The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Head to Head: New Game Rules | Israel today

2021-02-16T13:49:35.631Z


| World football Sporting rivalry leads to heated encounters, dirty drills and disasters • The encounter between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain ignites the flame of modern football: power struggles, prestige and a lot of money Leo Messi. His name often appeared on the table in Paris Photo:  AFP There are football rivalries that are very easy to explain. Urban rivalry, for example, the so-called derby, whic


Sporting rivalry leads to heated encounters, dirty drills and disasters • The encounter between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain ignites the flame of modern football: power struggles, prestige and a lot of money

  • Leo Messi.

    His name often appeared on the table in Paris

    Photo: 

    AFP

There are football rivalries that are very easy to explain.

Urban rivalry, for example, the so-called derby, which was born out of geographical proximity as in the case of Boca Juniors - River Plate, Celtic - Rangers, Inter - Milan, Glatsray - Fenerbahce.

There are also rivals between the two leading teams in the country, most often known as Clasico, similar to Barcelona - Real Madrid, Bayern Munich - Dortmund, Feyenoord - Ajax, Porto - Benfica Lisbon.

Rivalries can also be created because of one historic event, like the Hazel disaster that led to hatred between Liverpool and Juventus or because of some dirty move in the transfer window as happened with Valencia and Real following the Blancos' snatch with Predrag Miatovic.

The rivalry between Barcelona and PSG, however, is much more difficult to explain.



Because ostensibly this is a net sporting rivalry.

One that began in 1995, in a Champions League quarter-final meeting that ended with a Parisian surprise, went through the 1997 Cup Winners' Cup final and knockout meetings, and stretches until the last meeting in 2017 - the historic and memorable Remontada.



PSG won 0: 4 at the Parc des Princes, with a play by Angel Di Maria, and had already started producing a film called "How We Defeated Barça", but then came the rematch and changed plans.

At Camp Nou, even though no one gave her a chance, Luis Enrique's team completed the mother of all revolutions.

First Luis Suarez, then Neymar, and finally Sergi Roberto's shoe tip.

"It's a miracle, sometimes miracles happen," Gerard Pique declared, and it seems like all this is enough to produce a rivalry that originates in the Champions League.

However, in the case of Barcelona - PSG, the rivalry consists mainly of what happened a few months later.

Neymar.

When he signed for PSG, the club's media department mocked Barça // Photo: Reuters



To a large extent, Neymar's move from Spain to France in the summer of 2017 characterizes this rivalry more than past encounters.

It has money, prestige, revenge, power - elements that have accompanied this duel for more than a decade.



It all started in 2010, when Barça signed a sponsorship deal with the Qatar Foundation, which was managed by PSG president Nasser al-Khalafi, but the Catalans chose to try and spend the big money coming in on PSG players.

In 2013, they approached Thiago Silva and tried to persuade him to come in any way possible, but PSG refused - and extended the Brazilian's contract.



The following summer, Barcelona tried to lure Marcinius, who also benefited from his terms from President al-Khalafi, and became an important player at the City of Lights club.

If in the case of Thiago Silva things were transparent and fair, in the case of Marcinius the business became dirty when the Spaniards tried to twist the rules and do things behind their backs.



A significant step up came with Marco Verratti in 2017.

Barça tried to entice the Italian to move to her side, so much so that he had already arrived in Ibiza to advance negotiations after his agent declared that "Varati is a prisoner of the sheikh".

All this chain of events angered the sheikh, who was upset to the depths of his soul.

First about the Italian who was forced to record a video in which he apologized and said: "The things the agent said do not represent me. I apologize to the president, the team and the fans and am very happy to be here," and then about Barcelona and its impudence.

The psychological war is already in full swing



according to the French media, in the case of Ratti the seeds were planted that gave rise to the obsessive pursuit of Neymar.

Al-Khalafi has drawn up a plan that will eventually separate Brazilian Mela Messi, bring him to Paris and execute the mother of all the kidnappers.

When that did happen and Neymar signed the paper, PSG's media department mocked Barça when they played on Pique's announcement "he stays".

In response, and with the war at its height, Barcelona demanded that the UEFA examine the French fair play's economic issues.

Marco and Ratti.

Barcelona almost kidnapped him // Photo: AFP



The teams have not met again on the pitch since that resounding 1: 6, but that has not stopped them from meeting in the headlines and newspapers.

Once with the Spaniards' attempt to sign Adrian Ravio, once with a fight over Frankie de Jong, and now with none other than Leo Messi.



The French champions are one of the few teams in the world that can give the Argentine what he demands, and the psychological war has already begun.

"There is a high chance that Messi will come to PSG," Di Maria said casually, causing Barça coach Ronald Koeman to explode: "It is disrespectful to say such things, especially before a Champions League meeting."



The new PSG coach, Mauricio Pochettino, also responded: "We have a lot of respect here in Paris," said the Argentine, "when the Barcelona players talked about wanting to bring back Neymar - no one here has opened his mouth."



Tonight, without the injured Neymar and Di Maria and with Messi in top form, Barcelona and PSG will renew the sporting rivalry, the one that has been well maintained in the offices of the two clubs for more than a decade.

Source: israelhayom

All sports articles on 2021-02-16

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.