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After he got injured at FC Barcelona when he was still one of thebest goalkeepers in the world, Victor Valdes left the club through the backdoor and was quickly forgotten by everybody who cheered him just months ago. He drifted away and got almost completely erased from football, if it wasn't for Louis Van Gaal who bought his services for Manchester United, Valdes would probably have retired from the sport altogether. Being away from the spotlight grounded and gave him a new sense of humility that most football players tend to lose with fame and money.
Remembering Louis Van Gaal, the goalie who now plays for Middlesbrough recognized that if not for the Dutchman, he wouldn't be where he is today. Talking to Sky Sports he said: "I feel like a professional footballer again after all those hard days in Manchester. It's difficult to explain, but it was hard being alone. Sometimes at United I thought 'I don't need this', but I am a fighter and a professional. This was the biggest fight of my career and I won it. The easy way out was to end my career but now I feel like a professional goalkeeper again.
"I don't have any bad words for Van Gaal or Manchester United. They helped me through my injury and the manager gave me my chance as a footballer at Barcelona and then again at United. He's like a father figure to me. I don't want to remember the last six months in a bad way - for me he is in the top. We are still friends and there is no problem between us. I want to say in a public way thank you to the U21 coach Alan Fettis - without him I may have given up football. He made me keep going and stopped me when I was thinking about bringing my career to an end."
Photo credit: Middlesbrough
