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Loris Karius has no real idea of the last time he played a first-team game.
He is shaking his head and tucking in his lip like he was told it was about 21 months ago. ‘Probably longer?’ she ventures ‘It’s been a while. It has not been easy.
And the reason? One night in Kyiv in the 2018 Champions League final was supposed to mark the high tide of the goalkeeper’s rise.
Loris Karius is trying to get his Newcastle career back on track after a few difficult seasons
The German was man of the match in Newcastle’s friendly win over Al-Hilal from Saudi Arabia
Instead, after his two mistakes led to goals for Real Madrid in a 3-1 defeat of Liverpool, he precipitated the downfall. The German has been struggling to stay afloat ever since.
In fact, he didn’t appear again for the Reds, though he remained on their books until this year.
But, standing here now in the tunnel of the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Karius is back. He just picked up the man of the match award in Newcastle’s 5-0 win over Saudi champions Al-Hilal.
It says a lot about the misery of his absence and the criticism – Gary Neville admitted in an interview with Sportsmail last year that he had ‘crossed the line’ – that Karius admits to feeling nervous ahead of this friendly.
You understand why, since his name on the squad sheet was the most prominent inclusion: is he a competent goalkeeper after all, or is he just here as an emergency measure?
Karius took the gloves during last week’s friendly at Newcastle’s training break
it had been a long wait for Karius (above left) since he had played in a first team match
Karius answered that question with a series of saves that backs up Eddie Howe’s claim that his player has improved remarkably during three months of training on Tyneside. He is now up for a contract extended beyond January.
Not that he ever thought that, at just 29, he would be here, reflecting on the loneliness of several wasted years in what should have been the prime of his career. He has his own thoughts on why.
‘(The Champions League final) made me go to another club. Maybe it was a move that wouldn’t have happened otherwise,” says Karius, who was loaned from Liverpool to Besiktas for two years.
Then there was another loan spell with Union Berlin before last season in the shadows at Anfield.
“I found myself in a situation where I had to stay at Liverpool knowing I wouldn’t get my chance,” he says. “It was discussed openly with the coach (Jurgen Klopp). There is no bad blood, but knowing the situation from the beginning, it was difficult.
The 29-year-old joined the Magpies on a free transfer after being released by Liverpool.
Karius is a much happier figure now as he tries to rebuild his career at St James’ Park
‘Last season, staying out of the squad for the day, you lose the feeling you have when you win, lose and travel with the team. You just miss it.
‘It’s not easy to stay positive and keep working. But I have played more than 200 games in the first division and national teams, so I know my qualities.
He knew he had a lot to offer. He just turned 30, and that’s not an age for a goalkeeper.
Another question about the Champions League final and the aftermath of it (Karius was later found out to have suffered a possible concussion before his mistakes) raises some irritation.
I have said everything about this. It’s exhausting for me to keep talking about it, it’s football and things happen. In my case, there were many unfortunate things. But I don’t think about that anymore, four years in football feels like eight or 12!’
Karius is still haunted by the two mistakes he made in the 2018 final in Kyiv.
He did not play again for Liverpool after giving Real Madrid two decisive goals in the final
The Newcastle coaching staff is pleasantly surprised by the quality that Karius has maintained. For all the club’s riches, they may have found a real match for number 1 Nick Pope in the form of a man who was training alone in Germany until Howe’s call in September.
“It’s been a fantastic few months,” he says. ‘Of course, I don’t play (competitively) yet, but how I’ve been training, how the whole group has received me, makes me believe that I can achieve more here. That’s my goal, to be here for a long project instead of a short one.
‘When Newcastle called me, I thought it was a great opportunity to come back to England and maybe show myself and prove myself again.
“Of course, we have four goalkeepers in the team, but I am ready when the manager needs me, and the rest of the time I will press and make it difficult for him to make the decision.”
‘I am grateful to him for this opportunity, but I need to deliver. I can’t just be grateful and sit there and not act. I don’t work like that. It was a great opportunity offered by Newcastle. I have to grab it with both hands and make the best of it.’
Nick Pope has been Newcastle’s No. 1 goalkeeper this season, but Karius could challenge him
Eddie Howe hopes his Newcastle team can maintain their form after the restart
Karius certainly used both hands, quite literally, to impress during his Newcastle debut. It is now likely that he will start when the third-placed Magpies take on Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup at a sold-out St James’ Park on Tuesday.
Before leaving for the team bus, they ask him what the tattoo on his neck says. He pauses, reluctant to answer. Finally, he offers: ‘Fearless. I have had it for a long time.
It will have to be just that if and when he returns to a Premier League pitch. He may say that four years feels like 12 in football, but opposition supporters have long memories and can be ruthless.
For Karius, it’s about letting go of some of his past and focusing on a future that could still, very quickly, see him return to the Champions League. Maybe only then will everyone else leave that night in Kyiv behind.