Sergio Lozano, the futsal boxer: four knee operations, a depression and many wins from playing

That afternoon, on April 5, his wife Cristina, for the first time in a long time, wanted nothing more than to see him on the track, all the time; she was playing so well that she didn’t even think about the ordeals they had suffered together. So many retinal lesions. And fate played another trick on them, perhaps the worst of all. “It’s dejavu, sometimes I think it’s a nightmare,” she wrote on social media. Sergio Lozano (Madrid; 34 years old) did not want to collide with the rival to avoid the foul and, in that gesture, the right knee, the one that had already suffered three serious injuries, broke again. “It just can’t be. No, no, no… That’s what I thought immediately because it was clear to me that it was the third cruciate ligament tear. And I cried in pain. But what cries for you is your heart and soul more than your knee, ”explains the Barcelona player a few hours before undergoing surgery for the fourth time. This Friday at noon, Dr. Joan Carles Monllau will operate on him at the Dexeus Clinic.

Cristina, already at the hotel and that same night, asked her to leave him for once, because in the third injury —the first was in 2015, the next in 2016 and the penultimate in 2021— she went through a depression, wondering what day yes and day too why was it his turn. But El Bufalo —as he is known in the futsal world for his power and punch— denied him the most. “I want to decide when I retire and not let an injury do it,” he responded emotionally, to the point that Cristina, always by his side, a vital support point, accepted reality: her husband wants to say goodbye to futsal with him. ball between feet “Well, I am aware that this injury can retire me. There are four already and all important. But we are all optimists, including the doctor, and, in a boxing simile, I am going to box until the bell rings.”

It happens that the joint has seen them of all colors. “To fix it, they have removed pieces of the internal rectus, the patellar tendon and the quadriceps. Now they will do it from the ischium ”, she recounts; “And I know that it is possible that in the future I will have knee problems because I am pushing my leg to the limit. But I don’t think about it much and what I want is to enjoy myself until I can. Futsal is my passion”. And, he says, he is whole, even though last week he was admitted to the hospital for two days due to a stomach ulcer due to nerves, due to the setback. “I have my moments, hard days, long nights but this time I am seeing the positive side. I’m fine, not like the third injury, when I said 20 times that I was leaving him, that I didn’t want to suffer again. Of course, I am lazy about the operation and the following month and a half with pain, without moving and seeing how the leg becomes small and I have excess skin. But I know what’s coming. And I know I’m going to suffer, but I do it smiling. And when I smile I do it for real, I am transparent. So I see the positive part of it and it will help me to meet other objectives, ”he resolves with determination.

It turns out that Lozano wants to keep his mind busy and, although on occasion it makes him angry to see his teammates compete, he will dedicate himself to other companies such as writing a book about his history with injuries and with the ball (and rivals) at his feet. . He will also continue studying English and training as a coach, since he wants to take level 3, the last one, in addition to giving lectures. “That will help me, it will help us,” he agrees; “because we know what is coming and we have to accept it”. At the end of the tunnel, in any case, is the desire to return to the Palau.

“I dream of wearing the Barca shirt again and that the fans, as they do in every game, chant my name,” he explains. And, Buffalo himself, clarifies: “If I come back, I will do it without fear. I have never had it and I am clear that I will give my best. And after that I will think about what I have won and how lucky I have been thanks to futsal ”, he underlines. But in case he has bad days along the way, he also knows that besides Cristina he has another great refuge. “What will help me the most will be to see my daughter [Alejandra, de casi cuatro anos]. Because when he has a bad day he will laugh and want to play with daddy. That is the engine and gasoline, what I need, ”she admits. And sure, when he returns, he will dedicate a goal to the two women in his life.

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