Missing out on promotion at Getafe

2001

(June 17, 2001) When the ref blows the final whistle and you’ve won but the stadium is totally silent, you realise that all your work has been for nothing, everything’s been going really well but in the end it’s all gone wrong, and that’s what matters. The club has to face another season in the second division, and my debut, my goal.... everything would have felt different if the team had gone up. Another year in the second division, everyone disappointed, it was like starting again from nothing. In the dressing room there were all kinds of reactions, some people angry, some people really pissed off, some people not bothered and some really devastated. Those who’d been at the club the longest felt it the most, they’d given their all during the season only to end up with nothing. I was still more of a fan than a player and what I felt was disappointment, I didn’t feel like doing anything, I was sunk, I just wanted to get over it and forget about it as soon as possible.

Debut for the atletico first team. Atletico de Madrid v. Leganés

2001

(May 27, 2001) After the European under-16s I played in the Champions Cup and the Spanish Cup with the youth team. After the cup game I ran into Iñaki Sáez and he told me I was going to play for the under-18s, and the week after that Futre called me to train with the first team. I was going to play in the pre-season games so it was a good idea for me to get acclimatized. I started training on the Wednesday, on Saturday I was on the team-sheet and on the Sunday I made my debut. It was all really quick.

It was an early kick-off, the ground was full, and it was really hot. We were winning 1-0, and we needed to win so as not to lose our chance to go up. Everyone was really tense except me, I was just dying to play. At the end of the game I had a really strange feeling, that even though I was still so young I’d achieved what I’d always dreamed about. I couldn’t believe it. When I was a kid I thought that once I got to this point everything would be easy but I was wrong, it was only the first step.

European Championship under-19s

2002

(July, 2002) I missed out on my holidays because of the tournament, but I really wanted to play. It was more or less the same team as in the under-16s, and we were pretty confident. We started with a draw but after that we won all our games and were European Champions again. I was top scorer again and also voted best player for the second time. These personal awards really make you feel proud. I remember, in the hotel, after each game, looking at the boards with the points given for each player and the goals scored.. During the tournament I saw that I was there or thereabouts, that I was in with a chance of coming top, that I was playing well and getting a lot of points and at the end of the Championship, still on the pitch I heard over the loudspeaker that I’d been named Player of the Tournament as well as being top scorer, I was so happy. From then on my reputation grew and clubs were interested in me again, but at the very top level this time.

First game for the full national team

2003

(September 6, 2003) It had been talked about before that I’d get in the squad, but despite the rumours I didn’t think it was possible, though this time it felt different. I was so nervous that week, I couldn’t wait to see if I was in the squad. After the get together with Iñaki (Saez, then under-19 coach) I was on tenterhooks, dying to know if I’d get in the full squad after having played at all other levels, I was dying to know what the atmosphere was like, the other players, the set-up…everything, really. I expected it to be more or less like the junior squads but here everybody knew each other, it was like a club, like a family, and that’s great for as team but not so great for a player coming into it, it’s more difficult to adapt. The veterans, like Raul and Cañizares, helped me get used to things a lot.

I was really up for the game but the Portuguese players were kicking me from the start and I had to come off with a sprain before half-time. Anyway, I came off happy because I’d made my debut and that’s what will stay with me forever.

First goal for the national team, Spain v. Italy

2004

(April 28, 2004) I was really up for the game, and besides I was convinced I was going to score. I remember they let me wear 14, which had always been my number for the national teams. And I scored, but I came off annoyed with myself because even though I’d scored my first goal I felt like I could have scored more.

My first overcome challenge

2006

(June, 2006) I am fighting all my live for a dream, to play with the biggest of the World, and finally I had it within reach: I was going to play in the World Cup in Germany! When I got there, all around me smelt football, but what really surprised me was seeing so many red shirts that were cheering up us out of Spain. Not even in the Eurocup of Portugal I saw so much support of our fans. All pointed that could be the Spanish World Cup . In the National Team we had players of a high quality, but overall we form a solid and young team. Luis Aragones confidenced on me to the eleven starter and I felt the obligation to give the maximun output. We had high aims.

At the first phase, things were going well. We achieved to win all the matches with a good play and goals. Many people pointed out us like favourites, and at the personal view everything went perfect: I scored three goals and I was situated as top scorer of the championship at the end of the second match! At eighth finals we played against an importance rival, France, a team with players that already knew what is winning a World Cup, with a high quality and, overall, with a lot of experience. We left like favourites and I think that condition damaged us . France has realized a light first phase ended as second of the group and left without the pressure of winning.

The match started very good. We were forward at the boardscored, but we didn’t know how to control the match. Ribery’s goal made the shock. He scored it three minutes before the break and the development of the second half changed. The second half it wasn’t so good. We weren’t apted. Anyway, it was a disappointment because all our illusion broke out.

Personally it has been a good World Cup. It served me to ckeck my level in a great date, although collectively we left with a bad taste in our mouth, knowing that we let out a good opportunity to go far in Germany.

We are the European Champions!!!!!!

2008

(June 2008) In the run-up to the game versus Germany I was asked what would I give to score in the final. My reply was simple, anything. I could never have imagined that, that very sane night, my strike would help Spain to the title. It would have been impossible to have envisaged so much joy and celebration. Everyone in Spain, and all of you, deserved the victory.

Following the success and celebrations at youth level, our football needed to lift a championship trophy, and the moment arrived at Vienna. I believe that the victory was deserved. The best team does not always win, but this time they did. It was a team effort and a victory which belongs to a united country.

The achievement is not just down to this side, but to everyone in Spain, and also for football. We won because we did not just sit back and wait. We set our sights on winning the tournament from the very first minute against Russia in our opening group game.

I would like to dedicate the victory to Doctor Genaro Borras because he also played a role in the title victory. Unfortunately he is no longer with us, and could not share the joy and happiness we all felt, though he is still in our hearts. A special mention should also go to David Villa who had an excellent Euro 2008, but had to miss the final through injury. Unfortunately, these things happen in sport.

It is not easy trying to explain how we won. There are a lot of reasons, but the team-work and unity were key. Everyone has played their part, regardless of the minutes they enjoyed out on pitch. Those members of the national team set-up who did not play, also collaborated and contributed to our Euro triumph.

The players have all matured since our appearance at the World Cup in Germany. We arrived for the European Championships with more experience and matches under our belt. What we lacked against France two years ago, we displayed against Italy in the quarterfinals.

The victory over Italy in the penalty shoot-out was an important morale-boast for everyone before the semis, and the final in Vienna. Luis Aragones could see how the win affected us, and he transmitted to everyone his winning character so as to help us through any difficult moments.

Just hours before kick-off, we were not fully conscious of the importance of the game going into Sunday's clash. We were far away from home, somewhat isolated, and we did not know how people were following the tournament back home. We saw some images which caught our attention. The footage showed how the whole county was behind their team. My friends also called to tell me what was going on back in Spain.

The welcome we received is something that will stay with me for ever. It was just amazing to see fans line every street and corner, cheering on their national team as they passed-by. Our final port of call, Plaza Colon, was something else…

This past season has been perfect. A dream year. The only 'but' was the Champions League defeat with Liverpool. But the bad taste that the semifinal loss left behind, was washed away with the European Championship triumph.

I have felt what every footballer wants to experience, to be a part of important games. It is something that I have always wished for, and I have been luckily enough to win that important game, and to lift the European Championship Cup with Spain.

Oh, I have not talked about the goal! Well, it came about following a great pass from Xavi. The defender was too confident, or maybe a bit too relaxed, and it gave me enough time and space to lift the ball over the on-rushing Lehmann…

World Cup champions!

2010

The World Cup. Looking back, I remember when I was younger and dreamt of the World Cup. I would always picture the trophy in the hands of great players like: Pele, Maradona, Zidane… but never in the hands of a Spanish footballer. No surprise really. The World Cup was the one trophy we were missing. Now it’s amazing to think that young children will picture us- the footballers who represented Spain in South Africa- raising aloft the coveted trophy. After so much time the national team finally belongs to all of Spain, and the team can count on the support of fans and clubs from across the country.

Winning in South Africa means an awful lot more than just a star on our football shirt. The success was the next step for an amazing group of footballers after they had conquered the 2008 European Championships. We put Spain right up there alongside the best countries in the world. So many players before us had tried to win the World Cup, but for one reason or another they had failed. So it’s a source of great pride that we managed to do them proud. We gave everything we had to bring the World Cup to Spain. The triumph was for all of the players who have defending the Spain shirt, and the success in South Africa was also for all of our fans.

This is the part of the story which means the most to me. It turned out to be a happy ending after what was a very difficult journey. I had an injury-hit season and from October onwards I failed to play regularly for either club or country. It was one injury after another. I suffered the worst of the injuries in April. After scoring twice against Benfica in the Europa League I suffered a knee injury. It happened towards the start of the game. I just jumped up for ball and it went. What seemed at one stage a meaningless injury, could have left me out of the World Cup squad. The knee had gone, but the injury was different from the knee injury I suffered earlier in January. I went on to play almost the full 90 minutes against Benfica. I couldn’t train properly for a few days after the game so I decided to go to Barcelona to be seen by Dr.Cugat. I had the operation just after Christmas. The pain however didn’t go away and a check-up back on Merseyside revealed that I had suffered another injury. The bad news came at the same time that a volcanic ash cloud had gripped Europe with no flights out of England. There was no time to waste, so I jumped in a car and drove all the way down from Liverpool to Barcelona. I didn’t have time to wait for the airspace across Europe to reopen.

I lost count of how many hours I spent in the swimming pool or in the gym as I worked hard to recover from the operation. The effort however was always going to be worth the prize. The help I received from the medical services and physiotherapists, plus the support I received from the coaching staff of the national team, helped me recover just in time. But my fitness was touch and go. I was based in the Galician towns of Santiago and Vigo, and both Eduardo Parra and Iván Ortega were with me around the clock. It was intense and non-stop but it was the only way to reach South Africa. The lack of match fitness however took its toll on my game during the opening clashes and for the remainder of the tournament. I was almost at one hundred percent, but it was plain to see that following the operation I wasn’t at my best.

The result of our first match at the World Cup left us with an up-hill task. But the loss also served as a reminder that we could not afford to drop our guard again. The shock defeat to Switzerland was a tough pill to swallow. A top two finish was now a tall order. We had no alternative but to approach all of our remaining group games as if they were a final. We then beat Honduras easily, before also beating Chile, in what was a tougher contest. In the knock-out stages we started well against Portugal, eventually winning 1-0. A resilient Paraguay pushed us all the way in the last eight. Germany were our rivals in the semis. They had seen off favourites England and Argentina. We dominated the match, just like when the two teams met in the European Championship final in 2008. It looked like the goal would never arrive, but Puyol- with the support of the whole of Spain- rose the highest in the box to power a header into the back of the net.

The World Cup final. Where to start? We were there in Johannesburg, the atmosphere was electric and Spain had an appointment with history. There was still one more test, and it was to be the toughest of the lot. Holland wanted the World Cup trophy just as bad as we did. It was one of the most contested games that I can remember. At times it wasn’t pretty, and although we were the better side, it could have all gone pear shape in a blink of an eye. The match went into extra-time and the manager brought me on. I was confident that I could make a difference, I believed that I would score, just like I did against Germany two years earlier in Vienna. I had a great track record in finals, so why not again?

There were just five minutes remaining. Holland were looking to hold out until the penalty shoot-out, unlike us. We knew that we could undeservedly lose if the game went to penalties. We pushed forward trying to make our superior quality count. And our efforts were rewarded. Navas ran from right to left linking-up with Iniesta and Cesc. I collected the ball out on the left. I spotted Andres making a run into the box and I tried to pick him out with a long ball. The centre-back got a touch but the ball fell kindly to Cesc who slid it into the path of Iniesta, who made no mistake. His right-foot shot flew across the keeper and into the net. Iniesta made sure that his name would go down in history and that I would be remembered forever.

I was close-by and I was the first player to jump on Iniesta’s back to celebrate. I’ve known Iniesta since we played together for Spain’s youth teams. We always got on really well. I remember when we got knocked-out of the Under 17s World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago. I handed Andres my shirt on which I had written ‘see you again at another World Cup’. He replied: ‘our time will come’. And in South Africa, eight years on, the day we had all dreamt about, finally arrived. He was the hero. He deserved it, as did all of the Spain squad and everyone back home. We deserved to win the trophy that Casillas lifted in South Africa. The World Cup belongs to us and the triumph is ours to celebrate. We are the World Cup champions!

Welcome to Chelsea. A step forward

2011

Ambition. Is the main word to resume the reasons that made me sign with Chelsea. The ambition to grow, to progress and to win titles. In the last minutes of January 2011, just before the deadline of the winter transfer window, I signed my engagement with the ‘blues’ until the 30th of June 2016. At Stamford Bridge they trusted a lot in my possibilities through an incredible economical bet, necessary to open Anfield’s armored doors. The never ending negotiation ended with the most expensive transfer of the English football history and also of a Spanish player, which is an unmistakable sign of the ambition that leads a champion club. A team that always aims for more, that aims for improving and which is ready to make a strong bet to get its objectives.

Throughout all my life I have pursued to win, to get titles. With the National Team I have had the luck to raise two cups, wining a Euro Cup and at World Cup in a wonderful two-year period. Chelsea offered me the possibility to fight for titles at a Club level, to obtain a reward for your daily work which keeps you far from home. If it is not this year, it will be another one. Chelsea will fight every season for titles against Manchester United, Arsenal or another club. My best years in Premier were yet to come and I did not know if the train was going to pass through again, so I caught it to pursue my dream: to win.

Following my path meant to close a three years trajectory in Liverpool. I left my house, Atlético de Madrid, to compete at a maximum level in Anfield and I think I met the expectations. There I was very happy and I will always be thankful to the Club. Why did I leave? Things changed a lot the last year. Liverpool is a big club with a big history but it is going through a period of transition which it needed time for. I thought I did not have such time; I needed to have closer and truer objectives, something more than promises of future projects. Just what Chelsea was offering me. An already finished stage in every sense, without any objective or challenge, turned suddenly in another one fascinating and full of possibilities to succeed.

I arrived to Chelsea being a complete different player to the one who left Atlético. A player more experienced in wining big rivals and scoring important goals. A more complete player, with much clearer objectives. I signed full convinced that my best years as a professional will come in Chelsea, with the perfect age to face them with guarantees and in a club that offers me much more real opportunities to get what I have always dreamed of.