While the former Gunners midfielder was out for two years with ankle problems that nearly took his leg, all Enzo wanted to do was watch his dad play again.
Over his 636-day absence, 11 surgeries and gangrene which devoured his Achilles, Cazorla had been willing to throw in the towel – except for a last-minute rescue mission by Enzo, aged 15, wife Ursula and 12-year-old daughter India.
“In a few seconds, I phoned my family and said ‘I will stop. In one year, I want to be with you,” he says to BBC Sport. “‘I am alone here, I don’t have family, nothing, things are not working out.'”.
“My son would tell ‘no daddy, try once again – tomorrow you will improve and you will get better. I want to see you again, I love to see you play for Arsenal and other teams, so please come back and play football again.’
“Lastly, I did it. But at the moment, it was hard to say ‘yes, I will be back’. Those words, they are my motivation and my strength for each day.”
They have enabled him to retire on his terms. One that has come full circle, having assisted Oviedo – the club he left in 2003 without featuring in a first-team match – back into La Liga for the first time in 24 years after winning the Segunda Division play-offs last season.
It will be a fairytale ending for the die-hard Carbayones supporter, having signed his new deal, a one-year contract, three weeks ago. This will be my last season, I have to listen to my body ,and it’s already asking me,” said Cazorla. When I was a child, I always dreamed of playing in the club, and I’m here now – lucky and can play with my club in the top division.
“I love playing football, but like everything, you must know when it is the end. I have a lot of problems and pains every day. To talk to Cazorla is a motivational encounter. He smiles radiantly, evidently enjoying the additional years he has struggled to attain.
It has been a journey to arrive here. Following a seemingly harmless kick while playing for Spain against Chile in 2013, he had ankle problems but continued playing for three years.
By that time, the pain was unbearable and treatment had to be administered, but Cazorla did not anticipate the series of operations, one resulting in infection that ruined nearly 11 centimetres of his Achilles and almost cost him his leg.
His bone had become soft. One of the operations was a reconstruction of his Achilles, surgeons grafting skin from his left arm, which bore a tattoo of his daughter’s name, onto his right ankle.
Physicians said he could be satisfied just to walk again, never mind play. But when questioned about the chat, Cazorla – who says his ankle is a “jigsaw puzzle” – remembers his stubbornness.
“I never thought this sort of thing,” he states. “The injury was very difficult. I was never truthful about the injury; I thought I had a tiny one.” Cazorla continued postponing surgery until he could no longer do so.
“It was the biggest test in my career, not just in football but my life,” he continues. “I was away from my family, my wife and children, but you have to struggle – if you want a dream, you have to struggle every day.”.
“My wife, children, my mother, and brother. I had to battle for them. It was a very hard period for me as a human being. One day you play at the Emirates and a week later you’re on your own in hospital. It is hard to manage these types of emotions. Arsenal, however, did not have Cazorla’s faith in returning.
They had extended his contract previously, but he couldn’t get the Gunners to sign him a new one in 2018, and he ended up going back to Villarreal for three years, where he made an additional 86 appearances from his first 233.
“I recall when I got better after a year and a half, I returned and asked, ‘please let me have the opportunity to do pre-season and then after that I would like to sign one year more,'” he explains, having made 180 appearances, scoring 29 goals, during six years at Arsenal.
“They said they felt I wouldn’t return to the top level. It’s natural when you’re out for two years. I was very honest with them – give me the chance because I’m ready again. They said no, and I have to grasp that position.”
He still talks fondly about the Gunners, though, and is still in touch with captain Mikel Arteta at Emirates Stadium. He is willing to come back once he has hung up his boots, too.
What follows will be “something in football”, but Cazorla will evaluate the possibilities. If Arsenal call me, my door is open to hear them because I love the club. It was the best choice in my career to go to Arsenal,” he continues.
