‘I was facing Messi and Ronaldinho then came to England with no training ground’

Arriving in England was a culture shock for Andrea Orlandi – who’d gone from training with Barcelona‘s icons to having no training ground at all.

Orlandi enjoyed a dream start to his career, spending two years on loan at the Catalan giants’ B team and regularly joining up with the star-studded first squad. It was very much a baptism of fire contending with the likes of Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho.

“You’ve got Ronaldinho beside you, Deco, Xavi, Iniesta, a young Leo Messi was there,” Orlandi, now a pundit for La Liga TV, told Daily Star Sport. “It was like ‘wow, it’s make or break for me’, mentally as well.

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“Not only technically and tactically to feel if I was ready to be a pro, but mentally it was a big test to be around such big players because if you don’t give them the right ball, or if you’re not able to control the ball well when they give it to you, or you don’t understand where the spaces are or where they’re running to, it’s difficult for a young player.”

While it was the ultimate learning experience for him, the Spaniard knew he’d need to take a step down to get regular minutes. That’s when he departed parent club Alaves and linked up with compatriot Roberto Martinez at Swansea City in 2007.

“I knew nothing about Swansea,” he admitted. “It was all down to Roberto. 99% of my decision was was based on the meeting I had with him and the story he he told me and the plan.

“There was a four-year plan of starting in League One and then get to the Premier League in four years, which sounded a little bit unrealistic at the moment.

“And when I got there from FC Barcelona, with the big structure and everything was perfect, to Swansea where we didn’t have a training ground and we used to wash our own kit, it was a bit strange at the beginning.

“But I kind of trusted Roberto and his vision, and it’s true that he left after two years. But we got the first promotion to the Championship. I felt like it was a great opportunity. I didn’t really care, ‘OK, I have to wash my own kit. I’ll do it, I’ll get on with it’.”

It was a different world to the grandeur he’d been used to in his home country. And there were plenty of hurdles to jump to adapt to his new surroundings.

Orlandi continued: “I couldn’t speak the language. So for me it was a huge barrier, and I like to be involved in the banter, at least get involved with my teammates.

“So not speaking the language, the training was different, the speed of the game was different, the physicality was much more demanding.

“So I have to say that it took me six months, but Roberto told me ‘you’re either gonna stay here for six months and then you’ll be desperate to get back and play in Spain, but if you get over those six months, then you’ll be here for 10 years’.

“And and to be honest, in those first six months, I kind of doubted my decision. But once I got got over that line, I felt like English football was my place.”

Orlandi became part of a strong Spanish contingent at the Swans, which helped him overcome the early struggles both on and off the pitch as they mounted a promotion push in League One.

“Roberto wanted us to set an example because we were professional. We trained in a certain way. We used to eat the right food, we didn’t drink.

“So these were the things that we were bringing into the training ground, well we didn’t have a training ground, but into the dressing room and plus our qualities on the pitch.

“This is when Swansea started to play different football. This is why we got promoted. We didn’t have the players, the big names. But we had the idea with football and and we had a great dressing room.”

Portuguese boss Paulo Sousa took the reins from Martinez before Swansea earned their way to the Premier League under Brendan Rodgers.

Orlandi found game time hard to come by in the top flight and departed at the end of the season, spending two years on the south coast and another at Blackpool to total eight in England.

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