He smiles at every step, gives thanks every time he is asked about his leg, sore after the match against France, or about his son, who has been unwell these days but will be watching his father today at the stadium. We are facing probably the happiest player of the Spanish national team that will play the World Cup final against Argentina tonight. At least, the one who shows it the most. Pedro Porro (Don Benito, Badajoz, 26 years old) has become Spain’s new idol in the way Marc Cucurella did in Euro 2024. Fresh, smiling, and natural, the right-back of this team has had to go through many turns (Don Benito, Rayo Vallecano, Girona, City, Sporting de Portugal, and Tottenham) to secure the position, which has been his after quite a few setbacks. Today he looks back and is happy. And he looks forward and is even happier at the possibility of becoming world champion.
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QUESTION.I am in front of the most famous man in Spain today.
ANSWER. No, no, no. I don’t like those things. I am a humble guy, I am a calm guy. I can imagine that, after the other day, scoring the goal and also reaching the World Cup final, a big fuss is being made, although I am not very aware of it. The thing is, for now, I prefer not to think about it too much and stay focused on what we have to do, which is to keep working and thinking about how to play football.
Q. But do you know you won’t be able to walk down the street calmly anymore?
A. Yes, yes, I would say yes.
Q. Do you think so?
A. Yes, I think so. Let’s see, I don’t know. But well, if it’s hard for me to walk down the street, I will probably carry it with a lot of pride. That people stop you and want to take a picture with you, I will carry it with a lot of pride, because after all, they are also suffering it with us, they are having the same joys and the same emotions. We suffer and enjoy just like the people are doing.
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Q. I think if you ran for Prime Minister today, you would win.
A. Why?
Q. Because of what I’m telling you, because people are out on the streets with you like crazy.
A. Well, it’s a huge pride. Obviously, it makes you very happy to know that you make many people happy. And I hope we can keep making them happy. I like making people happy.
Q. But you’re not going to run for Prime Minister then.
A. What are you saying!!! Not even close.
Q. Do you get any of what’s going on in Spain? The giant screens, etc…
A. Yes, I see quite a few videos that my friends and family send me. Just yesterday my mother-in-law sent me a video of all those things and I was watching it. The truth is it’s a pride to be writing this story. And nothing, keep working to give them one more joy, which would be the greatest of all.
Q. How is your grandfather handling it?
A. Good, good. He’s a phenomenon. I just called him after the match against France, to see how he was, and he said: “What happened to you? Why did you come off? You’re not like that, to come off the field.” The man was worried in case I had hurt myself, because he knows I have to be really bad to leave a match.
Q. But we’re fine, right?
A. Yes, yes. There are moments in the match that… Well, I know my body 200%, I knew something was wrong and, indeed, I have a little edema that didn’t let me finish the match. But well, I’m sure we can be fine for Sunday to help the team.
“I am work, discipline, and humility. Persist in the things I have done well and learn from those I have done badly”
Q. What do you think this is a reward for?
A. Well, I would say for the work, the discipline I have always had since I left home. I have always put all my senses into what I want to achieve and I think I am lucky now that all the reward for what I have been working on is coming. Now what I try to do is make the most of this moment and simply keep working day by day so it doesn’t end. I am work, discipline, and humility. Persist in the things I have done well and learn from those I have done badly. That’s the idea.
Q. Why do you think people are identifying so much with you?
A. Well, I don’t know, really. I suppose because I am a humble guy, I am a guy… I don’t know, I don’t know what people might think of me. But surely there are many people who identify with the phrase that life is work. Many people, surely like me, have gone to look for work away from home, there are many boys and girls who go to study away… There are many things you identify with. Those kinds of things have happened to me too. Normal people do normal things. And to all of them I would say never give up on your dreams.
Q. What makes Pedro Porro happy?
A. Me, with my family.
Q. Have you already digested what you did against France?
A. Yes, because we knew it was going to be a very beautiful match, a very contested match. We did our job, we knew that countering their strong points was key for us to win the match.
Q. It seems like you are robots. You go out, do what you have to do, and go home. To clear your mind and think about the next one. You hardly celebrated.
A. We didn’t celebrate much because there is still one step left. But that comes from confidence in your work, in the team’s work, in the work the coaching staff does, in the work we all do here. We know the path is that: work, try to give the maximum day by day and finish as happy as possible. This is a team, we only have one step left and we want to take it.
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Q. Is Argentina scary?
A. No, it’s not scary. It does command respect because it is the current world champion. Obviously, if you don’t respect them it would be foolish. I also think the respect is mutual and with respect you go everywhere, but no fear. A lot of respect, like everyone, but no fear.
Q. Should you be afraid of anything? I mean in football.
A. In football, I am not afraid of anything. Obviously, there are things that give you more respect: injuries, certain teams, etc… but no fear. After all, this is a sport, you try to enjoy it to the fullest.
“People say Argentina fouls, but I would define it as competitiveness”
Q. Going back to Argentina, they say they will foul, that is, kick.
A. That’s not fouling. People say they foul, but I would define it as competitiveness. That’s the football they have, very competitive, and I think it’s also respectable. We have our football and we will try to impose it.
Q. I get the impression that you also foul. They praise how well you play football, but then you are a competitive team, a dogged team, if you allow me.
A. Of course! In football everything counts. The tiki-taka is very good, as was talked about in its day, but if you’re not competitive, if you don’t have that claw, that intensity, that spirit, well, you’re very far from the best.
Q. What will you feel when you see Messi?
A. I have already faced him a couple of times when I played in Spain. I have enormous respect for him because, after all, he is, for me, one of the best players in history, if not the best, for everything he has done. He has won everything in football, scored many goals, many assists, has done the impossible.
Q. It could be his last match in a World Cup. Does that give a special touch to facing a legend?
A. Yes, obviously yes. He is a great figure, a huge figure in football history. But we are focused on ourselves, on what we have to do when the referee blows the whistle. And whoever you have in front, have a lot of respect but nothing more.
Q. There is also a rumor that the referees are favoring you during the World Cup. Has that reached you or not?
A. No. People say what they want, or what they see, but that has to be irrelevant to us. The only thing we have to think about is winning the World Cup.
Q. What will you do if you win the World Cup?
A. I don’t want to say anything.
Q. The national team is taking people to the streets. In Spain the squares are full, the football fields with giant screens… What does that tell you or make you feel?
A. Seeing Spain like this gives us a lot of strength and pride. Even though we are here, we know we have a whole country behind us, and that is something we have internalized in the locker room. We know it and hopefully give a great joy to all those people.
Q. What will you think about just before going to sleep on Saturday night?
A. My children, my wife, and my family, that they are well. The rest is secondary. Obviously, it’s before a final, but I am a guy who sleeps well, I am a calm guy. I will think about the final on the day of the final, when I get up. My head has to be well, it has to be calm, that my wife, my children, and my family in general are all well. And from there, well, nothing, to play.
Q. And the last one. Who is really Pedro Porro?
A. I am a very humble, hardworking guy, and who doesn’t think beyond day to day. Getting up always with a smile is fundamental.
