Joaquin, the living embodiment of Real Betis, has been unable to be as present as he’d have liked so far in 2021 according to a report in Marca. He tested positive for Covid-19 on 1 January, hours before the Seville derby, forced to isolate for two weeks.
Last night, however, in his first minutes of the new year, he showed what he can do. He came on against Real Sociedad with 15 minutes to go and his team 2-0 down, combining well with Sergio Canales and Cristian Tello to drag Betis level.
He assisted Canales and then scored himself right at the death, his first goal this season. His strike meant that he’s now scored in every one of the last 21 seasons, and, at 39 years and 186 days old, became the fourth oldest footballer to score a goal in an official Primera match.
Joaquin has also become the player with the longest time elapsed between his first and last goal in the Primera, 19 years and 136 days. He’s also the only player in history to have scored at least one goal in four different decades in Spain’s top two divisions.
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