Salma Paralluelo's rapid rise to the top
It's only two years since Salma Paralluelo joined Barcelona and was making her Spain debut. Now she's won almost everything already, and at just 20 years old is spear-heading the Spain attack...
Cristian Aleza Garcés can remember two moments he knew he was dealing with a prodigious talent, shortly after taking over as Real Zaragoza head coach in 2018.
One was in pre-season, when his side took up a top division opponent and the player in questions performance was “outstanding” and “left everyone fascinated.
The other came a short amount of time later, with Zaragoza losing a league game, before the striker scored four goals herself without reply in 45 minutes to win her team the match.
The player in question?
Future Barcelona and Spain forward, Salma Paralluelo.
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That was six years ago, when Garcés swapped CE Europa for Zaragoza. Six years on, Paralluelo is still just 20, yet a multiple Liga F winner, multiple Champions League winner, and even a World Cup winner.
Now, she’s three games from being an Olympic gold medallist, taking on the starting role as Spain’s number nine after largely being a super sub 12 months ago on the way to glory in Australia.
She is, in every sense, an intriguing story.
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