Don't forget Henry - Etoo - Leo trio. I still find it hard to believe that Henry actually played there.
Came across this video of Andres Iniesta returning yesterday (March 14) to his J1 League club, Vissel Kobe, after having returned to Spain to attend the birth of his fifth child (third daughter).. “Welcome, Olympia! We were waiting for you with a lot of love! And congratulations to our super mommy! Wonderful day!” https://www.instagram.com/p/CpGfcEWItXg/ After having joined Vissel Kobe midway through the 2018 J1 League campaign, the 38 year old Iniesta is now in his fifth full season with the club.
Gary Lineker deserves mention here for how he's turning the BBC inside out. He played with us in the late 80s under Terry Venables and Johan Cruyff.
Dani Alves involved in cigarette smuggling scheme in prison SMH, as recently as last November, who would've believed this is where his life would lead? https://www.metropoles.com/colunas/...m-esquema-de-compra-de-cigarros-na-prisao?amp
Little scary moment for Kun as he paused during his Twitch feed to feel a "mini arrhythmia" he was having just then. https://www.football-espana.net/2023/03/30/sergio-aguero-suffers-heart-arrhythmia-live-on-twitch
this is scary stuff. Mark Van Bommel, now manager at Belgian club Antwerp, was held at gunpoint outside his home by someone who threatened to kill Van Bommel and his family if he didn't offer him a professional contract with Antwerp.
I know that as far as 'right now' is concerned for Barca, Samuel is just another contract to get off the books so we can be able to sign our own players and players from other teams, but for a little while he shown even brighter than Araujo, as the first CB signing out of nearly a dozen where we found a great player at a great price. So I'm glad he is doing well in Lecce and hope he can continue there or anywhere else he is valued (but it won't be here with Inigo hopefully joining): Pinuccio Milli, legendary Lecce ultra, on Samuel Umtiti:“He came to the deep south of Italy and was like a messiah for us. Without him, we wouldn’t have stayed up. He's not only the best defender we've seen here, he's the best player in Lecce's history. [@lequipe] pic.twitter.com/bx9WSwVTdj— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) June 5, 2023
Zlatan, upon retirement, named his all time 11 of teammates and shockingly included many Barca players despite only staying a year with us (and being on several other great teams):
RIP Luis Suárez, who died at 88. He won two titles with us before becoming a legend at Inter and becoming the first Spaniard to win the Ballon d'Or. (Putellas is the only other.) https://apnews.com/article/luis-suarez-spain-soccer-died-obit-c70bd16bd9ea4806a0cee8b61bd13f33
Was coming to post the same thing, RIP Golden Galician! Amazing that no other Spanish man has won the Ballon d'Or. Suarez also was 2nd place twice and 3rd place once. I think 14 different players besides Suarez have won while playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona, they just were not Spanish nationals. In 2010 there was the legendary but controversial Ballon podium with Messi winning, Iniesta in 2nd place, Xavi in 3rd (and Snejider feeling 'robbed').
Fun fact: Messi, C.Ronaldo, and DiStefano all have Spanish citizenship. meaning the Ballon D'or has technically been won 15 times by 'Spanish' men.
20 years ago, this signing, more than any other transfer signing, really helped launch perhaps the best 20 year period in Barca history: Sure, lots of other great signings before and after, and the emergence of many La Masia talents, but trophy-wise at least Barca has never had a better 20 year period, and whiffing on signing David Beckham to get this consolation prize from P.S.G. was the beginning of this glorious era.
Latest is that Iniesta may be joining Messi, Busquets, Alba, and maybe Luis Suarez too, at Inter Miami. Meanwhile the Athletic (paywalled) ran a full article / interview with Barca's Keirrison about what happened and what went wrong: https://theathletic.com/4703983/2023/07/20/keirrison-barcelona-transfer/ To fully comprehend Keirrison’s story — to see the texture beyond the cheap gags — you first have to understand just how good he was. Often, young Brazilian forwards catch the eye with tricks or creativity. Keirrison was a little different, a cold-blooded marksman who rarely took an extraneous touch. Although not a pure No 9 — he was too slight to lead the line — he racked up up ludicrous numbers of goals at youth level. “Growing up, Romario was my reference point,” Keirrison says. “He made finishing look so easy. I watched him all the time, making mental notes of the kinds of shots he took. I copied his technique until I had that same kind of simplicity when it came to finishing.” He made his senior debut for Coritiba at 17, scoring in his first three matches. A serious knee injury slowed his progress, but only briefly: his goals helped Coritiba secure promotion to the top flight in 2007 and he was even better the following year, ending the Campeonato Brasileiro as joint top scorer and netting 41 times in all competitions. That earnt him a move to Palmeiras, where he continued in the same vein. The variety of his goals was extraordinary. There were plenty of tap-ins — he was in the right spot so often that you wondered whether he had been given a copy of the ball’s itinerary in advance — but also towering headers, long-range screamers, subtle little glancing flicks into the net. “Keirrison,” ran one headline at the time, “scores goals to suit all tastes.” Naturally, the hype machine clunked into gear. There was talk of a Brazil call-up. His name, a mash-up of Keith Richards and Jim Morrison (yes, really!), started to be linked with European clubs. Much more to the story but basically he hasn't played professionally in 5 years, only lasted a year in Europe (Benfica then Fiorentina on half year loans then back to Brazil). I always thought he was a purchase by the club to get some kick back or favor from his agent or club in order to sign someone else, it made no sense, but sounds like he was promising.
Yep, Iniesta has joined Inter Miami. This is pretty crazy. There was always a question that Messi had certain control over Barca's and Argentina's roster. This makes it look like it was definitely the case.
Messi , Busquets , Alba and now Iniesta … Suarez and Sergio Ramos in talks !!! Could be very entertaining given the opposition !!
Two former Barca players sign on in France today, Umtiti passed his medical and joined Lille, really happy for Big Sam / Inspector Gadget. and Aubameyang joins Marseille, both were free transfers 🚨 Samuel Umtiti (libre) arrive à Lille ➡️ Il a déjà passé sa visite médicale pic.twitter.com/eXUp7P6FJS— Fabrice Hawkins (@FabriceHawkins) July 21, 2023 𝐋𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐠 sur Massalia ⚡️L’attaquant gabonais 🇬🇦 rejoint l’Olympique de Marseille 🔵⚪️#OdysséeMassalia 🏛️ pic.twitter.com/1dzKgCxw2n— Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) July 21, 2023
Neymar should have stayed !! This is all you need to know about the Saudi league https://x.com/trollfootball/status/1695009263016411521?s=46&t=4Bt0aqTthADTQG3kMIaXcg
There's now a disclaimer posted after the video: The presented video is from a charitable soccer match that took place in Brazil in 2018, during the "Futebol Contra A Fome" festival (<Football Against Hunger> in English), and not from a game in the Asian Champions League as claimed by the post's author.
Jeremy Mathieu officially retired from football the other day. Former French International (2011-2016), with Barca 2014-2017 (arriving from Valencia, departing for Sporting CP). Won eight trophies with Barca in just 3 seasons, including a treble. Jeremy Mathieu has announced his retirement from professional football.One of the best center backs I’ve seen in Portugal and a vital part of Barça’s treble win. He will be missed. pic.twitter.com/L5e09MCq0y— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) October 23, 2023 Goal in El Clasico: