Ander Herrera may have a sixth sense. The Manchester United midfielder was given time off by Jose Mourinho this week, as his teammates went away on international duty.
Of all the places in all of the world, Basque boy Hererra travelled with his partner and daughter to Madrid for a short break. Marca say that then, at 8pm on Monday evening, Herrera’s telephone rang… and his holiday was soon over.
The call was from the Spanish football federation and Herrera was getting the news he may have secretly been hoping for. Injuries to the original squad meant Julen Lopetegui had to call up replacements, and Herrera was one of the chosen ones.
Marca explain that Herrera, experienced for Spain at youth levels, has always dreamed of the full national team, and that’s underlined by what happened after Herrera received the telephone call.
Just 45 minutes later, Herrera was already at Spain’s training centre, answering Lopetegui’s call with all the enthusiasm Manchester United supporters have grown to love him for.
