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Soccer Year 2021: Messi’s exit from Barca, Ericsson’s downfall and Ronaldo’s pitch to water over cola

December 26, 2021
Henry Club

In sport, as in life, there are events within events. Moments that shape a moment of glory or moments that go beyond runs, wickets, goals and trophies in the mind. Moments that are more indestructible than numbers. As a breathless year of sport comes to an end, and another game year rests to unfold, Indian Express Looking forward to 2021.

Messi leaves Barcelona

Perhaps, it was something no one was prepared for. Lionel Messi made a tearful bid for Barcelona in 2021 as he left the club, where he spent his entire professional career with a third-year option in a two-year deal at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Messi’s record with Barcelona is unmatched, and he has 672 goals in 778 appearances, or four Champions League titles and 10 La Liga titles. If Barcelona went down as one of the greatest sides of all time, Messi was at the center of it.

Interestingly, Messi scored 28 goals for Barca in 2021 before his contract expired and he became the club’s highest scorer by the end of the year as no one was even remotely close to the tally.

While Barcelona fans were in tears, there were contrasting sentiments in Paris as the Argentine superstar was greeted a hero by PSG supporters, who gathered in hopes of catching a glimpse of his new signing. Thousands gathered outside the club’s Parc des Princes home and near a luxurious hotel in the city where Messi was staying with wife Antonella and their three children.

Ericsson fell during a Euro match

Denmark’s Christian Eriksson receives medical attention (File)

The third match of Euro 2020 saw one of the scariest scenarios as Danish footballer Christian Eriksen collapsed in the first half during his team’s match against Finland. The medical teams reached out to the Inter Milan midfielder who was given CPR. The match was immediately stopped and later suspended. As Ericsson lay unconscious on the field, Denmark team doctor Morten Bosen was prompt in his action. “He was breathing, and I could feel his pulse. But all of a sudden that changed,” Bosen is quoted by Sky Sports. “And as everyone noticed, we started giving him CPR.”

Several physicians worked frantically to compress Ericsson’s chest, while his teammates burst into tears and formed a circle around the midfielder to protect the scene from public view. After a night of distress, there was finally relief as Ericsson was still and talking. The prayers of fans across the world were finally answered.

Racial abuse for missing spot-kick

For three black players who missed the penalty kick England He was the victim of online racist abuse against Italy in the Euro final. Bukayo Saka, 19, was the youngest of them, while Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho also missed spot-kicks. It was England’s third successive failure from the penalty spot in the shootout and denied them a trophy that ruled them out since the 1966 World Cup. The English Football Association came out and issued a statement condemning the language used against the players.

Ronaldo and ‘Bottle Gate’

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo made headlines during the Euro 2020 press conference by removing two Coca-Cola bottles placed in front of him and asking people to drink water instead. Following Ronaldo’s act, the company’s market value fell to $4 billion.

However, Ronaldo’s gesture at Euro 2020, popularly understood as the ‘bottle gate’, was followed by other players. While Italy’s Manuel Locatelli removed cola bottles like Ronaldo, France’s Paul Pogba removed beer bottles during his press conference. Ukraine captain Andrey Yarmolenko, on the other hand, took both Coca-Cola and beer bottles close by and asked to contact the sponsors.
Ironically, Russian head coach Stanislav Cherchesov went the other way and picked up a bottle of cola and took a sip at the press conference.

European Super League failure

The Breakaway League was a proposal by 12 of Europe’s leading football clubs to establish a new midweek competition to rival the UEFA Champions League. Termed as the ‘European Super League’, it was to be governed by 12 of its ‘founding clubs’, which included the big sixes of the Premier League – Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham. Were. AC Milan, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid were the others that joined as ‘founding clubs’.

In short, ESL was about increasing profits through global expansion with like-minded invite-only clubs. However, this was followed by an overwhelming response from fans and former players. Widespread anger also prompted the UK government to act, and Boris Johnson promised to “drop a legislative bomb” to thwart the ESL. The Super League collapsed after all six English clubs withdrew from the competition, leaving the £4.5bn league dead in the water.

Euro 2020: Pre-final drama

The Euro 2020 final at Wembley had its fair share of controversies and one that took place before the game even started as supporters of England fans made their way into the stadium without tickets. According to a report in the Guardian, the number could have crossed into the hundreds as hooligans broke through security barriers and squeezed behind ticket-holders or broke through electronic gates that allowed entry into crowds and seats.

The Ballon d’Or ‘Farse’

Lionel Messi won a record-breaking seventh Ballon d’Or while Robert Lewandowski won the best striker award.

Lionel Messi won a record-breaking seventh Ballon d’Or but in his speech the Argentine and Paris Saint-Germain striker honestly acknowledged and said it was Robert Lewandowski who deserved the respect. “I would like to mention Robert Lewandowski, it is a real honor to compete with you. Everyone knows and we agree you were the winner last year. I think it’s time for France Football to give you your 2020 Ballon d’Or award Should – you deserve it and you should have it at home,” he said.

Lewandowski lost by a margin of 33 points and finished second. In a mind-blowing season, the Polish striker scored 41 goals in just 29 games and broke Gerd Müller’s record. Lewandowski was widely seen as the favorite to win the Ballon d’Or in 2020, but the awards were canceled last year because COVID-19 global pandemic. The decision was heavily criticized, with many calling it a ‘tamasha’.

Solskjaer’s dismissal

After taking the manager’s job in 2018, Solskjaer made some significant progress with the squad but failed to take off any silverware. (file)

Manchester United dropped Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after poor results, with the Red Devils winning just one in seven Premier League matches. While the club made it through the knockout stages of the Champions League, what happened against the Norwegians was United’s gradual decline of form in the domestic league. Furthermore, as key players performing at the highest levels arrived, many of his anomalies as a coach began to emerge.

After taking the manager’s job in 2018, Solskjaer made some significant progress with the squad but failed to take off any silverware. The embarrassing 4-1 loss at Watford proved to be the last nail in Solskjaer’s coffin.

Re-draw of Champions League Round of 16 match-up

In an unprecedented and bizarre sequence of events, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) was forced to redo the Champions League round-of-16 draw after an error in the original procedure was uncovered. That first draw came with eight matchups that included the dream match of PSG vs Manchester United, potentially making it a face-off between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, it was removed due to errors that UEFA blamed on third-party software.

According to the rules of the tournament teams from the same group and country are not allowed to face each other, but the software apparently failed to comply with them. UEFA was forced to accept the result as null and order a redrawn three hours later.

Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle

A Saudi-backed consortium has taken over English Premier League football club Newcastle United after a protracted fight over concerns about piracy and human rights abuses in the Kingdom. A 300 million pound ($409m) acquisition by the Saudi Public Investment Fund collapsed last year. Amnesty International had issued a warning, citing the acquisition by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as ‘sportswashing’. Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 sparked strong public protests.

The PIF then publicly assured that its chairman, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, would have no control over Newcastle’s operations. The acquisition brought it closer to 14 years of ownership by British retail tycoon Mike Ashley.

Newcastle United have yet to win silverware since 1955, and fans believe this acquisition will eventually end the drought. In the ongoing Premier League season, Newcastle are fighting a battle in the relegation zone with one win in 18 games. They are ranked 19th on the table, just above Norwich City.

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