La Liga
AN EXPENSIVE MISTAKE? NO PLACE FOR GRIEZMANN AS BARCELONA TITLE HOPES FADE
Barcelona’s hopes of retaining the Spanish title look to be slipping away after Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid, and the decision to leave Antoine Griezmann on the bench for almost the whole game appeared to sum up the malaise which has taken hold in the Catalan capital.
Twice Barcelona led against Atletico at the Camp Nou only to be pegged back and forced to settle for a third draw in their last four La Liga outings which leaves them a point behind leaders Real Madrid having played a game more.
The scenario was a repeat of last weekend, when Quique Setien’s team were ahead twice away at Celta Vigo only to draw 2-2. Real can now go four points clear by beating Getafe on Thursday (July 2), while also boasting the head-to-head advantage over their title rivals.
And yet while Barca desperately needed three points against Atletico, Setien saw no reason to send on Griezmann until the 90th minute.
The French World Cup winner was also only brought on as a late substitute against Celta, but Tuesday amounted to a humiliation for Griezmann against his former club, who sold him for €120 million (S$190 million) last summer.
Sergi Roberto and 17-year-old Ansu Fati had already come on before Setien turned to Griezmann as a last-minute replacement for Arturo Vidal.
When asked about the bit-part role to which his former player was restricted, Atletico coach Diego Simeone’s reply was as cutting as it was short. “Speechless”, said the Argentine.
“It is true that it is hard bringing him on like that, for a player of his level. But the circumstances forced me to do it,” said Setien.
“I could have taken a different decision, not brought him on for example, but you always have the hope that a player like him can win you the game.”
Setien added that he would not be apologising to the 29-year-old and claimed the player would understand why he was left out.
Nevertheless, Setien’s handling of Griezmann can only increase the pressure on the coach, who has not won over those who doubted his ability to succeed at the Camp Nou after he was appointed in January.
Having excelled under Simeone at Atletico, Griezmann always appeared an unnatural fit for Barcelona, wedded to their 4-3-3 formation or variations thereof. The Frenchman looks even more out of place with Luis Suarez back fit to team up with Lionel Messi in attack.
Messi scored his 700th career goal on Tuesday. Griezmann, meanwhile, has just eight goals in La Liga this season, his lowest return since netting seven for Real Sociedad in 2011/12.
He has scored just one league goal in 2020, not enough when you are one of the most expensive footballers of all time.
More importantly for Setien, a third straight title looks beyond Barcelona.
When appointed in January, the 61-year-old ex-Betis coach admitted he could not promise to make his team win. “But I promise that my team will play well,” he said.
They are not even doing that, and it is impossible to watch this Barca side and not long for the glorious football played by Pep Guardiola’s team almost a decade ago now, or even Frank Rijkaard’s dazzling side of several years before that, when Messi was just emerging.
“I am used to finding myself in difficult situations. I might not be as happy as I was at the beginning, but inside I am doing fine,” Setien said, while insisting that the dressing room was behind him.
Time is running out already for Setien, not least because time is running out for Messi to win trophies with Barca.
The Argentine, who has 22 La Liga goals this season, has just turned 33. Missing out on what would be an 11th La Liga crown in 16 years would be one thing, but the pressure is building towards the latter stages of the Champions League, due to be played in August.
Messi and Barca have not won that trophy since 2015. They still need to get through a last-16 second leg against Napoli in order to qualify for the final eight in Lisbon.
-AFP
Sunday’s LaLiga derby between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid was temporarily suspended in the 69th minute due to fans hurling objects onto the pitch after defender Eder Militao scored the opener for the visitors.
While Real players celebrated the goal in the 64th minute, Atletico ultras Fondo Sur, who are located in the south lower stands, threw objects towards visiting keeper Thibaut Courtois, who alerted the referee and he decided to halt the match.
Atletico captain Koke and defender Jose Maria Gimenez went to the south stand to calm the fans down but the referee ordered the players to go to the dressing rooms as the announcer warned that if the behaviour continued the game would be abandoned.
After a delay of over 20 minutes the players returned to the pitch and the game resumed.
-Reuters
Mounir Nasraoui, the father of Barcelona and Spain star winger Lamine Yamal, was stabbed late on Wednesday at a parking lot in the northeastern Spanish town of Mataro, La Vanguardia newspaper reported, citing official sources familiar with the matter.
Reuters was not able to independently confirm the report. The regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force and a spokesperson for the Mataro local government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to La Vanguardia report, Nasraoui was taken to the Can Ruti hospital in the nearby city of Badalona and his diagnosis was “serious”. It added that local and regional police had located several witnesses of the incident.
However, a later report by sports website Relevo, also citing official sources, said Nasraoui had been released from hospital and was back at his home.
Yamal, a soccer wonderkid who grew up in coastal Mataro – a working-class, multi-ethnic suburb of Barcelona – became the breakout star of the recent Euro 2024 held in Germany.
Spain won the tournament, helped in part by the 17-year-old scoring against France in the semifinal on July 9.
-Reuters
Real Madrid and Brazil forward Vinicius Jr is open to an offer of more than one billion euros from Saudi Arabia, sources close to the player told Reuters on Monday.
Vinicius, 24, was approached by Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) officials to inquire about his interest of moving to the Saudi Pro League (SPL) on a five-year contract worth around 200 million euros per season fixed, plus bonuses.
The package would also include a separate 10-year contract to become an ambassador for the 2034 World Cup, which is set to be held in the country, but those terms and financial numbers are yet to be discussed.
Although an official, formal offer has yet to be presented, Vinicius has not dismissed the move and gave permission to PIF to approach Real Madrid.
Despite being “happy and motivated” in the Spanish capital, Vinicius and his representatives believe that a lucrative offer like this needs to be studied carefully.
Another source close to the player said that Real have shown no interest in negotiating a transfer, highlighting the player’s one billion euro buy-out clause.
Real Madrid and PIF did not respond to requests for comment.
Obsessed to be taken seriously as a soccer force, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced a Sports Clubs Investment and Privatisation Project, with PIF taking ownership of 75% of the capital of the country’s four main clubs: Al Ahli, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Nassr.
The biggest Saudi transfer came from the country’s most successful club, Al Hilal, who spent 90 million euros to buy forward Neymar from Paris St Germain.
With Karim Benzema at Al Ittihad and Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr, PIF tried to persuade France captain Kylian Mbappe to be the big name Al Ahli is still missing last year.
The forward, however, turned down Saudi’s lucrative offer and joined Real Madrid in June.
The proposal for Vinicius is understood to be similar to the Mbappe offer. The Brazilian would join Al Ahli, linking up with former Premier League players Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino.
Vinicius, who is under contract until 2027 after signing an extension in 2022, is a contender to win the Ballon d’Or award for the best player in the world after helping Real to a Champions League and LaLiga double last season.
-Reuters
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