Like many Real Sociedad fans, Asier Illarramendi focused on having fun a week after the club beat Celta Vigo 2-0 in June 2010 to win promotion back to La Liga with one game in hand.
Unlike the rest of his team-mates, however, the 20-year-old Illarramendi made his debut in that last rubber, a 4-1 defeat by Elche.
“It was a bit strange; we were going to win the league and in that week we celebrated a lot, and we didn’t train much,” Illarramendi told the South China Morning Post.
“After about 65 minutes, I was done, I couldn’t play anymore. So much celebration.”
Recently crowned Hong Kong Footballer of the Year, midfielder Kitchee Illarramendi, now 36, will be recovering from his excess of more than 250 appearances for Sociedad, either side of a two-year stint with Real Madrid.
There, a high of sharing Champions League success with Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and boyhood hero Xabi Alonso in 2014 was followed by a campaign in which he suffered a loss of confidence.
