Giovani dos Santos returns to Barcelona again tonight, his reputation restored as a top footballer.
The Mexican is in his second season with Villarreal, who gave Barca a fright before losing 3-2 at Camp Nou 10 days ago, in one of the best games of the season.
The sides meet again tonight in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, with the second leg in three weeks at El Madrigal.
As part of the Villarreal attack, Dos Santos, 25, shone at the stadium where he was a regular in the 2007/08 season.
Under the guidance of his idol, Ronaldinho, he made his debut at 18 and played 37 times in his debut season.
Unfortunately, his arrival in the first team coincided with Frank Rijkaard’s final year in charge, a season that disintegrated as Real Madrid won the league by beating Barca 4-1 and which saw Ronaldinho’s form decline.
The son of Brazilian and Mexican parents is not bitter.
“Barca teach you not only to be a footballer, but a good, responsible person too,” Dos Santos said.
“They know that most people there are not going to become first team players at Barca and so teach you for a life away from the club.”
He was prepared when he left the club that summer for what would be a series of clubs, taking in Tottenham, Ipswich Town, Galatasaray, Racing Santander and Mallorca.
His first stop in England did not work out.
“Juande Ramos, Tottenham’s manager, called and explained that I’d be a regular at Tottenham and I liked the idea of playing in England,” Dos Santos said.
“I signed, but the manager was replaced by Harry Redknapp. It was very frustrating for me because, like every footballer, I just wanted to play football. I’d prepare for a game every three days and then not play.
“I really wanted to do well at Tottenham and I liked London, too, if not the weather. It went dark at 4pm and it was always cold, cloudy and raining, apart from the last month of the season.”
A season after partnering Messi and Ronaldinho, he was sent on loan to Ipswich, with Roy Keane, the former Manchester United captain, as manager.
“Keane was very demanding and tried hard to motivate the players,” Dos Santos said.
“He demanded the maximum always. He was passionate when we practised; we couldn’t lose the ball.
“His handshake was very firm and if he had a problem he looked you straight in the eye and talked to you.”
Dos Santos spent the whole of 2009/10 on loan at Galatasaray, reuniting with Rijkaard, who was coaching the Istanbul side. Dos Santos hoped for minutes ahead of the World Cup but did not always get them.
He was still impressive for Mexico at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where they qualified from their group ahead of France and the hosts South Africa, but, while his international career went well, his club career foundered.
A loan at Racing Santander was followed by a move to Mallorca, who were relegated in the final minute of the 2012/13 season.
“The worst moment of my career,” Dos Santos said. “Everybody was destroyed in Mallorca. They went down and I left soon after. But I learnt from that. Defeat is part of football.”
He stayed in the Primera Liga by moving to promoted Villarreal, one of the successes of this season and last, under Marcelino Garcia.
He was joined this season by his brother, Jonathan, and they are playing well in a side that is excelling in the Primera Liga, the Europa League and Copa del Rey, where they hope to reach the final for the first time.
There was a danger that Dos Santos, with 81 Mexico appearances, would disappear from view but, like his former teammate Bojan Krkic, who is at Stoke City, his career is on the up. He will get another chance to show it tonight on one of football’s finest stages.
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