"In the final moments before Saturday's match, Tyrhys Dolan will pick up his phone and look at the photo of Jeremy Wisten, the best friend for whom he would give it all up. He will touch the No 24 on his shirt, chosen to commemorate the day Jeremy died, aged 18. And then he will head out to where it all comes to him and it all leaves him too. I feel nervous every game, Dolan says, but when I'm walking though the tunnel it's like it's all dropping off me, the shackles fall. All the graft, everything you gave to get here, this is it, now you're free."
"You have responsibility, but it's like the playground again. Some playground. This is not the Dales Estate, Salford. This time the Santiago Bernabeu awaits. These are the stadiums any kid dreams of, but it's not even for me. I'm quite selfless, Dolan says. I've always got satisfaction from other people's enjoyment. It's a moment for everyone around me, friends and family, to be there, to see these places and say: Remember when he was in the park,' to look back and think: We've been through so much, now we're here.'"
"The third of seven siblings, born in Manchester and signed by Espanyol in July, Dolan sits at their training ground in the Barcelona sunshine, talking eloquently about the pathway, the pressure, loss and love, friendship. He thinks about the Manchester City team he joined at seven and left soon after, told he was too small. He thinks about Burnley and City again, whom he rejoined at 13 and where he was cut for a second time. He thinks of Preston, non-League Clitheroe, all the kids who played with him, about Jeremy especially. Now here he is in Spain. He has come a long way the hard way, acutely aware of those he wishes could have got there with him, and grateful to those at his side."
Tyrhys Dolan honors his late friend Jeremy Wisten by touching the No 24 on his shirt and looking at Jeremy's photo before matches. Pre-match nerves fall away for Dolan when he walks through the tunnel, turning pressure into freedom and play. He views appearances at major stadiums as collective moments for friends and family. Born in Manchester as the third of seven, he signed for Espanyol in July after being released from Manchester City twice and playing for Burnley, Preston and non-League Clitheroe. He feels grateful and acutely aware of those who did not make it.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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