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pedripics · 3 months

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Pedri: The island boy with the world at his feet

(via The Athletic - December 2020)

“It is very easy to say it now but the people who know me know that it’s true,” Ruben Delgado tells The Athletic. “When Pedri was nine years old, he reminded me of Iniesta. I always say that the first time I saw him, I knew he had something special."

“His way of playing — everything very simple but very important at the same time. He was not looking to nutmeg people or do lots of stepovers: just the simple thing and the right thing. He was just different: the way he saw football, understood the game, found spaces nobody else could, the maturity he had compared to his team-mates. That is very difficult to find in the world of football but he does it. And it does remind you of Iniesta; looking for the simple thing. It’s a gift. Not very common in football.”

Delgado is a youth football coach with the team in Tegueste, a village on the island of Tenerife. When Pedro Gonzalez Lopez, known then as now as Pedri, turned nine, Andres Iniesta had scored Spain’s winning goal in the World Cup final the year before and later that season won the third of his eventual four Champions League trophies with Barcelona.

Iniesta was also then maybe the most popular footballer in Spain, winning over team-mates, opponents and neutrals with a becoming mix of quiet good manners off the pitch and unshowy genius as he decided games for club and country.

So it was quite something to say that this shy young kid was like Iniesta, but Delgado has not changed his mind over the eight years since he first started coaching a shy, unassuming boy with the gift for playing simple but special football who has settled naturally into the Barcelona midfield since his arrival last summer.

“Pedri just transmitted something different than the other kids of his age,” he says. “Not just how he played with the ball but the respect he showed to his teammates, rival players, the coaches, everyone. One game he scored a super goal, dribbling (past) many players and finishing it perfectly. All of us on the sideline — our fans, and the opposition too — all just had to applaud. At the end of the game, I asked him, ‘Pedri, how did you do that?’ and he just looked at me and said, ‘I don’t know. it just came out naturally’. And I told him, ‘No, no, Pedri — that is not natural’.”

Pedri was born in November 2002 — just a few weeks after Iniesta made his Barcelona first-team debut — in Tegueste, a small town in the northwest of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands.

He was also born into Barcelona — given that, eight years previously, his grandfather Fernando Rodriguez had established the Peña Barcelonista de Tenerife-Tegueste, one of the first official Barcelona supporters clubs in the Canary Islands. Pedri’s father, also Fernando, still runs it, along with family friend Oscar Ledesma.

“Tegueste is a small town of around 10,000 people, with a healthy rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid supporters, and the Rodriguez family were always known as ‘the Catalans’ as they were all Barca fans,” Ledesma tells The Athletic. “His grandfather was president of the town’s football club (Union Deportiva Tegueste) for many years and also president of the ‘Lucha Canaria’ club (a local form of wrestling developed by the Guanches, the earliest known natives of the archipelago off the north west African coast). His father was a goalkeeper for many years and had some trials with Tenerife, although he never played for them. The family has a restaurant here in Tegueste, which was established by his grandfather. His grandmother worked there, now his parents, his uncles; they all work together.”

Naturally, Pedri and his older brother Fernando (the third generation) began to play for Tegueste’s youth teams, where Delgado was their coach. Although two years younger than his brother, Pedri’s displays soon started to draw attention in their hometown and elsewhere on the island.

“There were people who came to our games just to watch Pedri,” Delgado says. “There was admiration from the parents of the other kids, from the opposition teams. He did not stand out just for the way he played: his dribbling or finishing, like some kids of this age do. With him, it was his maturity and way of understanding football, knowing very quickly to take the correct decision in every moment. You do not see that very often in a kid of nine or ten years old. People could see the potential that he had but also how humble he was, how normal. Tegueste is a small place where everybody knows their neighbours and it’s a family club which transmits those values — respect for referees and opponents, friendliness, to enjoy yourself.”

Tenerife-born Pedro was an important player in Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Barcelona team of that time, while the Spain side which won Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 had David Silva, from the neighbouring island of Gran Canaria. Lionel Messi was by now the favourite player of most Barcelona-supporting kids the world over. However, the young Pedri and his father had a clear idea of who his model players should be.

“Pedri always says that Iniesta was his hero and his reference from when he used to go to the peña (supporters’ club) to watch the games with his father and grandfather,” says Ledesma. “He also spoke a lot about (Michael) Laudrup, even though he moved to Madrid and he never saw him play for Barca. His father used to show him videos.”

When the family realised that Pedri needed to be challenged more on the pitch, the two brothers joined Juventud Laguna, a bigger club in San Cristobal de La Laguna, still just a 10-minute drive from home.

“Pedri was the smallest on the team but every coach he had could see that they had a special talent,” Ledesma says. “He did not want to leave at first for Laguna as he was happy playing with his friends and there were also offers from stronger clubs, like Tenerife. The first time he made his debut on the Laguna juveniles (the under-18s, when he was 14), the senior side immediately called him and wanted him to play with them. His dad was worried that he would get broken up, with those little sticks of legs he had, but he just went with them and did amazing things. He is very special.”

By now, Pedri had also started to play for the Canary Islands’ representative side and scouts from some (but not all) Primera Division clubs had taken notice. Although there was still a reluctance to move and leave his friends and family behind, Las Palmas’ academy director Manuel Rodriguez made a persuasive case for him to move to another of the Canary Island clubs to progress his career.

“Offers kept coming and Las Palmas have a very good reputation in the Canaries for their youth system, and very good residences for the boys to live in,” Ledesma says. “It was tough for his parents to accept. He was moving to another island but they assured him about his studies too and they convinced the whole family with their ideas: where he would play, how they would help him to progress. He was very happy there.”

Delgado says that each step of the way, Pedri had help in keeping his career progressing forward at just the right pace.

“Good players always need new challenges and to move up,” he says. “The process has been ideal. He has overcome every challenge that came along each step of the way. He had various offers at different moments but they have known how to choose the right option. Not everybody has that good fortune and it has gone well for him. His father, his brother, his uncles, his friends; they have all kept his feet on the ground. They did not let him grow further than was best in every moment. That has helped him to get to where he is now.”

It was summer 2018 when Pedri moved into the Casa Amarilla youth academy of Las Palmas. After one year as the youngest player among the club’s under-18s, he was ready to move up the levels again.

Then-Las Palmas technical secretary Toni Otero picks up the story.

“I first saw him playing aged 15 and we decided to bring him up to the first team,” Otero tells The Athletic. “We just could not believe what we were seeing, that a player at that age could do what he was doing. We knew he had a lot of potential, could reach the very top. We were afraid that he was still too young but once we saw him train and then play for the first team, we realised he was an extraordinary player.”

Otero signed Pedri to his first professional contract in July last year but was still unsure whether the slight 16-year-old was ready to be pitched into a first team playing in Spain’s second tier.

“The only fear we had was that, physically, he was not ready for professional football with grown men, as he is not a big kid,” he says. “But from the first training session with the first team, we could see he would adapt very well. His first game with us was a pre-season friendly in Marbella against Almeria, after just two weeks of pre-season training with the first team — and he was the best player on the pitch. He did whatever he wanted: played comfortably, passed the ball, ran the game, dribbled past players. He was showing that, ‘I’m here now. I don’t care who you are but I am a proper football player’. That game told us that this kid has everything to reach the top.”

Las Palmas’ coach Pepe Mel was also convinced and Pedri started the first game of the season, doing well even though his team were beaten 1-0 by Huesca. A week later, he got the assist on veteran striker Ruben Castro’s goal in a 1-1 draw away to Malaga. The following month, his first goal in senior football brought Las Palmas’ first win of the season, at home to Sporting Gijon.

Except when called up for Spain’s age-group teams, including to play at the Under-17 World Cup in Brazil, Pedri played each week for Las Palmas. Opponents quickly realised their main creative threat was the tiny kid in midfield but he still finished last season with four goals and seven assists in 36 league games. Otero says that everyone in the dressing room automatically took to this quiet teenager who did his talking on the pitch.

“He was a young kid; skinny, very shy,” Otero says, “so the other players did not know what to expect, but that also helped them to take him into the dressing room. At Barcelona now, from Leo Messi to the groundsman, everyone naturally wants to look after him. And at Las Palmas, it was the same. We had to go along learning with him. I always think age is not important in football — some players of 40 seem like kids, others of 16 are already like men.”

Otero agrees with Ledesma and Delgado that Pedri had good people around him, including his agents Leaderbrock Sports, who also represent other younger Spanish talents including Manchester City’s Ferran Torres and Athletic Bilbao’s Unai Nunez.

“Pedri is very close to his family and they protect him,” Otero says. “His agents look after many young players and know how to protect these kids. Everything related to football and outside of football was looked after. He was playing in the Las Palmas first team and living in the residence at the training ground. We had to take the basketball hoop down as he just wanted to play it all the time, but he was not going out at night. He is not a party kid."

“He likes his PlayStation, his friends, going to the park. He is just such a quiet kid, which is helping him at the moment. It is very important that he is kept away from the parts of football which are not good.”

Given the family connection to Barcelona, it might have seemed obvious that Pedri would end up at the Nou Camp at some point but things could easily have turned out differently.

“Pedri was very close to joining Real Madrid,” says Ledesma. “When he was still playing for Laguna, and began to draw attention, various clubs came here — Deportivo La Coruna, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal and also Real Madrid. The Barca scout here did not rate him. At that moment, they did not think he was an interesting player."

“Madrid took him for a trial. He was there for a week but there was tremendous snow, so he could only do a couple of training sessions. They told him they would be in touch but nothing came of it. It is very funny, as he said he did not recognise himself wearing a Madrid jersey when he was there on trial. All of us here in the peña, including myself, tried to make contact with Barcelona in some way to tell them that this kid is going on trial at Madrid, and he’s Barca to the core — but nobody took any notice.”

Barcelona then had another stroke of luck. Otero had spent two years working as a scout at the Camp Nou and personally knew those running their youth structures, including the club’s former midfielder Jose Mari Bakero.

“When I saw this player, after just 10 minutes, I called Barcelona to talk to Jose Mari and tell him to come and look at this kid,” Otero says, “as he is a Barca player — not 100 per cent but 1,000 per cent. ‘You have to come here, even though he is just 16 years old, but if you take him now, it will be a lot easier than if you wait another year as by then, he will already be a ‘crack’.’ And Jose Mari took me at my word, came here and he could see it too after just 10 minutes.”

So, in early September last year, when he had still only played three senior games for Las Palmas, it was agreed that Pedri would join Barcelona this past summer for an initial fee of €5 million plus add-ons, including 15 per cent of the profit in any future sale. The deal did not make huge headlines at the time but, more recently, Barcelona figures including current sporting director Ramon Planes and former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu have taken credit for their supposed foresight.

“I imagine that many people want to put medals on their chests as now we can see Pedri is going to be a world-class player,” Otero says. “I made the first call, to Jose Mari Barkero, as I had worked at Barca and I knew perfectly well what was the best to do.”

Ledesma says Pedri and his family also received offers from other big clubs at that time. However, the connection with Barcelona was too strong to consider going anywhere else.

“When he was at Las Palmas, the offers started to come, and Barca got involved then,” says Ledesma. “There were various offers on the table but he told his father that if it were possible, he only wanted to join Barca. I believe there were better offers from other teams but both he and his father were clear they wanted Barca.”

After completing the season with Las Palmas, Pedri formally arrived at Barcelona to start pre-season in early August — just as most of his new team-mates were in Lisbon, about to crash out of the Champions League with an 8-2 quarter-final loss to Bayern Munich.

When Ronald Koeman took over as coach a few weeks later, he spoke publicly about Pedri needing to be sent on loan as he was too young to be considered for the first team.

Koeman has a reputation for showing confidence in youth but had also spoken a lot about giving a chance to Philippe Coutinho, who was returning from a season on loan at Bayern. The competition for places in attacking midfield roles also included World Cup 2018 winner Antoine Griezmann, €130 million France international Ousmane Dembele, €30 million Portugal international Francisco Trincao, homegrown fan favourite Riqui Puig and a certain guy called Messi.

However, Pedri’s performances in training, and in the first few friendlies before all the senior players had returned to full fitness after their brief close-season break having played on into August, led to a quick change of plans.

“I imagine Koeman had the same experience we did,” Otero says. “I was fully sure that if he did pre-season with Barca, then he would stay (rather than being loaned out) — no doubts at all — because Koeman would have seen that he was ready. Even though he looks small, he is physically strong and he is just a Barca player. After seeing him train for 10 minutes, Koeman realised that he had a player who was going to be one of the best in the world, for sure.”

Ledesma says that even those closest to Pedri thought it most likely he would spend another year gaining experience and playing time on loan somewhere else, possibly in Germany.

“We thought that he would go and do pre-season at Barcelona but we were sure they would loan him to another team where he would be able to play every week,” Ledesma says. “He could not go to Barca B. That was in his contract. There were many teams interested, including Borussia Dortmund, and we thought he could be loaned back to Las Palmas. He was prepared for that but the circumstances at Barca, the time of transition there, have helped for younger players to get opportunities. And he has taken it, and settled in there, playing a lot more than we expected.”

Delgado says that Pedri himself was always convinced that if given a chance, he could show he was ready to play in Barcelona’s first team.

“I am only surprised by how fast it is happening; that he has earned his place in the XI at Barcelona so quickly,” Delgado says. “We all expected it to happen but to take a bit more time. I remember talking to him in the summer and he was convinced he wanted to stay at Barca this season, and when this kid decides to do something, he usually does it.”

Most new players who have come to Barcelona in recent years have needed time to adapt, including many who were much older and with a lot more experience than Pedri, with Coutinho and Griezmann being obvious examples. This year could have been extra difficult, given all the turmoil around the club, including Messi’s attempt to leave last summer and Bartomeu’s resignation as president in October. However, those around Pedri say he has settled in remarkably easily.

“He speaks wonderfully about the atmosphere in the dressing room: above all, about the older players who have taken to him and to the other younger players, like Trincao and Ansu Fati,” says Ledesma. “Even at the start, when the mood was a bit strange and the president resigned, and all that, he felt very comfortable. He has that character — that people warm to him quickly. He speaks very well about everybody: (Sergio) Busquets, (Gerard) Pique, Messi and all of them.”

Pedri came off the bench in the first three La Liga games of the season, then was given a first start at Getafe in week four, with Coutinho dropping out. Barcelona lost 1-0 but the 17-year-old was one of their best players, with a strong run and clever pass that was key to a move which saw Messi hit a post from the visitors’ best chance to equalise.

“Since the start, Koeman has treated him with a lot of care, given him lots of advice,” says Ledesma. “Above all, he has given him confidence. When he trains and plays, he keeps telling him he is doing very well, to keep going like this, to use his imagination and not be afraid to try things, to do what he knows he can do — and for a kid so young, that gives you a lot of confidence.”

Four days later, he came off the bench to make his Champions League debut and marked the occasion with his first Barcelona goal in a 5-1 victory over Ferencvaros He was back in the XI for October’s Clasico at home to Real Madrid but did not have his best game and was taken off early in a 3-1 defeat. Koeman kept faith, though, and started him again four days later at Juventus — and Pedri produced a phenomenal performance, regularly skipping away from Juan Cuadrado and frustrating the Colombian by stealing the ball from him, too. A few weeks later came his first La Liga goal, another confident finish in a 5-2 victory over Real Betis.

“As a 17-year-old, you have to understand there will be ups and downs, and better and worse games,” Otero says. “Maybe he did not stand out so much against Madrid but then, a few days later, everybody saw what he did against Juventus. But if the coach keeps putting him in the team, it is because he is happy with his performances.”

While Pedri’s season has been progressing as well as anyone could have hoped, his team have stumbled along and mixed some decent performances with other horror-show displays. Many local pundits say it is no coincidence that they have been playing better in recent weeks because Pedri has more responsibility in the team, and €155 million Brazil international Coutinho is featuring less. Koeman has also been experimenting with the team’s shape, and Pedri played a deeper role in the recent 2-1 win over Real Sociedad, when he drew even more admiration for a brave last-ditch Javier Mascherano-style challenge on Alexander Isak which prevented an almost certain late equaliser.

“Pedri is a player who understands football,” Otero says. “It is not that he is focused on playing in one position or another, or that the coach has told him he must do this or that. No. He understands what he has to do before a coach or anybody can tell him. He has the game in his head and knows perfectly well what he needs to do. It is something great that he has.”

The most difficult challenge for many new Barcelona players is to get on the same wavelength as Messi, something neither Griezmann nor Coutinho have managed to do yet. However, Pedri has quickly struck up an understanding with the Argentinian. Against Real Sociedad, 10 of the 31 passes Pedri completed were to Messi, while Barca’s No 10 found him nine times in return. Their connection was again clear in the 3-0 win at Real Valladolid just before Christmas, especially with the back-heel assist from Pedri for Messi’s strike and the joyous goal celebration between the pair.

“At Las Palmas, the players who he connected best with on the pitch were the most technical: Jonathan Viera and Ruben Castro,” says Ledesma. “When Viera arrived on loan, he told Pedri, ‘You look for me on the pitch and you and me, we are going to understand each other’. Maybe with Messi, it is not the exact same words but something similar has happened."

“Messi knows that if you give him the ball, you will get it back in a better position, and that is important when you play with these technical players. Pedri is also bursting with pride that Messi talks with him, gives him advice, having been his hero almost since he was born. That, for him, is something incredible. Messi speaks more in the dressing room than in front of the cameras. From what I hear, he is more a leader inside the dressing room than it might seem from outside. He lifts the others, he supports them, and that is helping Pedri a lot.”

Otero says Pedri has not had to change anything about his personality or his style of play to fit in at Barcelona — and has not tried to show off with any special tricks or unnecessary demonstrations of skill, instead just continuing to play the same simple way he always has.

“He has that humility and simplicity and naturalness,” Otero says. “With this kid, everything he does is so natural. He just has that talent inside him. That is what talent is: knowing what to do in each moment and being able to do it. Not just heading off on a dribble to show off. Messi has that, and Pedri too. It is all natural talent. He was born with it. He is too young to have learned to play like this. I am convinced he will be a world-class star and mark an era in Spanish football.”

While the Clasico was maybe his quietest game for Barcelona so far, little seems to have fazed the teenager so far. He has even played some of his better games when the team were struggling: such as in that first start at Getafe or in the 1-1 draw at Alaves when far more experienced colleagues let their team down.

After their title hopes took a huge blow in the 1-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid on November 21, he did the post-match Spanish TV interview, admitting that Barcelona had not played well and would have to look at their mistakes and improve — all this from a supposedly shy kid, just four days before his 18th birthday, and only a few months after moving to Catalonia.

“He is a little bit introverted or shy when he does not know the people he is with,” says Ledesma. “But afterwards, when he gets to know you and feels confident, he loves to joke around. It is true that on the pitch he changes, and he always has. When he was playing, he always took it seriously. Every game was very important; even just a kickaround with his friends, he always wanted to win."

“He has a sense of calm, even when Pepe Mel called him to the Las Palmas first team just past his 16th birthday. They all said he had the character, a security in himself that it seemed he had always played there. We were all confident that if Barca gave him a sniff of a chance, he was going to take advantage of it. He gets nervous sometimes, like everyone, but he does not show it. And once he is playing, even in front of fans, he puts everything else to the side.”

Recent months have also seen Pedri make his debut for Spain Under-21s while it would be no surprise if senior side coach Luis Enrique takes both he and close friend Ansu Fati to next summer’s European Championship.

Meanwhile, he has just been getting on with his normal life. He lives in Barcelona with his big brother Fernando, who cooks and looks after the apartment. They play a lot of FIFA in the afternoons while Pedri is also a fan of strategy board game Catan. Their parents have visited when possible amid the pandemic and their own work commitments. The only headlines he has made so far off the pitch have been for using a simple supermarket plastic bag to bring his personal effects to the stadium instead of the designer gear favoured by most of his team-mates, and using taxis to get to and from training and games.

“Pedri will keep his feet on the ground. He is very well supported by his family,” says Ledesma. “His parents still have the restaurant — the mother runs the kitchen and his father runs the dining room — but they go there when they can. With the character he has, it would be strange if he changed.

“He was surprised at all the noise made about him taking a taxi or bringing his things in the plastic bag. He says everyone has a bag like that for their clothes, due to COVID. The only thing is he did not then put it inside a Dolce & Gabbana bag, he just carried it in his hand. And if he does not have a driving licence, and his brother also does not have it yet, then he needs to get a taxi. He just gets on with things. He is a very normal kid.”

Back on Tenerife, the locals have recovered from the strangeness of supporting usual rivals Las Palmas last season and the Pena Barcelonista de Tenerife-Tegueste is packed for each Barcelona game.

“I don’t know what he can achieve. I can only say that if he aims for something, he will get it,” Delgado says. “I just hope he keeps going, keeps enjoying this moment and what is to come. I am convinced he will go very, very far. He is still the same kid I coached at nine years old, with the same friends and loved ones. He responds to your messages, shows respect, does not dominate the conversation, asks about you and your family. I am super proud to be able to say that.”

Nobody who knows Pedri thinks that he will plateau now and not aim to keep developing his game and become an even more important player for Barcelona over the next decade or more.

“He says that he wants to improve in everything,” says Ledesma. “Often, he speaks about scoring more goals, his finishing, shots from long range. He scored more for Las Palmas as he took more shots but he always says that he is happier to give an assist than score a goal. But he knows he is learning things every day, being with the best players in the world. It is an incredible opportunity for as long as it lasts at Barca, and I hope he retires there, to keep learning and improving.”

Such a strong confidence in one’s own ability, despite appearing shy and unassuming at first, also brings back the comparison with Pedri’s childhood hero.

“Hopefully they are similar in how they play, although Pedri still has a long way to go — achieving half of what Iniesta has would be marvellous,” says Ledesma. “Although he admires Iniesta a lot, he does not really like the comparisons. He knows he is Pedri and needs to play like Pedri.”

#'he was convinced he wanted to stay at Barca this season and when this kid decides to do something he usually does it'#< i love him #pedri #pedri gonzalez #fc barcelona #*interview

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redhairedwolfwitch · 1 year

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Engaged To Her Goalie - Clàudia Pina x Reader

A/n: the next part of the Score A Goalie universe... enjoy! (next part will take a while)

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March was a blur. You got ill, you got your car from Madrid, you may have given some of your Atleti teammates your illness too. Your fiancee sprained her ankle. Cata Coll returned to the pitch in the 75th minute against Valencia, and you refused to take your time in Barcelona for granted.

Having recovered from whatever bug you caught, you worked hard to improve your skills, wanting to make an impact with either Barcelona, or Atleti. You wanted to prove something you already knew, and Pina knew it too. You deserved to be first choice for a team, not fifth choice now that Cata was back for Barcelona. You didn’t notice at first, but with Cata back, Meritxell wasn’t on the squad lists anymore, and you were already aware that you weren’t on the Champion’s League squad list.

That didn’t matter however, since your fiancee was now sporting a leg brace after spraining her right ankle, taking her out of the Valencia game, and the upcoming quarter final games too. This meant that she was up in the stands watching whilst you sat on the bench talking with Gemma, or watching the away game against Roma together.

“Stop celebrating Roma defending us!”

“I’m sorry but Roma’s goalie! It’s only 1-0, she’s on fire! Definitely the player of the match!” You declared, even with Pina’s unamused look on her face at that, even more so when she found out you were right. Roma’s goalie had been player of the match.

Whilst your fiancee was missing the El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, you were the one selected to warm up with Sandra instead of Cata, confusing you at first but you’d take any opportunity to touch the grass on the pitch nowadays.

Your fiancee was in the stands with Alexia and Mariona, the El Clásico occurring at the Johan Cruyff Estadi, but Camp Nou was next week for the second leg.

You couldn’t sit still, watching as yellow cards were given, substitutions were made at halftime, Ingrid and Ana both coming to listen to the commentary that you and Gemma had going on. Back and forth banter, the goalkeeper union at Barcelona was strong.

You hadn’t meant to fall out of your seat, standing up to see the results of Athenea’s yellow card and Rolfö’s penalty kick, but as you went to sit back down, you missed the seat entirely. Your squeak got the bench’s attention as you scrambled to get up from where your butt had hit the ground.

“Stress of the penalty?” Ingrid asked, half joking but you shrugged.

“Penalties suck, I used to practise them so many times with Lola back at Atleti. I used to be terrified of them, now? I hate watching them but want to get the penalty over with.” You explained, fiddling with your gloves. You were supposed to get new gloves with Barcelona, with your number for the loan club, but you kept your Atleti gloves on you instead.

Atleti held a piece of your soul, but Clàudia held another piece. You were tied to two Spanish cities in one way or another, but neither of the clubs were really fighting for you in a way you wanted to be fought for. Clàudia fought for you in a way Barcelona and Atleti did not. Atleti were focussed on only starting Lola, and Barcelona had more than enough goalkeepers.

The energy from Camp Nou was nothing like you had ever felt before. You weren’t on the squad list for the Champions League games, but you got to sit in the stadium with Barcelona’s injured players.

Sitting with Clàudia on your right, you rested your arms on the railing, looking past her to see Mariona, and then Alexia with a fierce look on her face. You and Cata had gotten to take turns stopping Alexia’s shots since she’d joined group training again.

“She’s less scary when she’s smiling.” You murmured, resting your chin on Clàudia’s shoulder for a moment, your lips brushing her ear before you leaned back, gesturing to Alexia at the end of the row.

“She is not scary.” Clàudia raised an eyebrow, whispering back to you so Mariona wouldn’t overhear.

“She and Jenni were so protective over you, it was scary. Also, she’s fully aware this plaster has been on too long for a ‘pancake flipping accident’.” You admitted, running your thumb over your left ring finger in thought, but Clàudia just smirked, nudging you as the music began to play, and the players started to walk onto the pitch.

The second leg match against Roma went very differently from the first leg, three goals up by halftime, you were in awe of everything, especially Mapi’s goal. You knew of Vicky Losada, and her history, so your heart ached as she was subbed off for Roma at the start of the second half. Asisat’s goal came in the same minute as the substitution.

Patri scored next, and you were half celebrating for Barcelona, half wincing for the Roma goalie, even as Clàudia elbowed you at your squeak when Roma got a goal back, taking away Barcelona’s clean sheet.

It was impossible to be quiet in a Barcelona match, but it was even more impossible in Camp Nou, cheering when Mapi was subbed off and took a victory lap walking around the pitch, and for every other Barcelona player who was subbed in and off, by the end of the match, your excitement was through the roof.

Lingering back, you watched on as the Barcelona players danced and celebrated, taking in the energy of the fans and celebrating them. You stayed back until Clàudia spotted you on the sidelines from where Sandra was giving her a piggyback ride, hurrying over to you as quickly as she could with the boot on her foot.

“¿Cómo estás?” You enquired, asking how Clàudia was doing, but she shook her head, taking your hand and guiding you further onto the Camp Nou pitch. It felt odd, an Atleti player in such a significant Barcelona stadium. Even at that moment, you were technically a Barcelona player, but when unpeeling all those layers, you didn’t originate from Atleti either.

Each club you played for held a piece of your soul, but Madrid and Barcelona meant the most to you now. Madrid for your Atleti family, and all the growth you had done there, but Barcelona gave you new challenges, and Clàudia was in Barcelona.

“Vamos!” Clàudia cheered, watching as your eyes lit up in awe of the stadium, the crowds, the players, the atmosphere. You almost didn’t want it to end.

So wrapped up in it all, you didn’t see how Patri elbowed Clàudia, gesturing to you almost to remind her.

Because whilst you had been getting your car back from Madrid, Clàudia had taken a moment to talk to Lola and Carmen in person whilst you had been distracted by Virginia. Clàudia had then taken some time in Madrid, then Barcelona as she looked for an engagement ring for you.

You had found yours for her in New York, but she wanted something significant for you. She couldn’t keep giving you plasters as a temporary fix, especially when Patri pointed out the lack of plasters in the first aid kit, and how your pancake flipping accident excuse was complete bullshit.

Now she had a ring box hidden, trying to find her moment. She almost debated it on the pitch of Camp Nou, but neither of you got to play, and the attention was far too much.

The Barcelona game against Alhama was an away game. An away game which they had chosen to rest Sandra for, instead selecting you and Cata as the goalies for the match. Clàudia was staying in Barcelona with Alexia and Mariona, plus a few other teammates who were being rested or were not required for the game.

Getting to play in the Alhama game fueled you with enough energy that you carried Bruna around on your back for as long as possible after, the younger girl enjoying the piggy back ride as you managed to hold Jana up too before tumbling to the ground playfully.

But it wasn’t just the Alhama game that fueled you, it was the knowledge that after the international break, the first game back was against Atleti at the Estadi, with Carmen’s birthday being the day before the match.

“This is going to be a long match.” You whispered to yourself, fiddling with your gloves as you watched Atleti immediately have to work defensively.

“Who do you want to win?” Lucy asked, observing you almost jump out of your seat to watch the pitch.

“Both.”

“You know both can’t win-”

“I love both teams, this is painful for me.” You hadn’t even realised you’d pulled your left glove off, fiddling with the plaster on your left ring finger as you watched each of Barcelona’s shots go into Lola’s hands, then Atleti got closer and closer to a goal only for Sandra to manage to stop it.

You couldn’t help but fly up when you saw how Ajibade and Irene had collided when Sandra went to collect the ball from out of the air.

“How does Pina sit with you flying up and down like a jack in the box?”

“I don't fly up and down- ouch, yeah no way for Lola to get that one.” You cut yourself off as Aitana scored the first goal of the match, glancing up at the stands to spot your fiancee sat with her leg propped up, Alexia sat besides her.

Grimacing, you watched as Mapi was able to get up after going down against Moral, who had ended up with a yellow card for it, enough time going past that the halftime whistle was blown and you were following Lucy and Cata back inside.

You’d barely sat down two minutes before flying out of your seat again for Vicky’s goal at the 46th minute before Caro made it 3-0 eleven minutes later.

Flying up, you watched as Carmen took a shot from the back but it went into Sandra’s gloves.

“Do we need to tie you to your seat?” Lucy chuckled but you rolled your eyes, watching the substitutions taking place for both teams, eventually Lucy leaving you with Cata as she was subbed on for Irene.

“They’re pacing the sidelines.” Alexia pointed out to Pina, who spotted you walking up and down watching as Shei was being treated off the pitch. Atleti had no substitutions left, so they were down to ten players until she could re-enter the pitch.

Your foot bounced against the ground as you watched Aitana’s brace goal at the 89th minute, the game concluding 4-0 after four minutes of stoppage time. The whistle had barely been blown before you flew up, catching Carmen by surprise as you tackled her into a hug.

“I missed you. Feliz cumpleaños.”

“Did you get taller?” Carmen teased, hugging you tighter as you clung to her, “I missed you too.”

Your body tensed up as another pair of arms wrapped around you both, but it only took a glance to spot the familiar Atleti goalie colours and recognise it was Lola hugging you, followed by another Atleti-clad player, who laughed as you patted her on the head after escaping the group hug.

“Been a while…” you began, but you were cut off as hands hooked your shoulders and legs wrapped around your waist leaving you to scramble to hold whoever was on your back up for a piggy back.

“When’s the wedding?” Andrea asked jokingly, but Lola and Carmen both raised an eyebrow at you, and your fiancee who had hopped up on your back, even with her leg in a protective brace.

“Uh…”

“We’ll get back to you?” You chewed your lip, ignoring your Atleti family’s gaze on you as you glanced at the plaster on your left ring finger, not seeing how your fiancee looked at it too, the best she could from her angle.

///

All of Clàudia’s hard work paid off as she was revealed to be in the full squad lineup for the game in London against Chelsea. Whilst you remained behind in Barcelona.

The place you were sharing with Clàudia and Patri was left to just you, and your setup of the Barcelona vs Chelsea first leg game on the TV.

Atleti would be playing Levante the day after, so you were stuck waiting for the livestream of the match to start with nobody to text with your thoughts on any of it. But you hoped, no, you knew, Chelsea were going to experience hell

Caro had managed to score the first goal and only goal of the match by the fourth minute, and whilst Clàudia was on the bench for the entire match, you were enjoying what you were watching. Even when Sandra was given a yellow card during the stoppage time that had you humming to yourself in amusement, grabbing your phone to text Clàudia about the match.

Later on in the evening, the Barcelona team returned from London, but you were nowhere to be found when Clàudia and Patri returned home.

Clàudia didn’t even blink as she located the note you had left, but she knew deep down where you had gone. You had gone to goalkeeper training with Gemma and Meritxell.

She knew it was bothering you, how much your football career was up in the air. Atleti showing no signs of rotating you with Lola, Barcelona not really needing you but giving you the training to a new standard that you thrived at.

You had a feeling that you would be sent out on loan again next season, but the question there was, how far away from Clàudia would you be? National teams didn't pass your mind anymore, so there would be no possible reunions there either.

“Atleti game?” Patri enquired, glancing at the TV to show the Atleti versus Levante game you had set up on the TV whilst Clàudia curled up next to you.

“Of course. Mi familia, or most of them anyway.” You leaned down to press a kiss to Clàudia’s forehead, making Patri roll her eyes at the two of you.

“When’s the wedding?” Patri threw a spanner in the works as you looked at Clàudia, who opened her eyes to smirk at you teasingly.

“Well my ring is a plaster and Atleti and Barça will probably unite to kill us both if we eloped so… it might be a while?” You eyed your fiancee as she smirked, unable to read her mind but she was thinking about the ring she had hidden, and how your ring finger wouldn’t have a plaster on it for much longer.

Whether Patri viewed your an answer as a joke or not was debatable, but it was the truth you told the midfielder.

“Anyway, the stream is starting so…” you fell silent at the minute of silence for Cinta’s late grandmother, feeling Clàudia tangle her fingers in yours as kickoff began.

Twenty two minutes in, Eva managed to score the first goal of the match, Patri and Clàudia amused by your celebration. You may be wearing a Barcelona shirt whilst on loan, but you adored Atleti. Ten minutes later and Atleti were two goals ahead, Lucía scoring as you celebrated with a smile.

Two minutes later, Clàudia and Patri heard you squeak as Levante managed to get the ball past Lola, the ball bouncing off the crossbar before being headed back across the goal line.

You raised an eyebrow at the commentator pointing out how Lola and Carmen had swapped roles momentarily. Carmen stood in goal whilst Lola took over a centre-back role, leaving Patri and Clàudia to watch as you got your phone out, sending a text to both of them that they would see post-match.

“Don’t you two have St George’s day celebrations to attend? Feliç Sant Jordi?” You replied, double-checking the time for the first leg match of the other semi-final that was happening this weekend.

“And what will you do?”

“Watch Arsenal versus Wolfsburg. What else?”

///

Camp Nou was electric as you sat up in the stands with Lucy and Emma, Pina was on the bench but you were intrigued about the entire match. Top European teams facing head to head. The wait for the first goal took Barcelona to 2-0 on aggregate, until Reiten turned the tide and sent it to 2-1.

The game ended 1-1, 2-1 on aggregate. Barcelona went through to the UWCL final. It didn’t take long for every Barcelona player who was watching in the stands to make your way down onto the pitch.

Clàudia spotted you behind Lucy, grinning as you looked around the stadium, the energy overwhelming. It was a different level to what you had felt with Atleti, the bittersweetness of the moment spiking tears in your eyes.

Clàudia hurried over to you, hiding her concern behind a grin as she took your hand, leaning into you.

“I’m okay, just… I’ve never felt such energy before, the Barcelona fans are unreal, Camp Nou is unreal-” you were cut off as fabric hit the back of your head, and the side of Clàudia’s face, the green material making you realise that a substitution bib had hit you both in the head. Alexia’s bib, that she had started swinging around her head in celebration.

Alexia had no idea what she had just interrupted, even as Clàudia gave her a playful glare and you had a stray tear going down your face, a tear that Clàudia wiped away gently.

“I finally found a ring worthy enough to use to propose to you. You may have proposed first, but this makes it equal… you don’t need to wear the plaster anymore.” Your eyes widened at what Clàudia was saying, pulling her into a hug as she leaned in so you could hear her more clearly.

“I had a better speech, but our teammates keep interrupting and it is very loud here.” Clàudia admitted but you shook your head in disbelief, holding her close to you.

“You really did score a goalie, mi amor. Now you’re engaged to one… honestly, I’m glad you got that yellow card against Atleti when you played with Sevilla. You’ve had my attention, and my heart ever since. No matter the distance.”

Clàudia opened her mouth to respond, but Patri knocked into the two of you, having been shoved by Keira after the latter had gotten down from the piggyback that Patri had been giving her on approach to the two of you.

“Te amo, my goalie.”

“Yo también te amo, my striker.”

/// Bonus scene ///

“You know, technically I didn’t propose first, I gave you a promise ring first… and I don’t know when we started calling each other fiancee but it stuck and I think we jumped from promised to engaged without realising?” You spoke into the darkness, feeling Clàudia’s body shift as your comment broke her from her sleep.

“You said the ring could be whatever I wanted. I want to marry you, so it’s an engagement ring too. Prometo casarme contigo.” Clàudia murmured, rolling over so she could hold you.

“I promise to marry you too.”

/// Bonus bonus scene ///

It was a rest day after the second leg semi-final. Or rest night, as you laid in bed with your fiancee. She was fast asleep whilst you were drifting off, lying together in the darkness.

A panicked feeling washed over you as your body jerked you awake, something had changed, but only one word slipped from your lips in your alarmed state, waking up Clàudia in the process.

“Lola!”

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