Deportes: Pau Gasol y lo bueno de marcharse al extranjero

Pau Gasol is a brilliant example of how you can make far more of your life by going abroad to live and work.  This is what Wikipedia in English has to say about him:

Pau Gasol Sáez (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈpaw ɡəˈzɔɫ]) (born July 6, 1980) is a Spanish professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born to Marisa Sáez and Agustí Gasol, and he spent his childhood in Spain. Gasol was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2001 NBA Draft, but his rights were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, with whom he won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He currently holds the Memphis Grizzlies franchise records for career games played, minutes played, field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, offensive, defensive, and total rebounds, blocked shots, turnovers, and points. After seven seasons with the team, Gasol was traded to the Lakers on February 1, 2008. His younger brother, Marc Gasol, who was involved in that trade, is also a professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA.

Today we're going to read a text about Pau which talks about how - in retrospect - every decision and step he took in his life was absolutely the right one.  And there aren't many of us who can claim that!

First, the comprehension questions in English.  As always, try and predict possible answers before you look at the Spanish text itself.

1. In retrospect, every decision Pau has taken in his life appears, today, to be the correct one.  How did it look ten years ago?  
2. Why weren't people convinced Pau was doing the right thing?  What reasons were given?
3. What has he managed to surmount?
4. What characterises his personality?
5. What has helped him react positively to the risks of success and the dangers of occasional failure?
6. How does the text describe Pau's physical appearance?
7. What event and which players convinced Pau he wanted to dream of playing top-flight basketball?

Now the text itself.

And remember, if you're still having problems understanding the text, you can always use the Google Translate version here to help you get your head round what it is saying.  But do try your very best to answer the comprehension questions using your knowledge of Spanish and your ability to read for gist (understand general meaning) - before you actually end up using Google Translate.