Carabao Cup final offers 'fearless' Loris Karius the chance at redemption

Loris Karius has a tattoo down the side of his neck. Just the one word, but it’s appropriate considering the twist of fate that has seen him go from being a non-playing third-choice goalkeeper at Newcastle United to the man who will play in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester United at Wembley.

“Fearless,” Karius said, when asked what the tattoo says. “I’ve had it for a long time.”

The 29-year-old was speaking after making his only appearance in a Newcastle shirt during the 5-0 friendly victory against Saudi Arabian champions Al Hilal in Riyadh during the club’s training break in December. Karius played well that night, so much so that it earned him an extended contract at St James’ Park, having initially arrived as a free agent from Liverpool last summer on a six-month deal.

But he hasn’t played since for Eddie Howe’s team. England goalkeeper Nick Pope and Martin Dubravka have been Howe’s first and second choice, but with Pope’s red card against Liverpool last Saturday meaning he is suspended for the final, and Dubravka ineligible due to playing in the competition for Sunday’s opponents during a loan spell at Old Trafford earlier this season, Karius finds himself in the team.

So Karius’ tattoo is apt. Making your competitive debut for any team in a major cup final would be daunting enough for most, but Karius’ back-story makes Sunday all the more compelling, and maybe even terrifying for the German, because of the last time he played in a major final.

– Carabao Cup final: LIVE Sunday, 11:30 a.m. ET on ESPN+ (U.S.)

Since being blamed for two mistakes which led to goals in Liverpool’s 3-1 Champions League final defeat against Real Madrid in Kyiv in 2018 — it was subsequently revealed that he was suffering from concussion following an early clash with Real defender Sergio Ramos — Karius has struggled to rebuild his career.

He played just once more for Liverpool, in a preseason friendly at Tranmere Rovers two months later, and was loaned out to Besiktas and Union Berlin before spending a year back at Anfield last season waiting for his contract to expire, knowing that he would not play for Jurgen Klopp’s team.

So Sunday’s game at Wembley — Newcastle’s first cup final this century — will be the only time that Karius has played for an English club since that night in Kyiv almost five years ago.

“It would be a magnificent chance for him [Karius] to rewrite the story of his career,” Newcastle manager Howe said this week. “As soon as it happened [Pope’s red card] there was that feeling there’s another story in Karius’ career — another page or chapter to write — and who knows what that chapter will look like. That’s the beauty of football. This unpredictability is what makes it such an amazing thing to watch.”

Karius, whose last senior appearance was almost two years ago to the day, for Union Berlin against TSG Hoffenheim on Feb. 28, 2021, has endured some difficult times during the past four-and-a-half years. His loan spell in Turkey with Besiktas was a troubled one, with financial issues at the Super Lig team meaning that Karius sought the help of FIFA to claim £400,000 in unpaid wages during his time in Istanbul.

He also made more high-profile mistakes — Tuesday’s Champions League clash between Liverpool and Real Madrid showed that even the best keepers can commit costly errors — and Karius became the butt of jokes, a name synonymous with calamity.

“Obviously the last few seasons have been a setback for me,” Karius said in Riyadh. “It has not been easy at times. I was out of the spotlight in Turkey and played some time in Germany, but I’ve played over 200 games in the top division and national teams, so I knew my qualities.

“Last season at Liverpool, being left out of the match-day squad, you lose a bit of the feeling you have when you win, lose and travel with the team. You just miss it. It’s then not easy to stay positive and keep working.

“You obviously know you are not going to be involved, but I learned a lot from that and tried my best in training and keep myself positive on the mental side.”

Sources at Liverpool have told ESPN that despite the reality of his situation at Anfield last year, when Klopp made it clear that he would train with the first-team goalkeepers but not be considered to play, Karius was a model professional.

“He would never say ‘no’ to anything, was always very co-operative and generally just a really good guy,” a Liverpool source told ESPN. “He was never a problem and people here remember him fondly.”

Karius said Klopp was open with him about his situation at Liverpool and that there is no “bad blood” between the pair, and Klopp, who signed Karius from Mainz in a £4.75 million transfer in May 2016, said this week that Newcastle can count on him to perform in the final.

“I think they [Newcastle] can absolutely rely on him, there’s no doubt about that,” Klopp said. “He’s a great goalie, that’s why Newcastle signed him. Of course it’s unlucky for Nick Pope in the moment, but this is what he [Karius] was working for all the time, absolutely.”

Sunday is Karius’ big chance for redemption, however. While he may have moved on from the Champions League final in 2018, that game is still the most recent point of reference for the sporting public in England.

“I have said everything about this [Champions League final],” Karius said. “For me it is tiring to keep talking about it. It’s football and things happen.

“In my case there were a lot of unfortunate things. But I don’t think about it any more, 4 years in football feels like 8 or 12! Of course, I’m thankful [to be at Newcastle], but then at the end I need to deliver. I cannot just be thankful and sit there and not perform. That’s not how I work.

“It was a great chance offered by Newcastle to me and I have to grab it with both hands and make the best out of it.”

Maybe Karius’s moment has arrived. If fortune really does favour the brave, being fearless has given Karius the chance to change perceptions and emerge as a winner again.