Why La Liga goalkeepers wore black jerseys this weekend

It has certainly been a busy weekend in Spain, specifically in La Liga. There were many goals scored and important victories, such as that of Barcelona, who took advantage of Real Madrid's draw to lengthen the gap, Atletico Madrid seemed to be back to their old glory, scoring six goals while Real Sociedad was blocked at home by Cadiz. But despite goals, victories and defeats, one thing united all the Spanish clubs, or rather the goalkeepers. All the Spanish extreme defenders in every category this weekend took to the pitch wearing a black shirt, a historical homage to Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Iribar. One of the nation's historic goalkeepers, he has always been nicknamed El Chopo, 'The Black Poplar' after the tree from the Salicaceae family, native to central and southern Europe, due to his physique and height. A nickname that has accompanied him throughout his very long career spent between Athletic Bilbao and the Spanish national team. The testimony of the importance that the goalkeeper has represented for the Basque team was also seen in the moments before kick-off, when the team took the field wearing one of the shirts worn by Iribar during his career.

And the tribute was not just limited to La Liga, in the Premier League, Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa turned up in the warm-up wearing a black shirt with the former goalkeeper's name on it. A symbolic tribute made on the goalkeeper's birthday also by Celtic, who, besides being remembered for his great career, used to wear only black shirts also because of his nickname. An initiative that went beyond any rivalry between the teams, any Spanish club in any division wanted to pay homage to him, taking to the pitch in the representative colour of the historic goalkeeper.