At Colegio Arenales, a new school for 1,400 students in the Madrid commuter town of Arroyomolinos, they may have waited years for their first famous alumnus, and yet he was there when they welcomed six-year-olds for the first time when they opened their doors in 2010.
That was Alejandro Garnacho Ferreyra - the Manchester United teenager who is now blazing a trail in the Premier League. The most exciting talent in a united team with mixed fortunes. Former teammate of his hero Cristiano Ronaldo and now teammate of another name: Lionel Messi. At 19, Garnacho is an Argentina international and a Premier League star. And even more important for United is the great hope of a club in need of the fearlessness of youth - a trademark of United at many periods of their history.
It all started here in Arroyomolinos, an hour's drive from the center of Madrid, in the scrub countryside south of the city. Garnacho represents Argentina, where his mother, Patricia Ferreyra Fernández, is from. But he was born in Spain and made a career as a footballer in Arroyomolinos - first in the city, then at the nearest major professional club, Getafe, before Atletico Madrid took him over. At the age of 16, he moved to the top of the food chain - certainly in terms of history and wealth - when he signed for United.
A dizzying rise and his bicycle kick against Everton in November suggested otherwise. Here was a player with considerable personality and the requisite talent. Winners of the FA Youth Cup with United in 2022 after a first-team debut in April that year, it is now difficult to imagine Erik ten Hag's team without Garnacho. He has that competitive edge that some say reflects a certain Argentine archetype. "Chulo", or "chulito", is the word you hear and the inference in context is "stubborn".
Gabriel Sandin smiles at the mention of it, but he politely points out that this is not how they remember young Alejandro at school. "What a good boy," he says. "He was a nice boy. He always did his homework!" In 2010, Sandin was 22 years old and on only his second teaching job when Arenales opened. It's an impressive school - spacious, clean, modern and designed to make the most of the views over the city from its hillside location and the sunlight streaming in through the large windows. Alejandro was in first grade at Sandin. "Very outgoing, very dedicated, very good among his peers," Sandin says. "He was with us until he was thirteen. He had good grades."
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The school is keen to address what staff see as a particular misconception about their most famous old boy: the idea that he was a tear-away. Indeed, there is great affection for Alejandro and his younger brother Roberto, both of whom attended the school until Atletico came into the picture and eventually the Garnacho Ferreyra family moved to Manchester. We walk around the building and Sandin introduces us to all his colleagues who taught Alejandro. The pride of a young staff in a friendly school is touching.
"Excellent handwriting," remembers Esther Martin, 45, who took the United prodigy for arts and crafts lessons. "Such a friendly boy. He always raises his hand in class. His friends loved him - especially on the playground, where he always loved to play football. You could always tell he was a great player. They all wanted to play football with him."
His gym teacher, Israel Moreno, 34, stops for a chat. "That bicycle kick against Everton?" He says, nodding towards the field at the back of the school. "I've seen him do that there before. Every time he played, he took the game very seriously. And he was a great example for his younger brother. Roberto really looked up to him."
"A few months ago I ran into his mother," says Angel Ramos, 36, who taught Alejandro social sciences as well as what he describes as "basic English," which has now developed to the point where the teen can conduct live post-English. match television interviews. "I told her how proud we are of him. He only left here six years ago and is already in the Premier League."
"Such a strong boy. He hurt himself and insisted he continue playing." That's school nurse Raquel Carbone, 47, who joins us in her white medical overcoat, straight from the school infirmary. "A strong child with a strong character, and he enjoyed helping others."
It is an academic school, part of a network across Europe and beyond, founded by a Catholic charity, and has no specific specialty in football. The staff is somewhat bewildered at how such a talented footballer has emerged so early in Arenales' history, but also delighted.
"We talked about this image that was portrayed of him," Sandin says. "How maybe he came from a bad neighborhood, or if there was something negative about it. The truth is that he was a very good student."
Everyone there will agree that Arroyomolinos is a town that has experienced a construction boom. The houses, the schools, the roads - they all feel new. On a primary school playground across town, Hugo Alonso Garnacho coaches four enthusiastic children as they compete for possession of the ball in their after-school football club. Hugo is Alejandro's cousin - his mother is the sister of Alejandro's father Alex. Hugo has been to Manchester to watch Alejandro play for the Under-23s and more recently at Old Trafford for the first team. He shows us photos on his phone of him and his cousin celebrating the then upcoming arrival of Alejandro's son, Enzo.
Hugo is one month older than his famous cousin and speaks good English. "As a kid I played with him and I played against him and I much preferred playing with him," he says. "It was literally all of us' job to play with Alejandro to pass him the ball and he would do the rest. I am not exaggerating; you can ask anyone in his age group. Within a few years, Getafe had noticed him and he was playing in their academy."
Alejandro represented Spain as a teenager, but chose Argentina when the offer came to play for his mother's native country. Still, Arroyomolinos is home and comes back often.
Hugo is also confused by the portrayal of his cousin as some kind of street fighter. "He lived here all his childhood," he says. "I read something that he comes from a poor family, but I can tell you that I am part of that family and it is just a normal family. Not poor, not rich, just a normal family."
Hugo, who is studying to go to university to study law, says another local contemporary of his cousin is David Jimenez, who currently plays for Real Madrid C, the club's newly reformed third team. Hugo points us in the direction of the local football stadium and Club Deportivo Municipal Arroyomolinos, where we meet general manager Jonatan Garcia, 39.
With local clubs like these, it's not hard to see why Spain has become one of the biggest football powers in the world. It is funded by the local authority, with 875 children playing in 44 boys' teams and four girls' teams, and is professionally run. The shelves are full of trophies and files with the players' registrations.
It was also the first club for Alejandro. Jonatan pulls out a team photo with the prodigy in the front row, a lock of blonde hair cut just above his eyes. "Friendly guy and very team-oriented," says Garcia. "You saw early on the strength he had, but also the dedication. He had the potential, but he was also very competitive."
Behind Garcia on the wall hang pennants of Real Madrid, Atletico, Barcelona and Sevilla. Do they come often? He nods. A Real representative had been in his office the day before to invite one of his under-12s to play with their youth team. But that's all part of the job: a club with great mass participation that serves the community and also produces excellent young prospects for the biggest clubs in Spain.
Garcia himself was at Atletico as a child, although that was a tough generation to make it. His contemporaries who would build professional careers at Real and Barcelona would later win the World Cup for Spain.
As for Alejandro, the city's great prodigy, there are already red United home shirts with his name and No. 17 among the young kids heading out to play in Arroyomolinos.
The man, who is only 19 and represents United and Argentina, must feel far removed from this city, outside the outskirts of Madrid, but everyone here says the same thing: he is the hero of their hometown.
"If you want to be the best," his cousin Hugo shrugs, "you have to play with the best."
