An out of series is a person who is capable of turning the extraordinary into routine. Salma Paralluelo, at her still 18 years old, escapes any possible cataloging. Many times the facts are overstated and qualifying adjectives are abused. With the Aragonese athlete there is a risk of falling short. A double and an MVP in the World Cup final, in which the Spanish under-20 team was proclaimed world champion against Japan (3-1), It is the latest achievement of a soccer player who threatens to settle in the Olympus of the king of sports and break all records.
Paralluelo knows a lot about breaking records, it is what he has been doing all his life, in which he has combined, until his obligations have allowed him, his two passions, football and athletics. Just a few weeks ago, last July, he had to make the most important and difficult decision of his short career. The Aragonese had to choose between her two favorite sports and, with her signing for FC Barcelona when she was in the Villarreal ranks, she ended up choosing football. Seeing her performances with a ball in between, it is clear that she has not been wrong, although those who know her well assure that she would have succeeded in any field.
Salma had to make the decision to leave athletics after signing for Barcelona
Because Salma’s is not a normal case, is one of those rara avis that appear every many years in the world of sports, but on this occasion fate wanted Paralluelo’s enormous talent to be forged in Aragonese lands. At Zaragoza CFF he began his football career, which at dawn last Sunday reached its highest peak.
Salma if He fell at the last minute of the call-up for the senior team for the European Championship that was held this summer due to a soleus injury and arrived at the U-20 World Cup with doubts about his physical condition but wanting to get rid of the bad taste in his mouth after his forced absence with the majors. And boy has she done it.
The final
Being one of the leaders of the national team, led Spain to the final of the intercontinental event. But, as the real greats do, Paralluelo saved his best performance for the moment of truth. It was the 22nd minute of the match when, with one of his classic gallops taking advantage of his physical power, and magnificent control, stood in front of the Japanese goalkeeper to masterfully define and place the 2-0 on the scoreboard, in a game in which Gabarro, the other Spanish heroine, had put the team ahead just a few minutes earlier.
That would not be the only time that the Aragonese raised her arms, since, shortly after, she provoked a penalty by the hand of a Japanese defender and pulled gallons to assume the responsibility of launching it. His pulse did not tremble and before the half hour of the match he had left a whole World Cup final sight for sentence. From then on, Salma and her companions only had to control the game until they certified that Spain made history by proclaiming itself world champion in the category for the first time
A performance, that of Salma, which earned her to be named the best player in the final, as was the case in the semifinals against the Netherlands. “I’m freaking out. It’s amazing, I think we deserve it. We have worked a lot in the game and we have also suffered a lot, but we have done the perfect things to be able to get the trophy. This is a dream for all, “said the Aragonese excitedly. “This kind of moment is very worthwhile. You have to keep believing, because these things come if you keep trusting and these kinds of moments come, “added Paralluelowhich is not the first time that she has been proclaimed world champion, because He has already won a World Cup with the U-17 team, just like the European of that same category.
Athletics
Along with its spectacular evolution in the world of football, consecrating itself as a reality in the World Cup, Salma had never put aside, until a month ago, her career in athletics. Paralluelo, awarded by this newspaper as Aragonese of the year and with the Women and Sport award, was also a national promise and world in the 400 meter dash and 400 meter hurdles.
Not even a torn cruciate ligament in her left knee, which kept her away from the fields and tracks for several months, could stop her unstoppable progression. Paralluelo holds the Spanish under-18 records in both the 400 meter dash and the 400 meter hurdles. In addition, in 2020, he achieved the best world record in the under-18 category, which gave her the direct pass to the absolute European Championship, being the youngest to qualify in 32 years.
But now Salma is focused on soccer. And everything indicates that the success with the Spanish team will not be the last of which, although it is hard to believe, is still a teenager in training. In November the Aragonese woman will be 19 years old and at her young age it is impossible to guess where her roof is, if it exists. for now, Salma Paralluelo has already managed to put the world at her feet.
