In the immediate after of last Saturday’s FA Cup Final triumph win over Manchester City – a historic one for the club, as it sealed our first-ever major trophy – Muñoz was awarded the official sponsor’s Player of the Match award.
And as Lerma and Muñoz – Palace players for two, and one-and-a-half, seasons now respectively – spoke to TNT Sports Mexico, the latter was visibly affected by the emotion of such a momentous occasion.
He – and his teammates – had quite simply given everything to take the trophy to South London, and not just over the course of a single match, but a long, battling journey to take Palace to its pinnacle.
As reported by London News Online, Muñoz’s fire shone through whilst saying of the award: “First of all, I believe this trophy should say 'Crystal Palace' – because I think we were all standouts. If a small piece of the team didn’t have worked, we wouldn't have shown the exceptional performance.
“This makes me happy, upbeat, but it goes beyond a plaque [the award] – because we all deserve it, all the ones who played and the ones who didn't. I'm very happy because many times, as Lerma said, one year ago…”
It was at this point, reflecting on his incredible, rapid rise to becoming one of the Premier League's finest right-backs, that Muñoz's emotion shone through.
