Over the last 15 years, Brentford fans have seen it all.
Relegation, several promotions, several more promotion heartbreaks, a revolution, a new stadium to replace one of England’s most iconic, and – for the first time in their history – Premier League football.
Sergi Canos hasn’t quite experienced all of these things with the Bees, but he’s seen a fair few of them and even wore shirts adorned with their old, clunky crest. Besides a six month spell at Norwich in 2016, he is the current squad’s longest-serving player alongside Rico Henry.
“I came on loan, so I don’t know if that counts!” Canos jokes. “I do, it’s part of my life and my football career. I think that year on loan was one of the most important ones in my career.”
Canos is present at the Gtech Community Stadium for Brentford’s unveiling of their Heart of West London partnership, teaming up with several leading heart foundations to raise awareness about cardiac health.
The winger is one of few remaining Brentford players to have worked under technical director Robert Rowan, who tragically lost his life after suffering a cardiomyopathy episode in his sleep. The club’s new initiative is in part in memory of him.
“When I [first] came, Rob was here. He was a big part of Brentford and he still is a big part of Brentford because thanks to him we have these initiatives. We have these things that can show people that this actually helps. He was a big part of Brentford, he was a big part of what we are now,” Canos says solemnly.
At the age of 28, Rowan’s death shocked Brentford to their core. In a release accompanying their new initiative, Brentford revealed that roughly 12 people under the age of 35 in the UK die every week due to undiagnosed cardiac conditions.
“That’s why it was shocking the rates today I know now because I didn’t know that many young people was involved in this,” Canos, who learnt how to perform CPR at the unveiling as part of the initiative, says in disbelief.
“If someone collapsed and we have no medical team around us, then it’s [on] us. We need to make sure everyone is good and everyone knows what to do if something like that happens.”
Rowan was – and still is – seen as an important figure in Brentford’s modern history. He embodied the club’s principles and values, oversaw a period that would eventually help the club reach the Premier League in the seasons following his passing.
“Everything has changed,” Sergi says. “Everything in the training ground, in the…
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