The fan from Toledo has overcome a brain tumour and was inspired by the Villarreal midfielder
A story of overcoming. Santi Lara, a young Villarreal fan from Toledo, is an example for others. He is now 22, but when he was 18 he was on a coma for a year after a brain tumour was discovered. The doctors gave him a 5% chance of survival, but he made it out alive. He chose Santi Cazorla as someone to look up to, with the story of the Villarreal player returning to football after his big injury being an injury for Lara, who is slowly recovering.
His passion for Villarreal doesn’t have any limits. In fact, the Yellows’ games helped him recover. When he was in a coma, his parents put the Villarreal games on, and he followed them, when he could only move his eyes.
This story, with two main characters, had a key moment. When Cazorla missed a penalty last season away to Real Betis. It was then when Lara wrote to him via social networks to send him support. From then, their friendship has gone from strength to strength. Today, just before heading to Austria, Cazorla fulfilled his promise to give him a signed, dedicated shirt. Despite being from Toledo, Lara spends his summers in Burriana, a town just next o Vila-real, so he was able to visit the training ground and see his idol in person. A very special meeting.
To know more about this story and listen to Lara’s words, you just have to click the play button above the main photo. There are subtitles in English.
