Football as a hieroglyph. How extraordinarily well Barça plays again and how little is understood about the bad streak of November and December. No one understands it, but after years we already know that therein lies the beauty of this sport. Let’s not complain and celebrate it. We can change the vocabulary with which we refer to it to appear sophisticated but the essence remains the same: we are not able to know what will happen and we head towards the stadium hoping that tonight will be the night chosen by our team to lose their hair. And for the genius on duty to present us with technical details that leave us with our mouths open. Simple but very complicated at the same time. Barça is now in that trance. It’s a pleasure to come see him, romantic metaphors too corny to be reproduced come to mind. Let’s let it run.
Barça is in a trance, it remembers the European teams that envied each other… but not anymore
The match between Hansi Flick’s players against Betis was a lesson in advanced football. No more envying Liverpool, Manchester City, Bayern and company as possessors of modernity. Those virtues that we saw in those teams when they are at maximum revs are the ones that we appreciate in the Barça team. The challenge requires legs, commitment and daring. And a high quality of execution in all phases of the game. And of course mental speed, whether attacking statically or stealing from the opposite field. When Pedri, Gavi, Olmo and Lamine Yamal associate around the ball, the memory of their sporting masters occurs, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi, big words, and when they accelerate, they seem activated by electricity, that is the most significant change. The Canarian calm (how good Pedri is), combined with the mental agility of Olmo (there’s a reason he triumphed in Germany), and finally by the sense of verticality of Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, the star who leaves us with our mouths open to the one who we were referring to before. Recover the lost step in the European hierarchy. There is Barça again, insatiable with the first goal in their pocket, and with the second and the third, even with the fourth until achieving the fifth.
Raphinha celebrated his goal, Barça’s third, with his characteristic gesture
Koundé, the ‘cool’ player
Speaking of modernity, we interviewed Koundé a few weeks ago and he exceeded our expectations. The Frenchman improves with Lamine Yamal at his side, which confirms the perception that we are dealing with an intelligent athlete. The good team player should not submit or be intimidated by living alongside a colossal talent in the same space, but rather use him to provide feedback and improve. That’s what Koundé does, author of two great goals, one of them disallowed. Lately, the Frenchman has tied his dreadlocks into two pigtails. He is a guy who takes risks with aesthetics and it turns out well. Good taste and transgression in dress do not consist of wearing colorful jackets to attract attention. Let’s not confuse desperation with avant-garde. Let’s be guided by the good vibes of Koundé. Let’s take a deep breath and enjoy this sensational team.
#Barça #modernity #class #Joan #Josep #Pallàs
