Joaquin Sanchez retires. Goodbye to art, to ’17’, to the ‘feint and sprint’ and the smile that for so many afternoons and nights moved the Beticismo. Joaquín says goodbye to the world of football at the age of 41, in the midst of a very tough season in which he has hardly been able to participate. But he has never lacked a smile in each and every one of his 23 seasons in the world of professional soccer.
839 games later, after having gone through clubs like Valencia, Fiorentina or Malaga, Joaquín Sánchez retires in what has always been his home, in a Betis that will see him off with all honors. As a preview, the Verdiblanco club wanted to broadcast a farewell video, in which he thanks him and lets him be the absolute protagonist. In it, Joaquín narrates his career as if it were a work of art. Joaquín and art, a story that comes from far away.
“”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 stop resonating in my head. Oh that magical night at the end of April in which I was able to fulfill a dream. Nothing is forever. But they are wrong. Don’t they know art? It is inspiration, emotion and transformation. During 23 years I have tried to make an art out of my football and to pass it on 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,” Joaquín said in an emotional video.
Three King’s Cupstwo with Betis and another with Valencia, is the record that the one of the Santa Maria Port. But he is not the only one. Because the titles are only a small part of the legacy that he leaves in the world of Spanish football. His humor, his contagious laugh and his way of facing the toughest moments have been an inspiration to many.
Joaquín Sánchez’s situation had called for his withdrawal for months. in the documentary ‘The penultimate and I’m leaving’ He already dropped it: “There are mornings when I say that maybe this year was too much for me because I didn’t want this.” Without enthusiasm for training and feeling that he was not being himself, it was killing him inside. He couldn’t help the team and that’s why he decided to put an end to it. He will hang up his boots at the end of the season. Meanwhile, the fields of Spain and his Betis will be able to fire him as he deserves.