Cazorla ready for fairytale finish after son’s words of inspiration

As Santi Cazorla prepares for the final season of his career in the colours of boyhood club Real Oviedo, the words of his son Enzo still resonate with the 40-year-old.

Enzo only wanted to see his father play once more while the former Arsenal midfielder spent two years with ankle issues that nearly nearly claimed his leg.

Cazorla was prepared to quit after 636 days of operation, 11 operations, and gangrene, but only for his daughter India, 12, and wife Ursula, who is now 15 to keep him going.

“In some moments I called my family and said ‘ I will stop. I want to be with you after a year, he tells BBC Sport. Nothing, I’m by myself, I don’t have family around, and things aren’t going well.

” My son would say ‘ no daddy, please try again – tomorrow will be better and you will start to feel better. Please come back and play football again because I want to see you again and I enjoy seeing you playing for clubs like Arsenal and others.

“Finally, I succeeded,” she said. But in that moment it was difficult to say ‘ yes, I will be back’. These words are my strength and encouragement for the day.

He has been given the freedom to pursue a career. One which has gone full circle, having helped Oviedo – the team he left in 2003 without playing a first-team game – return to La Liga for the first time in 24 years after winning the Segunda Division play-offs last season.

After signing his final contract, a one-year contract, three weeks ago, it will be a fairytale ending for the lifelong Carbayones fan.

Cazorla remarked, “This will be my last season, and I must pay attention to my body, which is already asking me.”

“When I was a kid I always dreamed to play in the club and I’m here now – lucky and able to play with my club in the top division.

It is uplifting to speak with Cazorla. He beams, clearly loving the extra years he has fought hard to gain.

It has taken a long way to get here. He had ankle issues after receiving an innocent kick in a game against Chile in 2013. He continued to play for three years.

By then the pain was too much and treatment was needed, but Cazorla did not expect the multiple operations, one leading to infection which destroyed almost 11 centimetres of his Achilles and nearly cost him his leg.

His bone had softened. A reconstruction of his Achilles involved the grafting of skin from his left arm, which included a tattoo of his daughter’s name, to his right ankle.

Doctors explained he should be content with walking again, let alone playing. Cazorla recalls his defiance when asked what the conversation was like. Cazorla describes his ankle as a “jigsaw puzzle.”

He claims, “I never believed this kind of thing.” The injury was really hard. I never told the truth about the injury; I assumed it was minor.

Cazorla put off having surgery until he was no longer able to.

” It was the most difficult moment in my career, not only in football but my life, “he adds”. You have to fight if you have a dream, you have to fight every day, even if I wasn’t with my family, my wife, and my kids.

“My wife, children, my mother, and brother,” I say. I had to fight for them. For me personally, it was a very challenging time.

You arrive at the Emirates to play, and you are hospitalized for a week. It’s difficult to control these kind of emotions. “

Cazorla’s confidence in making a comeback, however, was not shared by Arsenal.

He had previously been given a contract renewal, but he was unable to persuade the Gunners to give him a new one in 2018. He eventually returned to Villarreal for three years, where he had added 86 appearances to his previous 233.

” I remember when I started to feel better after a year and a half, I came back and asked, ‘ please give me the chance to do pre-season and after I would like to sign one year more, ‘ “he says, having made 180 appearances, scoring 29 goals, in six years at Arsenal.

They said they thought I wouldn’t be able to return to the top level. When you are two years away, it’s normal.

“I was very honest with them – give me the chance because I’m ready again. I have to understand why they said no.

He still has feelings for the Gunners, though, and is close to his Emirates Stadium captain, Mikel Arteta. He is also open to a return once he retires.

Cazorla will consider his options, but what will come next will be “something in football.”

Cazorla’s perspective has naturally changed as he enters his final season, determined to enjoy it.

He continues, “I always try to enjoy the little things right now.” “When you are old you try to enjoy everything, when you are young you are not ready.

Since this is my last year, I typically suffer a lot during the pre-season, but I’ve been trying to enjoy it. Before I even considered this, the journey from the hotel to the stadium and watching the fans as they pass through the city.

Cazorla and Oviedo’s La Liga comeback next month is, coincidentally, at Villarreal. the first game at home? Real Madrid .

While he does not take the credit, Cazorla’s return was the catalyst. In their centenary year, he helped Oviedo advance to the Segunda Division play-offs in 2023-24, where they lost to Espanyol, before inspiring a historic promotion.

Oviedo fell to the fourth tier after being dropped from La Liga in 2001. Cazorla was winning his second FA Cup with Arsenal while they were in Segunda Division B in 2014-15.

He was born in Fonciello, a small village 10 minutes outside Oviedo and grew up a fan of Los Azules.

He joined the club at age eight, watched as they were promoted, and then left for Villarreal at age 18 under financial pressure.

The Spain international purchased shares in 2012 during one of the club’s numerous hours of need, and two years later he came back with the same desire to assist.

Cazorla was willing to play for free but, with league rules prohibiting it, collected the minimum wage allowed, £80, 000 a year, with 10% of his shirt sales also going to the academy.

The key is to remember that when you’re on the street, there are a lot of kids wearing Real Oviedo t-shirts, Cazorla says. The street kids’ future is in their hands. They support Oviedo – not Barcelona or Real, Arsenal or Liverpool. It was impossible to see the children wearing Oviedo shirts until recently.

The club referred to him as an emblem and symbol when he wrote his new contract.

Cazorla took the microphone to sing – surprisingly well – the club’s unofficial anthem by Melendi, an Oviedo-born musician, at the promotion party in front of thousands of fans.

Cazorla, a two-time European Championship winner with Spain, is content to ignore the spotlight as he considers his legacy despite taking center stage.

I’m just one more player, not this, because I don’t want to feel this way. I’m 40-years-old, I only try to help the young players and club to get into the top division. The humble playmaker says, “I don’t feel like a symbol.”

I don’t want my team-mates to see me like this because I know I’m setting an example for them and they treat me like a superstar.

“They are young, some have only played in the second division and when I came in, my first day, they look at me like I’ve played at Arsenal and in the national team. I have a lot of respect for them, but I don’t want to be in this position.