Jerome Boateng believed he would beat Barcelona when he walked on the field on the 6th of May, 2015. He was a part of one of the greatest teams in the world, a German machine that had just completed a ludicrous second leg comeback against FC Porto.
After the final whistle blew in Berlin, millions of Barcelona fans around the world celebrated their fourth Champions League win in the club's history. As those fans overflowed the teams website to purchase champions scarves, t-shirts, and posters, Gerard Pique took a souvenir of his own from the pitch that is simply priceless.
The UEFA Champions League is Europe’s premier tournament. Players dream of feeling the rush of playing in that highly competitive environment where heroics for your team will be long remembered by faithful fans, A competition dominated by superstar players such as Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina's Lionel Messi.
Very few Mexican players have had the opportunity to play in the Champions League. Mexico only has 16 well-known European-based internationals.
Manel Vich's job is cooler than your job.
Vich is the voice of Barcelona. He's been annoucing Barca's lineup since 1956.
He precedes Camp Nou. Vich is an emblem of Barcelona more than anyone else in the club's history. This is a man who can tick off the stars he has watched come and go like items on his grocery list. A humorous anecdote about the pronunciation of Johan Cruyff's name, for example. Most people would kill to meet someone as famous as Cruyff, much less argue with him about how his name should be pronounced to the Barcelona faithful.
As expected, Barcelona has won the Copa del Rey, setting a scene in which both the Catalan team and Juventus seek not only the Orejona (a.k.a. the Champions League title), but the coveted treble after winning the League and Cup in their respective countries.
I've thought relentlessly about Saturday's Champions League final, and here's the best question I can find:
"How many times can Juventus spring Carlos Tevez?"
Massive injury news has come out of Turin. Defender Giorgio Chiellini has been ruled out of the Champions League Final against Barcelona with a lesion on the soleus muscle of his left leg, according to an announcement on Juventus’ official website.
Chiellini is the 1st vice-captain of Juventus, and the leader of a seasoned corp of center-backs who have done nothing less than carry on a long, proud Italian tradition of defensive excellence.
Gianluigi Buffon is quite possibly the coolest goal keeper to ever live. The kind of net minder to casually give a thumbs up and a wink after saving the day with the kind of tackle or stop that had the other 90,000 people around him gasping for air. He is unflappable, I guess that must be a trait that one picks up after 20 years between the posts at the top of Italian soccer.
It speaks volumes, then, to hear such a man talk about Lionel Messi the way Buffon has. A picture is worth a thousand words; Buffon’s metaphor might be worth more.
Before I go on with this article, I want you to sit down and ask yourself a very, very serious question, to look into your heart of hearts and ask: how much do you like your favorite team? I mean really, truly, what is the extent of your passion? What would you do for it? How highly does it rank in your day to day priorities? Does it constitute a matter of life and death? All these questions revolve around the main, initially asked question.
In a recent interview with Sqwauka, Messi confirmed what nearly any soccer fan in the world could already tell you: Suarez and Neymar are some of the best teammates he has ever had.
"I had a great connection with Ronaldinho. I played with Samuel Eto'o, with Thierry Henry, with Pedro, David Villa, Alexis [Sanchez].
"But I have to say that it is hard to top lining up alongside Neymar and Suarez. They are two players at the top of their games.”