On a night of reclaimed Catalan identity motivated by the incidents in Elche, Barça featured six players from La Masia in the starting lineup for the second consecutive league match, another form of self-affirmation, this time through football. Cubarsí, Eric Garcia, Xavi Espart, Marc Bernal, Fermín, and Lamine Yamal were part of a team entering its third season under the increasingly powerful hand of Hansi Flick (no one challenges him at the club) and with a squad that, pending the addition of the famous number nine (or not), looks very much like a Champions League champion. What happens next will happen, but the initial impression is that, and it should be noted that making predictions this early is not typical of the writer.
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It must be that Rodri’s entry and presence on the field hypnotized one, a high-class central midfielder gifted as a playmaker and defensive pivot, a one-in-a-million player, a specific hinge between defense and attack not seen at Camp Nou since the heyday of Sergio Busquets.
Camp Nou, in love with its team, stood up to embrace the new element
Camp Nou, increasingly in love with this team, stood up to welcome the new element when he came on, and the supporters’ section dedicated the catchy and fun chorus of Freed from Desire, a song that the cheeky Grealish adapted with a Rodri’s on fire now embraced by the blaugrana fans. The singing variety in the stands against Athletic was a festival: first a tremendous ovation for Madrid’s Rodri, world champion with the Spanish national team, then a more sectorial than massive “Puta España, Puta selección,” and as a garnish Els Segadors and why not the Virolai while Gordon, the new idol apparently in the style of Larsson, is pampered, having landed on his feet. Barça, no matter how you look at it, is a unique club.
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Returning to the appearance of a very complete team that this Barça conveys, there was a moment, before Rodri’s mentioned entry, when the debutant came out to warm up alongside Adeyemi, Olmo, Koundé, and Christensen, a bench of a level not seen for a long time, a depressing factor for teams like Athletic who resisted as best they could the local onslaughts but capitulated due to wear and insistence. One day it will be Rodri, but they are and will be increasingly mature footballers despite their youth like Cubarsí, Pedri, Fermín, and, of course, Lamine Yamal.
Special mention goes to the one from Rocafonda. Although his body language indicates he is not going through a good emotional moment, his match was a recital from start to finish. Hansi Flick was right not to take him off the field. He left dribbles (including two nutmegs) that only top players can execute; his problem is that they are taken for granted as if they were normal. He combined sprints, goal assists, runs off the ball… He only missed scoring and, if we’re asking, perhaps a personalized chant from the stands. Maybe it’s about time.
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