Tragedy which still drives Martin Montoya

It will only be for a second – and not to think back to what he learned under Pep Guardiola as a Barcelona player.

All the tactical stuff will have been done beforehand as Albion look to combat champions Manchester City.

The pause for thought as the right-back enters the pitch will be more personal – and one he has done ahead of every match for a decade.

It will be in memory of his late mum Rosa Maria, whose dream was to watch him play for Guardiola’s Barcelona but who never saw it happen.

Montoya lost his mum to cancer when he was 17 and playing for Barcelona’s B team.

It was, of course, a tough blow to take, especially as she seemed initially to have won her fight against the Big C.

But the inspiration lives on, all the way from his days in that senior Barcelona side via Valencia to the Premier League and the next test against Guardiola and City.

Montoya told The Argus: “My mum had breast cancer and she got over it well, all fine.

“Then a year or two later it came back up there (pointing to his head) and she couldn’t beat it. I was very young and it’s a hard blow to take.

“Anyone who loses someone from their close family, it’s the hardest thing in life.

“As footballers, we have to grow up quickly. I grew even quicker after losing someone so close.

“I had more desire to do well because she always had this vision that one day I would be a first team player at Barcelona.

“From when I was very small, she always had this hope I would play for Barca.

“When she died it was like I had more strength to make it come true.

“I made her that promise when she was ill.

“When I step on the pitch before a game, I always touch the ground, cross myself and then look up to the sky for her.”

Montoya’s family are following his progress from afar.

He said: “My older brother Javier played for the local team but he gave it up a couple of years ago.

“He had a daughter and he was working all day so he wanted to have family time at the weekend.

“My dad is like lots of humble, hard-working families. He worked in a lorry from seven in the morning and got home at seven in the evening.

“But he has always been a football fan. When he got out of his lorry he’d come from Barcelona to get me from training at La Masia.”

Montoya’s wife Maite and two young children can now follow from rather closer after settling into their new home in Hove.

He said: “They arrived after the international break. I went back to Barcelona and came back with them.

“My eldest is already at school. We are bit by bit getting the language but the kids are like sponges, they will get it quickly.

“I’m understanding more than I did. Speaking is harder but, if people speak slowly, I understand quite a lot.”

Montoya’s “welcome to England” moment off the pitch will surprise no one who has followed Albion’s foreign players as they settle into this country.

“Driving on the other side of the road,” he said, laughing.

“My first day? Very bad. I was heading for the right and I thought I’d crash.

“But I’m happy and getting on really well with Bruno, who has helped me from the first day.”

On the pitch, there have been several culture shocks as he gets used to the Premier League.

“One match which struck me for example was against Tottenham.

“We were 2-0 down and in a question of five minutes we could have drawn.

“That’s what the Premier League has. It’s very quick, lots of strength and speed and anything can happen.”

By contrast, Montoya should be familiar with what is in front of him tomorrow.

He sees precious little difference between the way City play and the Barcelona team which gathered silverware under Guardiola.

That will make it imperative Albion are careful in possession and take any counter-attacking chances which come their way.

Montoya said: “Guardiola teams have a lot of the ball, play from the back, spend the whole game with the ball and, when they don’t have it, press very hard for five seconds to get it back.

“That’s what he always says. Five seconds.

“His style of play is the same now as it was at Barca – play from the goalkeeper, an open defence. They want to play a lot and they have the players to do it.

“His Barcelona was the best Barcelona there has ever been.

“Barcelona, Bayern and City have always had a really high percentage of possession with him.

“When you play in a team like that, you know that where an opponent can hurt you is on the counter-attack because your team is wide open, the full-backs are well forward.

“If an opponent can have 50% of possession, that can make City uncomfortable because they aren’t used to it.

“If you always have the ball, when another team fight for that possession you feel uncomfortable.

“City apply a lot of pressure and teams end up sitting back against them.

“It’s very important to have possession of the ball but it’s going to be very difficult.”