Álvaro Djaló, the late pearl that convinces De la Fuente: parents from Guinea-Bissau, childhood in Bilbao and interest from Athletic

Álvaro Djaló (Madrid, 1999) debuted in the Portuguese First Division on February 12, just nine months ago. And he did it at the age of 23, an age that in this fast-paced football, with 17-year-old teenagers stepping on the grass of the elite, is almost not considered “young.”. But Djaló has gone from zero to a hundred like his football: fast, vertical, impulsive. Suddenly he is the star of Sporting de Braga, a Champions League team, he scored a goal against Real Madrid in the first leg of the group stage, they have renewed him until 2027, they have given him a termination clause of 20 million of euros, Athletic Club wants him and Luis de la Fuente, the national coach, has him on his list of favorites to go to Spain's next call-up. His story is like him: lightning.

His parents changed Guinea-Bissau for Spain before his birth and he came into the world in Vallecas, which he barely remembers because when he was very little his family moved to Bilbao.. In San Miguel de Basauri, on the outskirts of the big city, he grew up in life and in football. His group of friends is still there and visits them every summer, although now, installed in Europe's top football competition, it will be increasingly difficult for him.. The past vacations will have been the last of a certain tranquility if Álvaro confirms during the remainder of the season what he has promised at the beginning.

He has accumulated nine goals and three assists in 19 games and has become indisputable for Artur Jorge, the man to whom he owes his explosion in Braga. Until fate brought him together, nothing was clear in Djaló's football career.. He trained at Unión Deportiva San Miguel de Basauri and Sociedad Deportiva Begoña, but at the age of 17 and after offering himself and being rejected by Athletic, he decided to start from scratch in Portugal.. He did not go through any important youth academy until landing, almost on the rebound, at Sporting, and he has not been on the radar of the national team's lower categories either.. In Lezama they didn't want him, they say, because he was too short. A reason similar to the one they gave him at Benfica. And now, a matter of destiny, in San Mamés they pine for him.

Athletic's interest

Djaló is the cousin of Malcom Abdulai Ares Djaló, a red and white youth player who is already one of Ernesto Valverde's first team, and sounds like a luxury reinforcement for a Bilbao team that could lose Nico Williams in the short term, desired by the big clubs on the continent. Djaló's clause is 20 million, something that would fit Athletic's intentions, and the player has already made clear his desire to wear the shirt of the team of his life. “All my friends are from Athletic,” he acknowledged.. Despite being born in Madrid and not having gone through the Lezama youth academy, his case would fit into Athletic's philosophy.

The Basque club assures that “players who have come from its own quarry and those trained in clubs in Euskal Herria can play in its ranks, which includes the following territorial demarcations: Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Araba, Nafarroa, Lapurdi, Zuberoa and Nafarroa Behera”, so there would be no problem with Djaló, who has lived for more than a decade in Basauri.

His explosion, crowned with the goal against Madrid a couple of weeks ago, has not gone unnoticed in the Las Rozas Football City, where Luis de la Fuente has written his name on the list of options he manages for the calls prior to the next Euro Cup. The coach is attentive to all the profiles of fast footballers, with dribbling and vertical skills, characteristics that he sometimes lacks in his lineups.. In Norway, for example, Ansu and Ferran were starters on the wings and Pedraza ended up being disruptive from the bench. Hence the quick call to Bryan Zaragoza, the Granada winger.. Djaló, who could also play for Guinea-Bissau, has decided to play for Spain if they demand him: «I am aware that my family is from Guinea-Bissau, but I have never been to Guinea-Bissau, I don't know anything about it. I have to go there, but for now I want to play with the Spanish team,” the footballer declared in a recent interview. Today, against Madrid, new test.