As an American soccer fans, we’re subjected to countless drab British announcers who have all the entertainment value of a trip to the dentist. For every excellent Ian Darke there are dozens of nameless, faceless commentators who add little excitement to the game.
In soccer, rivalries are an important part because playing a “Derby” or “Clásico” is a privilege. However, a special flavor to these duels is tasted when remembering those players who, without any remorse, put on the shirt of the hated rival and played for both teams. These are the authentic "Judases" of soccer that will remain in history for their controversial passage from one team to another.
Here we bring you the biggest players who played for the hated rival.
Ousmane Dembélé is perennially late.
You can easily imagine him throwing open the door of his Mercedes S63 AMG coupé, crushed Mountain Dew Game Fuel cans spilling out with him, and sprinting into Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper at a breakneck speed muttering "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" because this really happens all the time — to the point where the club fined him hundreds of thousands of dollars and wondered aloud if he had a video game disorder that forced him to stay up all night playing with his friends (others call this disorder “having fun.”)
Colchoneros, catalanes, merengues y nervionenses tendrán que dar el todo por el todo en la cancha si pretenden conquistar el ansiado título de la Liga Santander 2020-2021. Temporada tan particular como atípica. Estadios vacíos, pandemia incontrolable, crisis económica mundial y ahora el “Barçagate” percuten en demasía el ritmo de la competencia en España.
BARCELONA - Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu was arrested on Monday after Catalan police officers searched the LaLiga club's offices.
A regional police spokeswoman confirmed several arrests had been made following an investigation by the force's financial crimes unit, without confirming the number of arrests made or their identities.
Sí, sí. La figura de la victoria 0-2 del Barcelona sobre el Sevilla fue Lionel Messi. El genio argentino puso una asistencia y anotó uno de los goles del triunfo, en otro día más de oficina. Sin embargo, también es necesario hablar de Ilaix Moriba, el jovencito que con un sutil toque de magia comienza a generar conversación dentro de la burbuja fútbol.
Reinier, 18 at the time, arrived in Germany with high hopes.
The Brazilian attacker signed for Borussia Dortmund on a two-year loan deal from Real Madrid, having joined the Spanish giants from Flamengo in January 2020 on a $36 million deal. He was the latest Brazilian starlet to make the move to the Bernabeu, as Madrid had previously bought Vinícius, also from Flamengo, and Rodrygo Goes from Santos, each for over $50 million.
Barcelona was nursing a slender one-goal lead for most of its match with Sevilla, the club directly behind it in the LaLiga standings. Lionel Messi had received the support Barça needed to be in position to win, but the Argentine hadn’t yet put his own stamp on the game. But as he does more often than not, Messi created a bit of magic late and helped Barcelona beat Sevilla 2-0 on Saturday at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.
No tengo la certeza, pero tampoco dudas, de que varios jugadores profesionales (y también amateurs) sueñan algún día cruzarse en una cancha de fútbol con Lionel Messi solo para esperar el final del partido y pedirle su camiseta. Seguramente hay horas de preparación para cuando llegue ese momento, las cuales incluyen tiempo frente al espejo ensayando un "Leo, tu camiseta, por favor" o cosas por el estilo. Sin embargo, suponemos que muy pocos están preparados para cuando ocurra lo contrario, cuando sea el mismísimo Messi quien pida tu camiseta.
Ronald Koeman's Barcelona, third place in LaLiga on 50 points, travels south on Saturday to take on Sevilla, just two points behind them in fourth.