Ferran Jutglà's explosion, Atlético's threat: "He sank emotionally easily"

's life

accelerated unexpectedly not even 10 months ago.

Then, that unknown striker who had not found a place in the Espanyol youth academy, was seen as a starter on a Saturday in December at the Camp Nou.

He scored in the triumph of a teenage Barça that newcomer

was trying to revive.

And he was not going to stop doing it throughout the season, 21 goals, 19 (top scorer in the First RFEF) with the Barça subsidiary that he had arrived on free in the summer.

Now, in Bruges, he is still unleashed: today (9:00 pm) he threatens Atlético de Madrid after having scored seven goals (and four assists) in 12 games.

"In his case, it's all a matter of attitude," reveals

, one of the coaches who knows him best, under his command for two full seasons at Espanyol B. But how is it possible that he's now hanging around the head of

for the World Cup a guy that the parakeet club never made his debut?

Why the MVP of the month in the Belgian league left free and without much interest from a team that was in Second?

Football never stops opening doors to people who insisted on closing them in their faces.

Chutglá's arrival at the elite has more to do with an obstacle course than with a fairy tale.

His first experiences were rather traumatic.

It was difficult for him to stretch from his rural environment in Sant Julià de Vilatorta and, after a bad experience in the Valencia subsidiary, he found himself playing in the Third Division, at Sant Andreu, with which he came to face Atlético in the Cup. "We were in the amateur football, you see the elite far away and when you play against them you say 'host', this is the elite, playing a Copa del Rey match against top-level players," the Catalan recalled yesterday.

"He didn't do well away from home, he came back disappointed. They put him on trial in the preseason and I decided to bet on him," Gay recalls of that summer of 2019.

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"The first thing is the attitude, the enormous desire to learn. We had an extra specific training program and he was by far the one who asked for it the most. He wanted to improve the reception from the back, the dribbling in the race...", reveals the former Zaragoza player, who used Jutglà both on the wings and as a striker.

He ended up as the undisputed starter, but the following year the club decided to bet on an even younger subsidiary and Ferran, who had already turned 20 and was the captain, did not begin to see him with such good eyes.

"They insinuated that others had to play. They never valued him enough, he didn't even train with the first team. But I insisted on him. I showed them with videos and statistics that he was the one who had the most impact on the game, with steals, overflows, passes and goals", Gay vindicates a player for whom, however, he would never have opted for these summits in such a short time.

Because it was difficult for Jutglà to assimilate the negative parts of his profession, the "emotional aspect" was his weak point.

"You had to know him well. I realized that he didn't react well when you scolded him. He sank easily, he got frustrated. He got angry and turned off. He understood that you had to talk to him positively. He has worked psychologically, he has improved it "says the coach,

"I replied"

Then Xavi Hernández crossed paths and everything changed.

With his presence in the first team (two goals) and his explosion in the subsidiary with

.

"When I had to enter Barcelona it was a time when there were many emergencies in the team in everything and the truth is that people did not expect anything from those who came from below. They gave me confidence and I responded", he says.

In the summer frenzy of Barça signings and their levers, Jutglà understood that packing was the best option.

"I had the option to continue one more season and also to be able to join another project (...). I leave the door open to return in the future, in two or three seasons," he wrote as a farewell on his social networks, leaving in the box culé five million euros and 10% of a future sale.

Jutglà preferred the Bruges showcase over any proposal from the Premier.

And, now, on his way to 24 years old, he has found the free path to the success that so resisted him.

"They have made everything very easy for me and when they make it that easy for you, well... I have given my best and, at the moment, everything is going very well," he admitted yesterday in the preview.

In Bruges, who lead group B, who thrashed Porto in Do Dragao (0-4), and rule the Jupiler League, he has scored all seven of his goals, all in the first half.

"Before coming here I studied English, because it was fundamental. I also prepared myself physically, to be aware that I was going to be here alone, away from home, which was another methodology because here in Belgium it is different," he detailed.

Question of confidence.

And attitude.

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