Inui's derby

Inui's derby

53 kilometers separate Ipurua from Mendizorroza. A relatively short distance that in football is even smaller. Because the transfer of players from Vitoria to Eibar and vice versa has been constant during the last decades. Historicals such as Antonio Karmona, Lluis Codina, Ander Alaña, Gaizka Toquero, Jito Silvestre, Manu García or Borja Bastón have defended the Albiazules and Barça shirts, something that Takashi Inui can also boast about, the Japanese face the encounter with butterflies in the stomach Sunday against Alavés. The visit of the Vitorian team is one of the dates marked on the calendar for the gunsmith in the season in which he has returned to Ipurua to recover the smile and win the pardon of the Eibarresa fans after his fright a year and a half ago. In Ipurua he is at home and the lesson he learned from his 'Erasmus' in Seville is that from the places where one feels loved one must never leave. Inui never managed to adapt to Betis, it was a usual discard for Setién and the Verdiblanco team He found a solution to the complicated situation he was going through, giving up Alavés in the winter market. Abelardo managed to make a place among the chosen ones and in Vitoria he felt again a useful piece. He was an important player in the second round and soon became one of the spoiled children of the Mendizorroza fans. The Japanese attacker played 12 games in which he scored two goals. He opened his scoring account against Villarreal and repeated a week later in the derby against Eibar. Inui had no mercy, signed a brilliant match and did not think twice when celebrating the goal. The good vibes he had with Mendilibar and some of his former teammates during the game and the greeting he gave to the displaced eibarresa fans show that there are other ways to show respect beyond celebrating or not celebrating a goal. He finished the season in Vitoria and I had to go back to Seville. Inui was clear that he did not want to stay at Betis and pressured the club to let him out. The Verdiblanca entity did not put many problems and there Eibar and Alavés entered the scene. The two bid for the Japanese, but the figure of Mendilibar was key for Taka to return to Ipurua. The place he should never have left. On Sunday they will be seen with Alavés, the other team that has made him happy in Spanish football.