Raya: 'I wouldn't change my career for anything in the world'

In March 2022, very close to his home, Raya made his debut in goal for the national team, impossible to forget that frenetic night in Barcelona.

Spain beat Albania in an energetic friendly, with the stands at the RCD Espanyol stadium packed to the rafters, and the fans saluted Raya with full honours.

Raya is a self-made goalkeeper, an insatiable worker who chose his position because of what he had at home.

"When I was four or five years old, I started as a goalkeeper. My middle brother was a winger and I had to play goalkeeper at home and I liked it. My parents signed me up for the village team and that's where I have my first memories of playing in the garden at home and then in the village team," he explains nostalgically.

At 28, Raya has made a name for himself in England, now at Arsenal after seasons at Blackburn, Southport and Brentford, with whom he made his Premier League debut.

A self-made fighter

He is considered one of the best goalkeepers in the top flight, and it is no coincidence that that is how specialists describe him.

"I left the country when I was very young, just 16 years old, and I had to work hard to get to where I am now. You value a lot of things, like when I left to play in the fifth division at 18 to 19 years old.

"It's very different to professional football or training, to the facilities I was used to at Blackburn. They taught me a lot of things there and it helps you to appreciate what you have. I wouldn't change my career for the world."

A goalkeeper who masters footwork

Today's football demands that goalkeepers, as well as stopping, know how to play with their feet, and there are few as good as Raya.

"When you're little, you like to play with your friends and you don't like to play in goal. At school and at weekends we always played futsal and that's where I played as a player. I adapted a bit more to playing with the ball at my feet and that's why I have that virtue."

He has many others, such as the courage that comes with the job. "We are made of different stuff. People say they wouldn't get hit in the face or in the belly with a ball. It's a part of being a goalkeeper, you can tell we're different."

Cradle of good goalkeepers

Spain is full of first-class goalkeepers and Raya, always willing to improve, is the best to define the situation.

"The level of goalkeepers in Spain is very high. I live every training camp as if it were my last and I enjoy it as if it were my last," he sums up.

"We have a very good atmosphere. Whoever comes, we goalkeepers know where we come from and we know that if we come here it's because we're playing. We know what it's like not to play and there has to be a good atmosphere for this to work."

Raya played last Thursday in Limassol against Cyprus, starting in a match that ended in victory to keep the team at the top of Group A in Euro 2024 qualifying.

When he heard his name called, the Barcelona-born goalkeeper took on the responsibility of having to defend the national team's goal - there is no greater privilege for a player in that position.

"When you go out onto the pitch and hear the Spanish anthem, it brings back a lot of memories of being a child. From when we won the European Championship, the World Cup and the European Championship. It brings back a lot of memories. It was my second game, it's a pride to represent my country and I hope I can do it many times."