Barça can now start putting the bottles in the fridge to have them nice and cold for when it's time to celebrate. The first episode of the trilogy of duels against Atlético de Madrid served to hit the waterline of two Madrid teams at once. Lewandowski's saving goal sinks Real Madrid in the standings and, incidentally, hurts an Atlético that has already understood that Barça wants to win everything just before the Champions League duel. The whites look up and struggle to see an indomitable Barça that knew how to react before halftime, when it seemed they could also lose. The competitive gene of this team is beyond debate. A team that faces challenges and overcomes them. It seems there is nothing that scares a team destined to win the League after winning a match that, at times, seemed like it would end in a draw in a second half where there was no energy left in the players' legs.

"There was a plan so that this boy could never be born, so that my children would never be born, so that none of our children would ever be born. Their laughter is our greatest revenge", published on social media Emir Suljagic, head of the Srebrenica memorial center, the Bosnian town where more than 8,000 people were murdered by Serb paramilitaries in July 1995. He also attached a photograph of the players of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team celebrating their qualification for the World Cup and their elimination of a giant like Italy. And in the center of the image appeared the young Esmir Bajraktarevic. A footballer, son of refugees who fled Srebrenica, the scene of one of the most recent genocides in the history of Europe.

Years ago, during Holy Week, a multitude of white sails fills the Mediterranean heading for Ibiza. The Ruta de la Sal, the offshore regatta with the most sailors in the Mediterranean, has been moving thousands of sailboats for over thirty years, participating in a competition born to commemorate a forgotten historical event. In 1846, when the Carlists managed to blockade Barcelona during the First Carlist War, a Barcelona businessman offered money to all sailors who volunteered to go to Ibiza to fetch salt and bring it to Barcelona, as it was running out. It is said that a schooner named Halcón Maltés, captained by the Greek Andrea Potrus, was the fastest to break the blockade.

It is half past six in the evening. In the garden of the Ateneu barcelonès, a group of ladies are discussing literature and two young people are talking about love problems. When Carles Tudó walks between the tables, everyone turns to look at his uniform, with breeches inspired by those of the 16th century worn by the Lansquenets, German mercenaries. Tudó is one of Europe's leading experts in classical fencing and this year he is in charge of teaching the fencing courses that the Ateneu barcelonès has revived more than 140 years after the last time the clash of sabers echoed through its halls. The sessions are held in the elegant Jacint Verdaguer hall of the Ateneu, among volumes of centuries-old books and busts of writers. "We have exhausted all places and have a waiting list," explains Tudó while preparing the swords.

"I used to work in a publishing house called Linkgua at 45 Muntaner street. I was an editor and proofreader. And one day at the door I meet a lady about 80 years old, Carme Humet Cocinero. And she asks me if I can hug her because she hasn't hugged a black person in 40 years," explains Arsenio Rodríguez Quintana (Havana, 1964). Rodríguez hugged her and asked why she had asked. "She told me that her aunt, Maria Cocinero, had married a black Cuban named Longinos Betancourt who was a doorman in a building in Urquinaona. And she added that the son of this couple had played for Barça. It blew my mind. I knew nothing, and I'm Cuban, black, and a Barça fan," he adds. "Thus began Rodríguez's investigation to publicize the figure of Francesc SiscuBetancourt y Cocinero (1913-1998), the first black player in Barça's history. "Betancourt came to find me. It was a sign. Unfortunately, his family wasn't very interested in remembering Siscu's figureand they threw away many documents. I'm very sorry. So I had to investigate," explains Rodríguez, who has just published Ciscu Betancourt, first black footballer of Barça and the Spanish league, a book to vindicate this player who defended the jersey of a lot of Catalan teams. He debuted at Fort Pienc in the 20s and in 1961 he was still linked to football at Sant Cugat, where he coached. In between, good spells at Barça, Sabadell or Badalona, even scoring a goal against Real Madrid with the blaugrana jersey.

The Dane Jonas Vingegaard (Visma / Lease a Bike) adds his name to the list of winners of the Tour of Catalonia. The Catalan race, one of the oldest in the world, has gone from being sidelined in the calendar to becoming one of the events with the most impressive palmarès in recent years. In the last four years, the winners have been the Slovenians Primoz Roglic, Tadej Pogacar, and now, Vingegaard. That is to say, the great dominators of world cycling. And not so long ago, those who wore the leader's colors of the tour were Quintana, Yates, or Alejandro Valverde.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced its new policy for the protection of the female category in Olympic sport, under which only "biological women" will be able to compete, a rule that will apply from the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The new IOC president, Kirsty Coventry, had already explained during the elections a year ago that she was in favor of a policy of this kind, and this Thursday she has made the regulation official, which means closing the door to trans women in the next Games.

Goals were falling at the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium. In the end, there were six. Six blows to Madrid's morale, six blows to their blossoming line, six death knells for a project that isn't taking off. Years go by and Real Madrid cannot harm Barça Femení. Sometimes it seems to be getting close, but an important match arrives and we see the result. And what was the reaction of the white fans? Nothing. The four indignant ones on social media, who are usually those who live permanently indignant, and little else. No scolding, no whistling, no great dramas.

"For those of us who were able to meet him, he changed our lives," he says. Marjolijn van der Meer When you ask him about Johan Cruyff, the Dutchman who changed Barça's history twice—once as a player and once as a coach—died 10 years ago. "It's beautiful when people who didn't get to know him, something we did, explain it to us." as Johan marked them. "There were people who wanted to dress like him, play like him, or style their hair like him," recalls the woman who played a key role in Cruyff's ability to change the course of Barça. And of Catalonia, too. "Are we exaggerating when we say that Cruyff changed Catalonia? I don't think so. There was a terrible dictatorship then. It lasted many years. So many years of dictatorship leave their mark on people. It's hard to be brave. And he was brave." "He taught us not to be afraid," she asserts. She speaks in the first-person plural, "he taught us." Marjolijn, like Johan, is Dutch but also Catalan.

"After so many months sailing such a tiny boat, my mind is still sailing. My head's still not on the ground, if you know what I mean," explains Pilar Pasanau (Barcelona, ​​1968), speaking by phone from Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean. At 58, the Barcelona native recently finished fourth in the Mini Globe Race, a solo round-the-world race in boats under six meters long. Her boat, the 5.80-meter Peter Punk, covered a total of 24,000 nautical miles, more than 44,000 kilometers, in 191 days. "I'm in a very sweet, very pleasant emotional, mental, and physical equilibrium. I would love to be like this for the rest of my life, that is, with total control of myself," explains the first woman in the final standings of a race created in 2020 by Australian adventurer Don McIntyre, who envisioned diving from a boat. For now, she remains in Antigua as she needs to find the money to ship the boat back home. In love with the sea, Pilar didn't hesitate to go into debt to make her dream a reality. "It was now or never. We'll pay them back," she says with a smile.

Barça soars in Europe. With a deluge of goals that overwhelmed Newcastle, Hansi Flick's team transformed their doubts into dreams. It had been years since a Champions League rout like this (7-2) had been seen, with a second half that left everyone in disbelief. And it didn't even take the best performances of Lamine Yamal and Pedri to achieve a result that serves as a warning to others. If teams like PSG or Bayern can rack up big wins in Europe, Barça can too.

Scandal in African football. The Appeals Board of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) ruled today that Senegal is no longer the champion of the last African Nations Cup. Morocco, the team that lost the final, is now the new champion. The Board declared Senegal forfeited the final, which they had won 1-0 in extra time, considering that the team abandoned the match and therefore lost 3-0.

Jordi Merino has been president of the Federation of Hiking Clubs of Catalonia (FEEC) for fifteen years. At the FEEC headquarters on La Rambla, right in front of Barcelona's Plaça Reial, Merino receives the ARA newspaper and admits that these years "have felt like half a century," as things have changed so much. When Merino took over as president, none of the sports under his umbrella were Olympic. Now two are: climbing and a mountain ski that gives medalsBut things have also changed for the worse, especially the relationship many people have with the mountains. The FEEC (Catalan Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing) knows this all too well, as some of the mountain huts they manage have been vandalized recently, such as the one in Besiberri (Alta Ribagorça).

Just a few meters from the ruins of the Born district, destroyed in 1714—an archaeological site of great symbolic importance—three top-level football executives are chatting. Elena Fort, the Barça representative, beams after the long election night in which Joan Laporta was elected. "We will make sure to continue taking care of the Catalan language," she remarks, chatting with Xavi Andreu, director of institutional relations at Espanyol, and Nacho Mas-Bagà, from Girona. Andrés, who He remains angry about the refereeing decision suffered by Espanyol in Mallorca. He recalls how their official statements "were made in Catalan." The three have just given a talk at the International Symposium on Minority Languages ​​and Sgôr Football, organized by Plataforma per la Llengua.

A perfect day at Can Barça. Thousands of people have shown that this club is special because you can vote, there's a new stand open that has made the stadium feel spacious, and they've dominated on the pitch, where they didn't have to suffer for a single moment. As if it were a Gamper Trophy match or a barbecue, Sevilla let themselves be led to the slaughter like lambs and made it easy for Flick's Barça.

Over the last five years, Joan Laporta has become accustomed to being applauded. He entered the village At the Godó tournament, the children of wealthy families applauded him. He walked into a summer party on the Costa Brava, and everyone was taking selfies. He's ended up atop a bull at Mercabarna and on a tractor, he's sung with the gypsies of Gràcia, and he's made macaroni. Many of those applauding him today are the same ones who sneered at him some 10 years ago. Back then, they said Jan wasn't the same as before, that he didn't know what to do with his life after not shining much as a politician. Laporta seemed like a thing of the past, but he was destined to return as Barça president in the 2021 elections.

A memorable milestone at the Barcelona Marathon. Ethiopian runner Fotyen Tesfay Haiylu achieved the second-fastest time in history, with a time of 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 53 seconds. The 28-year-old thrilled everyone with an explosive start, seemingly poised to set a new world record. Taking advantage of the new, faster course and the good weather, she maintained a steady pace. However, in the final 10 kilometers, she slowed down, finishing less than a minute shy of the world record of 2:09:56, set by Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich in 2014 in Chicago. Tesfay, competing in her first marathon – having previously run shorter distances – beat Kenyan Jepkosgei Kiplimo (2:18:42) and fellow Ethiopian Zeineba Yimer Worku (2:18:49).

The moment of truth is approaching at Barça with Sunday's elections. Víctor Font has had all the time in the world to build a solid project, recruiting fans and professionals, trying to create a diverse group under the banner of a different kind of Barça. UsA wise move, I'd say, since it allows for contrasting the idea of ​​a collective with Laporta's personalism. But will it work?

Football has been another piece in the grand chess game of geopolitics in Iran for years. This Wednesday, the Iranian Minister of Sport confirmed the withdrawal of the Iranian national team from the upcoming World Cup, which begins in less than 100 days in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. This announcement comes 24 hours after FIFA President Gianni Infantino spoke with US President Donald Trump to guarantee the Iranian team's participation despite the war. "President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States," Infantino said. But the Iranians, through their Minister of Sport, have made it public that they will be the first team to qualify for a World Cup to withdraw due to a political boycott. The Iranian team was scheduled to play New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles, and Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.

Many older Barcelona fans still wonder what Barça would have been like if Josep Lluís Núñez hadn't won the first democratic elections in 1978. Three years after Franco's death, Barça was finally able to hold its first relatively free elections. "Relatively" because they were still conducted under the previous statutes, which prohibited women from voting. That year, Núñez narrowly defeated Ferran Ariño in an election marked by the decision of the favorite, Víctor Sagi, to withdraw from the race.