That is the thing with football, you never know when opportunities are going to come your way. One of the lessons we were always being taught at La Masia was that we always had to be prepared because in football you can never tell when circumstances can change and you can find yourself thrust into the limelight in the blink of an eye. That advice was drummed into all of us from the word go. I suppose it is the same for young players at clubs all over the world, but few can have had the kind of rapid, unexpected promotion that I had when I was just 18 years of age. One day I was playing for Barca B in the knowledge that there were two senior goalkeepers blocking my route into the first-team, the next I was making my debut for one of the most famous clubs in football and I would end the season having played in a European semi-final.
As is so often the case in these situations, it was injuries to others that gave me my chance. Like every other player, I never want to see anyone get hurt, especially if it is one of my team-mates who is suffering, but if it does happen and you are the one who stands to benefit from it then you just have to make the most of the opportunity. It is the same for every player and we all know that if you come in and do a good job then there is always a chance of keeping your place. It seems ruthless, but there is no other way. You have to take advantage whenever and wherever you can.
In my case, I found myself on the substitutes` bench for Barcelona because of an injury that Francesc Arnau, the first choice goalkeeper, suffered during a UEFA Cup tie against FC Bruges of Belgium. Arnau actually suffered a broken knee in the game, so it was clear that he would be out for some time. This was obviously bad news for him, but it meant that Richard Dutruel would take his place in the first-team and I would move up to the bench. So while I was sorry for Arnau I was happy for myself because I was taking another step closer to realising my dream of playing for Barcelona.
Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined just how quickly my big chance would come. Just a couple of weeks after the Bruges game, we were away to Celta Vigo in La Liga. I went into the match expecting just to pick up some more experience and learn from the way the senior players prepared for games, but I soon found myself playing a central role.
I was sat on the bench watching the game when Dutruel went down with a knee injury. Something like 42 minutes had gone and I was sent to warm up. Even then it didn`t really dawn on me that I could be about to make my debut for Barcelona, one of the biggest clubs in world football. I thought it was a bit of a knock, that he would be able to carry on and I would be running up and down the line and doing my stretching exercises for nothing, apart from being professional.
I was expecting to be sat back on the bench in a couple of minutes, but as the treatment continued I realised I could be coming on. My first thought was `fuck me!` It is one of those moments that I will never forget because it was so exciting, but it was also scary at the same time. Anyone who has ever been in that kind of situation, especially goalkeepers, will tell you that your imagination goes wild.
You are picturing the brilliant saves – and mistakes – you could make; what it would mean to your family; what the papers will say the next day if things go well and what they will write if they go badly. Every thing goes through your mind all at once. All you really want is to go out there and not let yourself down. It is unrealistic to expect any heroics.
The best you can do is keep things simple and get the basics right. Anything better than that is a bonus. While I`m still visualising tipping a shot over that is destined for the top corner of the goal or, worse, letting one in that I should save, the manager, Serra Ferrer, is beckoning me over to him. “Shit,” I thought. “This really is it.” My heart raced even faster. It was obvious that I was nervous, but Ferrer made things worse because as quick as I was putting my goalkeeper`s jersey on, he wanted me to get it on even quicker. He was shouting at me and between my nerves, the situation of the game – we were losing 3-1 at the time – and him screaming down my ear, I was shitting myself. Fortunately, Dutruel managed to get through until half-time, but it was clear that he would have to go off and that I would be coming on.
At least I had a bit of extra time to compose myself and get mentally prepared for my biggest test yet. I can`t have done too badly when I did go on because I didn`t concede a goal and we scored two to grab a 3-3 draw. Because of this I always say that we won my debut 2-0. I never had any big saves to make because we played much better in the second half, but I was involved a bit. For me, it was just good to be part of the team and involved in a good comeback. It was only after the game that the enormity of becoming a Barcelona player really hit me. This was the club of Cruyff, Romario, Maradona and of my hero Zubizarreta. But it was also the club of my father. I had followed in his footsteps.
Everything had happened so fast. It really was a case of playing in the Second Division with Barca B one day and playing for the first team in La Liga the next. I expected my spell in the side to only last for four or five weeks until Dutruel was fit again, but things went better than I had allowed myself to imagine and I ended up playing 31 games in a row. That was a big achievement for me because I was part of a Barcelona team that was winning games. My arrival in the team had coincided with our good form and the newspapers started saying I was the talisman. Imagine what that felt like for me! It wasn`t down to me, of course, but if people want to say nice things about you then you are never going to complain, especially if it helps you keep your place in the side.
