Some days he went before training, others after training, and some days he went both before and after training, but Ronald Arajo always made his way to the bullring. He was 19 years old and had just arrived in Spain, and his greatest desire was to blend in.
The bullring is a small cage with portable metal panels on wheels that receives and returns endless passes, and it became his location. Because if everything were different, the Uruguayan would say “the ball” when asked what was most difficult about relocating to Barcelona as a teenager 6,000 miles away.
“Football happened quickly,” explains Arajo. “At 17, I was still in my little hometown, playing for the local team, Huracán Rivera. At age 17, I traveled to Montevideo for a Rentistas trial. I spent five months in the under-19s, was promoted to the seniors in the second division, and was then transferred to Boston River. It took two years to get from Rivera to Barcelona.
“My father labored in forestry.” He would be gone for two weeks, return for a few days, and then leave again. My mother worked as a housekeeper. Rivera represents serenity and tranquility to me. Being in the country with my father and the animals. I go whenever I can because it relaxes me.
Adapting to Barcelona was a leap. I lived near the training site for the first eight months before moving to Pallejà, a mountain town with pine forests. You can escape home and find yourself in the mountains. But when I joined the first team that traveled every three days, I descended the hill.
Signed initially for Barcelona’s B team – if adapting to the city “cost,” to use Arajo’s term – acclimating to the sport was a further step. Rivera is not merely on the Brazilian border; it straddles it, making it a bi-national city. “Cross the street and you’re in Brazil, literally,” he says.
“We speak Portunol, which is a combination of Portuguese and Spanish. My family has Brazilian ancestry. For Uruguayan television, you had to pay; for Brazilian television, you simply raised the antenna, so we watched Brazilian television. Brazilian music was playing. “The cuisine was Brazilian”
And the football was… Uruguayan.
Arajo chuckles. He remembers his father bandaging him up as protection for a 13-year-old who was already playing with adults. No leniency and no-nonsense. He began as a forward – “I never envisaged being a defender” – and didn’t change positions until he reached Montevideo at the age of 17 when his idol Ronaldinho was replaced by Carles Puyol, Rio Ferdinand, Giorgio Chiellini, and Leonardo Bonucci. He had the essentials: Strong, 6 feet 2 inches tall, and forged in a football culture that he claims is rooted in “commitment, bravery, and the desire to assist your family.”
It is a different culture than what he encountered when he switched clubs and continents, Arajo entering Barcelona B, the final stage of the Masia academy. “It’s more direct in Uruguay.
The goalkeeper would kick the ball up or, if necessary, pass it to us and we would kick it up. “Bringing the ball out didn’t exist,” says Araujo. “We didn’t work tactically. You defend, that’s it. In Europe, they expect different things from you. I had to undergo significant change.
“The ball took off. In the first few sessions, there would be 20 people in a small area, and I would touch it three times before losing it three times. [They’re thinking:] ‘And this guy?!’” Arajo recalls, with a hearty chuckle and a broad grin, long, powerful limbs folded into his chair and large feet sliding off of sliders.
“There were men there who had been doing this since they were eight years old. I arrived from a different football. It was challenging to travel to Barcelona, a city whose philosophy differs from that of many Europeans. Nonetheless, I went to work. I told myself, “I must perform here.”
“We have a toros plaza. Right, and left, positioning would be my morning and evening routines. Depending on what you need to do, the metal sheets have red or green LEDs. There are games in which you receive this many points for striking the ball with your right foot and this many points for hitting it with your left foot.
I would go alone in the evening and with a member of the coaching staff in the morning before the session. I lived close by: snag a ball, return, play for an hour, take a shower, return home, and drink mate. And I also viewed videos, requested [B team coach Xavi] Garca Pimienta’s personnel to show me, and learned.
“I never had the notion that Barcelona would be too difficult; I told myself, ‘I’m going to perform.’ Some players played for the first team, and I thought, “I want that,” so I decided to participate in preseason. At first, people said, “Arajo, I-don’t-know-what…” But I said, ‘I’m going to play for the B team, prove myself, and get a shot with the first team. “Praise God, that’s exactly what happened.”
Now a graduate, the lessons were beneficial and the evolution were evident, but it was not yet complete. “This season, I’m focusing on physical preparation to prevent injuries. I’m a bit of a “hard head,” or obstinate, and I would continue until I collapsed. “I must be more cautious,” he says.
“I must also continue to develop technically and tactically. Being well-positioned, as we are now, can prevent a surge. We now receive numerous offsides because we are better positioned.
“Xavi uses videos to highlight your strengths and areas for development. You can see what you need to do more of. I’ll also approach a coach and inquire, “Can we do this?” Corners, for example. Perhaps we are not scoring from them, so practice more.
Or lengthy passes: line up, 10 balls right, 10 balls left, repeat. There is something after every session. Playing every three days requires caution, but every day I work on what I perceive to be going poorly.
“There’s this saying in Uruguay: ‘No, he’s not from la Masia,’ but I consider myself a part of it,” Arajo continues. “I wasn’t there as long as others, but Barcelona B changed me. I acquired knowledge of philosophy. And I would eat breakfast and lunch in the Masia and spend time with them there, which was very beneficial to me.
It’s not just happening in Uruguay. In March, Xavi stated that Arajo was “one of the best in the world without the ball [but] with the ball, he has to develop,” adding, “He doesn’t always find the best solution because he didn’t train here [as a child]; he’s not homegrown.”
However, the Barcelona coach also described him as the player who had improved the most due to his diligence. “He has changed how he performs, which is what we asked of him and is gaining weight with the team,” the coach said. He is now irrefutable.
Arajo concurs, “I have adjusted.” “Xavi changed the organization, and I learned philosophy, which had been somewhat lost over the past few years. He instructs me, we view videos, and most importantly, it’s confidence. He is aware of my qualities, but also has faith in my ability to perform, and we are now seeing that pay off.
The ball makes me feel very at ease.” Arajo laughs and responds, “Er… me… now!” when asked who is superior at bringing the ball out of the back, him or goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen. Marc is another [outfield] performer with his feet, and I understand it more than he does.”
In addition, there is something else: Arajo has not only acclimated to Xavi, but Xavi has also adapted to him. That the ideologue who embodies the club’s footballing identity and speaks of Heredity has evolved can be seen in the growing importance of Gavi – “There are few players in Europe who could play in Uruguay; Gavi is one of them,” says Arajo – and, above all, in the importance of the center-back.
“Maybe players like me and Pedri, who didn’t go through the whole system, can offer something different too,” Araújo concedes. Maybe? Definitely. If Pedri is “pure talent,” as the Uruguayan describes it, then Arajo is something else.
And despite initial resistance, Xavi has adopted the other, less Barcelona-like qualities that he inherited from Rivera. Things you see immediately, such as the charisma evident here and on the field, as well as things you hear. During the pandemic, it became evident that his voice was always heard in empty stadiums, essentially commentating on the game.
Arajo chuckles. “It’s my method of concentrating,” he says. I’m always chatting. From the beginning until the end. ‘Right, left, hold, descend…’ We had Leo [Messi] and everyone else at the time, but no one said, “This man talks too much.”
I could tell it was acceptable and beneficial to the team. Uruguayan football taught me a great deal about character and leadership. And the most crucial duty of a defender is to defend. That is why we are there. Protect the goal and keep your record spotless.”
Although Arajo acknowledges, “Europe is Europe, for everyone from every league, not just us,” he is crucial to Barcelona’s record of conceding only seven goals in La Liga. Before the first leg against Manchester United, Xavi insisted that Ronaldo is a tremendous defender with the ability to define an era at the club and in international football. “I’ve seen few players with his physical, tactical, technical, concentration, and leadership abilities. He is an outstanding performer.”
