The meeting with Unzué was part of the Salesian campaign launched by the Salesians for this year and entitled: "Passionate about life"; over 300 people attended the event, mostly young people, in person, with the rest of the students connected via the Centre's YouTube channel.

The former player and former professional coach began by asking how many students knew about ALS. Only about fifteen hands went up. He then explained how those affected suffer: “We are aware of the deterioration until the last day. I have ALS, but I'm still Juan Carlos Unzué,” he said.

He then answered the students' questions about when he first had symptoms, what his daily routine was like, or what his reaction was when he discovered the diagnosis. To this last question, he replied: “It’s something you cannot control and the normal thing is to get angry with the world. For months, I had felt that something was wrong and thanks to my attitude I accepted the disease. This is the key. I decided to give a different meaning to my life because I didn't want what happened to me to happen to others, that when I was first told the word ALS I had no idea what it was,” he admitted.

In the second part of the meeting, Unzué wanted to offer young people the life lessons he had learned during his sports career and which now help him face his new life.

“Enjoy the present, here and now. We need objectives and daily motivation,” he said, “but we have to enjoy the journey towards these objectives.”

“Sport helps to acquire values ​​for life,” he underlined as a second lesson. And he added that “the best thing is that there is someone very good next to you as the competition brings out the best version of yourself. It makes you empathetic and resilient.”

As a third lesson, he indicated courage: “One lives more peacefully if one has been audacious and courageous. When I felt like throwing myself into the pool, I did it with more or less success. But I tried.”

Unzué then pointed out a fourth aspect: “Knowing how to show weaknesses and ask for help. Don't feel different when you have a problem. If we don't show it, how can they help us? Uncertainty, frustration and difficulties are part of life.”

Of the fifth lesson he said confidently: “Treat everyone with love and respect”; but he also made it clear that this doesn't always mean saying what the person wants to hear. “In my case,” he said, “when I was Zubizarreta's substitute at Barça, coach Cruyff was trying to get the best out of me to be successful. I didn't understand it at the time, but later on, yes. Let's not confuse hearing what we don't like with a lack of affection or respect.”

He then ended the list of life lessons by introducing the concept of “altruistic selfishness.” That is, he explained that as he grew up he found that he felt more satisfaction in giving than in receiving. He experienced it intensely when he went to visit other ALS sufferers to learn about their evolution. "When I visit a friend - Jordi Sabaté, suffering from ALS - who can only communicate through a computer controlled by his gaze, I come out stronger, because he has become a source of inspiration for me.”

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