Paco Buyo, former player of Real Madrid

Despite the years, he remains in good shape and conveys the same vitality he displayed on the soccer fields. His schedule is packed with commitments stemming from his business activity - he is a partner at the company Experience and Savings - and he suggests we meet after his business trip to Murcia. Although he receives offers to coach lower-league teams, Paco Buyo prefers to watch soccer from the stands or as a commentator, while continuing to collaborate with the Real Madrid Former Players Association, which helps veteran teammates. Moreover, any excuse is good to visit his hometown, Betanzos, and take a stroll around A Coruña.

A trip with my parents to Vigo, of which I have a vague memory. In fact, my first serious trip, at just 16 years old, was to Palma de Mallorca, to play for the team in the Balearic capital, which had just been relegated to Segunda B.

Well, it was a significant change in my life. I spent a year in Mallorca, at a time when the club was facing many difficulties, and that served as an experience for me. When you travel, you realize that what you have is not the only thing that exists. We have a wonderful country, because of the people, the gastronomy, and the climate, but I have been fortunate to know many places in the world and I have realized that you can learn a lot from other cultures, from other people who have different ways of life.

A Coruña is a fascinating city, living up to its motto: The city where no one is a stranger. It has a great atmosphere, the people are very friendly, and on top of that, there's the sea. We usually split our family vacations between Mallorca and A Coruña. As for Seville, what can I say? I came from the north, with a very different climate and landscape, and I found myself in tremendous heat, with another culture, another gastronomy, and the joy of the people. The sun made it very different from what I had experienced until then.

As the song says, Seville has a special color. I love the Plaza de España, the María Luisa Park, and the neighborhoods of Santa Cruz and Triana. I also remember the smell of jasmine and the dances of sevillanas.

It was a bit hard for me, but in the end, I learned to dance them. I still have many friends in Seville, like Pablo Blanco or Juan Carlos, who played with me, and other people for whom I have a special affection. I haven't been able to visit them in a long time, but as soon as I can, I'll make a quick trip.

Only when we stayed in central locations where they allowed you to take a walk before the matches. In the European Cup matches, there was more time to see things. I remember once, while we were in Moscow, we were recommended to check out the Metro and we got lost. We struggled a lot to return to Red Square. In my playing days, Moscow was full of military personnel, but when I returned after retiring from soccer, they had installed a huge Zara store in those barracks.

Perhaps with Rome, although there are also wonderful cities like Budapest or Vienna. I know this last one very well since I stayed there for almost a month during the Euro 2008, working as a commentator for Al Jazeera. I stayed in an aparthotel in the city center, five minutes from the cathedral. Vienna is a city I know well and love.

I already knew the city because I had visited it as a player for Depor and then for Sevilla, but the first impression that stuck with me was the Paseo de la Castellana. The Castellana has always been something special. The Plaza Mayor and El Retiro are the other two places that have captivated me the most in Madrid.

Mallorca and A Coruña. The year I spent playing in Mallorca, I became friends with Amador Cortés, a soccer player from Betanzos who had played for Atlético de Madrid, Deportivo, and Sporting de Braga, and who opened a restaurant there called Casa Gallega after retiring. I ate there every day. Then, over the years, it became a tradition to go on vacation to Mallorca and eat at Casa Gallega. Amador passed away a few years ago, and now we go less often. Where we never fail to go is to A Coruña, Betanzos, and Playa a Miño, which is very close.

Commercialization was less, but we were already doing tours all around the world. Real Madrid has been Spain's great ambassador abroad for many years. I remember visiting almost all of Latin America, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Ecuador; and I also remember visiting the United States and encountering people who recognized me on the street. I also know Tunisia, where I played in the Youth World Cup with the Spanish national team, Algeria, and Morocco.

I really liked Italy. I also enjoyed France and the Central European countries, especially Hungary, Austria, and the Czech Republic, which are the ones I know best, with spectacular cities: Budapest, Vienna, and Prague.

I always buy something, but I'm not one to collect key chains or magnets for the fridge. On some trips to Russia, I bought the typical matryoshkas. There were trips where we didn't even take photos. In Tunisia, with Dr. Guillén, we had a very good camera, we were dedicated to taking photos and then we realized that it didn't have any film. It was a different time.

I always say it is a high-risk profession. You need to have great concentration, leadership skills to give orders to your teammates, and a lot of personality. All the attention, when things go wrong, is focused on the goalkeeper.

I enjoy getting lost and discovering towns that have extraordinary charm. The English and Germans come seeking the beaches of the Balearic Islands, the Levant, or Andalusia, but Spain has wonderful places yet to be discovered, towns with tremendous charm. In any case, I am increasingly encountering more foreigners in the interior of Galicia. With GPS, you can get anywhere.

The Camino de Santiago is a great excuse to get to know Galicia. I am a great ambassador for Santiago and I recommend everyone to do the Camino, but, interestingly, I have never done it. I have friends who want to do it, and we will do it as soon as we find the right time.