It was the 89th minute of a preseason game, but in the mind of Joselu Mato (Stuttgart, 1990) it was a moment of vindication. 120 minutes had already passed since Real Madrid began their preseason and the center forward of Madrid had not scored. In addition, he had scored two quite clear occasions in the previous minutes.

“I was a bit annoyed by the chance I had on my head, but I'm happy because it's a preparation match. The ball comes high, I don't think about it…” the protagonist began the description of his goal in the mixed zone. “I thought about it at the last moment. It was one of the few options I had, coming so balloon. It crossed my mind for a millisecond,” he continued.

And then “it's not the first time I've tried it and it worked out well”. What he tried and came out was a spectacular Chilean kick after Lucas Vázquez's center. A goal, Real Madrid's 2-0 win against Manchester United, which made the Manchester United fans throw their hands up, even though it was a pre-season game.

15 goals with Espanyol

It is a repeated image in the recent history of Madrid. That of fans and even coaches raising their hands to their heads before a scissor goal. However, those moments ended up being bittersweet, perhaps not for the white team, but for its protagonists.

Real Madrid's penultimate Champions League, the one that Zinedine Zidane's team won in Kiev in 2018, is remembered for those two great scissor goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale, against Juventus and Liverpool, respectively. Indelible moments in the thirteenth European title for the white team, but with a farewell aroma for both players, even if Bale, or his shadow, remained for a few more years.

However, this Chilean from Joselu comes to say the opposite. It is the welcome or the return to the club of the former Espanyol striker, who last season finished in the bronze boot in the top scorer of the Spanish league with 15 goals. The silver boot, by the way, went to Karim Benzema, former captain and historic footballer of Real Madrid, who is replaced by the Spaniard and whose shadow can be very long.

Before his signing for the white team was finalized, Ancelotti said that “he liked Joselu, like all strikers who score goals”, but that was before the French Ballon d'Or came out. In fact, Mato was counted on more as a revulsion than as a starting striker.

Bellingham and Mbappé

“We can compete for all the titles with just one pure center forward. It is true that we have only played with one in recent seasons, Benzema, who was not pure. And a player has arrived who can contribute a lot to us with the change of system”. Ancelotti praised Joselu, but outlined that the responsibility shifted to another line and another name. He was talking about the British Jude Bellingham, a name with status and star stripes who, in just two games, has lived up to expectations.

If Joselu has had to vindicate himself, Bellingham has only confirmed what was expected of him. What happens is that he has done it with an inappropriate naturalness for a 20-year-old. Without going any further, Modric, a teammate in the midfield in Real Madrid's last victory over United, took almost a year to convince the Bernabéu crowd. He would also do it, precisely, against the red devils in that Champions League tie in 2013 that Mourinho's Madrid would overcome.

After the friendly against United, Ancelotti revealed at a press conference that “the Madrid squad was complete”, referring to questions about Kylian Mbappé. Surely the Italian coach could make room for him given his situation at Luis Enrique's PSG and after the Frenchman rejected the offer of 400 million for a year to play for the Saudi Al-Hilal plus another 300 for the Parisian team. Ancelotti's Madrid is Bellingham's Madrid and, perhaps, after the welcome chilena, it is also Joselu's.

One more year, and there are 12, Atlético de Madrid begins the preseason with Diego Pablo Simeone in charge and Cholo, more established than ever after the hesitations of the last season, has decided to be true to himself, to his style. Atético does not change and he has nothing to do it with. At the moment, at the Seoul Stadium, they have started with a 2-3 defeat against the K-League team.

The team is clearly committed to quick transitions, perhaps because it is their safest bet for this year. Several of them were the cause of the biggest chances for the rojiblanco team starting with the first goal. Theft of Samu Lino, ball for Thomas Lemar and the Frenchman, in a dizzying drive, combines with Griezmann whose shot is repelled by goalkeeper Lee Chang, ball returned to Lemar and goal. Play of three touches and 10 seconds.

Samu Lino, the Brazilian on loan to Valencia last season and who, at the beginning of this preseason, was outside Atlético de Madrid was a cyclone on the left wing. In attack and defense, the 23-year-old was one of the most outstanding players in Simeone's team. His connections with Griezmann generated a lot of danger in the Korean team that, it must be said, was very soft in defense.

In fact, his facilities when leaving the ball were another weapon for Simeone's team. Atlético, on many occasions in the game, did not have to build, just wait for the rival to give them the ball and it was not on a few occasions. The problem is that it cost a lot to materialize them.

The rojiblancos continue to have a great lack up front that Álvaro Morata's animosity does not solve. The man from Madrid scored three times, but they were all annulled for offside. What has been said, there are things in Atlético that do not change. The number 19 also had an opportunity with a header from a corner, but it ended up repelled by the crossbar.

The issue of corners was not new. Atlético had many and finished them all. Morata, Hermoso, Savic, Mouriño… all headers with more or less difficulty, but all ended up in the hands of the goalkeeper of the K-League team. Atlético imposed their height, but that was not enough to take off on the scoreboard and closed the first half with a meager 1-0.

korean change

The Korean team, by the way, who came out with a different spirit in the second half. Much more aggressive on the ball and generating more things in attack thanks to changes made by coach Sung Min Lee. The coach changed the 11 players and, on the first occasion they had, it was inside. 1-1 and the entire second half ahead.

With a more daring Korean team, Atlético lacked creation in the midfield. He could not, because he did not know, because perhaps he does not have the players to build. Barrios and Saúl do not have the imagination of Griezmann or De Paul, nor their experience. And that ended up paying for an Atético who could not get past the draw against the Korean team.

Beyond the debut of some catneranos like Carlos Martín or Gismera, Cholo had little new to do on the field. At least from the medullary upwards. Although it must be recognized that Martín, the one he had, transformed it. After a somewhat lucky play by Correa, the 21-year-old was where he needed to be, scoring to put Atlético ahead with a goal from a true nine.

weak defense

However, the back of the rojiblanca defense was a drag. In the first half, Witsel, a player who this year, and even more so after Giménez's injury, looks like he will repeat as a central defender, had several errors that his speed prevented them from being greater. Mouriño, on the other hand, a debutant in the Cholo team, was not so lucky.

The young Uruguayan central defender, whom Cholo wanted to try as a winger, put his hand in to try to win the position after an error throwing the rojiblanca defense offside, and that hand brushed the face of Gerso Fernández, winger of the Korean team. The referee saw the action punishable. Penalty and goal from Palocevic.

But things were likely to get worse. Barely two minutes later, a ball poorly cleared by the Atlético defense reached Lee Son's boots, who beat Gomis with a shot from outside the area and overcame the adverse result.. Tough defeat for a Simeone team that clearly went from more to less.

It gives the impression that this year's squad is going to fall short for the remainder of the season. With a Joao Félix who does not count for Simeone and who was absent today due to alleged muscular discomfort, the team lacks imagination up front. The new signings are going to contribute a lot in defense, but someone is missing to help generate play up front.

Atlético, for the moment, is looking for a midfielder and remains expectant about what will happen with Álvaro Morata and Joao Félix, two players who have one foot outside the rojiblanco team. If they left, they would go for a nine, despite the flashes of young Martín. The question is: who will pass the balls to that nine?

“Today is a sad day for me, today it is time to say goodbye to what I have dedicated all my life”. This is how the video published on his social networks begins with which David Silva announced his retirement from football. The midfielder from the Canary Islands decided to put an end to his career after breaking his crossbones in training this preseason with Real Sociedad.

“Today I have to say goodbye to colleagues who are like family to me, I'm going to miss you a lot,” continued the Canarian after a series of images that reviewed all the clubs the Canarian player has played: Valencia, Eibar, Celta, Manchester City and, until today, Real Sociedad. Silva thanked colleagues and hobbies “for making him feel at home”.

Just two days ago, the president of Real Sociedad, Jokin Aperribay, already announced that he was aware of the decision of the Canarian player. “I'm not going to advance it. I spoke the same day of the injury, the next day, also on Saturday. I'm not going to go any further,” said the president.. no longer necessary.

A cruciate injury, whose recovery takes around 8 or 9 months, has been the cause of Silva's decision to end his career as a footballer. A career of enormous successes both collectively and individually.

Born in Arguineguín, a town that had already contributed other big names to football such as Juan Carlos Valerón, Silva trained in the lower categories of Valencia, which he arrived at at the age of 14. Subsequently, he was loaned first to Eibar and then to Celta, playing one season for each team until 2006 when he definitively joined the Valencia first team.

Silva arrives at a team with a dream striker. David Villa, a teammate in the Ché team and later in the Spanish team, was the main recipient of their passes and together they formed a historic duo in Valencia that led them to the national team.

Peak of his career

In 2008, both would be proclaimed European champions with Spain, although Silva with a less leading role than the Asturian. Two years later, they would win again with the national team, this time the World Cup in South Africa with Iniesta's unforgettable goal. That summer his arrival at Manchester City would be confirmed.

It was in the citizen group that he would achieve the greatest international fame and where he would achieve his greatest successes in a club.. Three Premier Leagues and five League Cups, among other trophies, guarantee a very successful career at City and in which he had great weight in the team, even wearing the captain's armband. In that period, he would also win his second European national team title after a great match against Italy in the kyiv final.

In August 2020, David Silva returns to Spanish football and does so by signing with Real Sociedad. The canary prioritized the txuriurdin team against La Lazio, the best positioned team to sign him. He was 34 years old and still had a lot of football in his boots.

With him in the team, Real manages to win a Copa del Rey after 34 years waiting to do so. The canary started in the final that would be decided by a goal from Mikel Oyarzábal.

At the age of 37, an untimely injury deprives Spanish football of continuing to enjoy another year of the creativity of the brilliant Canarian footballer nicknamed 'El Mago'. Surely the Imanol team and football in general will miss the star from Arguineguín.

If what Abraham Lincoln said were true, that “what matters is not the years of life but the life of the years”, today the day would pass like one more, between hot flashes and hot flashes, pending the umpteenth “dana”, according to the place of work or vacation, without paying too much attention to climate change, or rushing the last hours at work before stampeding. If that were true, we would not be hurt by the escape of Fernando (García) Llamas, “Lleims” for friends, another victim of an inexorable equation: cancer + suffering = death.

Of course… there are cancers and cancers, although the word, before the diagnosis, terrifies. There are already several tumors that are stopped, especially if they are detected on time -as if humans had nothing else to do than go to the doctor when, without pain or signs, we are only concerned about the stage of the Tour or the Atleti match , in this case-. In December of last year, Fernando was discovered a (malignant) tumor in his esophagus. He told us about it on Facebook, on 22-D: “Gentlemen, I am already giving it my all in a stage that is supposed to be long and demanding, but with high spirits and the luck of not being alone. I have medical, technical and affective teams dedicated to my health. Having a partner like Rosa and the love of my children, brothers and the whole family is the guarantee that we will overcome the battles that come.”. Seven days after the “announcement”, on the 29th, he started “chemo”.

Fernando, in addition to being “an older journalist who wants to change the world as if he were 18 years old” – the phrase is his – was a good person, which is what is said of almost all those who leave us, an excellent colleague, who is what is not said about all colleagues at work, and a brilliant professional. He left his mark on Ya, El Independiente, El Sol, As, EL MUNDO, Marca and by extension in Unidad Editorial, where he was in charge, for example, of Motor since November 9, 2020. He, who started with soccer, continued with cycling and became enthusiastic about athletics. Yes, “Lleims” was an all-rounder, and very good people. and independent. And from a family of journalists, his father, his brothers and his uncle, the unforgettable Miguel García Baró with whom I was lucky to start at Ya, where I gave the alternative to Fernando; from there we covered many stages together.

Last May, not long ago, I enjoyed a few days at the beach in Guardamar with Rosa and her children.. It seemed that between him and “his entire team” they had defeated the disease.. Until the damned metastasis invaded him without warning as his days grew shorter; the last ones, a suffering. Rest in peace, friend. You've earned that too.

The suspense about whether or not Barça will be able to play the Champions League 2023-24 has ended. At least for now. UEFA has finally decided to admit the Barcelona club to the next edition of the highest European competition despite the Negreira scandal. Although, yes, with nuances. His decision, as the highest continental football body has reiterated, is provisional and reserves the right to review it in the future.

Something that, however, once the draw for the group stage has been held, which will take place on August 31 in Nyon, can be tremendously complicated.. Above all, when it comes to balancing calendars. Not in vain, this course will take part in the same five Spanish teams: the first four classified in the League of the season, that is, Barça, Real Madrid, Atlético, Real Sociedad, plus Sevilla as current champion of the Europa League. The group stage, itself, meanwhile, will start on September 19.

“The procedures related to the admission of FC Barcelona in the 2023/2024 UEFA club competitions are suspended, but they may be resumed, either ex officio or at the request of the Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors in charge of the case,” it says. the highest body of European football in a statement made public this afternoon, where it stresses that, however, the last word has not yet been said.

“must be re-examined”

UEFA reiterates that Barça “has been provisionally admitted” and that “a future decision on this admission or exclusion” is reserved.. The Barcelona club, at all times, is obliged to keep the Ethics and Disciplinary Inspectors informed of the progress in the investigations to which it is being subjected “proactively” as well as to provide said inspectors with all the documentation that they provide. request.

UEFA has also invited the inspectors responsible for instructing the case to “continue and complete their own investigations” so that they can later send their report to the UEFA Appeals Committee in the event that they consider that this admission by Barça in the Champions League “must be re-examined”.

Resale of Barça Studios

The permission to take part in the Champions League, something that has never been questioned from within the entity chaired by Joan Laporta, has not been the only good news of the day for Barça. According to an article published by El Confidencial, the Barcelona entity is about to launch a kind of new economic lever, using the ones it activated last summer.

According to this medium, said lever would consist of the resale of part of the 49% of Barça Studios previously jointly acquired by Socios.com and Orpheus Media, the latter managed by Jaume Roures, and which had delayed their payments.. In this way, each party will give up 8% of its 24.5% so that a German investment fund can take over the remaining 16% in exchange for paying, right now, 60 million euros.