Deportes

“I spoke with Lamine. He is calm and eager to play,” explained Abdul, Lamine Yamal’s uncle, to La Vanguardia hours before the final. He was speaking from Larache, the Moroccan city where he was born and to which he had traveled just 24 hours earlier. Because superstitions, those rituals or habits repeated with the belief that they bring luck, are not the exclusive heritage of Argentina. He also decided to keep his, the one that had brought him luck during the Eurocup. To do so, he closed the family business this week, Bar LY 304. Abdul did not know it yet, but the superstition would work again. It was not the only one.

There is that guy.

Justice, a highly elusive matter in football, answered the desperate call of the Spanish national team and granted them the second star late, in extra time, but with full merit. La Roja was overwhelmingly superior, dominating all aspects of the game…

From Iniesta to Ferran Torres. From Don Andrés to Mr. Ferran. From Fuentealbilla to Foios. From the right boot to the left boot. From the Jabulani to the Trionda. From Johannesburg to New York. From one Barça player to another blaugrana footballer. The second half of extra time was red again. Although the Manchego genius scored dressed in blue. He was looking for a successor to the person who stitched the first star on the crest and found it in the Valencian forward. A golden thread will unite them forever. So often debated but he always ends up sticking his head out, being the protagonist, making the headlines. The story is his. Ferran II, superstar.

About twenty radicals violently attacked a group of fans who were watching the World Cup final in a bar in the Navarrese town of Berriozar. In a coordinated action, the attackers, with their faces covered, broke into the establishment’s terrace around 10:30 p.m. and threw chairs and tables at the customers, who were watching the match on television.

The Dane Jonas Vingeggard was forced to abandon the Tour de France after suffering a dramatic crash 20 km from the finish of the fifteenth stage, which was held between Champagnole and Plateau de Solaison, in which the Mexican from UAE Isaac del Toro was also involved. Vingeggard, winner of two Tours de France and one of the favorites in the current edition, went down in a curve along with other riders, but the Dane got the worst of it with a strong blow to his right shoulder.

Once again, Gianni Infantino’s FIFA lied. The halftime show was extended, from the referee’s whistle at the end of the first half until the players returned to the field, a total of 27 minutes and 20 seconds, quite a bit more than the 17 minutes promised by the organization. As many feared, the break lasted almost half an hour. Undoubtedly, the longest halftime in history.

The team spirit of the Spanish national team in the World Cup of the United States, Mexico, and Canada was rewarded with the second star for the country. And also with the string of individual World Cup awards won by Rodri, Pau Cubarsí, and Unai Simón.

Unable to shoot until the 116th minute. Unable to score. Unable to lead his team to the title. Unable to shine after a World Cup in which he had always walked the edge of the impossible. Don’t cry for him, Argentina, because he has given you everything. Don’t cry for him because he has been the flag of a team that has survived beyond the imaginable. Don’t cry because at 39 years old he leaves the United States World Cup with eight goals, four assists, and a third final in six appearances. Leo Messi, the greatest player of all time, gave in during extra time, as in 2014 at Maracanã against Germany. Not even his incredible longevity managed to beat an unbeatable champion. A Spain that shut down Mbappé and did the same to Messi.

Never in the history of the finals had a team failed to take a single shot on the opponent’s goal during regular time. Argentina, a stingy team that only attacked when it was dying down, ended up with two chances in 125 minutes, and they offered no more football than countering Spain with order, forcefulness, and too often dirty play, foul tactics, and trickery. Unworthy of the three-time champions who aspired to their fourth crown. Only goalkeeper Dibu Martínez was spared from a very poor collective performance.