It wasn’t A Night at the Opera, but it resembled it: a terrifying Es-Alert on mobiles right at the start of the match –“just a few drops!”, the spectators said instead of going home out of caution, civility, and responsibility–, a family tribute to the exemplary employee –delegate Carles Naval–, deflated balls, Cantabrian defense commits two penalties, Joan Garcia’s injury off the field, the brilliance of the invaluable Szczseny –tribute now!– a near blackout of the Camp Nou lighting…
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And let’s not miss the headline for weddings, baptisms, and matches like this: “Rain of goals.” No less than nine…
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Meteorology has become a very local hobby, like mushroom hunting or castells competitions. Thanks to technological progress, we all have opinions and forecasts about the weather for the next 12 and a half minutes, hence the impact of an Es-Alert on mobiles, just as the 50,000 intrepid spectators unknowingly prepared to witness one of the most entertaining and anecdotal matches of the season. Did anyone go to pick up the kids? Did the competent authorities consider suspending the match, as they undoubtedly would have done with school activities? And deprive the viewer of a rain of goals without leaving the couch? Noooo!
The match was lively. Since school prehistory, one hadn’t seen so many deflated balls (the game had to be stopped twice). Barça brought gusts of hurricane wind and that fresh football that makes you forget how easy it is for the opponent to score a little goal. The squad management seems impeccable because there is competition, and where there is competition, people smarten up. Watching football from the bench is more boring than Barcelona at night.
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Captain Raphinha and Joao Cancelo –great fullback from midfield onwards– received praise with three and two goals, respectively. The discovery of the false nine, although one still believes that not having a classic number nine is a mistake, if errors can be spoken of in a Barça that for the first time accumulates seven wins at the start of a season.
A separate chapter for the German Adeyemi –as flashy as effective– and Ballon d’Or candidate Lamine Yamal, that individual award that many fans of this team sport are already fed up with. Luckily, Lamine scored and left behind the sulking of the first half.
At the time of closing this edition –as was said in old journalism– Barça is the king of mambo. And the 50,000 spectators, lucky ones whom the sky punished for ignoring mobility recommendations, a boldness they undoubtedly paid dearly for at the end of the match. There’s always the saying that no one can take away the fun we had, which was a lot.
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