The war returned to Europe this past dawn with the invasion of Ukraine. A warlike conflict whose consequences we are still far from imagining. The British politician Chamberlain said that “To make peace you need two; but to wage war only one person is enough”. Unfortunately, we have double-checked because all appeasement efforts have been unsuccessful and Russia was invading Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday. The war affects every person and every corner of Ukraine. Of course also sportsfootball and both local and foreign footballers who play in the Ukrainian league. Among them a 25-year-old from Badalona, Marc Gual.
The striker has passed in his sports career through the quarry of Espanyol and Sevilla. He later went through Zaragoza, Girona, Castilla and in September 2020 he arrived at Alcorcón. With the potters he played 50 league games, scored six goals and distributed two assists. In December 2021, the poor sporting situation in Alcorcón caused many changes in the pottery staff, including the departure of Gual who left the team from the south of the Community of Madrid to join the Dnipro-1 of Ukrainian football.
However, that adventure in Eastern European football that started with all the enthusiasm in the world for Gual has ended quickly. Gual in his player with character and intense on the field of play and cheerful and always with a smile for everyone. The writer of these lines was able to interview him several times during his stay in Alcorcón and he was always polite and very respectful of the work of the media. I still remember that we commented that we are both people who gesticulate a lot when we speak. During this Thursday we chatted again. Although this time we are not talking about football unfortunately. We had a very brief conversation with him and what was in his voice was an admirable temperance. The Spanish player, like hundreds of other Spaniards, is looking to leave the country. In his team there are Brazilian, Romanian, Croatian, Portuguese footballers… All of them have found their best allies in the Club’s leaders “We are in more or less secure facilities, away from military issues. They are the president’s facilities. We are here all the foreigners of the Club. We have drinks and food and we hope to resolve the exit of the country throughout the day tomorrow”.
The striker, who was in preseason until days ago, has been able to speak with his family in recent hours.
The most important thing is that Gual and the rest of his teammates are fine.. Without a doubt, we cannot even get close to the emotions and feelings that Ukrainians and all the people who reside in Ukraine are experiencing. A complicated situation, full of uncertainty. From these lines we can only wish Gual and all Spaniards to leave the country as soon as possible.
#Soccer #escape #war