The Atlético Madrid midfielder is back playing after cancer and being ‘sunk’ by an accident that left her mother in a wheelchair
- The Cagliari defender showed remarkable determination to reach Serie A after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome at 14. “It’s an illness that strikes one person in a million,” Pisacane said."But it’s serious stuff once you have it." - The Spaniard used sport as a tool for social change. Members from the football industry in the Common Goal movement donate 1% of income to charity projects.
Torrecilla lost 16kgs and her hair; she was weak, vulnerable. “My nephew had just been born but I didn’t have the strength to lift him and I couldn’t hold him in case he gave me something, the poor thing,” she says. “I had Atlético’s support: if not, I’m not here. People couldn’t get into hospitals. My uncle died after five months because he couldn’t get treated. He passed away with prostate cancer.” There’s a pause. “No funeral,” Torrecilla adds.
Torrecilla takes a deep, uneven breath. “The cancer hurt, but it’s my mum’s accident that really affected me. I couldn’t understand why life gives me a second chance then that happens. It was hard to accept. In fact, I’m still working on that. Fighting cancer, I didn’t see a psychologist: I knew what I faced. But when that happened, I didn’t know what to do, if it’s worth me being here any more. I was sunk. I went into a depression. I didn’t want to leave the house.
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