GOLDEN TICKET How a young English goalkeeper went from playing in front of 28 people at a ground called Butthole Lane to Copa del Rey clash with Real Madrid University student Conor O’Keefe will arrive at the Bernabeu with minnows Fuenlabrada for their Copa de Rey clash
REAL MADRID'S Copa del Rey clash with minnows Fuenlabrada at the Bernabeu tonight marks the completion of an incredible journey for one Englishman.
Conor O’Keefe - a 22-year-old goalkeeper and Loughborough University student - is one of only three English players in Spain and probably had the toughest path to getting there.
Fuenlabrada have a dream tie against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey
The Macclesfield stopper was playing Shepshed Dynamo in the FA Vase in front of 28 people at Butthole Lane only a year ago.
And now he will join the third-division outfit as they head to face the world's most famous football team.
O’Keefe is in the third year of an international business degree and needs to study or complete a work placement abroad as part of his course.
And after deciding to make footballer his placement while also studying, he set about finding a club ready to take a punt.
He told the Guardian: “I said to my parents: ‘If we can’t get an agent, we’ll just have to do what an agent does'.
“So, I started a big Excel spreadsheet and listed all the clubs I could find from primera to the fifth tier. I went through every team in every league, found their addresses, put it into Google Maps and if it was within an hour of Madrid, it went in.
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"I emailed them all. Nothing. But I had the addresses, so I thought: ‘I’m going to hand write letters.’
“I went to Ryman and must have bought over a hundred golden envelopes – which, by the way, aren’t cheap. I sent two to every person on my spreadsheet, all handwritten in Spanish, translated by my girlfriend, Frankie."
After failing to get a response, O’Keefe headed to Spain to visit the clubs in person and tried everything possible to get a shot including handing a bodyguard a letter for Diego Simeone.
And finally Fuenlabrada got back to him and he was invited to join goalkeepers Pol Freixanet and Jordi Cordina with coach Manolo Rubio in training.
O’Keefe added: “They told me they had four golden envelopes from me: two each for the manager and the goalkeeper coach.
“They’re thinking: ‘Who’s the crazy English guy writing golden envelopes?’ They could’ve had a massive laugh and joke about it in the office, and just binned it but they appreciated the effort and got in touch.”
Cristiano Ronaldo is likely to be rested for the clash
O’Keefe has now been registered for the B team and the 6ft No1 will be available for the first-team as soon as the transfer window opens.
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