Unai Simon’s quiet journey to becoming the first Spanish Yashin Trophy winner

Unai Simon’s Yashin Trophy success was not simply a reward for outstanding goalkeeping. As he accepted the prize from Peter Schmeichel at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, the Spain and Athletic Club goalkeeper used his speech to honour the family, friends, coaches and village that helped shape him.

Simon thanked his parents and brother, and described his partner as an “oasis of calm”. He also paid tribute to childhood friends from Murgia, whose close-knit bond reflects the Basque idea of “la cuadrilla” – a lifelong group whose relationship extends beyond ordinary friendship.

The goalkeeper keeps a WhatsApp group with those friends and takes them on summer holidays, according to BBC Sport, helping him preserve a normal life away from football. He said they remind him that many people attending such ceremonies enjoy privileges unavailable to everyone, a message about staying grounded despite success.

He also remembered Koldo Asua, his coach at Athletic Club’s academy, who died in 2021. Asua spent 13 years working with the club’s young players and focused not only on developing them as footballers, but also on their family relationships and education.

Simon has previously said Asua changed his understanding of the game, teaching him that a person’s value is measured not only by achievements on the pitch, but also by the legacy they leave and how they are remembered as a good person and team-mate.

Inspired by Iribar

Another key influence was Jose Angel Iribar, the 83-year-old Athletic Club and Spain goalkeeping great who remains an ambassador for the Basque club. Iribar holds Athletic Club’s appearance record, having played 614 matches.

Iribar wore black in tribute to Lev Yashin, the Soviet goalkeeper known as the “Black Spider”. Simon has continued that tradition, choosing the same colour as a link to Athletic Club’s history and the goalkeepers who came before him.

Born in Vitoria in 1997, Simon grew up in Murgia and joined Athletic Club’s academy in 2011, aged 14. His route to the first team accelerated in 2018 after Kepa Arrizabalaga moved to Chelsea.

At the time, Simon was developing with the club’s reserve sides, having played for Basconia and Bilbao Athletic, and was on loan at Elche. He returned after second-choice goalkeeper Iago Herrerin was injured and Alejandro Remiro declined to renew his contract, just 20 days into his loan.

Initially viewed as a temporary solution, Simon seized the opportunity and established himself as first choice. A year later, he won the European Under-21 Championship with Spain under Luis de la Fuente.

His ability with the ball at his feet became increasingly important, with Luis Enrique among those who trusted his distribution. Simon attributes his progress to analysis, training and the courage to make decisions under pressure.

He continued to face criticism, particularly with David Raya and Joan Garcia competing for Spain’s goalkeeping place. De la Fuente said Simon had been treated harshly, but retained faith in him.

During Spain’s World Cup triumph, Simon conceded once, kept seven clean sheets and recorded a scoreless run of about 650 minutes, surpassing Walter Zenga’s previous record of 517 minutes from 1990. He won the Golden Glove but joked: “If my gloves could speak, they would say they had not worked as hard as the other goalkeepers’ gloves.”

In 2023-24, Simon won the Zamora Trophy, becoming Athletic Club’s first winner since Iribar in 1970. He secured 351 points in the Ballon d’Or voting, 128 more than runner-up Raya, with Thibaut Courtois third. Two years earlier, he had finished second behind Emiliano Martinez with 213 points.

Simon deleted his social media accounts after negative comments affected his mood. In 2024, he renewed his Athletic Club contract until 2029 without a release clause, saying: “I owe everything I have in my life to Athletic.”

He rejected the pursuit of a bigger club or regular Champions League football, choosing the team that shaped him. In Murgia, where he once helped his grandparents fill containers from a water tanker because the village lacked drinking water, he still visits in the car he has owned for eight years and plays football with local children.

That connection, he believes, is part of the reason the award belongs not only to him, but to everyone who helped him reach the top.