It is a label that has followed him almost throughout his career, but that has been repeated especially in his last stretch as a Real Madrid player. “Am I fat?” asked Isco Alarcón (Benalmádena, 1992) on his social networks in 2018 while showing himself shirtless with marked abs. “I also hear the noise that I am lazy,” he recently said in an interview in Marca about the scrutiny he is subjected to in the same social media.

Rodrigo Carretero, co-founder of Crys Dyaz & Co and one of the Malaga soccer player's personal trainers, also recalls the criticism the player received. “When we caught him, he was in Madrid without playing, compared to his teammates, they told him he was fat,” explains Carretero. The man from Malaga started with them with a body fat index of 10% (elite athletes are between 6% and 12%) and with supplementation and training they managed to lower it to 8%, in a short time.

Critics aside, Isco is back. The man from Malaga has signed for Betis after spending six months without a team after terminating his contract with Sevilla. He does it after a break in which he has taken the opportunity to get “physically like never before”, according to Rodrigo Carretero.

Isco has been carrying out, at his home in Madrid and at the gym, double daily sessions from Monday to Friday and “homework” for the weekend. “He works harder than in his entire life,” explains Carretero. Something that can be verified by watching the videos of their sessions on the player's social networks. “He has come to do squats with 150 kilos,” says the coordinator of his training sessions along with another coach, Dani Jiménez, who appears in many of the audiovisual pieces published by the man from Malaga.

But these six months without a team, like any footballer, have made him lose speed and something of a technical-tactical level.. Carretero, to improve in the physical section, worked with the footballer on short and long reactions, both in the gym and on athletics tracks. They also rented soccer fields to replace the ball part, although he admits that it is impossible to replicate the collective part. “The dynamics of the team is important, but Isco has a magic wand, with a touch and a quality that is not seen. He is well above any First Division player and that keeps him going,” says the personal trainer.

In addition, there is a relevant part, which is what Pedri wore this summer: the importance of the cupero's upper body, which Isco has also worked hard with the team coordinated by Carretero. “Obviously, the lower body is the most important because it is the one that plays the most,” he points out. However, the coach equates footballers with sprinters and believes that to make them more complete they need to have a strong core and arms like them.. “In addition, the more muscle mass, the less fat percentage,” he adds.

Another fundamental part that the man from Malaga has worked on has been the mental part. Even if he turned to a specialist, he also relied on his coaches to be able to unload everything that tormented him.. “The mental part is very important, it is linked to the physical. If you look good, you will feel stronger, without pain”, adds Rodrigo and reviews the “great heart of the man from Malaga”.

Precisely, the footballer himself has been the one most responsible for being prepared for his return with Betis. A return that he chose himself and in which the factor Manuel Pellegrini, the coach who gave him birth as a footballer, was decisive when choosing the Verdiblanco club. “He is mentally very tough, he is used to putting up with pressure,” reveals Carretero. Isco will have to endure a lot.

After the failure in Seville and the frustrated signing by Unión Berlin, Betis could be the last trick to relaunch the career of the man from Malaga. A player who shone in Madrid, who shone in Spain and who elevated Málaga, but his light soon lost intensity. Although he, more than anyone, wants to turn it back on.

“The most important part of his comeback is the motivation he has given him,” Rodrigo says, adding that “he sees him looking forward to it” and that his desire “was the key to keeping him in shape outside of a team”. The work of the man from Malaga and his assistants have already put him in the spotlight again.

In most sports with a high incidence of technology, developments are carried out in the most absolute secrecy, with measures that seem almost like something out of a movie.. The Copa América, on the other hand, is different. Despite the fact that engineers work tirelessly to find something new that can be beneficial to their team, espionage is something that is done in broad daylight by the organization itself.. The information collected is even shared through the official channels of the competition, so that everyone can access it.. Fans included.

“Competitors work hard for two or three years before the actual regatta starts.. And, despite the fact that the competition has many fans, many of whom are also very interested in the more technical aspects, there is very little access to what the different teams do to prepare for it.. We wanted to fill that gap, and centralizing espionage with official reconnaissance teams, who work for the governing body, allows us to provide them with information on a daily basis,” says Dan Bernasconi, technical director of Emirates Team New Zealand, the defending champions.

“When we were sailing in Auckland to prepare for the previous campaign, many times we had several pursuit ships looking out for us, one for each of our competitors.. The fact of centralizing this recognition as a service available to all translates into considerable money savings for the teams. And, in addition, it also means an improvement in the safety conditions of the training”, highlights. The decision, however, initially raised some suspicions.

«To participate in the Copa América, you have to subscribe to the rules written by the defending champion, in this case Emirates Team New Zealand, and the first challenger, INEOS Britannia, so, in fact, the rest of the competitors had no choice. to agree. Yes, there was some initial skepticism, but now that this program has been running for a while, everyone appreciates its value and everyone supports it.. The quality, both of the videos and of the photos, is also really good,” Bernasconi reiterates.. Competitors, on the other hand, can't keep any aces up their sleeves in their tests either.

“Nowhere to Hide”

“The rules are clear: there is very little scope to protect your assets from the eyes of reconnaissance teams. Of course, they are not allowed to act within the bases of the different competitors, but, once the doors of the ship are opened and the boat touches the water, there is nowhere to hide, “says the technical director of Emirates Team New Zealand.

The rules are also very strict in relation to the measurements of the different elements that make up the boats. But that is by no means to say that there isn't a lot of room for imagination. “It's true that we have to abide by some very specific design rules, but within them there's a lot of room for freedom when it comes to the design of the form.” of the hull, the ailerons and the sail control systems”, he points out.

Everything, yes, in search of achieving the widest possible audience for this flagship competition in the world of sailing. “The images from these awards offer fascinating insight into everything that goes on behind the scenes at the Copa América.. We had a huge fan base and we wanted to share all these stories with them.. Several web pages and YouTube channels take advantage of them to give their analyzes on the different things that the teams are doing and all of this is fantastic to achieve the interest of all the followers and the growth of this sport, “he explains.

«What we do, in addition, is attracting different types of audience. In addition to those who were already sailing fans, we are also awakening the interest of both those passionate about technology and those who only seek the speed and excitement of regattas”, says Bernasconi»

Alberto Escobar, Leo Kowalski, Jing He and Chenjie Xu have been training since elementary school, but they never dreamed of playing in a Chess World Cup, even less before they turned twelve.. The four members of the El Altillo International School team will travel this Wednesday the more than 7,000 kilometers that separate Jerez de la Frontera from the city of Aktau, in Kazakhstan. There they will participate, from August 3 to 8, in the first School World Championship. The tournament is divided into two categories, sub 12 and sub 18, which bring together 71 teams from 50 countries.

The players from El Altillo began by winning the Cádiz de Colegios championship, in January. Then they went to the national tournament and finished runners-up in Spain, but the winners could not go to Kazakhstan and the people from Cádiz decided to take advantage of this historic opportunity. “It has been complete madness”, confirms his teacher, Daniel Escobar, FIDE master, president of the Andalusian Federation Trainers Committee and founder of the Ajeduca project together with his brother David.

The expedition was scheduled to leave at 12 in the morning this Wednesday and the arrival is scheduled for 4 in the morning on Thursday. “It is a laborious and expensive trip,” confirms Escobar, “but the International Federation helps us with most of it thanks to the management of Hispaniola. The rest has been paid for by La Andaluza, the Cadiz delegation, the Shahmat club, the school and the parents,” the monitor explained by phone hours before leaving for Kazakhstan.

“We are very excited. It will be the first time that they participate in a World Cup and, although the trip is incredible, we will do everything possible to do it as best as possible”, adds Escobar, cautious with the sporting options of his little chess players: “They stand out at the Cádiz level and Andalusian and they make a good team. It's hard to say if they have a chance, but looking at the list it looks like China and India are uncatchable, so I think the goal is to finish in the top 10 and hopefully medal.”

Will they become great teachers? “They look very good, but to be a GM you have to keep training a lot and have a great attitude. They are very young, 10 and 11 years old, and you never know, but I do see qualities in all four of them”, replies the coach.

Learn from a blind teacher

The Escobar story has its own interest. Daniel and his brother David learned to play with their father, Antonio Escobar, who is blind and was twice a medalist in the Spanish chess championships for the blind. “My father read the magazine 'Jaque' in Braille! We learned the letters of chess and that's how we watched the games,” reveals Daniel.

To continue the family tradition, the team that will participate in the World Cup includes his son Alberto. He and his friends are the only representatives of Spain in this new competition. Two of them are in sixth, one in fifth and one in fourth.

“I am proud that one of the main schools in our country with chess as a compulsory subject represents us in the First World School Team Championship”, says Javier Ochoa, president of the Spanish Federation.. This event is a great opportunity for the members of the El Altillo team to share this great sporting and cultural experience with children from all continents.”

Chess as a subject

Daniel Escobar is a firm supporter of chess as a subject in schools. The objective of Ajeduca, in fact, is “to make chess a curricular subject in all educational centers”, because it is an activity that “creates better people and therefore better societies”. “We have been at my school for more than 20 years and it works very well. If you have activities and a schedule adapted to the ages, like we do, it's totally possible,” he says..

An issue to be resolved is the lower female participation in tournaments. “In my school everyone gives chess in their weekly schedule, both the boys and the girls. When it comes to competing, it seems that fewer girls want to do it, but my impression is that the same thing happens in almost all sports,” explains the teacher, who insists that his subject has no negative side effects: “Nobody hates chess. If classes are made active for everyone and all students are treated according to their level and adapt, everyone learns and improves.

The grades are related to many things: attitude, exercises performed, test scores….

The advantages of educational chess are clear and they are the foundation of Ajeduca: “It improves behavior in the classroom, enhances memory and mental arithmetic, trains attention and concentration, teaches problem solving, encourages entrepreneurial spirit and increases the creativity and spatial vision”.

The Barcelona coach, Xavi Hernández, acknowledged this Tuesday that Ousmane Dembélé has an offer from PSG with which the Barça club cannot compete.

“Ousmane's issue is simple: he came with a proposal from Paris, who wanted to leave, who has spoken with Luis Enrique and the people of Paris and who has a proposal that we cannot match,” he said at a press conference after Barcelona's 0-1 victory against Milan in a friendly in Las Vegas.

The culé coach also said that he was “disappointed” with the departure of Dembélé. The Frenchman was left out of the squad in this last friendly in the US. and he was one more spectator of the great goal with which Ansu Fati gave the win to the culé.

Dembélé, who seems to have his hours counted at Barcelona, had participated in the two previous friendlies: he played the second half in the 5-3 defeat against Arsenal and scored a goal as a starter in the 3-3 win against Real Madrid. 0.

“I asked him why, the reason…. He didn't know how to tell me really, but it's clear that it's his, personal issue,” said Xavi, who did thank Dembélé for being “clear” with his preferences and intentions.

Xavi said that he was aware of the conditions of the attacker's clause and that he was contemplating that scenario in which he could leave. “I saw him so happy that I did not expect it,” admitted Xavi, who stressed that “life goes on” and that they cannot retain players who do not want to play for Barcelona

The coach was also blunt, once again, about the need for the club to incorporate new signings. Now we have to reinforce. I already said it in the last game. Ousmane's loss weakens us (…). But if Ousmane had stayed, we would also have to reinforce ourselves,” he explained.. “What we have is very good (at the extremes), I'm happy, but we have to strengthen ourselves,” he added.

Apart from the 'Dembélé case', Xavi was very satisfied with the victory against Milan to close the pre-season tour of the US. and he also spoke about Gavi, who returns from this tour without having been able to play for a minute due to physical problems.

In this sense, Xavi said that Gavi has back problems, that they have chosen to reserve him for the Joan Gamper Trophy and that, in any case, he will be a “very important” player for this season.

Gigi Buffon, the man who has dodged everything and everyone, from Zidane's blows in the World Cup final to the depression he suffered in the early 2000s, surrenders to time and advances his retirement.

The official announcement is missing, but the decision has already been made: at the age of 45 he will stop being one of the best goalkeepers in history, perhaps for many the greatest of all time. Silvano Martina, his achiever and, above all, his friend, often said of him that he has an innate gift for positioning.

Buffon still had a year left on his contract with Parma. As in Hollywood movies, everything ends where it began, at Parma, 28 years ago, with that exciting debut in the form of a saga: Parma-Milan 0-0, on November 19, 1995.

In between, ten Scudetti (plus a Serie B championship), 7 Supercoppe di Lega and 5 Coppa Italia with Juve -to which must be added another Coppa Italia won with Parma in 1998-99-. He had courage and generosity both on the pitch, with the relegation to Serie B, for example, and off it, where he made his most personal confessions in Roberto Perrone's excellent book: “I fell into depression, a psychologist treated me”, story.

Controversy also surrounded his life on several occasions, both on the pitch and off it.. For the memory there will be phrases that he said before the microphone (such as that “two wounded are better than one dead”), but he always recognized his mistakes. “All the misadventures I have had, some consciously sought, I have always paid for,” he once said..

His mother is from Tuscany, and his father is from Friuli, a unique mix. From her he inherited the ability to understand and know how to downplay situations; and from him, tenacity and courage.

He had already announced it but this Wednesday he made it official. Aday Mara, a young Aragonese basketball talent, has published a letter on her social networks in which she announces that she is leaving the club and that she is going to the United States.

He assures that “the only reason for my leaving is to be able to combine my personal and academic development at an American university with my sports development at the highest level”. Mara begins the letter by saying that “after 8 years in this family, the time has come to part ways.”

He adds that “it has been a very difficult decision to make since Basket Zaragoza has been the club where I have grown up and which has allowed me to meet incredible people who have helped me as a player and as a person”.

Next, he thanks all those who have accompanied him in his growth: “To all those who have shared my path. Coaches, physical trainers, delegates and physios. To my teammates, for helping me to be a better player in each training session. To all the staff who work at the Príncipe Felipe, with whom I have always been able to talk and share moments. And, of course, to the fans, who have supported me and have given me all their love”.

Aday Mara makes it clear what is the reason that has led her to make the complicated decision. “I'm leaving to be able to combine my personal and academic development at an American university with my sports development at the highest level.”

He assures that it will be difficult for him to leave Zaragoza: “I am leaving home, I am moving away from my parents, my family and my friends for that sole reason.”

Remember that this year has been very special for him when he debuted in the ACB: “It has been a dream come true. I have played in the team that I was going to see every weekend and I have shared the changing room and track with players that I admire and watched on television when I was little”.

However, Aday Mara's goodbye is still involved in controversy, as the club accuses him of unilaterally breaking the exit clause, which Casademont claimed, in a statement, was 600,000 euros.

The big day for Spain in the swimming World Championships that just ended was Friday. The national team, in the women's water polo final, and Hugo González, in the final of the 200 backstroke. How to miss it? Apparently, either way.

The defeat against the Netherlands by Miki Oca's team barely accumulated 40,000 viewers on La 2, less than the reruns of Who lives there? in La Sexta and the Hindt series in Cuatro. And González's seventh place was at 79,000 followers, far behind the audience for the Women's Tour, an England-Denmark Women's World Cup and the start of the Spanish Athletics Championship.

Everything that happens in the water is of no interest in Spain and it makes sense: there is a lack of medals, references, tradition and facilities. But… Why does the same thing happen in countries that dominate swimming? At the Fukuoka World Cup, World Swimming has met with the disinterest of the world. A difficult problem to solve.

It all started before the start of the championship. The BBC decided not to pay for the live broadcast rights of the World Cup and kept some summaries that it broadcast in the afternoons. It was paradigmatic. The British public channel usually turns to the Olympics and had been showing the World Cup live since 1991. His absence was a sign of decline, but when the competition started there was more evidence.

The American NBC, the most important television in the Olympic universe, suffered horrific numbers. In most sessions of the World Cup, it did not reach 200,000 viewers, the minimum figure for the television audience to be recorded in the US.. Swimming, a college sport there, has never followed the trail of American football, baseball, basketball, motorsports, golf, tennis or soccer, but it's odd that it trails the newly created American rugby league. or the Westminster Dog Show, a dog show that is held in Flushing Meadows and whose last edition was won by a very cute Basset Griffon Vendean.

The absences, key

The reasons are many. The Fukuoka schedule hurt the fans of the United States -the finals were at eight in the morning- and hindered the European fans, but it was not the only thing. Since the retirement of Michael Phelps in 2016, swimming has been in search of a benchmark and the candidates for it, such as Caeleb Dressel, are lost in trouble. Katie Ledecky's hits were the only incentive for the Yankee audience while the British celebrated the emergence of Matt Richards.

The World Cup only had a pull in Australia, which enjoyed the finals in prime time and added up to 13 golds, the best championship in its history. Not even in France, with the rise of Leon Marchand, did swimming exceed 100,000 viewers, cornered on France 4, a France Télévisions channel where cartoons are usually broadcast.