Gerard Pique of Spain poses for a portrait during the official FIFA World Cup 2018 portrait session at FC Krasnodar Academy on June 8, 2018 in Krasnodar, Russia.

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It took him a week to realize that this school was entirely different than the one he came from. The kids were no geniuses, they preferred sports or they would ask to help around the school, just don’t ask us to memorize things, thank you very much. Little to none had ambitions of pursuing an academic career, they envisaged taking over their parents’ businesses in the future, or working manually. The girls in his class would tell him about dreaming of working on the horse farm nearby, or having their own bakery, and the boys, if they weren’t into bull riding, would describe the tractor of their dreams to him in great detail, asked or not. And mainly, they weren’t by any means intimidated by Fernando’s suit, or threatening with finals, or college talk. Actually, he realized that all this was making him look like a fool.    Monday morning, he came to work wearing casual clothes, omitting the hair pomade and obligatory leather suitcase. He was quite sure that he looked ridiculous, but he noticed the change as soon as he walked through the main gate. For the first time since his arrival, his students smiled at him while greeting him.

Spain’s Thiago Alcántara looks on prior to the FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier between Spain and Italy.

100 games, 8164 minutes, 5 goals, 3 assists, 1 World Cup, 1 European Championship

Gerard Pique of Spain ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Round of 16 match between Spain and Russia at Luzhniki Stadium on July 1, 2018 in Moscow, Russia.

Gerard Pique of Spain looks on during the national anthem prior to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Round of 16 match between Spain and Russia at Luzhniki Stadium on July 1, 2018 in Moscow, Russia.