La Liga
Guinea Bissau-born Ansu Fati is new Lionel Messi at Barcelona
Super Eagles’ Africa Cup of Nations opponents next January, Guinea Bissau may not be a big brand in football, but a player of the country’s origin, Ansu Fati is the one to step into the legendary Lionel Messi’s shoes in Barcelona.
Fati was born in Guinea-Bissau but chose to represent the Spain international team. He is widely considered one of Spain’s most exciting football talents, and one of the best young players in the world
The La Masia product has been awarded Barcelona’s number 10 jersey for the 2021/22 campaign, following in the footsteps of club legend Lionel Messi.
The Blaugrana were unable to renew Messi’s contract in Catalonia this year, meaning that their Argentine icon was forced to walk away from the club, leaving the famous number ten shirt vacant for the new season.
It was unclear whether the jersey would be filled, with La Liga rules forbidding Barça from retiring the number completely.
But all rumours were put to bed on Wednesday morning, when the club announced starlet Fati as the new number 10 in the famous red and blue jersey.
Elsewhere, Ousmane Dembele has taken the number seven shirt vacated by Antoine Griezmann when he sealed a deadline day return to Atletico Madrid, while Yusuf Demir has been given Dembele’s old number 11 and new signing Luuk de Jong will wear 17.
Fati becomes the latest holder of the iconic number 10, following Messi’s 13-year spell in the shirt.
The Argentine was awarded the chance to take the shirt in 2008, when the club sold Ronaldinho upon the emergence of their world beater.
He became the greatest player on the planet while donning that jersey, winning three Uefa Champions League trophies, eight La Liga titles and six Ballons d’Or as their number ten. Messi’s departure shook supporters to their core this summer, but the faith placed in Fati will offer renewed hope.
The 18-year-old drew comparisons with Messi from an early age, and he has been expected to carry the torch from the forward since bursting onto the scene.
However, Fati has suffered a series of complications to a nasty knee injury, which has kept him out of action for nine months.
He wore the number 22 jersey last year, but the club clearly believe he is the man destined to carry them to glory for the next decade or so, entrusting him with the most important shirt on offer. Fati is back in training with Barcelona after his injury, and will return to the Camp Nou field shortly.
Barcelona turned the Clasico into a coronation on Sunday, swatting aside Real Madrid 2-0 at a roaring Camp Nou to claim their 29th LaLiga title.
Hansi Flick’s side moved to an unassailable 91 points, 14 clear of second-placed Real with three games remaining.
The triumph capped a dominant campaign in which they lost only four league matches. Villarreal are third on 69 points.
Real arrived needing victory to keep their wafer-thin title hopes alive, but Marcus Rashford crushed those aspirations just nine minutes into the game.
Antonio Rudiger fouled Ferran Torres just outside the box, and Rashford bent a superb free kick into Thibaut Courtois’ top-left corner, giving Barcelona the early lead and sending the home crowd into raptures.
Nine minutes later, Barcelona doubled the lead. Fermin Lopez crossed into the area, and Dani Olmo produced a clever backheel that sent the ball into the path of Torres, who rifled a fierce strike into the top corner.
The win completed back-to-back league titles for Flick, who also delivered the LaLiga and Copa del Rey double in his first season last year.
Both sides were heavily depleted. Barcelona were without Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Jules Kounde from the starting lineup.
Real’s list of missing players was longer, with Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, Arda Guler and Rodrygo all absent. Federico Valverde also missed out after suffering a head injury following a midweek changing-room fight with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni, with both players fined 500,000 euros over the incident.
Kylian Mbappe did not travel because of a leg muscle injury, forcing manager Alvaro Arbeloa to start Vinicius Jr alongside academy striker Gonzalo, with Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz pushing forward in support.
Real threatened through Vinicius and Gonzalo before halftime, but Barcelona carried the greater menace. Courtois kept the visitors alive with fine saves from Torres and Rashford before the interval.
Barcelona continued to press after the break, Rashford repeatedly tormenting left back Fran Garcia down the right, while Courtois produced another sharp stop with his left foot to deny Torres from point-blank range in the 56th minute.
Bellingham had a goal ruled out for offside in the 62nd minute, and Joan Garcia was quick to deny Vinicius in a one-on-one, preventing the Brazilian from lifting the ball over him.
Real kept probing late on, but there was little bite in their attack, and Barcelona calmly saw out the win before the title celebrations began.
“This title is even more special because we won it at home against Real Madrid. Now it’s time to enjoy it with the fans,” Frenkie de Jong told Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus.
“Every title has to be celebrated in style. Especially LaLiga, which is a year-long competition. We’ve clearly been the best in Spain.”
-Reuters
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Real Zaragoza goalkeeper Esteban Andrada was sent off for punching Huesca captain Jorge Pulido in a fiery Spanish second division clash on Sunday that descended into a mass brawl, with Huesca keeper Dani Jimenez dismissed for punching Andrada.
Zaragoza’s Dani Tasende was also dismissed after a VAR review of the brawl.
With tensions simmering in a relegation scrap, Argentine Andrada lost his composure moments before the final whistle. Ignoring the run of play, he approached Pulido and struck him in the face with his right hand, sparking chaotic scenes eight minutes into stoppage time.
It was an ugly flashpoint in a match already short on finesse and heavy on nerves, and could carry serious consequences for the goalkeeper.
Huesca manager Jose Luis did not attempt to defend the scenes.
“It’s hard to explain; I think it’s a complete loss of control. I can put myself in their shoes, given what was at stake and all. But it’s unjustifiable. It’s just that I don’t know what to do or how to stop it; a brawl breaks out,” he said.
“It’s ugly; this was supposed to be a celebration of Aragonese football. I’d like people to talk about the match, even though it was ugly, with little play but a lot of hard work.”
Oscar Sielva’s goal secured a 1-0 win for Huesca, lifting them to 36 points in 19th place, while Zaragoza remain second-bottom on 35.
-Reuters
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Joan Laporta has been re-elected as Barcelona president after winning over 68 percent of the vote and will begin his second consecutive term, and fourth overall, from July 1, the club said on Sunday.
The 63-year-old took office in March 2021 and stepped down last month in line with club statutes in order to seek re-election.
Laporta described the election as a “celebration of democracy and civic responsibility” and said the tasks ahead included finishing work on the Camp Nou and strengthening the men’s team.
-Reuters
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