Barcelona will be joined by an indestructable football player in January. Aleix Vidal has overcome all the hurdles imaginable to become a player for one of Europe's elite teams. His history is a film with a sweet ending. From being rejected by Barça, Real Madrid, Espanyol... and even Rapid Ibiza, to returning to the Blaugrana through the front door, the lastest signing of the treble winners.

Jordi Gil

It's been a 21 year fight since he first kicked a ball in Valls Football School Diver team, which is the team for the youngest group of players. In his home of Puigpelat, there had been no teams or no pitches. Valls was not far away, though, hardly 10 minutes by car and his father was happy to accompany him.

At Valls, he was recommended to Barcelona by his coach, Rafael Magrinya. Sergio Lobera, who was then the coach of Barça's Alevin A side decided, after one trial, that the 11-year-old Vidal was good enough to join the Catalan club's youth ranks. However, there were obtacles to come.

Lobera, who took the bet on him, didn't end up being Vidal's coach. Instead, he joined Xavi Llorens in the Infantil B team. Llorens did not think that Vidal was made of the right stuff. He was normally left playing second fiddle to a forward line which featured Jordi Alba and Victor Rodriguez (Elche). Aleix played as a No.9 and it hurt him a lot when he was left out of the side for the televised youth tournament in Brunete. His family soon began to hear rumours that he would be released. He was small and he had not convinced, but he wasn't given many explanations when he did leave.

Aleix returned to Puigpelat with the experience of having played for Barça. He returned hom to play in the Cambrils Football School. Ramon Llobet got the best out of him and he was the second top scorer in his category, behind only Guillem Creus. His goal scoring form continued and Real Madrid's Catalania scout took notice, taking him to the Spanish captial via a one-year loan in Nastic's Cadete side.

His arrival at Real Madrid

Madrid did not have their own schooling system in place, so Aleix joined the Colegio Internacional SEK, a strict school, with uniforms and one which did not offer much flexibility for a young footballer. At Los Blancos he began as a winger and, even though he struggled, he was a starter in the Cadetes Copa in a team led by Dani Parejo (Valencia).

He signed a three year Juvenil contract in the offices at the Bernabeu, but when returning home in the car, at a service area in Lleida, his dad received a frustrating call. The Colegio Internacional SEK would not allow Vidal to continue. "I've come to Madrid to play football, not to study," was his phrase when they asked him why he had so little interest in learning. The school was overly stricy; it did not have the necessary tact for young sportsmen and it was impossible for him to continue.

Ramon Llobet appeared once again to let Vidal train with Cambrila after a difficult time, which included being let go by Rapid Ibiza after a five day trial on the island. The dream of becoming a professional footballer was wobbling when he signed for Reus. It was a delicate time. Aware that football could end at any time, at 16, he began to take a course to be an electrician.

The risk of dropping out of football had always been very high. Reus was the last train and he had to attack it. Impressing in the Juvenil team he caught the eye of Natxo Gonzalez, the first team coach, who promoted him to train with the fourth tier side. Vidal's future began to look slightly more promising.

Espanyol, Greece and...

At 17, Vidal had already passed through FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. "If these teams didn't want him, it must have been for something...," was one of the sentences he would hear most often. But his potential invited people to think he could make it, even if his history suggested otherwise. It was then that another opportunity appeared with a big club. Espanyol knocked at the door and he did not think twice.

As at Barça and Madrid, though, excitement quickly changed to chagrin. Juvenil A had already filled up their squad when he signed and he was left without a team to play for. The solution was a loan to Damm, where he played for Xavi Torrijos side in Division de Honor.

The following seasons, now with Espanyol B, there was another setback. Vidal became the subject of a war between the sporting director, Paco Herrera, and the man in charge of the youth system at the club, Jose Manuel Casanova. Herrera felt Vidal had a future at the club; Casanova did not. It was Casanova that one and an 18-year-old Vidal was loaned to second division Greek side Panathrakikos.

...the road to CF Pobla de Mafumet

At the end of the season, for the third time, Espanyol decided to get rid of Aleix Vidal and he signed for CF Pobla de Mafumet, Nastic's B team in Segunda Division A. He signed for two years and debuted for the first team against Rayo, but Nastic decided not to take on the option to keep him for the second year.

Once again, he was cut. Carlos Vidal, his father, remembers all the knocks his son has taken. "He's always gotten back up, the bad experiences have made him even tougher," he said. Carlos added that at that time, they were still continuing with the idea of "findining a B team for a Primera or Segunda club. We believed a lit in him and his mentality was strong." This time, he ended up at Mallorca B. He passed a trial to joing the second string, but he only joined Michael Laudrup's first team for one training session.

Almeria to the rescue

While at Mallorca, Almeria were following him and made him an offer to play for their B team. Vidal said yes to the offer. He was also wanted by Racind de Ferrol, but he wanted to join a club with a team in the Segunda Division. There was little room for error. And at Almeria he finally took off.

At first he was with Almeria B, but his contract meant he did pre-season with the first team. The second training session with Lucas Alcaraz saw the coach asked the president: "Why is the best player in the squad signed to the B team?" He only played one game for the second string, scoring two goals and never playing for them again.

Alcaraz taught him that he must also defend, that is was a basic disciplne. In one of his first trainign sessions, he switched off the and the coach said: "Don't do that with me again." And he didn't. At Almeria he was happy. He played regularly, won promotion to La Liga and put the bad times behind him. The only brief moment of pain was when Javi Gracia left him out of the team for a while. "Work hard. Don't give them a reason (to drop you). If you have to train at 09.00h, get there at 08.00; if you finish at 12.00h, stay until 13.00h," was the advice of his dad. Carlos had reason, once again, and everything else soon followed. Sevilla, the Spanish national team... and the dream of playing for Barça.