Raúl's WhatsApp messages and Gonzalo's faith: "This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I plan to kill myself for it."

He soared over the Italian defenders, headed in, and raced down the touchline, angrily slamming his shirt badge. Gonzalo García confirmed once again against Juventus that he's here to stay. That he's not a youth player; he's a reality. A reality that has given Madrid three goals and an assist in the Club World Cup . Two of them to draw with Al Hilal in their debut and advance to the World Cup quarterfinals yesterday, and another to seal the victory over Salzburg . The top scorer in the Primera Federación also wants to be the tournament's top scorer.

After scoring 25 goals for Castilla and saving Madrid in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals at Butarque , Xabi Alonso has brought Gonzalo back into the media spotlight of the first team, and the kid, at 21 years old in March, has grabbed the " opportunity of a lifetime " by the chest, shaken it and put it in his pocket.

"I'm clear that this World Cup is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I'm going to give 200% to take advantage of it," he said emphatically, though his voice was still nervous due to his lack of experience in front of the cameras. He struggled with the crush of journalists, which was exaggerated at Real Madrid's matches throughout the tournament and especially overwhelming in Miami, with hundreds of Spanish-language media outlets attending the final match of the tournament at Hard Rock Stadium .

Nervous but clear-eyed, Gonzalo repeated twice that "the opportunity of a lifetime." He knows this. He knows it, the club knows it, and his teammates know it. No wonder Endrick , injured and out of the running for the World Cup, ended up taking a plane to join the training camp when no one had forced him to.

"I know it's the opportunity of a lifetime and I'm going to kill myself to take advantage of it ," the youth player insisted to the media, although the consequences of his performances, such as his presence in the first team next year or the offers from other clubs, are too much for him to handle right now. "There's no time to process things because there are matches every three days and you have to stay focused. I'm not thinking about whether I'll stay or not; I'm at the World Cup and the future will be the future," he explained.

"Raúl is a myth"

The goal against Juventus was similar to the one at Butarque and brought to mind some of Madrid's great finishers, such as Santillana or, more recently, Joselu . Many, however, see in Gonzalo things of Raúl González : his instinct, his positioning in the box, his finishing... "Raúl is a Madrid legend, it's a great compliment to be compared to him, respecting the differences. I've had the opportunity to share a dressing room with him as a coach these last two years and he's taught me many things that I hope to put into practice," said the striker about the man who was his manager at Castilla .

Raúl is no longer on the bench for Real Madrid's reserve team, but he keeps an eye on the performances of those who were his former players. And in the case of Gonzalo, the former player sends him WhatsApp messages after each World Cup match. " He's written to me after every game , we keep in touch, he congratulates me and tries to help me with situations that might be better for me in the upcoming matches," the forward said in the mixed zone.

Xabi: "I knew him well"

In the press room, Xabi Alonso , like everyone else, praised the goal, the match, and the World Cup that Gonzalo is having, a player he "knew well," he admitted. " I knew him well . I'm not going to tell you that I expected him to score three goals in four games, but I do expect him to wear down the center-backs, that he would work well, that he would be persistent in pressing, and that would help the team. If he then scores decisive goals like today's, all the better. But I had faith in him, and he's earning my trust," he responded. "I want to push him to continue like this. He's performing very well, not just because of his goals, and he's making the most of the minutes he's getting," he added.