We had been so excited that, again, and almost instinctively, we saw him winning against those kids who were almost twice his age, standing up to his nemesis, Djokovic, reaching another Grand Slam Final, biting the trophy… The usual In the last twenty years, come on. In Brisbane we saw him vibrate with each point, subdue his rivals, raise the public and smile. Being Nadal. His training sessions became real events. People crowded the facilities to see Rafa. But he has to stop again. And this injury, we must admit, leaves us very touched. We have to see how it evolves, but for now misses the Australian Open after months and months of suffering and a lot of uncertainty, of moments in which I did not know if I would be able to compete professionally again. The new injury hurts Rafa and it hurts all of us. And the big question is whether it is time to assume that we will never see him win a trophy again or to be as stubborn as him and trust that he will do it again.
The mental resistance of this athlete is admirable. Any person would have left him a long time ago, would have said enough in the face of so much injury, so much discomfort, so much physical misfortune. Nadal has already won everything there was to win in tennis and financially his life is more than taken care of, but he doesn’t care. He goes on and on. One recovery after another. Always positive, never negative. And we, seeing him like this, have no choice, we have to continue trusting in the exemplary athlete capable of achieving incredible comebacks. Surely this is the most difficult, the hardest, the most unlikely, but it does not make it impossible. We have not yet assumed its withdrawal. We want it to be through the big door like Federer’s. That image with the two of them together, those tears of complicity, that closeness, that hug. Rafa Nadal has to decide the goodbye on the court and not a damn injury.
Bellingham, at the big table. This week we learned that the Englishman shares market value with Mbappe and Haaland. Normal, his sporting performance is brutal. But Jude He is also number one in humility, in proximity. Let the example spread.
Pellegrini, wake up. He Betis has fallen alarmingly in recent games. Elimination in the Cup is a hard blow and the coach has to hit the table: there is a squad for much more and some need a helping hand on the bench.
The generation that excites Valencianism. When necessary, bet on the quarry. How well Baraja is doing, how he is molding the young people and how well they are responding. The line is ascending. 2024 has to be a good year, finally, for this team.
Royal ZaragozaSo far and so close. The Maño team is twelfth in the Second Division, but only five points separate them from the promotion playoff. It is very difficult, but there is time. The fans have to push harder than ever for the team to return to its place, to the First Division.
2024-01-08 07:00:47
#Rafa #hurts
