Ander Herrera ya taba wasa a gaban taron jama'a masu hayaniya a La Bombonera a Copa Libertadores. Ya raba ɗakin musaya tufafi da Lionel Messi da Neymar a Paris St-Germain, ya daga Europa League da FA Cup tare da Manchester United, kuma ya yi aiki ƙarƙashin Jose Mourinho, Thomas Tuchel, da Marcelo Bielsa. Duk da haka, ya ce babu wani babi daga cikin waɗannan da zai iya kwatanta da abin da yake yi a yanzu.

Herrera, wanda ke da shekaru 37, ya dawo Real Zaragoza — kulob ɗin da ya girma a ciki — a kan canja wurin kyauta, yana sauka daga ƙwallon ƙafa na nahiyar Kudancin Amirka zuwa ɓangare na uku na ƙwallon ƙafa na Sipaniya. Kuma yana ba da dukkan albashi nasa ga gidauniyar kulob ɗin.

"Wannan wataƙila shine ƙarshen mafarki da nake son ya zama gaskiya," Herrera ya shaida wa BBC Sport. "Komawa gida, zuwa wurin da na girma, wanda ya ba ni damar zama ƙwararru — ba a ƙwallon ƙafa kawai ba, har ma a matsayin ɗan adam. A Sipaniya, mukan ce rufe da'ira."

Kulob ɗin da ke faɗuwa

A zamanin da, Real Zaragoza sun kasance masu hamayya na gaske a fagen Turai — sun ƙwace Arsenal a ƙarshen gasar Cup Winners' Cup ta 1995 a Parc des Princes. Herrera ƙarami ya kalli wannan wasa daga gida, ba tare da sanin cewa wannan filin wasa zai zama wurin aikinsa daga baya ba yayin da ya shafe shekaru uku a Paris St-Germain.

Wannan ɗaukaka ta Turai yanzu tana ganin nesa. Zaragoza sun sauko daga La Liga a kakar 2012-13, shekaru biyu bayan Herrera ya tafi Athletic Club, kuma bayan kakar wasa 13 na raguwa a ɓangare na biyu, kulob ɗin ya faɗi zuwa matakin uku — wata gasar da ta shahara da wahalar fita daga cikinta. Wasan gida na gaba za a buga a gaban kusan masu kallo 6,500 akan Gimnastic de Tarragona.

"Yana da baƙin ciki sosai ga dukkanmu mu Zaragozistas," in ji Herrera. "Real Zaragoza na Turai ne, ya cancanci yin hamayya don kofuna, ya yi faɗa da manyan kulob din Sipaniya da Turai."

Ba da gudunmawa — a zahiri

Bayan shekaru 15 da ya tafi — ciki har da yanayi biyu a Athletic Club, lokaci a Manchester United da Paris St-Germain, da sabon babi tare da Boca Juniors — Herrera bai yi jinkiri ba wajen yarda da barin albashinsa yayin da ya sake shiga kulob ɗin wannan bazara.

"Ba na buƙatar kwantiragin aiki. Na sami nasarar aiki mai yawa. Na kula da kuɗina," ya ce. "Zan iya ba kaina wannan kyauta. Sanya wannan rigar kyauta saboda ina son taimaka wa kulob na, ƙungiyata, birni na. Wannan wani abu ne da ke cike ni da alfahari."

Ƙwallon ƙafa na da zurfa a cikin dangin Herrera. Mahaifin sa, Pedro, ya buga ƙwallon ƙafa don Real Zaragoza kafin ya zama manajan kulob ɗin, kuma a lokacin ne aka samar da farkon ƙwaƙwalwar Ander na ƙwallon ƙafa — ciki har da wannan nasarar Turai ta 1995 da ta yi fice.

Idanu masu duba gaba

Herrera yana tunani game da rayuwa bayan ya daina buga ƙwallon ƙafa. Yana sha'awar yin aiki tare da 'yan wasa matasa kuma ya lura da matsin lamba da kafofin watsa labarai na zamani ke ɗora wa hazaƙan makarantun ƙwallon ƙafa da suke son hanzarta aikinsu.

"Kafofin watsa labarai na zamani suna sa ka gudu da sauri," ya ce. "Kowane ɗan wasa yana da lokacinsa. Kawai saboda wani yana yin sauri fiye da kai ba yana nufin zai zama ɗan wasa mafi kyau ba."

Idan Herrera ya bi hanyar horarwa, yana da ƙarin wahayi daga ƙasar Basque — yankin da ya samar da manajoji huɗu na yanzu a Premier League: Xabi Alonso a Chelsea, Mikel Arteta a Arsenal, Unai Emery a Aston Villa, da Andoni Iraola a Liverpool.

"Ina tsammanin yana cikin DNA," in ji Herrera, wanda aka haife shi a Bilbao. "Ƙarfin yin aiki, girmama wasanni. Yana da wahala a bayyana wannan matakin kwararrun Basque, amma ina tsammanin shine girmama ƙwallon ƙafa da ake gani a ƙasar Basque."

A halin yanzu, burinsa na horarwa na ɗaya. Herrera yana da manufa ɗaya kawai — taimaka Real Zaragoza su dawo wurin da ya yi imani suka cancanta.

"Ina fatan zan kammala aikin gida cikin nasara," ya ce.