Joselu—Substitute for Benzema at Real from Stoke City's bench

 Joselu—Substitute for Benzema at Real from Stoke City's bench

Joselu—Substitute for Benzema at Real from Stoke City's bench(Getty)

Life is truly unpredictable.

In August 2016, English Premier League team Stoke City faced Stevenage, a fourth-tier team, in the second round of the League Cup. On Stoke's bench, that day was a player whose career path had no clue. His name was Jozelu.

Does he sound familiar? A few days ago, his name wasn't pronounced like that either. Just five days before, Real Madrid introduced him as their new player. The question arose: Who is this Jozelu?

Joselu new Real Madrid player is unveiled at Valdebebas training ground on June 20, 2023, in Madrid, Spain

Let's go back to that season. During his time at Stoke, Jozelu wasn't even in the squad for matches against Middleborough and Manchester City in the league. He didn't even make it onto the field during the 4-0 victory against Stevenage. Four days later, he faced Everton and still didn't find a place in Stoke's squad for the league match. After that, he left the club within a week. But what can we see after seven years? Jozelu is now one of the key players in one of the world's top clubs.

When Jozelu played for Stoke, the club's goalkeeper was Shay Given. Jozelu's story to him was like a British comic strip called "Roy of the Rovers." In Given's words, "His story is just like Roy of the Rovers. Once you were on Stevenage's bench, and then your eyes widened. If you opened your eyes, you saw that you were playing for Real Madrid and also representing the Spanish national team."

Not only Stoke, but in 2017, Jozelu spent two seasons at Newcastle United as well. There, the coach preferred Aleksandar Mitrovic more than him in the attacking position. At that time, Jozelu was 29 years old—a time when many footballers either reach their prime or leave it behind. But in Jozelu's life, the eleventh hour arrived after that time had passed.

This year, Spain's national team crowned their champion against Norway in the Euro qualifiers, two days before his 33rd birthday. When he substituted in the 81st minute, it marked a record for his name as the oldest player to be crowned in Spain since 2006. He also scored a goal within three minutes. Later, he achieved another record!

Jose Luis Mato 'Joselu' of RCD Espanyol is challenged by William Carvalho of Real Betis during the LaLiga Santander match between RCD Espanyol and Real Betis at RCDE Stadium on January 21, 2023, in Barcelona, Spain(Getty)

After that match, Josélu said, "Age is not a problem for me. I feel like an 18-year-old."

Last Saturday, in the final of the Nations League against Croatia, Josélu also substituted and scored a goal. Two days later, he joined Real Madrid. Karim Benzema's absence paved the way for his inclusion in the team. Benzema, a five-time Champions League winner with Real, filled the void left by him seven or eight years ago when Stoke's favorite forward was number 6 or 7 on the list. In Givens' words, Josélu's story is an example of turning things around. Youngsters can learn from here that as long as there are clubs where opportunities exist, everything does not come to an end if they fail to secure a place. There are still clubs in the world where one can find opportunities.

Josélu has found that opportunity. In 2017, Newcastle acquired him for £5 million. Newcastle was trying to be cost-effective, so they went for someone like Josélu. The media had understood the matter, and Rafael Benítez, Newcastle's coach at the time, explained, "At Newcastle, we didn't try to spend too much money on players. It's somewhat similar to buying a car. If you have the money, you can buy a good brand. If you don't have the money, you may be able to buy something to get the job done, but it won't be as attractive or efficient."

The same thing happened to Josélu at Newcastle. There, in 52 matches over two seasons, he scored 7 goals, with almost half of those matches being substitute appearances. Before joining Newcastle, he had also been at Hoffenheim and Hannover, but it was only from 2009 to 2012 that he was a regular player at Real. He also played only one match for the main squad after two seasons at Real. In 2012, he was sold to Hoffenheim. Hoffenheim and Hannover didn't even make it into the starting eleven regularly.

After 11 years, when Josélu stood beside Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez a few days ago, questions may arise about what cycle has been fulfilled in the career of this 33-year-old forward?

11 years ago, he was primarily a player for the 'B' team of Real Madrid. In 2011, he replaced two matches as part of the main team and stepped onto the field. Joselu's thoughts were not the same as the others. It can be said as a story. Stay in Stoke one day, a local journalist from the local news outlet "Stoke Sentinel" asked him who was better between club legends Jonathan Walters and Cristiano Ronaldo? Joselu said, "Ronaldo is a star. Jonathan is Superman."

To understand Joselu's career in a nutshell, we can listen to the words of Stoke devotee and author Simon Lowe: "It's unbelievable how long his career has lasted. When I saw him play in a Spain jersey, I knew for sure he had something. I thought he had retired. But at the age of 33, he returned to Real Madrid. It's an incredible story!"

Joselu, who has written 12 books about Stoke, disagrees with Simon Lowe and says, "He came to Stoke as a backup striker when we had Peter Crouch, Kenwyne Jones, and Marko Arnautović in attack. At that time, we also had Jon Walters, Mame Biram Diouf, and Peter Odemwingie. Considering all of them, Joselu was probably the 7th striker in the squad. That's why he didn't catch anyone's eye. That's why what's happening now seems unbelievable to everyone."

After leaving Newcastle, Joselu began his career at Alavés in 2019 with a transfer fee of £2 million. In the three seasons there, he scored 16 goals in 34 matches, which was his best season in his career. Alavés coach Javier Calleja said at the time, "He is one of the best center-forwards in Europe. He keeps improving day by day."

Joselu left Alavés last year and joined Espanyol. In the last season, he scored more than 10 goals in La Liga, which was better than Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski. As the top goal scorer in La Liga, he holds the trophy. This 6-foot-4-inch forward won the battle in the air 146 times in the last season, which was the second-highest in La Liga.

Joselu will wear the number 14 jersey at Real Madrid. This jersey was previously worn by footballers like Gheorghe Hagi, Raúl, Guti, and Casemiro. However, a few years ago, this player was sitting on the bench for a team in the fourth tier of the league in England. Rafa Benitez, the former coach of Real Madrid, sent him his best wishes as Joselu embarked on his career that took a 180-degree turn from there. He said, "In a team like Real Madrid, which always loves to attack, he will be a threat to the opponents. He is not a player who runs past everyone from 40 meters to score goals. But if he is in the box or around it, he can score goals."

Real Madrid wants goals. Whether Joselu can fulfill the expectations of his club, only time will tell.