As a child in the humble Restinga neighborhood of Porto Alegre, Raphinha dreamed of one day wearing the Barça shirt and emulating his idol and countryman, Ronaldinho Gaucho. And, this Wednesday, the Brazilian winger, under the watchful eye of Ronnie, who was present at the Parc des Princes, starred in the first big European night of his career.
His double helped Barça, by Xavi Hernández, to give a coup of authority and obtain a 2-3 against PSG, which puts the Blaugrana at an advantage ahead of the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals next Tuesday in Montjuïc.
And ‘Rapha’s great game had both internal and external consequences that go beyond the culé sphere. The message to Xavi and his teammates is that the gaucho never gives up. The iron mentality is one of his strong points. He never shrinks in the face of adversity. Maybe he doesn’t have that quality of the extra-class players from his country who have passed through the Camp Nou, but No one can blame him for having the necessary attitude to play at the elite level.
Lamine Yamal, who is going for crack, has won the position, but, ‘Rapha’ is capable of reinventing himself and putting himself at the service of the collective. Now, he makes the difference from the left flank, which he always hated and where he never felt comfortable because, in theory, he cannot exploit the benefits of playing with a changed leg. No one doubts that he has earned the status of ‘sacred cow’ in this final stretch of an exciting course.
And, looking outwards, far from Barcelona, its magical Parisian night has a first palpable effect 10,000 km away: ensure their participation with Brazil in the Copa América, which will be played starting June 20 in the United States, which is no small thing.
Raphinha, finally, had in his country a collection of headlines and minutes of television that until now he had not been able to enjoy, not even dressed in ‘verdeamarelo’. In Brazil, they wildly applauded his first goals in the Champions League, mainly the gaucho press, which he likes to sweep home so much.
The Blaugrana forward sent an unequivocal message to his compatriots and his coach: He is there to do great things on stages with more pressure and what he did in Paris, he can repeat with the ‘Canarinha’.
The new head of the Seleçao, Dorival Junior, trusts him. He started him on his debut on the bench in the last FIFA double date, when Brazil beat England at Wembley (0-1) and then tied with Spain (3-3) at the Santiago Bernabéu.
In both games it didn’t go very well. And ‘Rapha’ knew that he had no choice but to row in Barcelona to vindicate himself. It’s what he’s doing.
Since he returned from this last FIFA date, he has been the key footballer for Xavi’s team: He scored the winning goal against Las Palmas (1-0) in Montjuïc and now his golden double in the Champions League against a superb PSG before the eyes of Ronaldinho, Mbappé y Dembélé, with whom, by the way, he competed for the title last season in Barcelona.
2024-04-12 05:47:09
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