BARCELONA: Barcelona took a big bet 2 1/2 years ago that they could mortgage their future for the quick cash that the indebted club desperately needed to sign some major names.
They took a chunk of the money they received from selling off future television rights and other assets and paid a combined 160 million euros (then $163 million) to bring in top striker Robert Lewandowski, Brazil forward Raphinha, and versatile defender Jules Koundé.
While Lewandowski has consistently found the net, there was never a stretch in which all three players performed up to their billing.
Until now.
The excellent play of the trio, as well as their teammates, has seen Barcelona take second place in the Champions League standings and remain in contention both in the Spanish league and Copa del Rey.
Lewandowski is having one of his best seasons at age 36, and Koundé is excelling both in defense and attack from his position of right back.
But it is the 28-year-old Raphinha who has undergone a transformation into a clutch scorer, team leader, and play-from-any position wild card for new coach Hansi Flick.
The breakout of Raphinha
Raphinha arrived in Spain from Leeds as a speedy, hard-working right winger.
But coach Xavi Hernández ended up preferring Ousmane Dembele in that position and Raphinha was not a key player during the 2022 La Liga title run. Then, after Dembele left, Raphinha saw teen phenom Lamine Yamal explode and again push him to the bench.
Instead of sulking, Raphinha reinvented himself as a left-side winger and a creative midfielder and immediately convinced Flick that he had to be in his starting 11.
He has since become the most improved player for a top team in Spain this season, scoring 22 goals across all competitions. He had managed 10 goals in each of his first two campaigns with the club.
And those goals have been big ones. He scored three goals in two lopsided wins over Real Madrid, and he netted a brace, including an incredible solo breakaway goal, to stun Benfica 5-4 in the Champions League earlier this week.
Lewandowski remains as good as ever
When Lewandowski arrived from Bayern Munich in 2022, many thought that Barcelona would be lucky to get a couple of good seasons from the Poland star before he entered the twilight of his career.
But Lewandowski is on a romp with a whopping 28 goals in 29 games overall, including a Champions League leading nine goals. Raphinha is next with eight.
Patience pays off for Koundé and Xavi
Koundé arrived at Barcelona after impressing as a central defender with Sevilla. Xavi, however, needed to play him at right back and out of his comfort zone.
Now Koundé has fully adapted to that position and displays a sense of command both while marking top forward like Vinícius Júnior or going into attack behind Yamal on the flank. He has delivered two goals and three assists while playing the most minutes of any Barcelona player this season.
Barcelona are in third place in La Liga before hosting relegation-threatened Valencia on Sunday. Flick’s team will be aiming to bounce back from a 1-1 draw at Getafe last weekend.
Leader Real Madrid visit bottom-side Valladolid on Saturday, two points ahead of Atletico Madrid before they play Villarreal.
Barcelona sold the farm for Lewandowski, Raphinha and Koundé
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Barcelona sold the farm for Lewandowski, Raphinha and Koundé
- The excellent play of the trio, as well as their teammates, has seen Barcelona take second place in the Champions League standings
- Lewandowski is having one of his best seasons at age 36, and Koundé is excelling both in defense and attack from his position of right back
Smylie wins on LIV Golf debut, leads Ripper GC to team title in Riyadh
- Jon Rahm and Torque GC finish second in the individual and team competitions respectively
RIYADH: Ripper GC captain Cameron Smith believes his new teammate Elvis Smylie can one day become the best golfer in the world. After the 23-year-old Australian produced four sizzling rounds to win on his LIV Golf debut, the rest of the league may very well share the same sentiment.
Smylie capped off an impressive first week under the lights at Roshn Group LIV Golf Riyadh, shooting a final-round bogey-free 8-under 64 on Saturday to hold off a hard-charging Jon Rahm by one stroke. He also led the Rippers to the team title, as the Aussies swept both trophies going into their biggest tournament of the season at LIV Golf Adelaide next week.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Smylie, who officially joined the team last month. “I really didn’t know what to expect this week. Playing at night is obviously a whole different ballgame out here. I wanted to come out here and make a statement. I wanted to prove that I’m one of the best out here, and I feel like I’ve done that. It’s only up from here.”
Smith agreed. “The crazy thing is I still think he’s got a lot of improving to go, which is pretty scary, really, for the rest of us, because he waxed us this week. I genuinely think he can be the best golfer in the world. He’s got all the tools of the trade. He just needs to keep doing what he’s doing and knuckle down.”
With the win, Smylie earns the projected points allotted by the Official World Golf Ranking to the winner of this week’s LIV Golf tournament. The OWGR announced earlier this week that points will be awarded for LIV Golf tournaments this season to the top 10 and ties. Smylie entered the week ranked 134th and is expected to move up significantly with the victory.
Smylie’s winning score of 24 under is the lowest in league history, a byproduct perhaps of the league’s adjusted format from 54 to 72 holes. He also beat the biggest field in LIV Golf history after an increase from 54 to 57 players this season.
But more impressive than the raw numbers was Smylie’s sublime play, especially with a new blade putter. “Everything looked like a bucket for me, which is nice,” said Smylie, who ranked third in the field in strokes gained putting.
He needed a hot putter down the stretch to create some separation from the field, then withstand the last-ditch rally by Rahm, the Legion XIII captain and two-time LIV Golf individual champion.
Rahm started the day two shots behind co-leaders Smylie and Peter Uihlein and was three strokes behind when Smylie birdied the par-4 12th. But the Spaniard closed fast with birdies on five of his last six holes, including the last four.
He drove the green at the 396-yard par-4 18th but could not convert the eagle putt. Still, his final birdie put the finishing touches on a 9-under bogey-free 63, the lowest round of the week, and reduced Smylie’s lead to one.
Smylie, however, was not aware of the slim margin until hitting his approach shot at the 18th that left him on the edge of the green.
“I actually didn’t know that I had to two-putt the last green,” he said. “I thought I would have had a two-shot lead going into 18. But as soon as I was walking up the green, I saw that I only had one, so I’m like, I’ve got to clutch up here and make sure to get this up-and-down.”
Rahm, who shot a final-round 11-under 60 in his last regular-season LIV Golf tournament in Indianapolis last year to clinch his second consecutive season-long title, pointed to his failure to make birdie at the par-5 sixth and a poor approach shot at the par-4 11th as missed opportunities. Even so, he was pleased with making a run to earn his fifth runner-up finish and 25th top-10 result in 27 regular-season LIV Golf appearances.
“It was a fantastic round of golf, shot 9-under,” he said. “Elvis had a great day and a two-shot lead. If anything, if there’s one or two shots to look at, I’ve got to go to earlier in the week.”
RangeGoats GC’s Uihlein finished third after shooting a 67 for 21 under, while Fireballs GC’s David Puig and 4Aces GC’s Thomas Pieters shot 65s to share fourth place with Torque GC’s Abraham Ancer.
The team competition turned into a battle between Ripper and Torque. The Australians started off fast, with Marc Leishman beginning his round with four straight birdies; the team collectively was 11 under through their first six holes.
Torque responded with Ancer, making his first start for his new team after four years with Fireballs GC, and Sebastian Munoz each shooting 66.
But the 64s by Smylie and Lucas Herbert were supported by Smith’s 65 and Leishman’s 69 to produce a fourth-round team score of 26 under, the third-best single round team score in league history. Ripper’s tournament total of 69 under is a league record as they won their fifth regular-season team title by three shots.
