“We are already among the four best in the world… but it’s not enough for me.” This was what Salma Paralluelo (Zaragoza, 2003) told his father, Jaime, just after the match against the Netherlands in a video call from Wellington to Zaragoza. It could be a phrase without more if it weren’t for the fact that the forward had just been the heroine of the historic triumph by scoring the goal that certified Spain’s pass to the semifinal. The Aragonese is two steps away from lifting a World Cup that she always believed possible. Perhaps the team did not start as the top candidate, however Salma “has gone with the mentality of winning, she always sees herself as a favorite,” Jaime reveals to EL MUNDO. That is why it is not surprising that in that telephone conversation between the player and her family after the match, the Barça striker commented in a moment of euphoria: “Dad, only the title is worth me!”
And it is understandable because, since he started in the sport, he has only achieved success. In fact, he has already won two World Cups in the under-17 and under-20 categories and now he is looking forward to repeating with the senior team. Sport is in his genes and not only he has excelled in football. Until last year he combined it with athletics, being one of the most promising four hundred, with and without hurdles in Spain. His father says that he signed up when he was seven years old and that he already stood out from the first competition. “For me, who’s known her since she was little in that area, he’s a great talent,” she says Felix Lagunahis coach on the track since he was 14 years old, to this newspaper.
Whoever was his coach admits that he had something special, because he achieved extraordinary marks with hardly any training. In athletics, the Aragonese managed to win two gold medals in the 400 meter hurdles and 4×400 relay, at the Youth Olympic Festival, as well as setting multiple youth records. It was so much what she stood out for her, that at the age of 15 she was awarded the Princess Leonor of Sports award for the best Spanish athlete under 18 years of age.
Also at the age of 15, he left his homeland, Zaragoza, to join Villarreal, in whose quarry his brothers have also played Whom y Lorenzo. A club in which he was allowed to enjoy his two passions. “The team gave her and her family the opportunity to continue practicing both sports with the best possible means, the best organization and the best support. Villarreal is a kind of patron of Playas de Castellón, which is one of the great clubs of athletics on the Spanish scene. Therefore, faced with that option, she agreed to move there,” says her representation agency.
He spent two years at the groguet entity and combined both disciplines, until, in 2021, a torn ligament in his left knee kept him off the courts and pitches. When he returned to the competition, already in 2022, he managed to stand out so much that Jorge Vilda I took her into account in the pre-list for the Eurocup, a tournament that he was finally unable to attend due to a new injury.