Sergio Lozano's unwavering courage bids farewell to the track.

BarcelonaShockwaves in futsal. Sergio Lozano, captain of Barça's futsal team, announced this Friday that he is hanging up his boots. The Barça player will retire in the summer and join the team's structure. "When the season ends, it will be my last as a player. If there was one thing I'd been sure of for a long time, it was that the Barça shirt would be my last," he said, visibly moved.

The event, attended by Joan Laporta, was held at the Auditori 1899, where he was accompanied by family, friends, and members of the club's futsal section. "My heart and mind were telling me otherwise, but I realized the sporting directorate had other plans for me," announced Búfal, who has already accepted the offer to begin his coaching career with Barça's youth futsal teams.

"Please donate your thanks to the club to allow me to complete my sleep for 14 seasons. Thank you to the culers for their support, in the best and in the bad times. The paraules d'anim have been essential. Thank you to the companies, to the Dracs, to the family and to the Dr. Carles Miñarro, who will be at my side during the most complex injuries and who is one of the people who has allowed me to arrive here at the end."

Sergio Lozano, from Arganda de Rey at the Palau Blaugrana

Born in Alcalá de Henares on November 6, 1988, and raised in the small Madrid town of Arganda de Rey, Sergio Lozano began his career in futsal at the Las Rozas-Boadilla youth academy before making the jump to Cartagena. Two seasons later, he signed for Caja Segovia, where he would only play one season. In 2011, he accepted Barça's call and never left the Palau.

If anything has defined him, it's his love for futsal and an incredible ability to overcome adversity. He suffered no fewer than four knee injuries in the last eight years that required surgery (2015, 2016, 2021, and 2023). "They cut my tibia to reduce the level of my knee, right? We're not talking about a muscle injury... they cut my bones, they stitched me up, they operated on me... it's a lot of things. And yet, I kept playing," said in an interview in the ARA.

"I've been lucky, I've enjoyed it a lot, but I've also suffered the worst thing an athlete can suffer, which is serious injuries. All these injuries have made me try to be as positive as possible, and what helped me was the chance to wear the Barça shirt again at the Palau," he said this Friday. But everything has a limit. At 35 years old, and after recovering from a third anterior cruciate ligament tear, he's decided he'd had enough. The risk of lifelong physical consequences weighed heavily, and Barça's offer to keep him linked to the club has been final.

A legendary list of achievements

Lozano's trophy cabinet is a real eye-opener, with six La Liga titles, four UEFA Futsal Champions League titles, six Spanish Cups, four Super Cups, and seven Copa del Rey titles. In total, the Madrid native has 27 titles. He's also Barça's all-time top scorer after 14 seasons and 334 goals, the section record. "I've always tried to give my all on the court for Barça, and I hope the fans have seen their Barça sentiment reflected in my play."

More than enough merit to have his number 9 shirt hung from the ceiling of the Palau. Amidst tears of emotion, President Laporta has already confirmed that it will be so. All we have to do is find the date. It will be the second in the section, only behind Paco Sedano (28), a friend of Lozano, who hung up his gloves in 2018. The goalkeeper was in the team for 11 years, three less than Búfalo, who at 35 years old and despite his history of injuries, does not want the last months of his career to be a formality. He wants to say goodbye like a champion.