“It’s normal to be nearby, get lost, smoke…” | Relief

Alejandro Balde travels through the Sant Martí area with the calm of a man who feels at home. Surely, recording a great report Barça One To consider his origins, he is flooded with images of his childhood, playing in the park, about the days when I had to rush to catch Jose Luis’ taxiwith a backpack and a sandwich and head to Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper to train and dream. Or when he lived in an apartment of just 60 square meters with his parents and two brothers and played ball on a brown leather sofa while his brother Eddie, still inseparable, recorded with a camera. “He was always a happy child who wanted to dream”– he summarizes.

The 42-minute documentary is an introspection into the left-back’s most obscure life. the beginning of which already explains the difficulties of his parents’ stories

. The mother was born in Juan Varona, a city in the south of the Dominican Republic, and emigrated to Spain in 1992 in search of a better life. Her father was born in Guinea-Bissau (“I would like to have cows like my parents”– he explains), he came to Mataro in 1986, worked in the fields, earning 2,000 pesetas a week, and played as a central defender. “If the ball went through, not the player,” he says, as his children smile.

The story of Alejandro Balde begins at the CEIP Els Porxos school, where he already found himself as a child. “the reserved, shy one who stood in the corner and wanted to tiptoe around”but at the same time, “he changed when he went to the playground, he was different, he was comfortable, he was fast, agile, with excellent physical condition,” says one of the teachers who has known him since he entered to school. P-3. “I liked mathematics, I was the best in arithmetic”– says Balde himself, who admits that “I didn’t like school, but when I had to get involved in it, I did.”

From there he went to San Gabriel to play with his friends, sneaking into the fields of San Andreu and Catalunya and “escaping” when they were caught. Always with the ball, he was the first to attract Espanyol’s attention.

and Javi Corominas took him into the junior squad: “He played as a striker, scored a lot of goals and helped his teammates grow. He was the player to coach.” Barça, who had already called him before, were convinced that he was a child for their school… And they signed him. Thus began the success story of La Masia. “He was stung by her shadow, he chased after her.”his brother says to explain why he is so fast.

After going through stages and suffering a serious injury as a cadet, he was placed in the reserve team under Sergi Barjouan, one of the best defenders in the club’s history, and quickly moved into the first team. “When the season started, I already knew that one of the players I would be watching would be Balde.”– explains a former student of Johan Cruyff. Everything was fast, almost without processing, but the national team player overcame barriers, was honest and explained the true reality of La Masia – all the elite academies – to his inseparable friend Said Ba. “We have been there for 13 years, we entered at the same time, but there is no one left, there is only you, take advantage, this is your opportunity,” he suggested.

The final shot of the documentary is equally revealing and powerful. Balde plays with his brother Edi and friends on the Rambla de Prim, talking about their experiences and the Barça player’s football success. “What’s normal is not what happened to you, but the fact that you’re somewhere on the street, lost and smoking…”“, the brother reflects, and his childhood friends agree. “Now I come less,” admits the player who once began marking his steps along these streets.