Gracias Leo

I have been a massive football fan since 1986, the year of Diego Armando Maradona, who still means the world to me. It has been forty years, but for half of that time, and for almost the entire lifetime of this very blog, there has been another Argentine who has dominated world football. '

I cannot deny that I have also been smitten by Lionel Messi. Although in my old nostalgic mind Diego remains the GOAT, I completely understand that young people who have grown up with Lionel Messi will always see him as the GOAT.

His statistics and trophies are undeniable, and he came to the fore at the exact same time as internet moved into the era of mass social media, thus creating a craze that has probably never been greater for any footballer. The narrative was perfect: the small shy kid from Argentina, taken in by one of the greatest teams in the world, where he became the legend amongst other superstars like Puyol, Iniesta and Xavi. Where his rivalry with another genius, Cristiano Ronaldo, became the stuff of epic battles, and where Messi contributed to making the Champions League the best in the world.

For a while success with Argentina eluded him, but in 2022 he carried Argentina to their first title since the one by the great Maradona. As Maradona, he made it to a final to defend the title, only to be defeated by his adopted country in an ugly match that seems not to have tainted his image.

Messi also took the craze to the USA, and Miami has strangely become one of the most popular teams in the world because of him alone. And for the last years of his career, he will only be seen there, as he announced his retirement from the national team.

It was expected, but still special. We are seeing the end of a legendary career.

I have seen Messi play twice: in Barcelona and in Miami. I have written a lot of posts about him on this blog; some very critical - some even angry. In his long career I have changed, just as he has changed. I do not feel I have a connection with Messi, but I cannot deny that his career that I have followed a lot on this blog, has also been part of my footballing life.

I guess that after all this reflection I just want to say thank you. I have been privileged to see you; privileged to live at the same time as you, one of the Greatest ever.

Gracias Leo. 

Deportivo is back

The Spanish league this season will be won by either Real Madrid or FC Barcelona, and that can barely be a surprise in a league where everything else than these two teams seems irrelevant. I still consider myself a Valencia fan despite their decades of chaos and lack of results and this season appears to be yet another where the Valencians will fight for survival. In the meantime, another old darling has returned to the top Spanish league, namely Deportivo La Coruña, a side that in the 1990s and 2000s won a lot of friends. Today Deportivo played Valencia and won 3-1, their first victory of the season, after two ties, so they continue undefeated and their new signing, the veteran Gabonese star, Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang, appears to be on fire, with three goals, to fight for the leading scorer award.

In the meantime, Valencia has only one point at the bottom.... 

The Champions League 2026-27 draw

There is not much point in writing about the Champions league draw when it is just oen big league with random matches. All this so UEFA, who continue to consider themselves better than FIFA, can make more money and not think of the fans.

So what remains to say is what will appear some of the matches to watch in the different stages (I have selected three matches from each phase).

Phase 1:

• Liverpool-Atletico Madrid
• Real Madrid-Inter 
• Napoli-Arsenal

Phase 2:

• Galatasaray-FC Barcelona
• Manchester City-PSG
• Roma-Real Madrid

Phase 3:

• PSG-Barcelona
• Bayern Munich-Arsenal
• Liverpool-Villarreal

Phase 4:

• FC Barcelona-Aston Villa
•  Fenerbahce-Liverpool
• Atletico Madrid-Bayern Munich

Phase 5:

• Arsenal-Borussia Dortmund
• Manchester City-Napoli
• Real Madrid-PSV Eindhoven

Phase 6 (specially this pahse has a number of great matches):

• Aston Villa-PSG
• Arsenal-Real Madrid 
• FC Barcelona-Manchester City

Phase 7:

• Manchester United-Bayern Munich
• Inter-Liverpool
• Bodø/Glimt-Atletico Madrid

Phase 8:

• PSG-Galatasaray
• Manchester City-Sporting Lisbon
• Shakhtar Donetsk-Real Madrid

Undoubtedly some great matches ahead, but also, because of the hapless way the CL is now structured, hard to make predictions besides the fact that the odds are stacked in favour of all the big teams progressing to the next round, with everyone hoping that some small teams can pull a surprise, like Bodø/Glimt, LASK, Sabah or Slovan Bratislava. 

LASK in the CL

 The second leg of the last qualifying round of the Champions League started today. 

It was perhaps unusual Scottish arrogance from Celtic after they had won 3-0 at home to Austrian champions from LASK, and after going ahead 0-1 in Linz, that they started to dream about their return to the Champions League, but truth is that LASK pulled an incredible comeback.

The first Austrian goal was a gift from Celtic's Swedish defender Benjamin Nygren, who chose to pass the ball to the unmarked Moses Usor, who equalized for the Austrians, and perhaps even the belief in a comeback. At least they came out with energy to the second half only fifteen minutes into the second half had taken a 3-1 lead on good goals by Robert Ljubicic and Samuel Adeniran. Massive pressure ensued but it was only in the last seconds of the match when Florian Flecker made it 4-1, forcing the match into extra time.  

LASK had all the energy against a Celtic side that defended poorly in the face of the odds, and it was the North American striker Samuel Adeniran who brought joy and Champions League to Linz, making it 5-1.

The defeat must have been bitter for the Celtic striker Kasper Høgh, who had just switched from Bodø/Glimt to Celtic. Bodø/Glimt qualified for the second CL in a row by destroying NEC Nijmegen 3-0, and may be this year's darlings again, alongside LASK! 

Premier League opening

Wow. August has flown by, so much that I barely noticed. I have been traveling yes, but after the awful World Cup and with Leagues just starting up, I have not followed much besides the big transfers, the Champions League qualifiers and the quiet start of the leagues. Maybe the fact that my local football bar closed down has contributed to the fact that I don't go down for a beer and watch the Mexican league....

But today the Premier League opened, and as every year, the best league in the world appears to be another exciting season. The opening match of the season was between the champions of Arsenal and the newly promoted Coventry City, and indeed, as expected, the mouthful was too big for Coventry. Arsenal dominated the first half with Kai Havertz scoring the opening goal of the season, and Bukayo Saka following up with an easy goal after a mistake by the Coventry goallie. Martin Ødegaard made it 3-0 early in the second half on what appeared another mistake by the goalkeeper, but to no avail, the match then slowed down as Arsenal cruised home the victory. The new Arsenal signing from Club Brugge, the Greek Christos Tzolis had a great debut and could have even scored, while the other high level signing from Aston Villa, Ezri Konsa, did not yet get his debut.

That said, Arsenal have opened their title defense.