I rarely write in English, not due to my lack of interest but rather a faithful commitment to my mother tongue. English, as many other languages, has its benefits, but as I have mentioned many times, the lack of two verbs to describe place and being, makes it a second tier language for any written introspective effort.

Truth be said, for the past two years I have articulated my life around the English language, which in one way or another pushes me to dedicate some of my time to improving my introspective efforts, and today is one of those days.

My exodus from Spain was at the peak of my football career as well as my rock bottom. During the 21/22 season we managed to win the league with me playing an important role as a right fullback in a 5-2-3 formation. That same season, I suffered a fatal injury which arose as a consequence of a birth bone malformation that for many months had me playing in severe pain causing me to not be able to walk properly after each game.

Once settled in Estonia, and after long debating with my doctor we decided to fix my left foot with a five centimeters titanium screw. The surgery, conducted in September 2022, couple of months later after my move to Estonia, was hoping to reduce my day to day pain. It was not clear whether I would regain my ability to play football, at least on a competitive level, yet here we are.

After surgery I spent the following months with a self-prescribed rehabilitation plan, which in the words of my doctor, was an incredible feat. I was able to run after three weeks, and less than 4 months later I was playing friendly football games. It took nearly ten months to be able to play my first ninety minute game without pain.

Twelve months after my surgery I had managed to play close to thirty competitive and friendly games, however, I was still very far away from the physique I had in the months preceding to my move to Estonia, something had to be done.

Now, with the humbleness of the passed time, I am finally able to admit to myself that I never believed that I could get back to my fitness level prior to my surgery. Even during this present season I have indulged myself in unhealthy habits and have prioritize other aspects of my life rather than taking care of myself, however, today something changed.

Around nine months ago I was offered the life opportunity to train with Paide III, a football team filled with some of the best football players I have ever played with, not only talent wise, but also experience wise. During those months of preseason I felt captive of the imposter syndrome. I doubted myself and felt that the only reason I was there was thanks to the politeness of my coach rather than because of my abilities.

Now that season is coming to an end I can admit that at no point during those preseason months I showed sufficient level to earn my spot on the team, and when my coach offered me the opportunity I could not only accept, but reiterate that my goal was to learn and train, and if I had to stay at the bench, so be it.

My time at Paide has not only been a life changing experience, but also a wake up call. I was never good at football back in Spain, I was just in good shape, however, I am no longer in that shape, therefore, not only I am displaying a horrible football level, but throwing away the chance I was given.

Considering all of the above I can only ask myself, what have I done to deserve all of this, and I am afraid I can only reply with a very humble: I was just chasing the details.

I have often dwelled upon the idea that life is no more than a collection of details. The more you stop and observe, the fuller your life will be. And more often than not, in all of those details you are able to find the right path.

I could spend the next few pages listing all of those details that have led to where I am, but sometimes, life decides to give you the unique and special chance to make out of those details a worth telling story, and for me, that story got the end it deserved today.

Six years ago, together with my brother, we boarded a plane with the sole purpose of seeing Atletico win against its city rival. In a far away city from our home, Atleti promised to give us a something, a trip filled with tiny details that one day would make a worth telling story. On that day of night of the summer of ´18, we hugged with the stands, so much so, that we got to appear in several pictures in the news papers. A small detail for many, but for me, enough to quickly call my parents, whom in Spain, would secure two copies of the sports newspapers of the day.

Some years later, and part of my Christmas gift, I decided to frame those newspapers front pages with our match day tickets, as well as with out yearly season passes, as it was the first season Atleti spent away from el Calderón. Life did not prepare me for what those framed posters would bring to my life.

Later on, in the spring of ´22, in the middle of a life crisis and on the verge of burning out and quitting the legal profession for good, I spent a whole night working on some meaningless deal that at the team was a priority. With no coffee left, and nothing to cheer up my mood, I spent some time reminiscing upon that framed piece of Atleti´s history. One thought came to mind - if I had been happy in Tallinn once, I could be happy there again. I opened LinkedIn, searched for job positions in Estonia, applied to the first one, and forgot about it.

Several weeks went by, and in one of those funny details of life I ended up seeing in my spam inbox and email from that same job I had applied. The email, addressed to Mr. Texidor had gone to spam as my first last name is Pinedo, and usually foreigners believe that is my second name, making every email addressed like that to fall on the same category as the Nigerian prince.

I decided to reply, not convince by the formatting and still thinking it was a scam I spent some weeks back and forth with the man at the other side of the continent, before I knew it, I was packing up and moving to Estonia.

Well, from the above paragraphs, I am able to say that there are some tiny details that if it was not for some foolish randomness they would have never materialized, and all of them, have led me to this day. A day where I have gone to that same stadium from the summer of ´18, a stadium where together with a team I do not fully deserved, we have proclaimed ourselves as Väikeste Karikavõistluste võitjad, or in other words, Winners of the Small Cup Competitions.

Six years ago I unknowingly celebrated what was the beginning of a new life for me, and today, I have somehow managed to be part of what closes the biggest story of my life. The story of how, a lawyer from Madrid, managed to lift a trophy in the same stadium that made him leave the city where he was born, and if it was not for those details, I do not know what would have been of me.

And because life is full of funny details, today I lifted the trophy with my moms last name in my shirt, because, just like that email, it was assumed that Pinedo was my second name. And there is no greater tribute to my grandfather, the reason why I support Atleti, than waving the flag of his beloved team, in the stadium where my Estonian journey began.