The ups and downs for Guillermo Molins

Guillermo Molins has made it through quite a year. He has had to recover from his first severe injury, he became a dad for the first time, and now he’s about to truly debut for Anderlecht. “A true rollercoaster ride”


From heaven to hell and back again, that’s how it was for Molins. “I was so excited to play for Anderlecht. After 10 days I played my first match. Then my knee just quit, I knew it was bad. My wife was pregnant in Sweden at the time. I didn’t know what to do. But then my son Thiago was born, and you just forget about everything.”

“When I got injured, my wife was so far ahead in the pregnancy she couldn’t travel by plane anymore. When I called her up to tell her the bad news, she got in the car with her parents, 12 hours later she was standing next to me.”

Rehabilitation

“Every single morning, I was down at the training facility before all the other players. I saw them arrive, I watched them train, I could take it anymore. I went to talk to the staff, and they put me through to Lieven Maesschalk. I can’t thank him enough. He spent hours working with me.”

“Then when my wife had the baby in Sweden, I stayed there for a week. Normally I would train every day, but now I did nothing. I forgot about everything. Until the moment I picked up my son, and I realized I was walking without my crutches. I was so happy.”

And yet the light at the tunnel was still way ahead. He wouldn’t be able to resume training after the predicted 6 months. “My leg was like a match stick.” Only after another month of work he rejoined the group for training. “It was like I’d never played before, I was so bad. I had no concern for the bal, only my team mates. I was scared.”

After a few games with the reserves, and a couple of short substitutions with the first team, the highlight of the season was finally there for Guillermo: a place in the starting line-up. “I was hoping to be in the starting eleven against Standard, the last game of the season. (The title was already won). I started the game, and I gave the goal pass for Mbokani’s first goal. The fans were shouting my name. I had goosebumps all over.”

Personal

“I feel an immigrant in Sweden as well as in Uruguay. In Uruguay they look at me as Swedish, and in Sweden they can tell I’m not from there. My parents left South-America when I was one. I didn’t experience the poverty like the other kids over there do. That’s why they view me as a foreigner. I feel both Swedish and Latino.”

“I’ve been living by myself since I was 16. That’s when I met my wife. She’s been with me this entire time, she’s my rock. Because of her, I never went out with friends. A lot of talent is lost at the clubs and bars.”

“My dream is to play in Italy. Inter Milan is my favorite team, ever since Alvaro Recoba played there, and later Ibrahimovic as well. But that’s for later. I want to show myself in Anderlecht. I don’t have to prove myself. People consider me a new transfer for this season, but within the club everybody already knows me, and knows what I’m capable of. I’m completely relaxed.”