At the peak of 26 years old, he landed in the Premier League, and all he didn't want to wait for was the cold bench. He needed to look up at Suarez and imagine that he could win applause and goals.
When the Uruguayan superstar moved to La Liga's Barca, he also chose to return. After wandering through Andalusia, I finally returned to the place where the dream began.
Scoring 113 goals in seven seasons, Aspars became the espanyol with the most goals in the same period, and even ranked third among active players in la Liga.
01. 26-year-old's Premier League journey: the ice there froze him
Joining Celta's academy at the age of 8, Aspars has grown up in this team until the age of 25.
He was the team's top scorer at the time and was given the reputation of "Wall of Celta".
Rodgers wanted to lead Liverpool back to its former glory, so he sent an olive branch to the La Liga powerhouse.
Having played well in pre-season warm-ups, Aspars even put on the Reds' No. 9 shirt.
Suarez was suspended for biting and missed the first three games of the league. Aspars' Premier League debut assisted Sturridge's goal and Liverpool won the opening goal.
However, with The comeback of Suarez, his SAS combination with Sturridge became Liverpool's only option, and Aspass was gradually forgotten on the bench.
Liverpool fans will never forget the 2013-14 season, which was just one step away from the Premier League title, but Aspars played only 468 minutes in all competitions throughout the year, and the record card of 1 goal and 1 assist was so pale.
In an interview after scoring in the FA Cup, he said: "I prefer to play as a striker! But soon his voice was forgotten, and even if he came off the bench, he could only be arranged to go to the wing.
Because Suarez is flanked by England's native geniuses Sturridge and Sterling, and even Coutinho does not dare to guarantee his starting position, it is normal for Aspars to be treated coldly.
02. Returning to Galicia from Andalusia: Reborn after the summer of 2015
In the summer of 2014, Suarez chose to leave Liverpool for La Liga giants Barcelona.
Also leaving was Aspars, and even without sue, the coldness of England still made him eager to escape.
He joined Sevilla on loan in his first year, scoring 10 goals and 3 assists in 25 games, and followed the team to win the Europa League.
But that wasn't his real stage, and in the summer of 2015, back in his home team Celta, Aspars was back to being the all-powerful king at the Balledos Stadium.
He contributed 19 goals and 5 assists in his first season, and in the second year, he reached the top four of the Europa League with his weak Celta, creating the best record of the 21st century in the history of the team.
In the two years since, Aspers has scored more than 20 goals in La Liga every season, becoming the top scorer in the country.
His team-mate Nolito (who has played for Barca and Manchester City) praised the core of the team this way: "I am very serious, we should erect 3 monuments in Galicia for Yago (as the name of Aspars), one in Moania (where Aspars was born), one in Vigo (the Spanish city where Celta clubs are located), and the other on the border between Spain and Portugal. ”
In the 2018-19 season, Due to injury Aspass, he missed a small half season, and the team also fell to the relegation zone at one point. However, in the 29th round of the league against the fourth-bottom Villarreal, The Aspars made a comeback.
Just 15 minutes into the opening, Celta fell into a 0-2 disadvantage, and if they lose, the fate of relegation may be difficult to change.
As a result, Aspars stepped forward, first using a direct free-kick to narrow the score gap, and then after teammate Maxi López equalized, he completed the kill in injury time, staging a 3-2 Jedi reversal.
It was Aspars' 300th game in Celta, and he walked down the pitch in tears of excitement and expressed his resolve to the fans at a press conference: "The fans who supported us had a bad season and they deserve better rewards. We have to stand up and fight, especially at home. ”
He said he did it, and in the nine games after returning from injury, Aspars contributed 10 goals and 4 assists to help the team get 11 points.
At the end of the season, Celta finished 17th in La Liga and finished with the last relegation spot. Aspars is the hero of the city, and local fans regard him as "Messi of Celta". (Aspars' goal efficiency per unit of time that season was second only to Messi in La Liga.
03. There is no longer any need to look up to Su Shen: he is already the third person active in La Liga
Despite slipping to 14 goals in La Liga last season, Aspars contributed 13 assists and used a double-double to help the team to 8th place in the top half of La Liga.
Having won the Sala Award for the Spanish Homegrown Golden Boot for three consecutive years from 2016 to 2019, Aspars became the first player in history to accomplish this feat.
In recent years, at the feet of Aspars, there is no shortage of top giants such as Real Madrid and Barca, especially Barca, who have suffered two stoppage-time draws in the past 2 years.
Like Messi and Suarez, who was born in 1987, Aspars is no longer young. However, in the middle of this season, he scored 10 goals again, and even can already suppress the former "Su Shen".
In La Liga for the past seven seasons, Aspars has been the first person to score goals in Spain. Even counting all the active La Liga players, only Suarez and Benzema scored more goals than he did.
Even counting players who have left La Liga, there will only be one more Messi, and Aspars is still in the top four.
Since returning to Galicia in 2015, his path to greenery has been so smooth. Playing in the World Cup in Russia in 2018 made his career more fulfilling.
Scoring key goals in the final round of the group and helping the team advance to the knockout rounds became his greatest pride: "My family watched me step on the World Cup for the first time. My son is only two years old, and he doesn't quite understand what's going on. But later he can proudly tell his friends that he has seen his father score in the World Cup! ”
The grassroots player from the "cold door" has not been successful in a big club career, but it doesn't matter anymore. If Suarez chooses to leave La Liga next season, he may even surpass Benzema as the first person to score goals in La Liga in the same period (the gap is only single digits).
But that's not his goal, because Aspars has a clear plan for the future: "I watch 8 games in the Americas, or even 9 games. I watch all the matches in every La Liga round because I want to be a sporting director in the future. ”
Perhaps in the days to come, this Messi peer, who has made a trip to the Premier League, appeared in the World Cup and proved his talent in La Liga, will become a fierce rival of the Argentine superstar in the field of sports director.