We all know Lionel Messi is brilliant. Sometimes, though, we just need a reminder. José Gayà was our guinea pig to give us a reminder of how clever the little Argentine is with a superb Messi nutmeg of the Valencia defender during the Copa del Rey semifinals on Thursday.
El caño de Messi a Gayà es mucho más emotivo si le metés la música de Titanic de fondo. pic.twitter.com/xzbvlwrmKO
Philippe Coutinho scored his first goal for Barcelona after coming on as a halftime substitute in their Copa del Rey semifinal second leg against Valencia Thursday. Coutinho scored four minutes after coming on as Barcelona eased into the final with a 3-0 aggregate victory.
Coutinho’s finish was sure a tidy one, but the majority of the credit has to go to Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan brilliantly worked a bit of space before turning provider for Barca’s all-important away goal at a packed Mestalla.
Here’s an idea: a book or film chronicling the moments when various footballers were first introduced to the otherworldly enigma that is Lionel Messi. It’d be a hugely enjoyable, albeit largely repetitive, piece.
According to radio journalist Rocco Steinhauser, an animated film collaboration between Pixar and Barcelona could soon be in the works.
This fantastic Nike “Recuerda mi nombre” (“Remember my name”) advert from 2005 has aged wonderfully over the last 13 years because (1) nothing can take away from how poignantly dramatic it is (2) in hindsight, its co-stars went on to wildly different but fascinating things (3) it’s basically a superb representation of the concept of negative capability — it’s a pursuit of a vision of artistic beauty that invites uncertainty and confusion rather than an image of what’s sure and definite.
Javier Mascherano has quickly settled in with his new club in China, Hebai China Fortune. In fact, he already has a nickname: Pony Brother.
That, we must admit, is a far better nickname than the one given to fellow Argentinian and former Shanghai Shenua striker Carlos Tevez, a.k.a. Very Homesick Boy.