Greatness

Indroduction

Greatness.

Another adjective for excellence, perfection or impeccability.

Serena Williams winning her first ever grand slam.

Greatness.

Brandi Chastain scoring the winning penalty for the USA in the 1999 World Cup Final, making the USA World Cup champions for the 2nd time.

Greatness.

"Do you believe in miracles?" When the USA Hockey team defeated the undeniable rivals Soviet Union during the 1980 Olympics.

Greatness.

I can assure you that there is more than that.

Grand slams, Olympic Medals and World Cups are great. Don't get me wrong, but there's something so much more greater than that. It's futbol. A sport that can bring millions of people together to cheer 22 players on the field. A sport that can start fires in the hearts of those who want to be part of something. To make others bond over a team, bond over inspiration.

And I, Adriana Torres.

Am sitting on the pedestal of it all.

I'm the queen of football

Or so that's what they call me.

Although, another girl is up for the race. Her name was Alexia Putellas, La Raiena de Barcelona. My beloved rival, I call her beloved because at the end of the day. She is as much as part of the national team as I am. We may not get along, club wise but we respect each other from a very.. very far distance for our national team. For the sake of the team, of course.

(Not accurate Standings or valid championships)

At the age of just 6, I started playing futbol. My father was a very big part of the reason, I even played. He was a FC Barcelona fan, in fact he was born there. My mother was born in Tarragona, which is only an hour away from Barcelona. He would take us to futbol games as much as he could, it was our family time. Sooner or later, it became their priority. My dad noticed how quickly I picked up the beautiful sport at a young age, so he took his shot on me. He dedicated his off time to take me to the parks nearby, or even the beach to play. It wasn't until the age of 10, that I had trained in a youth academy. Just around that same time, my father was in a severe car accident. He couldn't walk the same after everything, leaving my my mom to be the provider of the household. That didn't stop my dad however, he still tried and tried many different things to do to help. He lost himself for a while, until he noticed... I was losing too. My passion and love were on the field. Not being able to afford the travel and the academy, had took a toll on me. Until one Friday night, I was sitting in the living room watching silly reruns of old cartoons. My father walked into the living room, wearing his Barcelona jersey, and track pants. He took me to the park to play, and it was like, I had never stopped playing.

My parents found a way to get me back on the youth academy, but they couldn't go with me. They sent me to live with my aunt for the majority of the time, so that I'd be living in Barcelona.

At the verge of turning 16, FC Barcelona transferred me to the Women's French League. I was devastated, to say the least. It had been my desired dream to play for the Senior FC Barcelona Team. Instead, Olympique Lyonnais Féminin wanted me on their Senior team. I couldn't refuse, the club convinced me it was the right move.

Once again, I had to leave my parents.

I didn't know French, I didn't know anything but my beloved Spain. It wasn't home. When I had arrived, the club provided me a place to live. They even hired me a language coach, and from there on out. I played for Lyon, for 2 years. I learned French, I was accustomed to life in France. I had only seen my parents 6 times out of those 2 years. My first year at Lyon, I had attracted the Senior Spain national team. I attended my first camp and my first friendlie, however it wasn't enough for Spain to qualify for the 2011 Women's World Cup. I was upset, but my father reminded me that I was only 16. I had a long way to go, but that everything I wanted to achieve it wasn't going to be impossible. Those 2 years at Lyon, I won 2 Champions League, back to back. One Coupe de France Féminine, One Trophée Des Championees. I was the top scorer of all tournaments, reigning me best young player of the year. I was a prospect, I was potential. 2 years of my contracting ending, Manchester City made a huge transfer offer to Lyon. I was the highest transfer offer in Women's futbol ever.