To become a football player at the very highest level, one must have a decent level of skill as a basic requirement.

A little bit of luck along the way, as well as working under the right coaching team who appreciate your particular set of skills, are two other factors that could be the difference in making it or not.

What’s also clear is that, regardless of the above, if you’re not willing to give absolutely everything to achieve your dreams, then that’s all they’ll be. Figments of your imagination.

Footballers need to develop a steely resolve to recover from the knockbacks, and then apply tunnel vision in order to ensure that they can climb that ladder.

Take Anthony Lozano by way of example.

This 25-year-old Honduran is now enjoying a great career at Girona in Spain’s La Liga, the country’s top tier of football.

After starting his career as a 15-year-old in the Honduran top flight, for Olimpia, it was the player’s stated aim that, one day, he would make it in a big European league.

After two seasons at Valencia B, one of which was spent on loan to Alcoyano, Lozano returned to Olimpia and had to dust himself down and get back up again.

A loan to Tenerife was the precursor to a move to Barcelona B in 2017, thus becoming the first ever Honduran to turn out for the Catalans.

Although that move ultimately didn’t work out, it paved the way for his transfer to Girona where he continues to make a name for himself. 

In so doing, he’s inspiring the next generation of Hondurans in the same way that Amado Guevara did in the 1990s at Valladolid and the quartet of Julio Cesar Arzu (Racing), Allan Costly (Malaga), Jose Roberto Figueroa (Murcia) and Gilberto Yearwood (Elche, Valladolid) did in the 1980s.

He’s showing through his deeds that youngsters can aspire to play for the world’s biggest clubs and, if they’re willing to put in the hard yards, that nothing is impossible.

Carrying a nation’s pride with him onto the pitch doesn’t appear to have weighed too heavily on Lozano’s young shoulders, and whilst that’s a hell of a responsibility, it’s one that Lozano has taken in his stride. 

Furthermore, when he had the chance to sign for the likes of Leganes and Getafe in La Liga, a hire that would’ve barely raised a ripple back home, he chose Barcelona to ensure that his standing would be elevated and that the aspirations of thousands of young Hondurans remained intact.

Lozano is showing that Central American players absolutely deserve a place at football’s top table and shouldn’t be so routinely dismissed as many have been to this point.

He remains a regular topic of conversation back home and though he hasn’t been afforded superstar status just yet, you can be assured that he will be going all out to change that status quo.

In an era when players just want to take the money and run, it’s refreshing that there are still some youngsters willing to set the perfect example first and worry about rewards later.

Honduran football is in good hands.

Jason Pettigrove is an experienced freelance football journalist, editor, and published author who specializes in La Liga and the major European leagues. Find him on Twitter @jasonpettigrove.