History has a pair of unexpected heroes. Unai Marrero, a 24-year-old backup goalkeeper, born in San Sebastián and raised at Real Sociedad, saved two penalties in the shootout, from Alex Sørloth and Julián Alvarez, to put his boyhood club within a single shot of victory on what his captain had called the night of their lives.
Then he embraced Pablo Marín, the former ballboy who now walked towards him carrying all of their hopes on his shoulders, kissed him on the cheek and asked his teammate to take them over the line. So Marín, 22, and on as a substitute, did just that, stepping up and securing only the fourth Copa del Rey in La Real’s history, defeating Atlético Madrid from the spot.
