With a sleeveless shirt, as if he were a New York Knicks point guard, Carlos Alcaraz returned 133 days later to an official tournament in the mixed doubles at the US Open alongside the legendary 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams (44 years old). The player from Murcia grabbed all the attention after missing two ‘majors’ and returning thanks to a great opportunity due to the withdrawal of Jannik Sinner, world number one, a rival of the Spanish tennis player in a sports career that has connected them for years.

The KNVB Campus appears among the trees of Zeist as a small city of Dutch football. At the entrance, the past welcomes the present: a circle of bronze statues brings together the great myths of Oranje, from Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens to Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten, or Edwin van der Sar. In the center, Rinus Michels, the coach that Cruyff himself chose to lead the Oranje of the century.

“We won’t let him down.” The FC Barcelona directors followed with logical interest Julián Álvarez’s first match with Atlético de Madrid at the Metropolitano after his now famous statements during the World Cup (“I want to fulfill my dream”) and their conclusions recognize the position of the Argentine footballer. The center forward fulfilled his obligations with his current team (he has a contract signed with Atlético until 2030), but he openly showed his discomfort. His body language on the bench, when he came on to play in the second half, as well as when the match ended (walking alone towards the tunnel while his teammates were at the other end of the stadium greeting the fans) needed no translation. Nor did the insults directed at him by the Atlético fans, which included a wide repertoire: there were choral ones (“tell him to leave once and for all”), individual ones (“plenty to go around”) and geopolitical ones (“damn Catalonia and damn Barça”) that will have to be seen if they are punished by the Anti-Violence Commission.