values of our sport”, he adds.
Joaquín will hang up his boots after a 23-year career, 14 of them with the Betis shirt. In addition, he played for Valencia, Malaga and Fiorentina.