Football changes faster than life. The vital generations are divided into periods of 15 or 20 years: baby boomers (between 1946 and 1964), Generation X (1965-1979), millennials (1980-1999), Generation Z (since 2000).. Football, however, threatens to collapse every summer if a team's results are not adequate.. Perhaps that is why, because of such constant and overwhelming success, Real Madrid's last midfield has been so long-lived in terms of time and titles.. Casemiro, Kroos and Modric, “The Bermuda Triangle”, as Carlo Ancelotti defined them, or “The Holy Trinity”, as social networks had previously called them, have made it almost impossible for their heirs to match their historical legacy.. It sounds crazy. But in its generational reconstruction, far from going through a long journey through the desert, Madrid has managed to build the midfield of the “new football” while still applauding the decline of its legends. Tchouaméni (23 years old), Camavinga (20), Valverde (25) and Bellingham (20) are young, they are complete, they are different and, despite the competition and egos that the ball provokes, they have been friends since they met in Valdebebas.

Between the summer of 2015, when Casemiro, Kroos and Modric met for the first time in a locker room, until this July 2023 in which Tchouaméni, Camavinga, Valverde and Bellingham saw each other for the first time, only eight years have passed, life has barely changed, but football, the one that exalted the Brazilian, the German and the Croatian, is now different. Footballers are now a kind of cyborgs, capable of defending, attacking, passing, recovering, distributing, scoring…. They have good physique, but also good touch on the ball. Its size is not at odds with extraordinary technical quality.

“Case, Toni and Luka were specialists, almost artisans of football. These are different,” say the voices closest to the Madrid locker room.. It was a perfect triangle with very defined roles, something that Ancelotti's new rhombus has not yet decided.. The arrival of Bellingham has forced the Italian to change his scheme and recover the four midfielders who made him so happy in Milan. Tchouaméni has taken over the axis, Camavinga is trying to find his place inside, Valverde wants space on the right and Jude seems to have been born to play at the top of the structure, accumulating six goals in six games.

“A clean locker room”

Their positions, however, are not fixed.. Carletto constantly asks them for mobility to generate spaces and superiorities in the peaks of the large area. Madrid is generating more there, with the full-backs as the main weapons of its attack. Camavinga can appear at the base if Tchouaméni advances his position and suddenly approaches Valverde and Bellingham to build walls. The Uruguayan is different. He prefers to give Carvajal and Lucas meters to take advantage of their run into space or directly break lines from behind with the ball.. It is more powerful than technical, although it defends itself. Bellingham, for its part, is free verse, almost like Rodrygo. Both are waiting for Vinicius to complete an offensive that needs to be understood beyond football and tactics.

“If we know each other well off the field, everything will be easier on the field,” Camavinga explained this week.. And so they are doing it. On Sunday, August 27, just after beating Celta in Vigo and taking advantage of the two days off that Ancelotti had given them before traveling with their national teams, the young people went on a getaway to Saint-Tropez. There were Tchouaméni, Camavinga, Bellingham, Rodrygo and Mendy, accompanied by their circle of trust. Vinicius was missing (“they left me at home,” joked the Brazilian, injured in Balaídos) and Valverde, but the trip served to unite even more a locker room that they define from within as “clean, without egos”. “The healthiest I have been in years,” Ancelotti acknowledged.

Chemistry in the locker room

And think about it for a moment.. Madrid could pay 130 million for Bellingham, already indisputable in a midfield that still has Kroos and Modric and where in recent years Valverde (who played for Castilla), Tchouaméni for 80 million and Camavinga have arrived. for 30. The numbers and competition could generate egos, bad feelings or envy, even more so in a team like Madrid, but for now, the locker room is the opposite: “Chemistry,” they say.

The players' environment jokes with the language of conversations. A mix between French, English and Spanish. Tchouaméni, whose mother is a Spanish teacher, is fluent in the language, like Camavinga, who already spoke it in her first months in Madrid. They both have no problems with English. And Bellingham, who is not separated from them in the sports city, is already able to understand and say a few words in Spanish. Rodrygo, Vinicius and Valverde, who when they arrived did not say a single sentence, little by little they are loosening up.

There is a connection and they show it on networks, where they support each other after the games. “Brother”, “machine”, “bomb”, “MVP”… Young people do not miss every Instagram post from their generation mates. Sometimes a veteran like Kroos, Rüdiger or Lucas may appear, but La Quinta de Belli, because that is what they call Bellingham in Valdebebas, connects like today's youth connects: travel and social networks. “They are inseparable.” And consequently: football.

Spain's star was not eclipsed in a month of federative, emotional and judicial shocks. The victory against Sweden reinforced the players who stood up to vindicate JenniHermoso's dignity in the face of the alleged abuse of her boss, former president Luis Rubiales, and who forced themselves to cause changes with the sole objective of feeling professional recognition.

“To those who expected us to lose after this week to continue pointing fingers, I tell you that I'm sorry,” said Mariona Caldentey ironically.. Her penalty goal in added time allowed Spain to beat the number 1 in the world ranking in the most difficult circumstances experienced by these soccer players and with a game praised even by the Swedish coach, Peter Gurhardsson.

It was the best way to show that, on the field, and despite the initial gesture and the banner, they only think about football, “what we know best and want to do,” recalled another of the scorers, Eva Navarro.. Switzerland awaits this Tuesday at the Nuevo Arcángel in Córdoba, another emotional match because it represents the plebiscite of the Spanish fans to all the maelstrom that has occurred since Spain was proclaimed world champion in Sydney.

The federative expedition, reduced in Göteborg to president Pedro Rocha and the women's football coordinator, Rafael del Amo, as members of the management, will be expanded in the Andalusian capital, although there are managers who do not want to get too close to this transition. Meanwhile, the changes demanded by the players are being implemented.

After the resignation of Rubiales, the dismissal of the general secretary, Andreu Camps, was finalized last Wednesday, and on Friday, during the first minutes of the match, the first step to reform the Integrity department was made official with the departure of its head, García Caba. Added to this is the restructuring of the presidential cabinet, which is now headed by Elvira Andrés, and changes remain to be made in the area of communication and marketing, although the hitherto press chief has no longer been in Göteborg, indicated by the statement with words that Hermoso did not pronounce.

Another questioned figure

These changes were urgently demanded by the soccer players last Friday and in the early morning meeting that concluded with the Oliva Pact. But they are not the only ones there will be. The structure of women's football is coordinated by Rafael Del Amo, president of the Navarra Federation, a questioned figure but whose replacement – he does not plan to resign – will not occur.. The elections in the RFEF will be brought forward to the first quarter of 2024 and that will be when their departure will take place.

Previously, he had committed to appointing a person at the head of the sports management who was not compatible with the position of coach, the same structure that the men's team has had for years, before with José Francisco Molina and now with AlbertLuque.. That was the position that Rubiales publicly offered to MontseTomé in the Assembly and for which the current coach applauded, according to her own version.

Tomé's figure remains in doubt, not so much because of that behavior but because of the call for this Nations League and his words, which suggested that his call was consensual.. On the night of Oliva, distrust was maximum and a defeat in Sweden would have precipitated everything.

However, as happened in the World Cup, the players are aware, even more so now, that although some bad results in this group could precipitate their departure, not even good results are going to keep them in office.

«The Government of Spain neither appoints nor removes national selectors. At no time, in any meeting, was the continuity of the coach discussed,” Víctor Francos, Secretary of State for Sports, commented yesterday at a press conference, highlighting the atmosphere that is now experienced as a team. “They are calmer, the situation is more normalized,” he said, after announcing his presence in Córdoba.

Barça had to sign up for the epic to climb to the top. Two consecutive sparks from Lewandowski and one from Cancelo, in the final stretch of the match, ended up condemning a Celta team to defeat, which went 0-2 in Montjuïc and clearly threatened to break the good streak that the Barcelona fans had been having. at home. Despite the fact that Rafa Benítez's men drowned the Blaugrana almost to the point of despair, the individual quality of their players was this time the determining factor that they were able to cling to to turn around a situation that seemed almost irremediable.

Celta stood on the Montjuïc grass ready to make Barça's attack extremely uncomfortable and take advantage of any loss by the Barcelona fans to attack their goal on the counterattack.. And the plan, to tell the truth, went very well in the first 45 minutes of the duel.. Rafa Benítez's team was the one that made the clearest approaches to the rival area and took gold from a quick recovery that Stand Larsen, before the first 20 minutes of the match were completed, was in charge of converting it into 0-1.

And things could have been even worse for the locals in this first act if Ter Stegen had not taken a great hand against a Norwegian header that could well have been 0-2.. The German, in fact, also made a notable intervention at the start of the match to prevent his great nemesis, Iago Aspas, from breaking his prolonged bad scoring streak and adding one more goal to the nine he has accumulated against the German.

The 0-1 was not the only bad news in the first half for Barça. De Jong, hobbled by a blow to his right ankle, had to give way to Gavi before the break. After the restart,. And he even knew how to take advantage of Barça's desire to increase the gap on the scoreboard.. Douvikas, replacing Strand Larsen, made it 0-2 shortly after Bamba forced Ter Stegen to send a hard shot by Bamba into a corner.

Barça, against all odds, kept the faith. And that, in the end, would end up turning the score around in the final stretch of the duel. And in just eight minutes. Lewandowski, twice and after assists from Joao Félix and Cancelo, tied the scoreboard for the defender himself on loan from City to seal the comeback just one minute before regulation time was up. The visitors, despite the blow, still had a chance to at least take a point. Fortune, however, turned its back on them.

The second day of the Solheim Cup was an epic battle, a give and take from eight in the morning until almost eight in the afternoon. Almost 12 hours of tribute to golf and match play with a vibrant audience that left their throats at Finca Cortesín and a Navarrese heroine: Carlota Ciganda. Comeback and tie (8-8).

The waters in the European locker room were troubled after the initial 4-0 beating. The French Celine Boutier, number one on the American Circuit, was not comfortable with her partner assignment.. England's Charley Hull questioned some of captain Susann Pettersen's decisions. It was also not understood that Anna Nordqvist, a vice-captain who is also a player, plays so many games. It was not understood that Carlota Ciganda did not play on Friday morning, at the beginning of the Solheim, precisely on the morning of the 4-0, the biggest beating received in an opening session of the tournament. But all the quarrels were forgotten yesterday. Europe began the morning of the foursome two points behind the Americans, and once again equality was the predominant note, the partial of the four games was 2-2. Only one of the morning's duels, the one between Nelly Korda and Allisen Korpuz, was clear for the Americans. Europe countered thanks to the effectiveness of the Ciganda-Pedersen couple in the first game and the combined strength of Grant-Stark in the last, a vital point when it was already known that Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang had raised the second point of the morning to the scoreboard. USA.

With the score 7-5, the afternoon fourballs arrived, where Europe was forced to win if it wanted to reach Sunday's singles alive, taking into account that the Americans have traditionally been better in the Sunday sessions.. Nelly Korda and Ally Ewing lost 4-3 to the huge Leona Maguire and the English Charley Hull. Carlota Ciganda teamed up again with Linn Grant to star in the Solheim Cup match by defeating Danielle Kang and Lilia Vu with a fourball card of 11 strokes under par in 17 holes. Carlota made eight huge birdies that ended up destroying her rivals in an epic match with a very high level of golf.

Madelene Sagstrom and Emily Pedersen also had a great afternoon of golf to achieve the third European point against the American revelations Rose Zhang and Andrea Lee. The only American point belonged to Cheyenne Knight and Angel Yin, winning 2 ahead of Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall, who showed her face in her late debut in this Solheim Cup.

Carlota has become the most valuable player of the tournament, she has played three games and has won all three, she is the only European who has the full title and the one who accumulates the most points of all the participants in this Solheim Cup, along with Linn Grant.

After two intense days of competition, four sessions and 16 points at stake, the tournament reaches its final day today with the two teams tied with eight points. With the 12 points from this Sunday's singles, King Felipe VI will present the trophy to the winning team. Europe, being the defending champion, needs to add six more points to reach 14 and retain the trophy, while if the United States wants to break the hegemony of two consecutive European victories, it needs to add 14 and a half points.

With tears of helplessness. This is how Susana Rodríguez ended up in the final of the World Series held in Pontevedra after seeing how the gold slipped from her hands due to a harsh penalty.. She competed in her homeland and was the great favorite to take first place on the podium and to become world champion for the fifth consecutive year.. However, he had to settle for second place.. “It is a shame and a sadness that there are officials measuring the races who do not know what they have to do and it is a shame that the World Triathlon, which boasts so much about equality, gives you a sanction for blocking some guys who had somewhere to pass. It's worth learning so it doesn't happen to us again,” said the triathlete, completely broken.

The woman from Vigo was shown a yellow card in the cycling section, specifically in the second lap, since she was supposedly obstructing the passage of a male tandem. The athlete herself explained at the finish line what had happened: “In the Paralympic triathlon, on the bike you cannot go by wheel, we have to drive on the right and overtake on the left. In the second round, some guys came with a tandem, who are much stronger than us, they overtook us in a few seconds and they did it on the right because they wanted to, because there was room on both sides, but the official judge gave us a yellow card to us,” she confessed to the newspaper Marca.

After the sanction, the test only got worse for Susana Rodríguez. With that warning, both she and her guide had to stop for a minute in the penalty box, but the organization was not up to the task.. “The officer who was in charge of measuring time and writing down your number was leaning on the table. Sara, my guide, hit the table three or four times, but the lady, who must not know her job, told us to leave because we had to make a stop in the race.. I know that's not the case because I've been competing for a long time.. We lost 40 seconds and from then on I couldn't get back into the race,” lamented the athlete.

A fatal mistake

She herself commented that after the incident it was difficult for her to concentrate again, and she has to be very attentive to her guide since any mistake can be fatal.. “It's a shame that something like this happens in a world championship,” said the woman from Vigo.. After this, the Spanish Triathlon Federation presented a claim to the World Triathlon, but the organization ended up accepting the decision.

The woman from Vigo maintained second place, crossing 32 seconds behind the Italian Francesca Tarantello. This classification does not affect him too much, since his place for Paris 2024 is guaranteed.

Despite her anger, and taking into account what she had experienced during the test, Susana wanted to have a gesture of gratitude for the support that the people of Pontevedra had shown her, both during the competition and in the days before.. “I feel happy to have managed to create this desire to see the paratriathlon over all the years, that is the most important thing today,” he acknowledged.