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On his right leg, a few centimeters above the ankle,

Ferran Torres

(Foios, 2000) wears a tattoo that reveals his intentions in life:

Refuse to sink

(Refusing to sink). He recorded it with his sister Arantxa, with whom he is very close, and whose name he carried on his boots for a long time. Days before the Champions League final with Manchester City, where he did not play any minute against Chelsea, explained the intrahistory of the phrase. "I refuse to sink whatever the circumstances and what may happen. You have to step forward and change the situation. It is a phrase that means a lot," he admitted in a talk with the official UEFA media. In addition, he is a dog lover, which is why he got his pet's head tattooed on his left arm.

Ferran has always been one of

Luis Enrique's

weaknesses

. A kid whose profile fits precisely that 4-3-3 of the coach's manual. In this European Championship he has started twice and had minutes in all four games. Two goals, the last against Croatia (it was 1-3) and an assist, minutes before the goal, with a precise dispatch to

Azpilicueta

. Unlike his two inseparable friends,

Eric García and Pedri

, with whom he shares a representative. He spends a good part of his time concentrating with them. However, he is the only one of the three who is not on the list for the next Tokyo Olympics. A small stick since in his head was the power to go. At least

Guardiola

He will have it back for the start of the Premier, with that added maturity point that contributes to being one of the keys to Spain.

Ferran loved to go around the Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas with the electric scooter and, despite the impudence that he looks on the grass, he is a shy guy at short distances, with a good deal with the veterans of the national team.

A shirt with which he lives an idyll.

In fact, he has recognized many times that the anthem before each game with Spain is a tremendous emotional shot for him.

Since his debut at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Stuttgart, during a match against Germany (1-1) in the Nations League, Ferran has

added 15 international appearances.

Enough to have scored

eight goals

, the last against Croatia, and equal

David Villa's

record in his first duels

. For him he traveled in 2008 to Vicente Calderón to see him win the Copa del Rey with Valencia. He was only eight years old. "I have paid attention to him a lot," he often repeats, referring to the Asturian's band game. In his still brief stint with La Roja, Ferran scored a

hat-trick

against Germany. A conquest that only

Fernando Torres

and his beloved Villa had achieved with the national team in an official match.

"Ferran was a dagger in terms of speed, especially on the right wing, he could see a tremendous progression", recalls EL MUNDO

José Gimeno

, former Valencian sub'18 coach, who worked with him.

"Even though you knew he was going to dribble you, he always caught opponents by surprise. That boy was an icon in the dressing room," he adds.

For Gimeno there is a key moment in his takeoff.

"As a first-year cadet he underwent an incredible physical change and during that stage came his progression. In that category he stood out for his physiognomy, which allowed him to get more advantage. He had to work at a coordinative level and when he made the jump to juniors he stood out a lot. He knew how to adapt to his new body. "

"Maturing at full speed"

His dazzling progression was also surprising. "I took it for granted that I could reach the elite, but I did not expect it to be so fast. I noticed a tremendous change in mentality and you can see that there is a great job behind it. He said: 'I'm a professional and I'm going forward.' He has matured to lightning speed. It gave the feeling that he would take the leap and would always be the best, "concludes Gimeno in his memory.

Ferran's life has always been at full speed.

Many times without looking back.

The German

Lars Böcking

, president of the

Kick Out Plastic

foundation

, has been together with his representative who have been designing his career and encouraged him to make the leap from Valencia, just a year ago.

Along the way, some demands such as the captaincy or the salary increase that he already denied from Manchester, after paying City 25 million, were transcended.

Yesterday, he was running around on the grass of the Petrovsky Stadium, joking with Pedri.

Perhaps commenting on how he would celebrate a target against Switzerland, in a quarter-final of the European Championship that, 12 months ago, when it was not even an international, would have been nothing more than a dream.

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Know more

  • sports

  • Spain Soccer Team

  • football

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