From working early in the morning in a Primark to being the first bet of the new Espanyol

BarcelonaIn the summer of 2019, Osona coaches Miguel Muñoz and Samuel Mora took over the reins of Parets, who had just been promoted from Second to First Catalan Division. Around Saint John's Day, they had already secured their entire squad; they only needed a left-footed player who could play as a winger or attacking midfielder. “Of all the names we had, the one we liked the most was Àlex Calatrava, who had been left without a team after finishing his youth career at UE Sant Andreu,” says Samu.

“We met with him and his father. The problem was that we had already finalized the budget and couldn’t pay him anything; only a bonus of about 50 euros per game won. He told us yes, that we were the only team that had truly noticed him and that money was not a priority. And, look, that’s how his story in amateur football began,” adds Mora with a smile. Seven years later, Àlex Calatrava (Barcelona, 2000) has signed for Espanyol, in a deal worth around five million euros, and has become the first signing of the Monchi era, one of the best sporting directors in the world. They announced it with a video walking through the streets of his neighborhood: Horta. He grew up between Plaça Eivissa, Quimet d’Horta bar, and Feliu i Codina, Horta’s ground, where as a teenager he scored a lot of goals. At just 17 years old, he debuted with the first team against Europa.

Studying and working in the early morning

“In the preseason we already saw things about him. He was skillful, he had a good shot and a lot of dribbling. I remember that in one of his first games, in the amateur Catalan Cup, at Empuriabrava's ground, we won 0-1 with a goal from him,” explains Óscar Reche, a teammate at Parets with whom he used to talk about studies because they had both started an engineering degree. Cala – as he is known – juggled books with work in a Primark store. His shift started at four in the morning. Since he didn't have a driver's license, his father, one of his great pillars, used to drive him. When he finished work, he would go to university and in the afternoon he trained with the Vallès team, which won the final of that Catalan Cup against Cubelles, with another goal from him.

“Even though he was very young and small, he was the player who made the biggest difference. And that's despite the fact that we also had Alexis Garcia, who is now killing it at Sant Andreu. Cala has a lot of talent, but many other players do too. What made him stand out was his discipline and mentality. In the pre-match talks, we always used him as an example of commitment, hard work, game reading... and he was 19 years old, you know? We really made him work hard, and he took knocks, but he never put on a bad face or made a bad gesture,” explains Samu, who only enjoyed him for one season: “He has always measured his steps very carefully. He has chosen contexts where he could play and stand out. That summer he had offers from many Third Division teams and he chose Sants, who were at the bottom of the league.”

From Sants to First Division

At Sants they still remember his two goals at the Energia stadium against Víctor Valdés' Horta, crucial for the Barcelona team's permanence. “He was the best here too,” declares Montse Dot, who was then the president of the Sants club, where Calatrava also didn't make a living: “I would say he earned 100 or 150 euros a month.” What Montse does remember is that even then “his dream was to reach the First Division.” When he officially debuts with Espanyol's first team, he will become the first player with a past at Sants to debut in La Liga in the 21st century. The last one was David Belenguer from Maresme.

“Mid-season he asked to leave because Llagostera wanted to sign him, but after talking to him and his father, he decided it was better to finish the season at Sants as a key player,” recalls Montse. In July 2021, he signed for the Gironès club, moving from Tercera to Primera RFEF. “It was surprising that a player coming from so far down had so much quality and personality. Off the pitch he was a very good kid, rather reserved and introverted, but on the grass he transformed. He demanded everything, was always well-positioned... He was a silent leader, one of those who doesn't need much talking to gain respect,” says his former Llagostera teammate Marc Manchón, with whom he shared thousands of kilometers by car.

“We used to go from Barcelona to Llagostera with Marcos Pérez, Boris Garrós, and Bruno Perone. Each week one of us would drive. Well, all except Cala, who didn't have a license,” comments the former Espanyol player Manchón, laughing, very happy about his signing for Espanyol: “He’s a hell of a signing.” He was then close to joining Barça, who didn't want to pay the 200,000 euros release clause demanded by the Costa Brava club. In the winter transfer window, Atlético de Madrid signed him to join their reserve team, with whom he played in Tercera and Segunda RFEF and where he shared the attack with Simeone's son. He often says he took one step back to take two forward. He never debuted with the first team of the Mattress Makers, but he was part of the Champions League list and often trained with Griezmann, Luis Suárez, and company.

A stonemason like Manolo González

Cala did not touch professional football until two years ago, when he signed for Castellón, where he has become the best footballer of the revelation team of the Second Division. With 14 goals and 8 assists, last season he was on the verge of promotion to La Liga. Despite Celta's interest, he has chosen Manolo González's Espanyol, who already wanted him in the summer of 2025 and who, like him, has reached the First Division from the bottom, from the mud.

And he has arrived there through the longest route, passing through all regional and state categories from Primera Catalana. “Without making much noise, he has been chipping away until he reached the very top. You could see things in him, but it was impossible to imagine that a player from Parets would end up in the First Division,” concludes Samu Mora with pride, who seven years ago signed the new Espanyol signing when he was still working in the early morning and playing without being paid.