Anssumane Fati, better known as Ansu, only turned 20 on Halloween (Oct. 31) but has already experienced more highs and lows than many players will during their entire careers. In Qatar, as part of Luis Enrique’s Spain squad and playing at his first international tournament, he is looking to tick off the ultimate high in football by winning the World Cup.
Not even Lionel Messi, the player whose No. 10 shirt he inherited at Barcelona, has won the game’s biggest prize. Many feel Messi’s career deserves a World Cup trophy, but Ansu could be forgiven for thinking he is also due a break after effectively losing the last two years of his own career through injuries.
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The prodigious forward left Guinea-Bissau for Seville aged six; left his parents in Seville to move to Barcelona at 10; broke his leg in two places aged 13; made his first team debut at 16; and became the youngest scorer in the Champions League and a Spain international at 17. But just as he was getting started, he was cut down at the cruelest time, for both himself and Barca, who were about to have a Messi-sized hole to fill.
Ansu finally returned to full fitness this season, but Barca coach Xavi Hernandez is managing his minutes carefully. He has started just five games in all competitions, appearing off the bench in 15, and there are legitimate questions about how injuries will influence his present and future.
Luis Enrique had enough doubts about Ansu to leave him out of the squad in October. But his goal-scoring exploits throughout his short career convinced the Spain coach he could be needed in Qatar. ‘Tiene gol,’ they say in Spain. Literally: He has goal. This is his journey to the World Cup.
