Few had a good development for Raphinha when Lamine Yamal exploded from the youth ranks of Barcelona to do the right to the right.
That was where the Brazilian preferred to play, but his performances had been hot since they moved from Leeds United, fans had not really warmed him, and seemed ready because Barça needed money and there were assistants arranged in the Premier League.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham were interested when he left Elnd Road in 2022 and offered more than Barcelona, but wanted a transfer to the Nou camp for a couple of reasons.
One, his father had idolized Ronaldinho in Barça colors. Two, Deco, their agent and mentor for a long time, had represented Catalan giants and still had strong connections.
Deco, who would renounce his agent's rate so that the agreement happened, is no longer an agent, but the sports director of Barça and Raphinha, possibly the most important player of the team, suddenly prominent in the public debate about the best footballer in the world.
It has been a remarkable transformation under the Hansi film, who has maximized its versatility, speed and work rate, sometimes executing it free as no 10 and, often, outside the left with a drift license.
Raphinha has gathered a campaign from Ballon d'Orty of a free range position
Raphinha has scored 13 goals and provided seven assists in 26 games in this season's LaLiga
The end has scored most of the goals without a penalty in the Champions League this season (nine)
The results have been exceptional. Raphinha has 13 goals and seven assists in 26 games in this season's LaLiga. In the Champions League, it has nine goals in nine games, which makes it the top scorer in the competition less penalizations.
In addition, it is influencing the great games in key times, a gift that elevates the very good to the ranks of the greats, as their goal in Benfica on Wednesday, to obtain a 1-0 victory for Barcelona of 10 men in the visiting stage of the last draw.
Complete the victory and Flick's team will face Borussia Dortmund or Lille with the reward of a place in the semifinals for the first time since the first years of Lionel Messi.
Raphinha leads the crusade and this improved state is reflected in Brazil, where the Junior Dorival Chief agreed last week that Raphinha was “a serious candidate” for the ball.
It is expected that the Chief of Brazil coach combines the 28 -year -old striker in a quartet of attack with Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo del Real Madrid, and Neymar, who is another born again after his return to Santos, for the next World Cup qualifications against Colombia and Argentina.
Dorival did not miss the opportunity to gently despise the media, reminding them of how Raphinha had been among the most criticized during the Copa América last year when Brazil failed.
Those conscious of Raphinha's history of origin never doubted their competitive courage.
He spent six of his adolescence in Varzea, the Non -Official Linces Network of Brazil, where they often play in red fields without networks or kits, and where intimidation is common.
The chief coach of Brazil, Dorival Junior, agreed that Raphinha is a genuine ball contender
Raphinha moved from Leeds to Barcelona in 2022 for a £ 55 million rate that includes accessories
“Varzea makes you seriously,” Mail Sport told Josue Seixas, while in Leeds in 2021. “If you can't be aggressive and concentrated, boys will eat you.”
He prepared it for a career that has been anything but enchanted procession, through past fashionable positions such as Avaí in Florianopolis, Vitória Guimarães in Portugal and Rennes in France after a year in Sporting.
Two years in Leeds under Marcelo Bielsa, we were fighting them for survival in the Premier League before sealing the movement of his dreams to Barcelona. Their success is for those who fight and refuse to surrender. No one is eating it.
12 months from Tom Lockyer's heart attack
Twelve months have passed since an emotional night in Bournemouth for the Premier League game rescheduled against Luton originally abandoned when Tom Lockyer suffered a heart attack.
Local fans raised money for travel costs for distance fans and Lockyer returned to standing ovation and met the paramedics who had saved his life.
All the experience joined the clubs with force and football excited, since Bournemouth came from 3-0 down to win 4-3, a transcendental return to boost clubs to different orbits.
Andoni Iraola and his team are still increasing, chasing a place in Europe for the first time, while the largest clubs covet their talent and several of their players.
Rob Edwards, so impressive in his public management of Lockyer's health scare, as well as his attempts to challenge probabilities as descent favorites, is out of work and Luton is in danger of crashing into the championship. The horror probably hit the strongest club than they realized at that time.
Lockyer decided to continue playing the entire season with an ankle injury that has required two operations.
It could be the next season before I returned to the team, when Luton could be in the League one. They are five security points with 10 to play. Bournemouth could be in Europe.
12 months have passed since Tom Lockyer suffered a heart attack against Bournemouth
Five things I learned this week
1. It is likely that most of the intrigue over the last 10 Premier League matches revolve around the teams that end fourth, fifth and sixth. Who can achieve an unexpected transformative gain in the Champions League? Who is lost? It is an artificial award. We all titled when Ursene Wenger said it was like a trophy. But if football is inclined to boost the ambitions of the title beyond most teams and make survival practically impossible for the newly promoted, it is all we have. Enjoy.
2. In the ground of five subs, those of a yellow and a red Tackle are disposable. On Saturday, Nico González and Matheus Nunes were the first victims of Pep Guardiola's yellow fever policy. The coaches do not trust the players (or more probably do not want them to regulate their game. The statistics figures have to perform more than 40 percent of the headlines on a yellow card in the Premier League, this season. UBS of 22.2 percent in 2015/16.
3. The decrease in Manchester City has been fast, but that's not all. The fastest player recorded by the speed weapon of the UEFA Champions League this season remains Erling Haaland from the city to 36.6 Kmph, a fraction ahead of Achraf Hakimi and Kylian Mbappe, who make up the first three.
Erling Haaland is the fastest player in the Champions League this season (36.6kmph)
4. A long time ago it is the time when Tottenham thought his fate was in itself ended in one, but throughout northern London, Barnet is developing an affinity for years that end in five. They won the title of the National Conference/League in 2005 and 2015 and moved 11 points at the top by beating Dagenham and Redbridge on Saturday.
5. Gianni Infantino will not stop until he has reduced the World Cup to background music. The latest ideas of the president of FIFA include inviting 64 teams to the best football show and involving Coldplay.