VALENCIA. It is difficult to write about football, to watch football, to feel football, when we live with the murder of hundreds of civilians in Palestine, more than 7,000 already, half of them children, and with the jihadist barbarity of Hamas. These destroyed families will not have a minute of silence in our stadiums, because those who govern European football are complicit in the genocide. They have even banned the same Palestinian flags that occupy our streets from the stands, in solidarity with the victims, beyond all political, social or religious beliefs. It is a global cry. Also in some worthy settings such as Sadar, Anoeta or Celtic Park, the most Catholic stadium in the world, by the way.
Although it may sound frivolous to apply certain adjectives, Levante played a sad game in Tenerife to get a valuable point and another clean sheet. This is what Calleja intended, with his staging. Tenerife is a rocky team at home. How to hurt him, without gangs? The objective, of course, was not to win; rather not conceding, securing a point and seeing them come, a Callejian classic, accompanied by the usual pinch of fortune (a goal narrowly disallowed by the rival) and the lack of success, in the finishing, of the Canaries. A “catenaccio” of a book, wow, Nereo Rocco school. Bus, cross yourself and go ahead.
Andorra brings back bad memories of the granota drift with Nafti, which hit rock bottom with the defeats in the Principat and in Orriols, against Racing (0-1), on matchdays 8 and 9 of last year. That 3-1 score exposed all the seams of a broken, defeated team, without plan, criteria, project or soul, despite Brugué’s left foot shot that made it 0-1 in the 8th minute. It was a mirage and the train of ascent was lost. Calleja, even with his flaws, righted the course, with the most expensive squad in the Second Division.
The coach, like any footballer, can make mistakes. What is non-negotiable is ambition. Levante had to jump to Heliodoro to add three, rise to the top of the table and punch the table. This is how legendary teams are forged; not about fear, distress and conformism. Last year, promotion escaped due to a lack of ambition in the decisive moments and, after that failure, the play-off lottery arrived, with the tragic (excuse the frivolity, again) outcome that everyone knows.
Will we learn the lesson? Will we show the tactical audacity that this group of footballers deserves, better, hungrier and with more future than last year? Will we do it, even with the casualties?
••• The example of Baraja. Impossible not to turn your gaze to Mestalla. I have told my “merengots” friends, since last year, that Pipo Baraja’s merit is extraordinary, even if it is to avoid relegation. Not only has he managed to connect to the stands with a team that runs like a plane and replaces his little experience with enthusiasm and daring, but he has done it with a group of youth players whom no one knew. It is clear that they hang by force, but we miss that audacity.
••• In white-and-blue. We played in Andorra with the kit with which we won the ’37 Cup. Football without feeling and emotion is nothing. Depersonalizing the symbolism of a squad is a bad “business plan.” The shirt should not be the laboratory in which to rehearse the connection with the Fallas or with the Virgin. The shirt is to feel proud of one’s own history: Blaugrana whenever possible, for Gimnàstic; blanc-i-negra or blanc-i-blava, always as an alternative, by Levante FC. The experiments with soda, not with the sentimental bond between fans and team. Be careful, it is not a trivial issue nor has it ever been.
2023-10-27 11:48:45
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