They shone, they astonished, they resonated. Or they were left in debt. They are the characters that marked the year.
(You may be interested: Jürgen Klopp recovers his wedding ring that he lost on the field: this is how he reacted)
* Messi. On June 7, in an interview with the Barcelona newspapers Sport and Mundo Deportivo, Leo surprised the football world: he announced he was leaving Europe to settle in the United States and play for Inter Miami, strictly speaking the worst team in the MLS. His taste for the city and the quality of life that the most Latino city in the US offered convinced him. He debuted on July 21 and in the 94th minute, with a heavenly free kick he gave Inter a 2-1 victory over Cruz Azul. It generated an automatic revolution, never seen in football and sports in the northern country. With 12 million viewers, it was the most watched soccer game in the history of North American television. Everything that followed was cinematic. Packed stadiums, revenue records, attraction of the rich and famous. Time magazine dedicated the cover to him and named him “Athlete of the Year.” He forced millions to watch Major League games.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
* Cristiano Ronaldo. On January 22 he made his debut for Al Nasrr in Saudi Arabia and his decision drew in forty other figures from European clubs. The arrival of the Portuguese and the unknown but strengthened Saudi league were the harpoon for FIFA to decide to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, which had blood in its eyes because its almost invisible neighbor, Qatar, managed to put together a spectacular World Cup that year. past. Cristiano went with his professionalism and scored 54 goals in 2023, between club and national team. Turning 39 years old, it is a miracle.
*Haaland. In his first season in England, the Android won the treble with Manchester City: League, Cup and Champions League, scoring a spasmodic figure of 52 goals in 53 games. And, as a tip, 9 assists. A goal machine, in every way. This can earn him the FIFA The Best 2023 award on January 15. He is the main candidate. However, criticism began towards him “because he does not appear in the decisive matches or in the classics.” It is true, in the key moments his goals did not come, although it may be a coincidence, if there is something Haaland does not have, it is fear. Where he hasn't been good is with his national team. Norway did not qualify for the World Cup in Qatar (there were 13 Europeans) and has now been eliminated from the next Euro Cup (24 teams). Norway is not a power, but neither is Andorra or Malta. A true supercrack puts his team among the top 24 in Europe. And he is not alone, he is accompanied by two important values like Odegaard (Arsenal) and Sorloth (Villarreal).
Erling Haaland scored the first goal.
* Bellingham. The best signing of the European summer. It cost 103 million euros plus 29 in variables, but no one talks about its price anymore, which happens with good-good ones. He was not signed as a scorer, but he has 17 goals in 21 games (0.81 on average). At Borussia Dortmund he had scored 24 in 132 games (0.18). This reflects two topics: 1) he grew as a player, 2) they found the position for him. He has technique, skill, amazing speed, weapon play and finish. Complete. All with just 20 years. He may be the star of the next decade, Mbappé's eclipse of the sun (another one). Real Madrid, that promotion machine, exaggerates it with its classic “best in the world” label. He is not yet, but he has everything to be soon. Another extraordinary signing from the Madrid club, as always, the one that buys the best.
* Spout. The notable scorer and champion of the Libertadores. Strong, brave, timely, direct. He never stops the ball, he always hits it as it comes and surprises the goalkeepers. He won the 2023 Footballer of America award given by the Montevideo newspaper El País. His is a very strange case: after failing consecutively in Lanús, Chacarita and Colón, he became a fearsome gunner in Colombia. And, now mature (he turns 36 on January 2), he found total consecration in the difficult Brazilian soccer. He scored 43 goals in two seasons at Vasco da Gama and has 84 in two more at Fluminense. Impressive is an understatement. And he is fit, he looks splendid physically.
* Guardiola. It's funny, he still has his detractors. They are so cute… In his 14 seasons in the First Division he has won 37 titles, including eleven leagues in Spain, Germany and England. He is no longer extraordinary, he is unusual. He is the only coach whose statistics are told the other way around: three times he was not champion. But the titles are the insignificant part of Pep: the game is the tip of his iceberg. He imposes himself by driving his rivals crazy. “Why doesn't he win the Champions League without Messi…?” They brayed. There it is: Cup, League and Champions with City. Their crowning match, the first leg semi-final with Madrid: 4 to 0 with a ball show. “Of course, because he has all the stars…” they bark. No star, good or very good material. The issue is style. The best coach in the history of this sport.
(Also read: Is Falcao packing his bags and leaving Rayo Vallecano? He starts 2024 meditating on his future)
* Bielsa. If any device could measure happiness, Uruguay would be the most satisfied country in America today. A football technical director has a lot to do with it: Marcelo Bielsa. Just as the Newell's stadium bears his name, like the indelible memory he left in Chile, just as in Leeds there are two gigantic murals with his effigy, and the emotion he generates in all the countries where he directs, it would not be strange for a day in Montevideo they dedicate a bust to him. It is what awakens the Rosario. The Uruguayan coaches, so attached to playing fast and loose, were upset when the association hired Bielsa, a kind of Antichrist: offensive, foreign and on top of that Argentine, something intolerable. Chengue Morales, with brutal sincerity, closed the gap: “Bielsa covered all of our mouths.” He put together a young, fresh team that fights and attacks non-stop. He beat Brazil and Argentina. He has an entire nation happy.
Uruguay defines its squad.
* Julián Álvarez. He is a talisman: wherever he goes, he emerges as a champion of everything. In River, in Argentina, in Manchester City. At 23 years old he already needs a large showcase in his house. He has won 15 titles, including Libertadores, Champions, Copa América, World Cup, Premier, the Argentine championship… And he evolves in each game. In River he was a boy and went to the bank. He came in and demonstrated. He scored six goals against Alianza Lima in a single night for the Cup. He came to the National Team as player number 26, began to have minutes and ended up as a starter and scoring 4 goals in Qatar. He came to City as a long-term bet, and he immediately began to add goals and assists. He is already the undisputed starter for Guardiola and takes charge of corners and free kicks, refined his punching, got physical, puts pressure on the entire rival team, creates play…
* Moisés Caicedo. He rose to fame for the record price of his pass: 146 million dollars. A crazy figure for a branded midfielder who also does not step into the area. No shot and no header. He has 20 games, 0 goals and 0 assists for Chelsea. “Hugely overrated,” says the English press. A strong player, without play creation, who constantly passes the ball backwards or to the sides in a short distance. He does not transcend. He even chose the wrong club: Liverpool bid hard for him, they also paid for the nonsense that Brighton was asking for, but Caicedo rejected it. Liverpool is at the top of the Premier League, Chelsea is in the middle of the table with no chance of a title. Your bad.
last tango
JORGE BARRAZA
For the time
@JorgebarazzaOK
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#proper #names.. #Tango
