David Raya, safe hands in goal for Spain

In March 2022, in a match played very close to his hometown, David Raya made his debut in goal for the Spanish national team in an impossible to forget night in Barcelona. Spain beat Albania in a frenetic end to end friendly match, with the stands at the RCD Espanyol stadium packed to the rafters greeting David Raya, who has been a permanent fixture in the national team's squad ever since.

Raya taught himself to be a goalkeeper, an insatiable attitude to hard work coupled with the situation he found himself in at home led him to become what he is today. "When I was four or five years old, I started out as a goalkeeper. My older brother played as a forward and as a winger and I had to play as a goalkeeper at home, and I liked it. My parents signed me up for the village team and that's where I have my first memories of playing, in the garden at home and then for the village team," he explains nostalgically.

At 28, Raya has made a name for himself in England, now goalkeeper for Arsenal after many seasons at Blackburn, Southport and Brentford, for whom he made his Premiership debut. In England he is considered one of the best goalkeepers in the top flight, and it is no coincidence that this is how those in the know define him. "I left home at a very young age, when I was just 16, and I had to work hard to get to where I am now. It makes you value a lot of things, like when I left to play in the fifth division at 18-19 years old… Top level professional football and its training facilities are totally different to the facilities I was used to at Blackburn. They taught me a lot of things there and it helps you to appreciate what you have. I wouldn't change my career for the world.

Modern football demands that goalkeepers, as well as being shot stoppers , know how to play out with their feet too, and there are few as good as Raya. "When you're little, you like to play with your friends and you don't want to play in goal. At school and at weekends we always played futsal and that's where I played as an outfield player. I adapted a bit more to playing with the ball at my feet and that's why I have that ability".

His quality on the ball is one ability of David´s but he has many others too, such as the courage that comes with the job. "We goalkeepers are made of different stuff. People say they wouldn't want to get hit in the face or in the tummy with a ball but that's just part of being a goalkeeper, one might say that we're different".

Spain has an abundance of first class goalkeepers, it has always been something that's made our football stand out, and Raya, always willing to improve, is the person best to explain the situation. "The level of goalkeepers in Spain is very high. I live every international training camp as if it were my last and I enjoy it as if it were my last too", he sums up. "We have a very good atmosphere. Whoever comes away with the international squad, we goalkeepers know where we come from and we know that if we get called up for the national team it's because we're playing well. We also know what it's like not to play and you have to maintain a good atmosphere in the dressing room for this to work".

Raya played last Thursday in Limassol against Cyprus, starting in a match that ended in a victory that keeps the Spain team at the top of Group A in Euro2024 qualifying. When he heard his name was on the team sheet, the Barcelona goalkeeper assumed the responsibility of having to defend the national team's goal, and, of course, there is no greater privilege for a player in his position. "When you go out onto the pitch and hear the Spanish anthem, it brings back a lot of memories of being a child. From when we won the European Championships, the World Cup and the European Championships again. It brings back a lot of memories. It was my second game, so it's a source of pride to be able to represent my country and I hope I can do it many more times".