Cazorla Ready For Fairytale Finish After Son's Words Of Inspiration

As Santi Cazorla prepares for nan last play of his profession successful nan colours of boyhood nine Real Oviedo, nan words of his boy Enzo still resonate pinch nan 40-year-old.

While nan erstwhile Arsenal midfielder spent 2 years connected nan sidelines pinch ankle issues which almost claimed his leg, each Enzo wanted was to spot his dada play again.

During his 636 days out, 11 operations and gangrene which ate into his Achilles, Cazorla was fresh to discontinue - only for Enzo, now 15, woman Ursula and girl India, 12, to support him going.

"In immoderate moments I called my family and said 'I will stop. After a year, I want to beryllium pinch you,'" he tells BBC Sport. "'I'm unsocial here, I don't person family, nothing, things are not going well'.

"My boy would opportunity 'no daddy, please effort again - tomorrow will beryllium amended and you will commencement to consciousness better. I want to spot you again, I emotion to spot you playing for Arsenal and different clubs truthful please travel backmost and play shot again.'

"Finally, I did it. But successful that infinitesimal it was difficult to opportunity 'yes, I will beryllium back'. These words, they are my support and my powerfulness for each day."

They person allowed him to extremity a profession connected his terms. One which has gone afloat circle, having helped Oviedo - nan squad he near successful 2003 without playing a first-team crippled - return to La Liga for nan first clip successful 24 years aft winning nan Segunda Division play-offs past season.

It will beryllium a fairytale decorativeness for nan lifelong Carbayones fan, having signed his last deal, a one-year contract, 3 weeks ago.

"This will beryllium my past season, I person to perceive to my assemblage and it's already asking me," added Cazorla.

"When I was a kid I ever dreamed to play successful nan nine and I'm present now - fortunate and capable to play pinch my nine successful nan apical division.

"I emotion to play football, but arsenic pinch everything you person to cognize erstwhile it is nan end. I person a batch of problems, pains each day."

To speak to Cazorla is an uplifting experience. He beams, intelligibly loving nan other years he has fought difficult to gain.

To get present has been a journey. After an innocuous footwear while playing for Spain against Chile successful 2013, he endured ankle issues but played connected for 3 years.

By past nan symptom was excessively overmuch and curen was needed, but Cazorla did not expect nan aggregate operations, 1 starring to infection which destroyed almost 11 centimetres of his Achilles and astir costs him his leg.

His bony had gone soft. One cognition was a reconstruction of his Achilles, surgeons grafting tegument from his near limb - featuring a tattoo of his daughter's sanction - to his correct ankle.

Doctors explained he should beryllium contented pinch stepping again, fto unsocial playing. Yet, erstwhile asked what nan speech was like, Cazorla - who describes his ankle arsenic a "jigsaw puzzle" - recalls his defiance.

"I ne'er believed this benignant of thing," he says. "The wounded was really hard. I was ne'er honorable pinch nan injury, I was reasoning I had a mini one."

Cazorla kept putting room off, until he could do nary longer.

"It was nan astir difficult infinitesimal successful my career, not only successful shot but my life," he adds. "I was without my family, my woman and kids but you person to conflict - if you person a dream, you person to conflict each day.

"My wife, kids, my mum, brother... I had to conflict for them. It was a very difficult clip for maine arsenic a person.

"One time you are astatine nan Emirates to play and a week later you are unsocial successful hospital. It's difficult to power these benignant of emotions."

Arsenal, though, did not stock Cazorla's assurance of making a comeback.

They had renewed his statement erstwhile but he was incapable to person nan Gunners to springiness him a caller woody successful 2018, yet returning to Villarreal for 3 years wherever he added different 86 appearances to his erstwhile 233.

"I retrieve erstwhile I started to consciousness amended aft a twelvemonth and a half, I came backmost and asked, 'please springiness maine nan chance to do pre-season and aft I would for illustration to motion 1 twelvemonth more,'" he says, having made 180 appearances, scoring 29 goals, successful six years astatine Arsenal.

"They told maine they felt I wouldn't travel backmost to nan apical level. It's normal erstwhile you are retired for 2 years.

"I was very honorable pinch them - springiness maine nan chance because I'm fresh again. They said nary and I person to understand that position."

He still speaks astir nan Gunners pinch affection, though, and remains adjacent pinch Mikel Arteta, his skipper astatine Emirates Stadium. He is besides unfastened to a return erstwhile he retires.

What comes adjacent will beryllium "something successful football" but Cazorla will measure his options.

"If Arsenal telephone maine my doorway is unfastened to perceive to them because I emotion this club. It was nan champion determination of my profession to spell to Arsenal," he adds.

Cazorla's acquisition has people changed his perspective, particularly arsenic he enters his last season, wished to savour it.

"I ever effort to bask nan mini things now," he adds. "When you are aged you effort to bask everything, erstwhile you are young you are not ready.

"It's my past year, truthful for pre-season, usually you suffer a batch but now I effort to bask it. The recreation from nan edifice to nan stadium, to travel nan fans stepping astir nan city, earlier I ne'er thought astir this."

Cazorla and Oviedo's La Liga comeback adjacent period is, coincidentally, astatine Villarreal. The first location game? Real Madrid.

While he does not return nan credit, Cazorla's return was nan catalyst. He helped Oviedo scope nan Segunda Division play-offs successful 2023-24, wherever they mislaid to Espanyol, earlier inspiring an historical promotion, successful their centenary year.

His free-kick against Almeria sent them to nan play-off last against Mirandes. Cazorla missed nan first limb but returned to people a important penalty and spark Oviedo's betterment from 2-0 down connected aggregate to triumph 3-2.

Oviedo tumbled to nan 4th tier aft relegation from La Liga successful 2001. They were successful Segunda Division B successful 2014-15, nan aforesaid play Cazorla was lifting his 2nd FA Cup pinch Arsenal.

He was calved successful Fonciello, a mini colony 10 minutes extracurricular Oviedo and grew up a instrumentality of Los Azules.

He joined nan nine aged eight, watched arsenic they were relegated and then, yet to play successful nan first team, near for Villarreal astatine 18 pinch nan nine nether financial pressure.

The Spain world bought shares successful 2012 during 1 of nan club's galore hours of request and 2 years agone returned still wanting to help.

Cazorla was consenting to play for free but, pinch convention rules prohibiting it, collected nan minimum costs allowed, £80,000 a year, pinch 10% of his garment income besides going to nan academy.

"The important point now is erstwhile you are connected nan thoroughfare you tin spot a batch of kids pinch Real Oviedo t-shirts," says Cazorla. "The early is nan young group successful nan street. They support Oviedo - not Barcelona aliases Real, Arsenal aliases Liverpool. A fewer years agone it was intolerable to spot nan kids pinch Oviedo shirts."

When he penned his caller contract, nan nine called him an emblem and a symbol.

Cazorla took nan microphone to singing - amazingly good - nan club's unofficial anthem by Melendi, an Oviedo-born musician, astatine nan promotion statement successful beforehand of thousands of fans.

Yet contempt being centre stage, Cazorla, a 2 clip European Championship victor pinch Spain, is happy to snub nan spotlight arsenic he ponders his legacy.

"I don't want to consciousness for illustration this, I'm 1 much player. I'm 40-years-old, I only effort to thief nan young players and nine to get into nan apical division. I don't consciousness for illustration a symbol," says nan humble playmaker.

"I cognize I'm an illustration for my team-mates and they look astatine maine for illustration I'm a superstar, I don't want them to look astatine maine for illustration this.

"They are young, immoderate person only played successful nan 2nd section and erstwhile I came in, my first day, they look astatine maine for illustration I've played astatine Arsenal and successful nan nationalist team. They respect maine a lot, but I don't want this position.

"You ever consciousness proud of what you did successful your career, but I for illustration [to beryllium remembered] arsenic a personification than a player. I effort to thief everybody, it's what I did each my profession and it's really I americium human."