Spain have secured their place in the Euro 2024 playoffs after the first rounds, so coach Luis de la Fuente debuted an experimental squad in the final group game. Wearing the captain’s armband, the team was led into the game against Albania by 38-year-old defender Jesús Navas, who ran the entire game without any problems and showed that he had not lost his speed over the years. The veteran also appeared for nine minutes in the round of 16 against Georgia.
Jesús set a record for the Spanish national team, becoming the oldest player to play for La Furia Roja in a European or World Championship. The previous record belonged to goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares, who played at the age of 36 in the 2006 World Cup. The defender’s achievement is outstanding in itself, and especially considering the illness Navas has been battling all his life: agoraphobia.
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Sevilla, record holder of matches and trophies, has a lifetime contract with the club
The presence of a veteran in the tournament line-up surprised many, because in the qualification for Euro 2024 Navas played only two incomplete matches, and in his native Seville in the 2023/2024 season he did not always make it to the starting eleven, suffering from a chronic hamstring injury. The Andalusians have many veterans and sporting director Victor Orta is thinking about rejuvenating the squad – in particular, Sergio Ramos has already left the team in the summer and Ivan Rakitic in the winter. In the spring of this year, Jesus was also on the verge of leaving – the management even announced a farewell ceremony.
“The club did not start negotiations for a contract extension, so I took it as a sign that they did not need me,” Jesus wrote on social media. – This is my local club. They never called me. I always dreamed of finishing my career at home. All I wanted was to have the opportunity to enjoy playing for Sevilla on my last day. Those who write about me do not know the situation. They say that I am leaving for the money. No, that is not true.”
Jesus has played 687 games for Sevilla
Photo: Fran Santiago/Getty Images
However, the fans played their part: their indignation at such a “quiet” departure of the club’s record holder for the number of matches (687 games, 37 goals, 119 assists) led to the fact that Sevilla president Del Nido Carrasco called a special press conference and proposed that the captain be given a lifelong contract. “Jesus will be a key piece in the club’s new project. He can stay at Sevilla as long as he wants. He deserves it. When Jesus finishes his career, he will be able to work at the club for the rest of his life, he is free to choose his position,” the president made a nice gesture. Happy Navas agreed: he will transfer the money from the new contract to the club fund.
The opportunity to stay in his home club is especially important for the veteran, given his pathological mental disorder – agoraphobia. In this condition, a person develops a fear of being in places with large crowds of people, in squares and wide streets, in open spaces, as well as fear of going far from home. If this happens, depression may develop and there is a tendency to panic attacks – a terrifying condition in which a person feels strong palpitations, shortness of breath or dizziness. He feels as if he is dying, but with proper relaxation, the attack passes in 15-20 minutes.
The word “agora” is the name of a large square in ancient Greece where markets used to be held. This disease was diagnosed by the famous director Woody Allen, as well as the star of the film “Home Alone” Macaulay Culkin.
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Navas has been playing in Sevilla’s system since he was 14 years old; the winger’s best friends at the academy were Sergio Ramos and Antonio Puerta. The agile boy was nicknamed Veterok for his extraordinary speed qualities: even at junior level, Jesus ran a hundred meters in 10.9 seconds, which is a decent indicator even among track and field athletes. Navas, who moved away from his rivals on the right flank, made his debut for Sevilla at the age of 18; the boy was also invited to the Spanish youth national teams, but he refused. As soon as he left his hometown, he was overcome by an inexplicable feeling of anxiety, which is why the boy did not play in the U-20 World Cup.
One day, Jesus became so nervous that he ran away from Sevilla’s pre-season training camp in Turkey due to incessant panic attacks, after which the club’s management advised the midfielder to start working with a psychotherapist. And this really helped: he worked with a specialist on a number of techniques, thanks to which he began to better control his condition and learned to avoid situations that provoked the disorder. One of the main helpers was meditation.
With friend Sergio Ramos and the World Cup – 2010
Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images
And yet, over time, Jesus realised that nothing helps better than the support of friends and family. Navas was especially helped by Ramos, who moved into the same room as him during the player’s first serious international tournament: the 2010 World Cup. The mature footballer was not the main player in Vicente del Bosque’s great team, but the coach periodically gave him playing time. He came on as a substitute in the 60th minute of the final against Holland and became one of the heroes of the match.
This year, a monument to the famous player was erected in Andreas Iniesta’s hometown of Albacete, where he scored the winning goal against the Dutch – it would be logical and fair to represent Navas, who started that scoring attack, along with Iniesta. “The year turned out to be fantastic. He won the world title and before going to South Africa he won the Spanish Cup. Unfortunately I was not able to participate in Euro 2008 and become European champion, but I think everything is ahead of me,” admitted the midfielder. The dream came true two years later, when Navas won Euro 2012 with Spain, and in 2023 he became the first Spaniard to score a hat-trick of trophies, adding a Nations League victory to his previous trophies.
Sevilla renames stadium and training ground in honour of Navas
It was clear that Navas had outgrown Sevilla, with whom he won the UEFA Cup in 2005 and 2006, as well as the UEFA Super Cup (2006), but Jesus was afraid of moving to a foreign club. In 2012, the winger was on the verge of a transfer to Chelsea, but on the last day he refused to move to England. It seemed that the player’s talent would remain only for internal use – everything changed when he married his first love from school, Alejandra Moral. The girl not only convinced her beloved to move to Manchester City in 2013 (the transfer cost 25 million euros), but also facilitated the move of the entire Navas family, including his parents and brother, to gloomy Manchester.
Marco’s older brother signed a contract with League 2 club Bury and often visited Jesus. The presence of Spanish-speaking players at City also played a role: David Silva, Javi Garcia, Carlos Tevez, Pablo Zabaleta, Sergio Aguero, Martin Demichelis and Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini. “A fantastic player, a real hurricane,” admired the expert. “I will never forget the time he broke the treadmill during pre-season training.” The trainers told the footballer to run for 12 minutes at optimal speed, but Jesus set the speed to 15 minutes and the track broke down.
Jesus won the Europa League/UEFA Cup four times
Photo: Nicolò Campo/Getty Images
The midfielder spent four seasons in the Premier League, but only won the title in the first one, 2013/2014. At the same time, Navas proved to be a brilliant all-rounder because the coaches identified him as a right-back. Pep Guardiola, who joined the team in 2016, also saw Jesus in this role. “He does a great job as a defender. There are a lot of interceptions and attacks. And my fighting qualities are top-notch!” – Pep praised his compatriot.
Guardiola was building a new young team and 32-year-old Navas did not meet a number of criteria, so he returned to Sevilla. And again he not only became the leader, but also helped the team collect trophies: to two Europa League victories, he added two more (2020, 2023). In his honour, in 2018, in recognition of his professional career, the Sevilla board renamed the city’s Sports City (where the club’s second team plays) into the Jesús Navas Stadium, and also named their training centre after the player. A true living legend!
Jesus may also appear on the pitch in the semi-finals of Euro 2024. Well, or he will watch his teammates from the bench with his eternally sad blue eyes.
