Hugo Duro's first race at Mestalla is hard to look back on. But just a few years later, the 22-year-old gradually became a hero for Valencia fans. His ups and downs have been bumpy, but this season, the youngster has scored eight goals in all competitions and become the team's third top scorer.
In the Copa del Rey in 2018/19, Douro, wearing a Getafe shirt, dramatically brought victory to Valencia, although he had no intention of doing so. In the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, Douro inadvertently blocked the shot that teammate Jorge Molina could have equalised, and worse, their opponents scored the ball in the ensuing counter-attack, completely shattering Hertafe's hopes of qualifying, and they also regrettably became a stepping stone on the road to the Bats that season.' Miguel ngel Román also taunted after the match that Douro would become a legend of Valencia and forever engraved in Valencia's history.
No one has been more bitter than Douro about this Copa del Rey defeat. That match was the eighth time the 19-year-old had played for Getafe, a big fan of the Madrid club since childhood and joined the Getafe academy at the age of 5. Some players may never recover from such a blow, but the Spanish teenager has shown a strong mental quality, as his last name means in Spanish, very "strong".
He played football and studied both, studied mechanical engineering while training, and helped Getafe qualify for Europe in 2019/20. Douro had also watched Getafe's European matches as a fan at the Perez Stadium.
By the end of the 2019/20 season, the youngster had become one of the favourite players of then-Getafe manager José Bordalás. But that didn't stop Douro from joining Real Madrid, where he was loaned to Castilla, the reserve side of the Whites, in 2020/21 and grew into an efficient striker under Spanish legend Raúl. The youngster scored 12 goals in 20 games for Castilla and gave him three appearances in either first-team manager Zinedine Zidane, including in the Champions League against Atalanta.
By the summer of 2021, Douro is already one of the most high-profile young players in Europe. Although his ownership still belongs to Getafe, the Spanish teenager was again loaned out when Bordalas became Valencia manager. They had discussed with Real Madrid the issue of returning Douro to Castilla, and in fact, if Castilla had succeeded in rising to La Liga at that time, It was very likely that Duro would return to Real Madrid. But after full consideration, Getafe found that their former manager was more than willing to work with the youngster again. As a result, Douro and Bordalas are reunited in Valencia in 2021. Very dramatically, before the transfer, Douro had already represented Getafe in the first round of the league against Valencia.
When the dust settled on the transfer, Valencia posted a creative video on social media announcing Douro's joining, and commentator Miguel once again uttered his famous quote: "Douro will become a legend of Valencia". Douro gladly accepted this statement, because he knew that all of this would make him stronger.
After joining the Bats, the youngster worked harder to squeeze into the starting position, as the two sides did not guarantee Douro's main position when signing. But soon he squeezed into the squad with everything he had learned at getafe academy and under Raul. And Douro did not live up to everyone's expectations, he performed amazingly in the team's 3-3 draw with Atletico Madrid, and scored two goals in stoppage time to help the team miraculously score a point. In this match, the former Castilla player's sharp edge also overshadowed the former Real Madrid teammates in the opposing squad. In addition to this, Douro has also scored key goals in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Copa del Rey this season, and it can be said that the youngster has been involved in almost all of Valencia's key moments of the season. We can expect that Douro will be an important member of Bordalas' fight for European qualification and the championship trophy.
Valencia included a buyout agreement in their loan contract with Getafe, so the future of the Spanish teenager is still uncertain. Duro has been running from club to club, but he is fearless and has only football in his heart.
About La Liga
The Spanish professional football league LaLiga (La Liga) is a global, innovative and socially responsible sports league, as well as a leader in the field of leisure and entertainment. The league organizes the Spanish professional football leagues , La Liga and La Liga , with 20 La Liga clubs and 22 La Liga clubs , affecting more than 2.8 billion people worldwide in the 2018/19 season. Headquartered in Madrid, La Liga has 11 permanent offices and 46 foreign representatives in 55 countries and territories around the world. In 2014, La Liga opened an office in Shanghai, China. In 2020, La Liga formed a joint venture with Mediapro and Xinying Sports, SFCM, dedicated to the commercialization of sponsorship and licensing. The league is actively involved in social activities through its fund LaLiga Genuine, and is the only professional football league in the world to have a league of intellectually disabled players.