Lamine and Lewandowski save Laporta | Sport
Barcelona woke up with optimism, or so the club said: Dani Olmo had appeared on the squad list for the match against Athletic. However, there was an asterisk next to him, specifying that he was still awaiting registration in La Liga. The department assured that they were working to try to register the player as a last resort. In any case, the efforts were in vain. “Something paradoxical is happening to us,” said a club employee when Olmo’s registration against Athletic was ruled out; “We have money in the box, we can sign it, but we cannot register it.”
The money that Barcelona said they had in the bank, Joan Laporta wanted to use to sign Nico Williams. But it turned out that there was no way to move the forward from Bilbao, according to the nostalgics because he had promised his brother Iñaki, according to the skeptics because he knew that there was chaos in the Barça office. Chaos that could no longer be hidden: “Barça, yes; Laporta, no,” the Barcelona fans chanted over and over again. In Montjuïc, overrun by tourists, those who pointed at the president were not in the majority, nor were those who were angry at Nico Williams for what they interpreted as ignoring Barcelona. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have gone out on the pitch yesterday. That’s what happened to Dani Olmo.
“We knew it could happen, whether it happened or not, but this is the situation now. I have to accept what I cannot change,” explained the German coach. Barcelona, for their part, believe they can decipher the economic hieroglyph. “We have an offer for Barça Vision (another one after Aramark bought the part for which Libero stopped paying), we are waiting for the Nike problem to be solved, and we are expecting the departure of Lenglet and Vitor Roque,” they explain. Barcelona’s market strategy is curious: in order to register a signed player, they must first allow others to leave, in the inevitable case of Lenglet at Atletico, as Gündogan was loaned to City. “When you spend a year away from home, you start to appreciate the place even more. “You realise how big this club is: the best club in the world,” Gundogan said after scoring for Barcelona, giving City a treat that the fans appreciated.
Gündogan was received as a hero. However, the Barça fans still cannot enjoy Olmo. Laporta and Niko paid for their anger. Until Lamine and Lewandowski appeared and the whistles directed at the president and the Athletic striker turned into enthusiasm for Flick’s men. “I saw Niko coming, who is not very tense in defense. When I found space, I shot,” Lamine explained his goal. “We played very well,” added Flick. “But,” he added; “we lacked calm in some cases.” Calm that Lewandowski found. “He trains hard and well and pushes. “I know Lewandowski better than anyone and I see him here,” the German praised his forward.
In the end, Barcelona’s optimism was not in Laporta’s accounts to sign Olmo or tempt Nico Williams. It was in the same place as last season: in Lamine’s football and in Lewandowski’s goal, now under Flick.
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