FC Barcelona was eliminated this week against PSG in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. It was the farewell to Xavi’s dream of lifting the trophy before leaving the club in the middle of the year, as well as the end to the possibility of seeing Vitor Roque debut in the top continental competition in his debut in Europe.
The Brazilian arrived from Athletico Paranaense at the beginning of the year to provide goals and volume of play to a team that went through the season with a very irregular performance. However, the coach gave him few minutes on the field and usually left him as a substitute.
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This panorama was particularly noticeable in the Champions League. Tigrinho was left out of the round of 16 matches against Napoli and did not have minutes in the tie against PSG either.
Gracias por devolvernos la ilusión. Volveremos. pic.twitter.com/xAmR1Wgnad
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) April 16, 2024
Robert Lewandowski, João Félix, Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Ferran Torres always came first in the coach’s considerations for the attack. It is also curious that he did not even come on at the end of the duel against Napoli at the Montjuïc Olympic stadium, a match in which Xavi did not exhaust the changes.
With little playing time, the 19-year-old forward has two goals. The first goal came against Osasuna to secure a narrow win in January, and the following week he scored again in a 3-1 victory against Alavés.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
The first episode is available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel and the series will receive weekly releases to tell this legend’s life story.
