19 years old, from Cadiz from Barbate, left-handed, shameless extreme, brilliant in the dribble, so skinny, lanky and hairy that he immediately recalls
Johan Cruyff
, pointed out since he was a child to be a star, of humble origins, yielded in Eibar to hundreds of kilometers from its surroundings and living alone in a flat in Bilbao.
If the clichés were always true, now it would be necessary to tell that
Bryan Gil
is an extroverted boy and a joker in the locker room, that he has it a bit believed and that they have to lower the fumes every two by three, that
Mendilibar
has to put him in path so that he is focused on football and does not get out of hand and that tends to fall into vices and habits that are not recommended for a professional athlete.
But it turns out that Bryan Gil dribbles the topic with the same ease with which he dribbles the defenders and that nothing described in the previous paragraph corresponds to reality.
An example of his
lack of vanity
and ego is what happened a week ago, after two of his goals allowed Eibar to win their first home game of the season.
The boy was told that he had to attend the press because he was the man of the game.
"And can't someone else go?" He replied.
In the end, he reluctantly agreed to a few minutes of television prominence for which any other footballer would have given anything after an exhibition like his.
CLOTHED AND PROTECTED
Gestures like this, common in the day to day, have caused his fit in the gunsmith wardrobe has been perfect.
"When the heavyweights see that a boy so young and with that potential is humble and does not crave prominence, they immediately welcome him, wrap him up and protect him," they explain at the club.
With the support of his friend
Pozo
, also on loan from Sevilla, and the protection of veterans such as
Arbilla
and
Pedro León
, in a few months he has become one of the sensations of the League and the soccer leader of Eibar.
And in Seville they are already rubbing their hands, either for their return or for a future sale that will fill their coffers.
His humble origins shape him.
For years, his father drove him daily from
Barbate to Seville
to train in the Seville youth academy, which he entered when he was nine years old.
When he signed his professional contract, he decided to buy a house in the Andalusian capital to live there with his parents and his little brother.
Now, he lives alone in an
apartment in Bilbao
.
His family visits him whenever they can, which in the present circumstances is not very often.
Experience, despite his age, is not lacking: the spring confinement already caught him alone in Madrid, during his loan to Leganés.
This season he was called to have a gap under
Lopetegui
, but the 'overbooking' of chips invited Sevilla to give him an exit.
Eibar had been insisting and receiving refusals all summer, but he knew how to wait his moment and took it on the last day of the market, after Sevilla failed to get rid of other players on the starting ramp.
Bryan had more offers, but both the club and he, advised by
Joan Jordán
, a gunsmith between 2017 and 2019, decided that the best one was that of Ipurua.
FAST LEARNING
There, Mendilibar tries to mold him, as he did in his day with young promises such as
David Silva
,
Pedro León
,
Cucurella
or Jordán himself.
What is striking about Bryan is how well he has assimilated the Basque coach's football concepts.
"New ones always have a hard time adapting to the demands of 'Mendi' and it takes weeks or months to become important. Bryan got it in 15 days," they explain.
In fact, he has played as a starter every game in which he has been available, except for his debut.
It is not always easy to meet the requirement, of course.
In the derby against Real Sociedad in Anoeta, the man from Cádiz asked for the change 10 minutes from the end.
Mendilibar told him no, to keep running.
And he did it without question.
In the discount, seeing him already completely melted, the technician decided to replace him.
"Those minutes of suffering are a learning to harden", they analyze in Eibar.
As well as
the anger received
on Thursday in Las Rozas after he tried to lose time when the gunsmith team won.
A very common gesture in current football that Mendilibar does not consent to, even if the player in question has just saved the game, as was the case.
Ultimately, they say that Bryan Gil is a sponge and that he lives by and for football.
Which is not only his profession, but he also loves it.
Hence, he trains at an astonishing intensity every day, stays to shoot fouls when training is over, or doesn't want to go on television after scoring two goals.
Because Bryan talks to the ball.
And it also does it phenomenal.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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