Tag: Spain

Sergio Ramos traded his shirt for a pork dish

The art of the deal, Andalusian style

(Pepe Ortiz Vejer/Twitter)

Following Real Madrid’s 3–0 win over Real Sociedad on Sunday, Sergio Ramos made a point of jogging over to a very specific fan in order to complete a very unusual exchange.

The fan had been holding a banner that read “Sergio, if you give me your shirt I’ll give you a tray of lomo en manteca” throughout the match. Lomo en manteca (pork in lard—the perfect post-match snack) is a specialty of Spain’s Andalusia region, which is where Ramos is from. And apparently this offer was too goo to pass up for the Real Madrid captain.

Fans carrying banners begging for a specific player’s shirt have become quite common at matches these days and they get mixed results. But this man clearly knew his target exceptionally well.

From the AP:

Local media identified the fan as Sergio Sanchez, who is from Vejer de la Frontera in southern Spain, which is known for its pork in lard, or “lomo en manteca,” as it’s called in Spanish.

“He asked for it twice,” Sanchez told channel CSN Cadiz. “He didn’t want to leave without it.”

https://www.gettyimages.com/license/633025026

So remember: If you want a player’s shirt, be sure to bring their favorite regional delicacies.


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Lionel Messi saves the day, volume 437

A 90th-minute free kick with a chance to equalize? You know how this ends

(FC Barcelona/Twitter)

When someone is in mortal danger in the city of Metropolis, you know that Superman is going to swoop down and save them. There is no question that this will happen, but the reliable inevitability of Superman saving the day makes the act of it enjoyable, even in the absence of surprise.

Lionel Messi lining up a free kick in the 90th minute, with Barcelona down 1–0 to Villarreal, is the real world equivalent to this. You know he’s going to score and when he casually fires a perfect laser beam into the top corner there is no surprise, but the inevitability of it is what makes it so incredible.

https://streamable.com/b4geo

This is how life works for fictional characters, not real humans.

Basically, what I’m saying is that Messi should be required to wear a cape when he plays.


Real Madrid newcomer James Rodriguez announces his arrival with two-goal performance

The unpublicized January signing makes his mark

(Real Madrid)

Unheralded new Real Madrid signing James Rodriguez marked his arrival at the club with a brace in a 3–0 win Copa del Rey round of 16 win over Sevilla. The January acquisition, who wasn’t even announced by the club, was a surprise inclusion in the starting XI and made the most of the opportunity.

“He was good,” Zidane said after the match with a shrug. “He didn’t score a hat trick, but I suppose two goals is good. To some people. Maybe we’ll let him start again in April. We’ll see.”

Teammate Alvaro Morata, who also started against Sevilla, was more effusive in his praise for the 25-year-old Colombian international. “James fit into the team very nicely,” said Morata. “It’s like he’s already been here for two and a half years or something. I don’t know what club he was with before this week, but his performance was very impressive.”

Rodriguez, meanwhile, was adamant that he already feels at home in Madrid.

“For the love of god, I’ve been here since 2014 and I’m not going anywhere!” Rodriguez shouted at reporters. “All I want to do is play football for the club that signed me! Is that so much to ask?! I exist, I can contribute, and I exist! I exist, damnit! I exist!”

When informed of the passion Rodriguez expressed for his new club, Zidane replied, “James who?”


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Athletic Bilbao punch Barcelona in the throat, both literally and figuratively

A less than ideal return from the winter break for Barca


Athletic Bilbao finished the first leg of their Copa del Rey round of 16 tie against Barcelona with just nine men, yet they still won 2–1. The result was as much of a shock to the visitors as Aritz Aduriz’s throat punch on defender Samuel Umtiti shortly before halftime.

Aduriz, who scored the match’s first goal, was not punished for the blow itself, but both he and Umtiti were booked for scuffle that took place once Umtiti regained the ability to breathe.

Bilbao scored their two goals in a span of three minutes during the first half, but Lionel Messi got one back in the 52nd minute. In the 74th minute, Bilbao’s Raul Garcia received his second booking and six minutes later, the same happened to teammate Ander Iturraspe, leaving the home side with nine men for the final 10 minutes.

Barca will surely be better prepared for the second leg back at the Camp Nou, perhaps even with throat protectors.


https://upscri.be/16bb19

18-year-old referee sucker punched for calling a penalty

A particularly vicious Dirty Tackle of the Day


When a referee awards a penalty, there’s little that can be done to change their mind. One thing that definitely won’t work: running up and punching them in the face. In fact, this is guaranteed to make the situation infinitely worse. And yet, that’s what one player in a Spanish regional league match did.

Making the situation even more sickening is the fact that the referee who was assaulted is just 18 years old, according to Cadena Ser.

This is the type of act that deserves a lifetime ban and criminal charges. It remains unclear if that will happen in this case, but at the very least it serves another example of why I’d carry a taser if I was a ref.

This has been the Dirty Tackle of the Day: a chronicling of unfortunate events.


If it continued… (Barcelona v Real Madrid)

What would’ve happened if El Clasico didn’t end when it did

(Barcelona/Twitter)

A late Sergio Ramos equalizer stunned the Camp Nou and salvaged a 1–1 draw for first-place Real Madrid. Luis Suarez gave Barcelona the lead in the 53rd minute, but Ramos’ uncanny knack for scoring when it’s most needed stopped Barca from cutting into Real Madrid’s six-point lead. And it’s a result like this that truly begs the question, “What if it continued?”

97’ — Zidane continues to be unsure why other people find this football manager business to be difficult.

101’—During a stoppage in play, Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez sees that Marcelo is about to ask him a question and preemptively says, “No, I’m not related to Luis” while rolling his eyes. Marcelo silently turns around and walks away.

106’—Casemiro reverses global warming, cures heart disease, negotiates peace in the Middle East, gets no credit.

108’—Cristiano Ronaldo thanks Javier Mascherano for trying to take his shirt off for him, but asks that he pull harder so as to ensure that he gets the job done.

https://twitter.com/RMadridInfoV/status/805143462987366401

114’—Gerard Pique tries to commit an idea for a sure to be controversial post-match tweet to memory.

117’—Sergio Ramos considers scoring again, but decides to wait until the final seconds of the next cup final.

123’—Lionel Messi misses with another shot on goal and sighs in a manner that is interpreted by the media as a clear indication that he will sign with both PSG and Man City for record fees in January.

129’—Following his loss to Chelsea earlier in the day, Pep Guardiola texts Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu “just to say hi” while watching YouTube videos from the 2010/11 season.

135’—Cristiano Ronaldo “accidentally” drops the Euro 2016 trophy in front of Messi and asks how all his runners-up medals are doing. Messi sighs in a way that is interpreted by the media as a clear indication that he will sign with both Inter and the LA Galaxy next summer.

138’—Catalan scientists feverishly work to find a way to ensure that Andres Iniesta can play forever.

139’—James Rodriguez suddenly remembers that he exists.

140’—The match is abandoned when the Spanish tax authorities arrest everyone on both sides.


Barcelona’s unstoppable Barbara Latorre gets tripped, scores anyway

Not even egregious fouls can stop Latorre

Barbara Latorre moved from Espanyol to Barcelona in 2015 and on Thursday she scored a spectacular goal against her former club. After evading a studs-up challenge, two Espanyol players colliding with each other, and getting hauled to the ground from behind, Latorre got back up, prevented a last-ditch clearance attempt, and coolly slotted the ball inside the far post.

She could have easily played up the foul and urged the referee to send off her opponent, as we’ve seen so many other footballers do, but instead she kept her focus and determination to score then and there.

This goal has drawn lazy comparisons to Maradona and Lionel Messi, but that does a disservice to Latorre and a goal that stands on its own. Like Latorre herself after getting tripped by a defender.

Anyway, Barbara Latorre is obviously invincible. You’ve been warned.

Spain’s new coach fainted on television while covering the 2006 World Cup

Spain announced that Julen Lopetegui will replace Vicente Del Bosque as manager of the national team. Lopetegui isn’t the highest profile Spanish coach out there, but he led the nation’s U-19s to a European Championship in 2012 and the U-21s to a European Championship in 2013 before taking charge of Porto for two years.

This is an impressive rise for the former goalkeeper, who became something of a meme in Spain when he passed out on television 10 years ago while covering the 2006 World Cup. And if that’s what happens to him just when he’s talking about the World Cup, I hope the team’s physios are at his side come 2018.

Iker Casillas is the only one who didn’t get a thank you letter from Vicente Del Bosque

Long-time Spain goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas was not happy about being benched in favor of the younger David De Gea at Euro 2016. So unhappy, in fact, that he wasn’t very nice to his coaches, including manager Vicente Del Bosque, with whom he also worked at Real Madrid for four years. As a result, the outgoing Del Bosque says he has written thank you letters to all his players —except Casillas — in what has to be the most passive aggressive football feud of all time.

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The galvanizing madness of Antonio Conte propels Italy past Spain

Spain dismantled Italy in the Euro 2012 final, winning 4-0 to claim their third consecutive major trophy. Two years later at the 2014 World Cup, both nations made shocking exits in the group stage with one win and two losses each. At this point, Spain decided to stay the course with the firmly entrenched and historically successful Vicente Del Bosque, but Italy made a change, replacing Cesare Prandelli with Antonio Conte. And two years after that, Italy have now beaten Spain 2-0 in the Euro 2016 round of 16. And this reversal of fortunes is largely down to the men in the technical area.

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