The art of sitting on the bench

As with great natural catastrophes, there is something hypnotic about looking at a figure sitting on the sidelines, something that prevents you from looking away and empathizing with the suffering of the disgraced hero.

Football has the ability to be cruel and beautiful at the same time, its tragic, comic and aesthetic vision so intricate that one ends up not knowing where legitimate enjoyment begins and where sadism ends, that which feeds on the torment of others to provoke us something. similar to orgasm.

The fan, as a plenipotentiary and spoiled client, is convinced that he is always right.

His likes and dislikes feed the day-to-day engine and on weekends he sits in front of the television, or goes down to the stadium, so that reality proves his right to be happy in some way.

Sometimes he achieves it with a good result, a goal or an unexpected shot that ridicules the rival and elevates the game to the category of art.

Other times, he simply settles for whistling at the referee, taking out his handkerchief against the box of authorities or directing his gaze towards the figure bothered by a new habitat that is not his.

The beginning of the big leagues is leaving us with many images like this.

Some, like that of Hazard surrounded by youngsters who may have collected his trading cards, and even bought his boots, barely draws attention because of how usual he is, after several seasons failing to fulfill his summer promises of redemption.

Few are those who still trust the Belgian midfielder -perhaps not even he himself does-, and discovering him in the second row of the bench, with the zipper of his tracksuit stuck in his mouth, has become a kind of cultural reaffirmation, as if removing the star from the lineups was also a way of making a homeland, of understanding what Real Madrid is and what it is not.

More information

Griezmann, the strange substitute

Cristiano Ronaldo, who left Madrid long before he tasted gall, has been surprised by the decline of his career with his body not adjusted to sitting for so long.

Nobody doubts that if there was a training method that adapts the muscles to this new reality, the Portuguese would have already tested, improved and promoted it, but the truth is that one sees the images of Cristiano on the bench at Old Trafford, stalking the polished Ten Hag's head, and the last thing that comes to mind is any thought related to comfort.

The predator par excellence of modern football is uncomfortable, not to be, but there will be no shortage of United fans who enjoy the new order imposed by a coach who puts collective performance before the selective memory of the individual.

Showing strength with the strong, although it may be no more than a set phrase, even a hint of populism, usually brings the coach on duty more benefits than problems, although it is not always easy to dare.

His authority before the locker room increases exponentially, because fresh air is healthy, and also his appreciation among the fans.

Then, the ball enters or it doesn't enter, leaving the accessory in neutral, but that first impulse of power usually has the approval of those who understand the passage of time as a slab, often without paying attention to performance.

This is the case of Sergio Busquets in Barcelona, ​​where not a few fans believe they detect something similar to a weakness in the constant simplicity of his game.

The exceptional bores them, come on, but for now they are satisfied with seeing Piqué and Jordi Alba sitting on the bench, in the shade.

And that must be a similar feeling to that felt by that businessman from Marbella who had a

hanging in his bathroom, although with one obvious difference: a work of art like that, as soon as it is put up for auction, usually finds buyers.

You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on

50% off

Subscribe to continue reading

read without limits

Keep reading

I'm already a subscriber