Former Valencia and Athletic Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde has officially been named manager of Barcelona, replacing Luis Enrique.
Ernesto Valverde is the new @FCBarcelona coach.
Welcome, Ernesto!#HolaValverde pic.twitter.com/XBjdEztHRe
Lionel Messi turned in a Midas-like performance in Saturday’s Copa del Rey final — everything he touched turned into gold. He opened the scoring for Barca in the 30th minute with an unstoppable effort from 18 yards out, he was heavily involved with a “hockey assist” in Neymar’s goal and then he settled the match before halftime with a sublime feed for Paco Alcacer and Barcelona’s third.
Outside of these pivotal moments, Messi was unplayable. He registered 101 touches in the game, including four key passes, four shots and a staggering nine successful dribbles.
Ronaldinho could’ve been sent off hundreds of times in his career for unsporting behavior. Blessed with otherworldly control and technique, the Brazilian would frequently contort the rules of the game for his own benefit. It wasn’t fair, nobody else could or can do it now, but he got away with it because he was a god. As we all know, life has two great questions: 1.) Is there a heaven? 2.) How did Ronaldinho get this good?
Barcelona's season has been a disappointment based on their lofty standards. They haven't won a major trophy yet, with the Copa Del Rey the only prize left for them to chase.
That said, it would be hard to be disappointed with Ronaldinho around. The jolly Brazilian showed up at Barcelona training yesterday to spread some good cheer and horse around with his buddies.
The premeditated pomp and choreographed farewell that John Terry bid Chelsea supporters at Stamford Bridge on Sunday stood in stark contrast to Luis Enrique’s final match at the Camp Nou. While the feel-good factor in the southwest of London as compared to the tension-riddled atmosphere at the Camp Nou could go someway towards explaining these divergent going away parties, the real variation was really only in the respective men of honor.
Barcelona’s 4-2 victory over Eibar was rendered meaningless by Real Madrid’s 2-0 win against Eibar, but the event-riddled match still provided plenty of highlights.
Luis Enrique’s final match in charge at the Camp Nou began disastrously. As news filtered through the stadium regarding Real Madrid’s early opener, Eibar scored a sensational goal of their own with Takashi Inui lifting a left footed half-volley into the roof of the net in the 7th minute.
I thought this video was going to be terrible. Most of these club videos featuring two players playing a lighthearted game are unbearable — things feel forced, it looks like it’s the first time the players have ever talked to each other and they want to go home.
But Samuel Umtiti and Arda Turan are really good at assigning their teammates specific emojis. Maybe it’s because we use emojis way too much, maybe it’s because the nearly telepathic understanding Barcelona players seem to share lends itself to little activities like this, but Umtiti and Turan aren’t messing around.
La comparación siempre será entre Lionel Messi y Cristiano Ronaldo. Todos lo hemos aceptado, todos leemos muchos artículos al respecto, contenido para alimentar a la bestia que compara y contrasta dos jugadores que son muy diferentes que casi todas las áreas, excepto en que ambos son muy exitosos y tienen estadísticas imparables.
La Liga took another step towards the finish line with Barcelona swatting aside Las Palmas, 4-1, and Real Madrid dispatching fourth-placed Sevilla 4-1 at the Bernabeu on Sunday.
The result saw Barcelona stay atop the La Liga table on head-to-head record, but Real Madrid maintain their vital game in hand. Barcelona’s final match is on Sunday against Eibar, while all eyes will be on Real Madrid in Galicia on Wednesday when they travel to play Celta Vigo before finishing away to Malaga.
Everyone wants to swap jerseys with Lionel Messi, but who does Lionel Messi want to swap shirts with? Let's find out: