Navarro served as the third-choice goalkeeper for the away match against Olympiakos on the evening of 26/11/2014, following Andrey Lunin and Fran Gonzalez. First-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was unavailable due to enteritis. Real had previously registered Navarro for their 5-0 victory over Kairat in the second matchday of the Champions League group stage.

Navarro is currently the main goalkeeper for Real's U19 team, which ranks 4th in the club's structure after the first team, B team, and C team. Over the past year, the 18-year-old talent has made significant progress, with coach Alvaro Arbeloa promoting him to play in many matches for both the B and C teams.

Navarro plays for Real's B team this season. Photo: Real.

In his youth, Navarro developed as a striker, even excelling at scoring goals more than saving shots. However, the youth team later acquired more prolific goal-scorers, prompting Navarro to switch to a position he did not initially prefer. Once he fully focused on goalkeeping, Navarro's progression was rapid. In 2019, he drew attention from numerous scouts during a tryout, receiving invitations to academies from both Real and Leganes. Navarro also earned two call-ups to the Spain U18 national team.

Since Iker Casillas' departure in 2015, Real's academy has not produced a goalkeeper who has established themselves in the first team. Many academy products typically serve as second or third-choice options behind foreign goalkeepers. Courtois, the star from Belgium, is currently the first choice, ahead of Ukrainian goalkeeper Lunin. Fran Gonzalez and Navarro represent two academy hopes in the search for a "new Casillas".

"Navarro is very well-rounded and possesses everything needed for success," an academy coach at Real was quoted as saying by AS newspaper.

Real currently ranks 9th after the first four Champions League group stage matches, having won three, lost one, and accumulated nine points. A victory against Olympiakos would give them an opportunity to re-enter the top 8 and enhance their chances of direct qualification for the round of 16. According to regulations, the round of 16 features only eight direct qualification spots, awarded to the eight leading teams after eight matchdays. Teams ranked from 9th to 24th must compete in play-offs for the remaining eight spots.

By Thanh Quy (according to Marca, AS)