Santi Cazorla ended his career exactly as he wanted to: at “home”—in Oviedo—wearing the number 8 on his jersey, and with lots of smiles. With his second family.

One of the most beloved and impressive players to ever grace the field, at 41, he is retiring from active play. He’s leaving the soccer fields—fields that someone once told him he’d never set foot on again. Or rather, that he’d likely never walk normally again.

And yet he managed to return to the highest level of soccer, leaving even the scientific community in awe.

And that is his greatest achievement, beyond the memorable moments, honors, and titles he earned with the Spanish national team, as well as with Villarreal, Huelva, Málaga, Arsenal, Al-Sadd, and, of course, his beloved Oviedo.

*photo source: AP