No need to discover Candela Andújar at this stage. It has been years since she has shone as runner-up in the Sub'20 world in 2018 and twice as runner-up in the European Sub'17. The Catalan, trained at Barça, came on loan to Valencia this summer to gain minutes and continue to grow as a footballer, in a stellar landing.
This could be seen in the match against Santa Teresa, where the 20-year-old defense came out in the second half to dress up as heroin and sentence with two goals. After ending a knee injury, the player is set to succeed.
“Coming on loan to Valencia has been one of the best decisions I have made. It is true that in my eight years at Barça I have learned a lot and I have enjoyed opportunities in the first team, but at my age (20 years) what I am looking for are minutes in the First Division ”, he explains.
He is backed by an enviable career: he has participated in 15 matches of the First Iberdrola as Barça player, two of them starting, to add 365 minutes plus 142 minutes in his four games of the Champions.
Seeks to continue growing in First
Her versatility as a defender, as well as her tremendous quality and goal, have led her to form part of the ambitious Valencian project. “Here we aspire to more than we have done so far,” he warns, Valencia being sixth in the table with two wins, three draws and one defeat. “I come from a long injury and I'm still picking up pace, but I notice that I have regained confidence in myself physically and in football.”
Regarding his idea of returning to Barça one day, he does not hide that “to think that one day I will be able to be in the starting XI of Barça is a dream, but now I am only focused on Valencia, 100%”.
(+) This was Candela's goal against Santa Teresa:
Iniesta and Vicky Losada, his references
Her girl references are Andrés Iniesta and Vicky Losada, as well as the French Olympique Amel Majri and he remembers with immense affection his beginnings in football, when he accompanied his father to watch his brother's games for the team in Barberà del Vallès, his hometown. Then she began to act as a goalkeeper for the practices of her brother and his friends: “I told them not to shoot me too hard, although later I was no longer scared and everything stopped.”
Wanted to follow in the footsteps of his brother in BarberàBut there was still no female team, so “my father and I insisted so much that they let me enter the male juvenile,” he recalls. She started as a goalkeeper and finished as a defense, until first Sant Gabriel and then Barça discovered her.
Music and the ukulele, his other passions
His other great passion is music, which he listens to all the time: “In the car, before training and playing, while I cook or even when I study.” After throwing himself with the ukulele, he is feeling the pulse of the guitar. “I also try to sing”, confesses this player destined to succeed