Grimaldo's long road to the his first senior call up

Alejandro Grimaldo has recently become an almost permanent fixture in glowing weekly match reports in Germany, with the Valencian player’s dazzling performances at Bayer Leverkusen. His season has been outstanding, so much so that he has forced his way into Luis de la Fuente's Spain squad. At 28 years of age, and after a lifetime running down the left flank, he is finally on the point of making his full debut, as one can imagine, he is smiling from ear to ear.

"It's a very special moment, it's been an incredible year that has culminated in the call-up to the national team, it's a dream", he comments calmly. Grimaldo speaks from experience, as he went abroad to try his luck and the gamble has worked out very well. After seven years at Benfica, he is now one of the stars of the German league.

"Football tends to take you down different paths, and this is the one it has taken me down," he explains. "But I'm very happy with how I've done with my different clubs and now it's time to keep working. I'm very happy where I am and thanks to Leverkusen I have the opportunity to be here, which for me is very important".

He got his first professional start with Barcelona B at the age of 15 and a long time has passed since that memorable afternoon. "Yes, I made my debut at a very young age. And as soon as I made my debut I had a serious injury, but my path has had both its positive and negative moments, but I don't think about that. I've enjoyed it from the first day and I'm still enjoying it," he says.

In his first season in the Bayer Leverkusen shirt, Grimaldo has been happy because he has found an even better version of himself following the advice of Xabi Alonso, a World Cup and European Championship winner with Spain. "He has helped me a lot, he is an incredible coach who is getting the best out of me. Due to his help and that of my teammates, I've had the opportunity to be here".

Being in the squad, he says, means everything to him. Explaining how nervous he felt last Friday as he followed Luis de la Fuente's squad announcement and saw that he was among the lucky ones. "We were at the airport about to come back from Qarabag, where we played in the Europa League. The flight was delayed and it gave me time to see the squad call-up announcement and I saw that I was on the list. When I arrived, my phone was full of messages, it was crazy.

He knows several members in the national team changing room, such as Gayà, and has no doubts about what his best role is on the pitch. "I'm a full-back who likes to get forward more than anything else, saying that I've improved a lot defensively. I can play in a line of four or five. I like to play on the inside if I'm needed and I can adapt to different roles. “I also take a good set-piece, which I think is important", and it is important, as he has already scored a good number of goals from long distance.

He has been enjoying his first few hours with the national team to the maximum and there is no doubt that he is ready to make his debut in either of the two matches of this November window if the coaching staff give him the nod. Spain play against Cyprus away (Thursday, 6pm) and against Georgia in Valladolid (Sunday, 8.45pm) in what are the last two games of this qualifying phase for the European Championship.

Ever present in his mind are the memories of the people who have always stood by him on this long journey. "I think of my girlfriend and my daughter, who will soon be a year old. I'll be a week without them, but it's for a good cause. And I also can't help but think of my parents, who have always supported me on this journey, which hasn't been easy".