Roberto De Zerbi Lessons Shape Trubin After Benfica Goal
Anatoliy Trubin says the stoppage-time Champions League header that sent Benfica past Real Madrid changed his life, and the 24-year-old goalkeeper is still hearing about it four months later. The Benfica and Ukraine keeper also points to roberto de zerbi and Jose Mourinho as two coaches who helped shape how he sees the position.
Trubin’s Lisbon header
Trubin headed Benfica into the knockout stages with a 90+8 goal against Real Madrid at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. He called it a turning point with plain words: "I think so" when asked if that night changed his life.
The messages have not stopped since. Trubin said he still gets "Barcelona fans with funny comments." After the game, Thibaut Courtois walked over to congratulate him, a gesture Trubin called "a huge moment for me" because his side had just beaten the 15-time champions of Europe.
His mother needed a second look at the result, too. Trubin recalled, "She was thinking maybe she was being stupid or something," before adding, "It was a funny moment."
Benfica’s unbeaten league run
The goal sits inside a season that ended with Benfica unbeaten in the league, the first club to do that since 1978. They drew 11 league matches and finished third under Jose Mourinho, a finish Trubin did not dress up.
"Not losing and winning are two different things," he said. "Not losing is not enough for a huge club like Benfica." He added, "Our fans do not accept any other result than winning and being in first place," and followed that with a blunt assessment of the draws: "We need to be much better."
There is a catch to the headline moment, though. Real Madrid eliminated Benfica from Europe a few weeks after Trubin’s goal, which keeps that header from sitting in the story as a trophy in itself. It remains one of the great Champions League stories because it came from a goalkeeper, but it also came in a season that ended without Benfica turning league resilience into first place.
Mourinho and De Zerbi
Trubin said he learned from Mourinho and called himself "very lucky to have had the chance to work with one of the best coaches in history." He also said, "I really like that he does not talk too much but knows exactly what he needs to say to every" and described De Zerbi as "crazy."
He ties that coaching influence to the way he plays now. "I like that in difficult moments, I can still keep a cold head," Trubin said, and he added, "I have more experience now. In moments where I made a mistake, I did not give up. I just continued to play." For a goalkeeper who can be a hero in one phase and exposed in the next, that is the lesson running through his Benfica season.
