Loris Karius, the German goalkeeper who became world-famous for his catastrophic errors in the 2018 Champions League final with Liverpool against Real Madrid, has secured Schalke 04’s promotion to the Bundesliga after a 1-0 victory over Fortuna Düsseldorf in Gelsenkirchen. The 32-year-old has experienced a remarkable football resurrection under coach Miron Muslic, keeping 12 clean sheets during the campaign and conceding only 24 goals in 29 matches, making him the goalkeeper with the fewest goals against in the division. 
Before joining Schalke 04 in January 2025, Karius was considered nearly retired, having spent six months without a club and played only five matches between 2020 and 2024 after loan spells at Besiktas and Union Berlin from Newcastle. “No matter how hard you fall, what matters is how you get up,” he shared after the promotion. The goalkeeper, once dubbed “Calamity Karius” or “Thor-pe,” has a contract running until 2027 and expressed his desire to stay at Schalke for the return to the Bundesliga.
Diletta Leotta, the famous Italian sports journalist who married Karius in June 2024, posted an emotional message to her 9.4 million Instagram followers. “Football can be ruthless. It exposes you, it tests you, it makes you fall in front of everyone,” she wrote. “But if you find the strength to keep going, to keep believing, sooner or later it puts you right where you deserve to be.” She added, “Today is not just a victory. It is a rebirth. It is love for what you do. It is courage. I am proud of you. As a woman, as a wife… and almost as a second mother. Always.” 
Interestingly, the decisive match against Fortuna Düsseldorf nearly coincided with the birth of Karius and Leotta’s child, as she was nine months pregnant and unable to travel to Germany.