For any footballer looking to hone his talents on loan away from a Premier League giant – such as the highly-rated youngster who left Arsenal last summer – bad experiences can be just as beneficial as good ones.
The point of a loan, after all, is not solely to help a young player pick up the sort of minutes that would have been beyond him at his parent club.
They also teach you the ups and downs of life in professional football, how to harness the highs and how to deal with the lows.
In that sense, Karl Hein is not letting Real Valladolid’s dismal start to the 2024/25 La Liga campaign get him down. Especially not with the 22-year-old goalkeeper impressing in difficult circumstances; Hein was particularly impressive against Real Madrid in August.
Or, at least, he wasn’t too down quizzed on the subject a month ago. Admittedly, before another trio of winless outings left the Arsenal-owned shot-stopper and his despairing team-mates four points adrift at the bottom of the table.
Karl Hein of Real Valladolid CF battle for the ball with Ángel Correa of Atletico de Madrid during the LaLiga match between Real Valladolid CF and ...
Photo by Diego Souto/Getty Images
Arsenal goalkeeper Karl Hein trying to stay positive at Real Valladolid
“Even though the team is down [the bottom of La Liga], my first loan [away from England] is a very good experience for me. I think I’m doing my job well, helping a lot. I’m happy,” he told reporters in November, joining Valladolid shortly after Hein signed a new contract with Arsenal.
“The level of LaLiga is very good. Except against Barcelona, I think we have competed and been close to winning all our games.”
Hein maybe had a point.
While suffering a 7-0 hammering at the hands of Barcelona, Real Valladolid lost by the odd goal against Sevilla, Real Mallorca, Rayo Vallecano, Villarreal and Osasuna.
A 1-1 draw with Champions League-chasing Athletic Bilbao, days after Hein’s very glass-half-full interview surfaced, may have had some observers wondering if those defeats and draws would soon be turning into narrow wins.
“I see the team great. We are united, we just have to change certain details,” Hein added. “I notice that, individually I have improved a lot, but I want more.
“I want to keep improving. I seek perfection.”
But as Valladolid followed up that Athletic draw with an insipid 2-0 defeat by goal-shy Getafe and a 5-0 obliteration at the hands of Atletico Madrid, even the eternal optimist Karl Hein could be forgiven for wondering if the turnaround he so craves is ever going to come.
Real Valladolid sack manager as Ronaldo comes under fire
Hein has conceded a staggering 32 goals in his 13 La Liga matches thus far, although you would be hard pressed laying the blame for any of those concessions directly at the Estonia international’s door.
That Atletico collapse, meanwhile, proved to be the last ride into battle for an extremely unpopular Paul Pezzolano.
When the head coach is using promotion celebrations to mock the supporters who demanded his resignation earlier in the campaign – as Pezzolano did in May – then that’s usually a pretty obvious sign that the relationship between manager and fans is, at best, strained.
Now, with owner and Brazil legend Ronaldo seemingly losing interest rapidly, with Valladolid now managerless and the fans furious, El Norte de Castilla described Real Valladolid a ‘corpse’ of a club this week.
And while Karl Hein’s hopes of a successful season over in Spain are not dead just yet, the rot may be all-but impossible to stop at such a stage of decay.
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