I know that many are not interested, but others are, and it has been more than a year that I have not talked about football here, when there are plenty of reasons. In that time we have gotten used to not having an audience, and, what has more merit, the players have got used to it. It was not easy, but it was not very difficult either: whoever has played as a child knows that the spectator is secondary, because in those school games there was not one, and yet our desire to score goals and win remained intact. We used ourselves as thoroughly as if we had been in Chamartín or the Camp Nou, it was a matter of self-esteem. It is not so rare, thus, that elite footballers, who are also known to be watched from a distance by millions of fans and titles are disputed, try to get their greatest virtues even if there is not a soul in the stadium. Incidentally,the simulated audience and the recorded rumors seemed silly, but they end up helping to get the illusion, like the castle that in the theater we see painted at the back of the stage.
What has been crushing football since before the pandemic are its national and international leaders. There is no one who follows the championships, lacking continuity and being constantly interrupted by absurd inventions that do not interest anyone. Does anyone without a
smartphone
remember (does he care?) Who won the so-called League of Nations? The only thing these superfluous crashes do is exhaust the players and disorient and overwhelm the fans. Does it make sense for the Spanish Super Cup to be settled in an exotic country, apart from charging money and putting the teams on plane miles? That the World Cup is held in Qatar, the cradle of the game, with a death heat or out of dates? There have never been so many injuries, which is not strange, with the permanent tutelage that footballers are subjected to.
The most recent threat has been the Super League, a megalomaniac, noble, pretentious and extremely boring project. If we see several Madrid-Juventus, Bayern-Barcelona and Manchester United-PSG every year, where is the fun and excitement of those duels, which have become routine? They do not interest me more than if they represent an event. I prefer a League in which Numancia can win 3-0 against Madrid, as it happened years ago, or Hercules 0-3 against Barça, as it happened even more years ago. But let's not go too far and focus on the pretentious: if it does nothing, Barça suffered a 1-2 against Granada, and Madrid another 1-2 against Levante, what makes these big clubs believe that they only deserve to face each other Liverpool and Inter? Before they should fulfill their domestic "duties", and they do not always succeed.
Another misfortune that has occurred is the "new rules." It is almost impossible for a goalkeeper to stop a penalty today, forced as they are not to go one millimeter ahead of the goal line or a microsecond to the kicking of the ball by the kicker. Now a maximum penalty is an unappealable execution. The thing about the hands cries out to heaven; Not only have voluntariness and involuntariness been suppressed, but it is also intended that footballers go out onto the field with their arms tied behind their back, because any friction is punishable. And also it is not taken into account that frequently the forwards aim at the arm of the defender, and most are left over with aim. If a ball is thrown at my hand, is the infraction mine for not having cut it? That goes to say the ridiculous current rule. The VAR is another disaster. Not only are all goals scored delayed,not only is one or the other team disappointed three minutes after despair or ecstasy (both
interrupti
), but the concept of “being online” has been abolished in off-game situations. And the commentators, so foolish with few exceptions, analyze very seriously whether the scorer's shoulder or pinky nail were ahead a micromilimeter. The game has become grotesque, and we have seen so many of extraordinary workmanship annulled by a stick that stood out, good heavens.
Those commentators, on top, have become corny and girly, most of them. They report every bit of stupid statistics that we don't care about: "With this goal, Benzema becomes the highest-scoring Frenchman in La Liga, beating the mythical Kopa." French? Bulgarian? Nor have there been so many playing in our clubs. But even worse is that they dedicate themselves to saying "Modric's pass has been delicious" or "exquisite" or "tasty". Obsessive gastronomy has also invaded sports. And there are those who have not seen anything, because they melt before sets that the most veteran of us got tired of seeing in each game of Di Stéfano, Peiró, Luisito Suárez, Kubala or Netzer. "Neymar's thing is a scandal. It is unstoppable ”. I've seen dozens of defenders stopping him, especially at Barça, if he didn't lose the ball by himself. Sorry,But every time I hear the words "delightful", "caress" or "worthy of ecstasy" on their lips, I say to myself: "Please correct this mannered geek and give him some games from other times, when they jumped to the grass Gento, Kocsis, Rexach, Marcial, Velázquez, Babington, Best or Mendonça ”. Or Cruyff. For them to compare and learn.