Serradilla, La Rioja’s indestructible ‘Tortoise’

Antonio Serradilla Cuenca is proving that tough challenges in life can be overcome.

The Spanish international returned on the court for BM Logroño La Rioja last Saturday in their EHF European League match at Aguas Santas Milaneza in Portugal – the left back’s first official match since undergoing life-altering surgery just months ago.

What has happened to the 22-year-old Spanish prospect?

It is December 2020 and Serradilla spends Christmas with the Spanish men’s national team, which is gearing up for the World Championship 2021 in a preparation tournament in Qatar.

The left back does not make the cut for Egypt 2021, but his future looks bright as a dual-threat player, but especially a very good defender, in the mould of Gedeón Guardiola and Viran Morros.

Serradilla’s time will come. The Spanish team will face a change of guard after the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021, with many players meting an end to their international career and Seradilla is poised to become an integrant cog of the defence in the near future.

Nicknamed ‘The Tortoise’, for mostly being on the ground after numerous contacts with opponents, Serradilla’s career looks on the up, both for the national team and at club level, where he is plying his trade for La Rioja since 2020.

When everything looks to fall in the right place, Serradilla has his life turned upside down by a major health issue.

It is April 2021 when he wakes up with his vision foggy. A few days pass and nothing changes. A trip to the doctor’s reveals the issue: choroidal melanoma, a form of cancer that affects a part of the eye.

It is the moment that will change his life forever.

He opts to have his right eye surgically removed rather than undergo several surgeries over a long period of time, with the risk of the melanoma coming back.

“It was a big blow because I did not expect it to be so serious. It was quite bad, it was a difficult surgery,” Serradilla tells eurohandball.com.

Has handball been on his mind right after? “Definitely,” he says.

“It was a process, I will not lie, but I came back even stronger and eager to be on the court. At first, I did not think I will be back after such a short time, but I was thoroughly motivated to show that I can play,” the left back adds.

“I am now back in business. I am training with the same intensity and maybe even more motivation.”

Playing with a special pair of glasses did not take the shine from the Spanish left back, who scored two goals for Logrono in their 26:26 draw against Aguas Santas in the European League’s qualification round 1 last Saturday.

The result has left the Spanish outfit with a clear task for the return game in their home arena on Saturday (live on EHFTV at 19:00 CEST).

“We did not have a lot to go on about our opponents, but we know them better now. We did not watch video of them prior to the first leg, because there was not any. However, with our fans behind us, we can earn a win and progress to the next phase of the competition,” Serradilla says.

Just being back on the court is a small miracle for the Spanish left back. Yet, Serradilla stays positive and is not the one to back down from a challenge, irrespective of his nickname.

“Now I do not have problems in the day-to-day life. In handball, the first week was quite difficult, because I had to adapt and reconnect, but things are getting better and better now, I know what I have to do,” he says.

“My objective is to play better and better and have a good year for my club, maybe reach the EHF European League Men group phase, why not?”

And what about the national team?

“It will probably be more difficult. There are a lot of good players ready to step up,” he says. “But this motivates me even more. If I learnt something from this, it is to be tougher, to play stronger and put in more work.”

Photos courtesy of Juanjo Acobi