Spain recovers the Ansu Fati road two years later

The echoes of Ansu Fati’s tremendous second game as an international still resonate in Valdebebas. He had made his debut just a few days ago in Stuttgart, against Germany. A good premiere. He came out in the second half for Jesús Navas and put several bites into the German defense. Already in the extension, he hit a good header into the net that was canceled due to a foul. That premiere, which in its day was another of those risky experiments by Luis Enrique, left a very sweet aftertaste both in the coach and in the fans. At that time people knew about his potential, but the self-confidence and courage that he showed in the Mercedes Benz Arena were unknown to the common fan.

Just three days later he started against Ukraine, in an empty stadium and with an inappropriate cold for the month of September. It is difficult to find such an overwhelming start in the history of the national team than the one provided by the Catalan. In the first minute he had already caused a penalty. Afterwards, he made and undid as he pleased. With a goal and an assist he had eaten the team then coached by Shevchenko in half an hour, incredulous at such a display by a teenager.

That even led to talk of a new era for the team led by Ansu, an illusion severed shortly after by the tear in the meniscus that turned the boy’s next two years into an endless ordeal.

When everything seemed to return to normal, Luis Enrique also wanted to recover it for the national team, although with reservations. It took him in June, to the very long concentration with four games, of which Ansu did not play a single minute. I wasn’t up for that rush. On the return of the summer, on the other hand, the Asturian coach left him at home despite the fact that Ansu began to add more minutes dressed as a Barça player. That was seen as an almost definitive blow to the aspirations of seeing the boy raised in Marinaleda in the World Cup. But the paths of the selector are inscrutable. In the two months that have elapsed since he slammed the door to the final call between the 26, it is not that the attacker’s performance has improved excessively, but the feeling has ended up being more powerful in Luis Enrique’s mind.

The boy, who played his fifth international match in Amman, 25 months after playing his fourth, thanked the coach with the first goal of the game. The Asturian wanted to see him on the field for ninety minutes, although in the end it was seventy. «Stop referring to Ansu as a player who has suffered injuries. He is like everyone else, “Luis Enrique exclaimed with annoyance in the preview when they asked him about him. The harmony between the two works again. Ansu is at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the attackers, but if his physique respects him he can win integers at full speed.