Garnacho's Untold Origins: From a Tenacious Madrid Kid to Chelsea's Rising Star

Garnacho: From Madrid's futsal courts to Chelsea's frontline

Garnacho has always been a headache for coaches, just as he was a nightmare for defenders, since he was a kid, according to Antonio Meado, the Argentinian player's former Getafe academy coach.

Meado spent 31 years at Getafe's academy in Madrid's southern suburbs. In that time he says he never saw a talent or a personality like Garnacho.

He helped the young star move from futsal to 11-a-side at under-12 level, and Garnacho clearly showed where he wanted to be positioned in the new system.

Meado told The Sun: 'I remember many times I argued with Alejandro in the middle of the match. He saw things his way and told me directly without hesitation. Most kids wouldn’t dare ask a coach why he made a decision, but he did. It wasn’t common for a ten-year-old to explain to you how he saw things so directly. I told him once he was a right winger, he said he was a left winger.'

Perhaps he does not remember those conversations now. I used to tell him: you rely on your right foot, so you should play on the right. To motivate him, I once said: if you score two goals in the first half, I’ll play you on the left. I said that during a game, but he didn’t score two; he scored four. And the secret: Alejandro ended up a left-sided player.

The forward continued: 'He scored more when he played on the left. He had a phenomenal shooting power with his right foot, like a hammer.'

Alejandro Garnacho was born to a Spanish father and Argentine mother, started at Arroyomolinos academy in Mostoles near Madrid. He joined Getafe at ten, and after a year of futsal he became part of Meado’s 11-a-side team at a level one year above his age group.

Meado adds: 'That stage is usually tough for young players. Although small in stature, Alejandro showed extraordinary bravery and huge determination. He was mature beyond his age, unique in his thinking. Technically and physically, he stood out.'

'We played in a group with older players, so we were the smallest. We travelled to different Madrid stadiums, and people mocked us for our size. They said: look at them, what skill will they show today? But we were an amazing team, and Alejandro was our captain and our first star.'

'I can honestly say that the generation I coached was one of the best in Getafe's youth history.'

'On Garnacho's personality, Meado recalls: He had an insatiable will to win. His father ran a private air-conditioning installation business, and he came from a hardworking family, which shaped his fighting spirit. He was fierce in competition and angry when he lost even in training.'

'In the end-of-training small match he was the first to urge teammates and fight to win, as if it were a World Cup final. He never gave up a ball. If necessary he would chase even his shadow. For him every game — even a friendly — was a matter of life or death.'

'What amazed me, as a coach and a football lover, was his commitment. He gave everything. That is what made him different. Any other kid might have cracked under pressure, but he was stubborn, he fought until the last moment.'

After just one year, Garnacho's story with Getafe ended. Madrid's big clubs Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Rayo Vallecano continually monitor Getafe's talents, which has produced players like Emi Bondia and Roberto Soldado.

In 2015, Atlético Madrid came to sign Garnacho, then 11. He spent five years in the red-and-white academy before moving to Manchester United, making his first-team debut at seventeen and becoming one of Europe’s rising talents.

But after Enzo Maresca arrived to coach United in November last year, Garnacho's relationship with him soured quickly, after he seemed to ignore instructions before coming on as a substitute in a Europa League game against Viktoria Plzen. By summer, Maresca told the player he needed to look for a new club.

He was excluded from first-team training in a group dubbed by the club as the 'Bomb Squad' which included Marcus Rashford, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malasia.

Chelsea had been tracking his situation since January, and at the end of the summer window the Blues completed the signing for 40 million pounds.

Garnacho had to adapt to Enzo Maresca's demands, especially without the ball. But in recent weeks he has begun delivering more impactful attacking and defensive contributions.

Meado closes: 'Alejandro is a genuine first-class player. He didn't get enough minutes at United, staying there as long as possible before moving to Chelsea. He is still only twenty-one. I hope Maresca gives him more time on the pitch because he still has a big appetite to grow.'

Punchline: If Garnacho keeps finding new ways to surprise defenses, Chelsea might finally reveal a left-wing magic that even his left foot pretends to fear—my bets are on a thunderbolt that wakes up the headlines.

Punchline 2: In football as in comedy, timing is everything; Garnacho’s London chapter could become a masterclass in upgrading from “next big thing” to “already a legend” with a few well-placed goals.