Virginia Torrecilla's 'carpe diem': "Alexia has been fundamental in my life"

BarcelonaSix years ago, the life of Virginia Torrecilla (Cala Millor, 1994) changed completely. At just 25 years old, and just when she had arrived at Atlètic de Madrid, a brain tumor was detected. A very big impact – even more so in the midst of the covid pandemic – for a footballer who saw how, all of a sudden, she lost everything.

No one is prepared to receive such news. “Life hit me very hard and made me mature much earlier than I expected. I am not the same person I was six years ago; one of the things I have evolved in has been personally. I know what I want and what I don't, who I want to be with, and what is really important in my day-to-day life, which is obviously my family and everyone being safe and sound,” explains Torrecilla from Gran Canaria, where she is an ambassador for the Copa final, which Barça and Atlètic de Madrid will contest this Saturday (9 p.m., TV3 and Teledeporte).

The example of the Mallorcan footballer is that of a fighter, who has become a benchmark for those people who, unfortunately, suffer from cancer. “The greatest lesson I have learned has been to live day by day, to be able to enjoy the simplest moments of life, which do not return. Now I enjoy absolutely everything, whether good or bad. No one regrets being brave”, she explains.

Throughout the illness process, many people helped her. “What saved my life was the people closest to me. My family and my partner were very important people to me, they helped me to move forward to be able to continue”, confesses the ex-player. Football has also been a key factor. “It has been the most important thing in my life. Until I suffered the illness, it was my priority in everything”, she says.

An image to remember

And it's no coincidence. Those months, the mattress team, the club where she played at the time, rallied around the footballer to help her overcome the illness. “Atlètic de Madrid saved my life”, assures Torrecilla, who also has a great memory of Barça, the team where she began to grow in professional football under Xavi Llorens. The former player wore the blaugrana jersey between 2012 and 2015, in which she won three leagues and two Queen's Cups.

She also has other great moments in her memory from the Catalan club. Fate's coincidences meant that her comeback as a footballer – once the brain tumor was overcome – was against Barça. It was on January 23, 2022, in the Super Cup final. The blaugranas won the title, but that day the most important thing was that Virginia Torrecilla was back playing football. “It was very beautiful, especially the image from Barça: once they are champions, the first thing they do is carry me on their shoulders. That goes beyond values. It was only worth it that Virginia could play football again after cancer”, she recalls.

The importance of Alexia Putellas

In that team managed by Jonatan Giráldez, there were many players with whom Torrecilla had shared a locker room in the Spanish national team, but there was also a very special person, with whom she shared a hug before going onto the field in the 86th minute: Alexia Putellas. “She has been fundamental in my life, not only during the illness, but also for many years”, confesses Torrecilla, who does not know what the Mollet del Vallès footballer will do in the future. “Alexia is Barça and Barça is Alexia. I understand that the culers fans want her to stay”, she adds. 

Torrecilla is not the only athlete who has recently had to go through this process. Ainhoa López also had to fight against cancer, in this case Hodgkin's lymphoma. The Catalan basketball player, currently at Uni Girona but with a past at the now-defunct Barça CBS, has also experienced the bitterest side of life. “She is a being of light. We were together in Mallorca last summer and for me she is a very important person. When you unfortunately experience illnesses, you empathize a lot. I am very eager to go and see her play because she is a fighter and a person of ten”, she acknowledges.

The divided heart

“It’s very difficult to position myself”. This Saturday Virginia Torrecilla will have a divided heart in Gran Canaria. Her two great clubs, Barça and Atlètic de Madrid, face each other in the Copa de la Reina final. “I see a great match. I hope it’s a very hard-fought duel and we can enjoy a beautiful confrontation. Barça arrives in very good form”, she states. The former player concludes with a message that is also valid in football. “Life is not a bed of roses, but you have to keep moving forward to survive, live, and enjoy”, concludes Torrecilla.