Laura Ràfols: From Barça's goal to the castles of the Sagrada Família

Castles and football. Football and castles. These have been Laura Ràfols's two great passions throughout her life. Born in Vilafranca del Penedès, she experienced human towers since she was a child. Now, after a career in which she was the goalkeeper for FC Barcelona for fourteen seasons, she has joined a human tower group. Not in the capital of Penedès, but with the Castellers de la Sagrada Família.

Born in Vilafranca, human towers are in her blood.

— My family has been part of the Vilafranca Castellers (Human Castles) all our lives, and many of my school friends used to do it. At home, during Saint Felix's Day, we always went for a snack after the castles. I've always loved the human towers, but I haven't been able to do it until now because I was playing.

Did you also start playing football when you were little?

— At home, I didn't like football, but I started playing when I was four years old and it wasn't compatible.

During your years as a footballer, did you share the hobby with teammates?

— There were many big parties that members of the team had gone to see. Especially the ones who came from outside were completely amazed. They didn't know what it was.

She retired from football at 28 to dedicate herself to physiotherapy. Was that the reality of women's football a few years ago?

— Yes, I had studied because I also enjoyed it, and I knew that sooner or later I would have to end up working somewhere. Now I work at a sports rehabilitation center.

Once removed, the castells reappear.

— My partner and I spend time in the Sagrada Família neighborhood, and one day some friends and I went to a human tower workshop near our house. I was pretty much the instigator of going. I like human towers, but I'd never made them before. We went to see Mercè two years ago, and the following Tuesday we were already going to the rehearsal.

Are the demands of football and human towers comparable?

— I don't see it as a requirement, but more as a commitment to the team and the group. We dedicate hours to something we enjoy so we can keep up with the times. It's like comparing training sessions to matches.

Trust is key in both areas.

— It's different, because in the end, there are a lot more people in a group than in a locker room. In the locker room I was in, you had to win no matter what; the goals were very clear. The similarity I find is the feeling of having rehearsed a lot of things. The feeling of building a castle, after having rehearsed it for a long time, is a joy, and the adrenaline rush is the same as before an important game. In the end, it's a team activity, of cohesion between each other.

Where have you experienced those greatest bursts of joy?

— There are many people from the Sagrada Família who have been there for a long time, who teach you to love these castles, and that makes this joy not just yours. You know what it means to many people in the group who have invested many hours. The cool part is that people of all ages share the same success, from the youngest member of the group to the one at the bottom of the pile.