Where do we start? From the chorus of Chelsea fans? From the meme that transformed him into Roberto Carlos? Because Marc Cucurella, a peculiar character of his, after the match against Italy on Saturday became an authentic cult hero, a character whose status goes beyond the limits of the pitch.
THE CHORUS
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“He eats paella, he drinks Estrella, his hair is fucking massive”. Easy translation, between food, beer and obviously the hair, a distinctive trait of the left winger of Chelsea and the national team since he started playing. At Stamford Bridge they now love him, recognize his talent and appreciate his vitality and commitment: Marc runs like a madman and often does it constructively. And then he’s nice, funny, and with that hair that reminds you of a character from the Muppet Show, how can you not fall in love? Well, in his first year at Stamford Bridge they booed him, they thought he was a terrible defender, and even a bit ridiculous with that hair. How things change…
PATH
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Catalano, manager of Espanyol who then moved to Barcelona, fleeting debut in the first team, loan to Eibar, transfer to Getafe and from there to Brighton, great season, chosen as the best player by his teammates and fans, and for the club from the city of Mods record takings for the sale of “Cucu” to Chelsea: 70 million euros. Todd Boehly invited him to Mykonos to convince him to accept Chelsea’s offer, after City had not wanted to pay what Brighton had requested. Record capital gain, given that a year earlier they had paid 17 million euros for it. An exaggerated sum was paid by Chelsea, which in some way weighed on the shoulders of the Spanish defender in his first season. Then last December an ankle problem kept him out for 3 months, and when he returned in March no one thought he could go to the European Championship.
THE CALL
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And instead Pochettino started using him regularly, Chelsea finished in crescendo and Cucurella too. Then after Balde’s injury came Gayà’s, and so De la Fuente thought of Marc, who he had coached in the under 21s and with whom he won the Olympic silver in Tokyo 3 years ago. He knows it, appreciates it, trusts it.
HOLDER
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Again, no one thought he could be a starter given Grimaldo’s season with Bayer Leverkusen. And again, the second half: Cucurella starting against Croatia. Brilliant. Confirmed with Italy, he looked devastating on that left flank where he combines wonderfully and wreaks havoc with Nico Williams. At 25, Cucurella is ready to start again: after all, it’s difficult to stop him.
