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Since 2015, Saúl Ñíguez (Elche, 1994) has tattooed a phrase on his left wrist that kisses hard every time he scores a goal: "Strength does not come from bodily ability but from the will of the soul." The quote is not yours, of course, it belongs to Mahatma Gandhi . But he is the one who sports it in the fields of Europe. It is the scar of his most distressing life experience. He lived (and suffered) in March of that same year, on the lawn of the BayArena of Leverkusen. He was only 20 years old when the robust Greek center Papadopoulos rammed and crushed his left kidney, during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. The same one that had already been operated on in his last days of assignment in the Ray (May 2014). Saul was taken to the hospital between tremors, vomiting and convulsions and there he had a CT scan. "The scare was tremendous because the shock had been very strong. He stayed a few days in Germany with Dr. Villalón. His recovery was slow," recalls Juan Vizcaíno , who was part of Simeone's technical staff until the summer of 2018. There were specifically four days that the player remained with his father and the doctor and 38 he needed to return to play an official match.

"It was usual to urinate blood after each game or session. I did not understand anything else: if I had to go to the bathroom, I knew that I would go out red," the midfielder was sincere two years after that episode, after living that time with a catheter . In those days, the 'Monkey' Burgos was decisive to open his eyes and take away the idea of ​​removing an organ that could have complicated his future. His remote control left-hander to Leno's squad, Bayer goalkeeper, on that one leg also from the second round of 2017, was like a kind of catharsis for him. From the edge of the area, a few meters from the place where he lay and his life could turn around, he scared his ghosts. Hours earlier, he met the German doctor who attended him in 2015 and gave him a shirt and a few photos of him signed as thanks. This Tuesday, during the last training before re-measuring Bayer, all that had been left behind as if it had only been a bad dream.

Today in Germany, Saul and 10 more will play. Well, rather Saul, Oblak and nine more. The midfielder is the only rojiblanco who has played the 15 games of the season from start to finish: 1350 minutes. The Slovenian goalkeeper left touched in Anoeta with 24 minutes left. "I am not surprised at all the good things that are happening to him, I already pointed it out at the beginning," says Juan Vizcaíno. "He is very young and has a great physical condition. His way of preparing is also key," he adds about an untouchable piece for Diego Pablo Simeone , who has only lost 11 games in five seasons due to injury and little that he has been in Atlético . Five of those absences were due to his kidney problem. Last year only Oblak and Griezmann played more than him: 3,911 minutes. And on 17/18, he beat everyone: 4,751 minutes. Things of genetics Ñíguez: his father (José Antonio) and his two brothers (Aaron and Jonathan) have also been professionals.

Barça's score right

Milinko Pantic , one of the technicians who took Saul to the branch, also saw him coming. "Mentally, he is very strong and knows what he wants. He is very professional and he likes football a lot," the former Serbian player tells EL MUNDO. "I agreed with him when he was 17 and he already saw the type of player he would be. His versatility allows him to play in various positions, hence there are many teams behind him," Pantic abounds. Last Saturday, in Pizjuán, it started as a midfielder and ended up as a left lane. Simeone, as Paco Jémez did in the Ray, has come to claim him even as central. "Seeing the number of places where he can play says why he has not missed any minute," explained his coach yesterday, in the press room of the German stadium, whose lawn does not go through his best days.

His style of play likes especially in the Premier. There Manchester United has never hidden his interest. Since February he is represented by the British agency Stellar Group, owned by Jonathan Barnett , the agent with a hat that takes Gareth Bale and, also, his new partner Kieran Trippier . Saul renewed until 2026 in the summer of 2017 and since then his freedom costs 150 million. As part of the payment by Griezmann, as EL MUNDO revealed, Barça has the right to score for it. "It is very versatile and occupies many positions (anyone in the center of the field). Its greatest potential is the arrival from the second line," Vizcaino completes his analysis, for whom it has been no surprise that, since the summer, he is the fourth captain behind Koke, Oblak and Giménez: "It was expected. The weight in the locker room is demonstrated with facts and Saul has evolved." After the draw against Valladolid, he already worked as such, raising his voice by disconnecting the team in the first half.

The '8' rojiblanco is also a kind of talisman for his team. He has never lost when he has scored: 31 wins and four draws in the 35 goals signed in 264 games. On his first day, against Besiktas , during the Europa League 2012, he was only 17 years old, 3 months and 18 days old. Always with that red and white bandage on the right hand due to an old injury. "I feel more protected with her," he admits. And there are usually not so many. Your glossary is delicious. That volley that unbalanced the final European Super Cup 2018 in Tallinn . The Chilean in her first derby against Real Madrid (2015). The Slalon versus Bayern de Guardiola (2016). Or the beautiful redemptive blow against Bayer Leverkusen, in 2017, on the BayArena that today will want to conquer again.

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  • sports
  • Atlético de Madrid
  • Diego Simeone
  • Champions League
  • football

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