No trophy has entered the showcases of the Saint James' Park stadium since 1969. More than half a century has passed since Newcastle won the Fairs Cup against Hungarian side Újpest. This Sunday the magpies can end their journey through the desert in the final of the Carabao Cup, the English league cup. The least likely thing for fans when they eliminated Southampton on January 31 was that Loris Karius would be their goalkeeper at Wembley on the big day. They cannot believe how they have ended up depending on their hands.
The German goalkeeper has yet to make his Newcastle debut. In fact, tomorrow's may be his first game in two years. He has not been under the sticks since February 2021 with Union Berlin. Because no one forgets what happened in the 2018 Champions League final, between Madrid and Liverpool (3-1).
Karius was trapped in Kyiv. That night he failed miserably in two of the three white goals. A slab that still drags. He never again defended Liverpool's goal in an official match. He went on loan to Besiktas and Union, and this summer he joined Newcastle as the third goalkeeper.
The starter, Nick Pope, was sent off on February 18 in the Premier. It happens that the sanctions in England are fulfilled in the following match, regardless of whether or not it is from the same tournament.
The problem is that the substitute, the Slovakian Martin Dubravka, cannot play either. He spent the first part of the season on loan at Manchester United, precisely the rival in the final, and participated in two league cup ties with the Red Devils. The regulations do not allow competing with two different teams. It is so strict that Dubravka will only receive a champion's medal if he loses his current team, Newcastle.
So suddenly Karius, at 29, finds himself in another final. That is if Eddie Howe, their coach, does not make Mark Gillespie play, who has not put on his gloves since September 2020. Magpies fans even proposed a bizarre solution: give Pope to a sixth-rate team, which would fulfill there his sanction during the week and recover it for the final. Newcastle has spent 250 million since Saudi Arabia bought the club, but, for a carambola, the most stigmatized goalkeeper of the last five years has to be entrusted.
