'Jordi Alba stood out even as a child'

Jesus Royo, Alba's teacher at the Balaguer School spoke about the Barca star's younger days, he said: ''The truth is that he had a talent in athletics, he always like to run and he did it with great enthusiasm.

''One day, a neighbour of mine, who brought athletes to Montjuic asked me if I had young skilled players, and I thought about him. I told my neighbour about [Alba] but it did not come to fruition. I thought about him because he really had the qualities to become an athlete.'

''Although he also seemed different with the ball, he had a real feel for the game, and played with enthusiasm. He did all the tasks quickly and would always play until the final minutes of gym class.''

For his part, Antonio Munoz also recalled Alba as a youngster. He said: ''I remember him as a quiet, humble and quite sincere child. He behaved very well in class, he did not overly excel but he didn't have any difficulties. You could see that he channeled most of his energy into sport.''  

Munoz added: ''We don't know if he was already dreaming of La Liga or playing in European competitions or the World cup, but I remember that he always played with his friend Paco. Paco always asked me; 'Hey, why do we not play Jordi and I against everyone?' And sometimes I would let them, and they would do it. The two would pass between one another, they would make the whole class run after the ball, and on top of that, they would just win.

''You could see his ease in dribbling, driving with the ball, getting free, speed...All this was already clear as a child but, of course, you never expect them to get where Jordi has. We have had, and we do have talented young players, but none of them have reached such a high level in sports. He is undoubtably the most talented student we have ever had, and the children like to see the pictures of him at school. He is a great example,'' Munoz added.