"Football was his religion": Rhodri's path from the camp in the USA to the triumph at the World Cup and the transfer to...

Thirty teenage campers gathered around a hastily installed television set to watch Spain win the World Cup. One of them could not hide his delight. After 16 years, he himself will raise this trophy above his head - already in the status of the captain of the Spanish national team. In the summer of 2010, Rodri, then in the Atlético academy, went to the Incarnation camp in Deep River, Connecticut. It was a place where watching football was considered unheard of, even though South Africa was hosting the World Cup. But that year everything was different. Among the campers was the 14-year-old Spaniard, who recently joined Barcelona after winning the Ballon d'Or for the best player at the 2026 World Cup. Nothing could prevent him from watching the first ever World Cup final with his national team. "He needed to watch this match as much as a person needs to breathe," says insider sources, his former roommate Miles Smith. "The camp leaders knew he would just go crazy if he couldn't do it. It would be cruel to deprive a child of what he wants so much." Considering the location of the camp deliberately remote from civilization, it was not easy to organize the broadcast. But camp manager Chris Garrett-Williams found a way out and allowed young Rodri to watch the final between Spain and the Netherlands that Sunday afternoon. Garrett-Williams bought the TV at a local Walmart, planning to return it the next morning. He temporarily connected cable television and then ran wires from the only building on the camp site that had electricity to the recreation room where the participants gathered. Mattresses and beach chairs were brought inside. Popcorn was passed in a circle. The lights were dimmed, although many of the children that evening were watching their excited Spanish campmate more than the match itself. The game turned out to be surprisingly tough. English referee Howard Webb showed 14 yellow cards - a record for World Cup finals, which still stands today. Jonny Gethinga received a second yellow and was sent off, while Nigel de Jong somehow stayed on the field after he spiked Xabi Alonso's chest. The match remained tense, fierce and scoreless almost until the very end. But four minutes before the end of extra time, Andres Iniesta scored the winning goal for Spain. No wonder Rhodri was bursting with joy. "He was banging his hands on the table so hard with excitement that the TV screen was shaking," recalls Jimmy Christensen, the camp's trip leader. "Chris was yelling, 'No, no, no! We have to return it tomorrow!" Every day Rodri wanted to know the latest news from the tournament, and before every match of the Spanish national team he demanded to be told all the details. Even in the middle of nowhere in New England, two hours north of New York, he wasn't about to miss the World Cup. However, at the quarter-final stage, Rhodri embarked on a five-day canoe trip where it was impossible to know the results of the matches - even if the camp leaders wanted to check them for him. He waited two days before learning that Spain had beaten Paraguay 1-0. "It must have been a real pain for him," says Christensen. In the semi-final against Germany, just hearing the result after the match was not enough. "Usually we try to keep the kids away from the outside world," says Christensen. "But this time we let him and Chris watch the semifinals on the laptop." Even this was not enough for the final. That's why the Garrett-Williams viewing together is still one of the most vivid memories of that summer for those who attended the camp. Rodri was one of about 20 Spanish teenagers who came to Incarnation Camp in 2010. He got into Pioneer Village, the oldest group for 14- to 15-year-olds. There were ten other Spaniards there with him, but Rhodri always wanted to talk to everyone. "At first there was a bit of a language barrier between us," recalls Smith, who first met Rhodri in a shared tent. "I could speak Spanish at a very basic level, but he switched to English very quickly and overcame that barrier without any problems." Smith and Christensen recall that they and Rhodri were not drinkers. They cooked together, went about their daily tasks, and bonded over their shared love of the SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon series. In the camp, he was called Rodrigo - the full name of the footballer Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante. He enthusiastically participated in any activity