When it comes to pure entertainment, Ronaldinho is perhaps the greatest footballer of all time.
The Brazilian officially (and finally) retired from football earlier this year, but he’s still involved in the game as an ambassador for Barcelona, the club he spent five seasons with, more than any other club for which he played.
We got our first real glimpse of 18-year-old Real Madrid phenom Vinícius Júnior during Real Madrid’s shock 1-0 defeat to Alaves on Oct. 6, but that appearance (his second for the senior side) was still just a 10-minute cameo.
Last week, The Guardian published its annual “Next Generation” list, featuring 60 of the best young talents born in 2001. Accordingly, these players are only 17, and we all certainly realize the foolish nature of tagging a teenager for predestined greatness (unless they move like Kylian Mbappé).
Beginning with the 1998-99 season, FC Barcelona made the switch from Kappa to Nike, and the Swoosh has been adorning the Blaugrana shirts ever since. Accordingly, 2018 marks 20 years of partnership between the Catalan club and the American corporation, and to celebrate the occasion, Nike is releasing a shirt which incorporates design elements from every Nike Barca home jersey ever released.
Valencia opened Sunday’s LaLiga match against Barcelona at the Mestalla in complete control. Two minutes in, Ezequiel Garay gave the hosts the lead after Thomas Vermaelen failed to deal with a corner and the ball somehow eluded Luis Suarez, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba on its way to Garay.
Over the next 20 minutes, Michy Batshuayi forced Marc-Andre ter Stegen into a fine save and Geoffrey Kondogbia whistled an effort past the upright. Barcelona had offered little of its own in the final third, but that all changed spectacularly in the 23rd minute.
Marco Asensio scored in the 41st minute of a 1-0 win over Espanyol on Sept. 22.
Los Blancos haven’t scored in four matches since.
In a stunning turn of events for a club that’s won four of the last five Champions League trophies, the Real Madrid goalless streak has reached a remarkable 409 minutes — nearly seven full hours.
I think it’s safe to say Julen Lopetegui’s club has reached a crisis of Jose-Mourinho-at-Manchester-United proportions, except Mourinho was actually able to get a win on Saturday.
In previewing tomorrow’s Champions League tilt between Tottenham and Barcelona at Wembley, The Guardian’s David Hytner wrote a terrific piece detailing how an 18-year-old Lionel Messi almost joined Espanyol on loan in the summer of 2005, back when current Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino was still playing center back for the club that lies in the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district of Barcelona.
When Atletico and Real Madrid last met, Atletico scored a wild 4-2 win in extra time in the UEFA Super Cup in August in Tallinn, Estonia. On Saturday at the Bernabeu, no one won the Madrid Derby — except maybe Barcelona.
In a fairly tame Madrid Derby, neither side could find a way to score in a 0-0 draw. Atletico will take the road point (it hasn't lost in the Bernabeu in six years), but Real will rue the chance to go atop the LaLiga table.
Lost in all the hullabaloo surrounding the defeats that Barcelona and Real Madrid suffered yesterday was the fact that Villarreal’s Pablo Fornals put on one of the most exquisite 15-minute displays of football the game has ever seen.
It’s not 15 minutes of consecutive footballing brilliance, but once you see the highlights you’ll understand.
Barcelona players are not used to losing, especially in LaLiga. Last season, the Blaugrana lost just once in league play. Barcelona lost 19 games in the last five seasons combined — the same number Leganés lost last season alone.
So when Leganés scored a stunning 2-1 victory over Barcelona on Wednesday, maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised the Barça stars didn’t know how to handle defeat.