If the bright side of Barça's final days in the transfer market was Gabriel Jesus –the emergency solution that Deco found after the repeated rejections from Atlético de Madrid for Julián Álvarez–, the dark side was Marc Casadó. Highly regarded by the Barça fans after two seasons in the first team during which he clearly went from more to less, the midfielder from Sant Pere de Vilamajor ended up leaving through the back door just hours before the deadline for registering new players in La Liga.

Alejandro Francés (Zaragoza, 2002) was one of Girona's signings for the Champions League. The defender speaks with ARA regarding the reality check that the organization has suffered, now in the Second Division, where the Girona team is fifth and hosts the leader Castelló this Saturday at Montilivi (18:30, LaLigaTV Hypermotion).

It is difficult to dissociate the name of water polo player Maica García, Olympic champion, from the club of her life: CN Sabadell. It is even more difficult to imagine the outcome of what, until just a handful of days ago, was one of the most successful stories of this sport in Catalonia. The specialist in the center-forward position broke down in tears at her presentation with her new club, CN Sant Andreu, when she explained the ordeal she has experienced in recent months, which will lead to a lawsuit against the Vallesan entity. García stated that, after more than 30 years at CN Sabadell, she was forced to leave the institution when the club did not renew her contract upon her becoming pregnant, as required by law.

Just two years ago he was earning about a hundred euros playing for Vic in the Elite League, the sixth state category, while studying Sports Science and working as a lunchroom monitor. And last weekend he starred in a dream debut for Barça's reserve team with four goals. It is the extraordinary and dazzling story of Ignasi Quer (Gurb, 2004), a football journeyman who has been grinding away in silence until he found himself facing the opportunity of a lifetime. On Sunday he went viral for his four-goal haul against Náxara and for maintaining Catalan in the mixed zone during questions in Spanish.

On August 23rd of this year, Àlex Palou looked up and saw Donald Trump approaching him, surrounded by bodyguards and his entourage. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States' independence, Trump organized a host of bizarre events, such as a martial arts fight and an IndyCar Series race, the most important open-wheel car racing series in North America. And the best driver in these races right now is a guy from Sant Antoni de Vilamajor, a town in the Baix Montseny region that doesn't even reach 7,000 inhabitants. Here begins the story of one of the best motor racing drivers in the history of Catalonia, a man who chose to pack his bags and head very far away to succeed. To the other side of the world.

At Osasuna's field, Espanyol has celebrated safety and has mourned relegations, but in the white-and-blue popular imagination, the Sadar stadium is deeply linked to the name of a very high-profile referee: Eduardo Iturralde González. It has been more than 20 years since the episode that gave rise to his black legend among the periquito fan base; despite the passage of time, there is no Espanyol fan who does not remember him when their team competes in Pamplona. And this Saturday (16:15, Movistar+ LaLiga and DAZN), six days after the refereeing controversy against Sevilla, the Catalan side returns to visit the Navarrese capital to face Osasuna.

Barça thrashed Feyenoord 5-1in their Champions League debut and confirmed the good feelings of the last few weeks. The Blaugrana returned to showing their best version and have already scored 22 goals in five matches. With an average of 4.4 goals per game, they are the team from the main European leagues that has scored the most at the start of this competition, and only in one match—against Athletic Club—did they not reach five goals.

In Madrid, they are debating the exact reasons why the fans are whistling the team. At the Bernabéu, whistles were heard when Inter scored in the Champions League, and there was also noise directed at Vinícius and Mbappé. I have a theory, in case it is of any use to them.

One is 35 years old and the other 36, but the excitement they generate is priceless. Asisa Joventut has started competing with Ricky Rubio and Nico Laprovittola, a duo that has sparked the optimism of a green-and-black fanbase eager to experience strong emotions. La Penya debuted with a loss against iLerna Lleida in the Catalan National League (89-84), but its followers have high hopes placed on this season.

A rout to start the Champions League with a smile (5-1). Barça swept past Feyenoord with a performance in line with the formidable start to the season they are currently having. Below, some quick notes.

"If you can walk again, come back and I'll eat my tie," a doctor told Zach Washington-Young when, after a serious accident, he lost mobility from the waist down. "I've never gone back to tell him, although I suppose he knows he was wrong," explains Zach as he sits down to talk to ARA at a hotel in the center of Barcelona, where this Englishman who lives in Ibiza, his new home, is visiting. He apologizes for arriving five minutes late: "I was at the pool with my son, who won't stop moving," he says. He doesn't stop moving either. Almost 15 years after the accident that seemed to condemn him to a wheelchair for life, Zach has run a marathon and this summer he swam across the Strait of Gibraltar, the latest of his milestones.

The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, confirmed this Wednesday that they will open a file for an "alleged very serious or serious misconduct" against the police officers who, on August 23rd, assaulted a minor, a Barça club member, in the vicinity of the Elche stadium. "The action that was carried out is in no way justified, regardless of the fact that the person was carrying a symbol that is absolutely legitimate in a state of law," replied Marlaska to Junts per Catalunya MP Marta Madrenas during the control session of the Spanish government in Congress. In the video distributed through social media, the agents can be seen striking the minor, who ends up on the ground, after taking an estelada from him.

It is the Cup that everyone desires. The one that the 'barcelonistas' dream of, be it Lamine Yamal or an anonymous member. After two years of winning the League, the challenge is the big-eared cup and the final at the Metropolitano. The League is magnificent, but it does not quite fill the belly of a hungry team that, to debut in this edition, signed an offensive festival turned into a statement of intent. The competition is long, but Barça already commands respect after thrashing a Feyenoord that ended up drenched at the Camp Nou (5-1). They were hit by a downpour from the sky and a downpour on the grass led by Raphinha, who scores goals in twos. For the Dutch, it was a day to forget: they found neither the sun they thought they would find in Barcelona. Quite the opposite. The sky fell on top of them.

The same week that José Mourinho, coinciding with the first defeat of his Real Madrid, has opened the jar of excuses, the very powerful merengue media loudspeaker has turned up the volume to find fault with Rodrigo Hernández. After making his debut as a starter in the thrashing at Mestalla, it occurred to the blue and garnet star signing to comment to his teammates on the ease granted by Valencia.

The Ballon d'Or will be awarded at the end of October and will reward the best player of the past season. The award is defended by Ousmane Dembélé, winner of the last two editions, but he will face considerable competition, especially following the victory of the Spanish national team in the last World Cup. This triumph makes two Blaugrana players favorites, Lamine Yamal Nasraoui and Rodrigo Hernández. The third 'culer' in the shortlist, Pau Cubarsí, is the main favorite to take home the award for the best young player of the year.

“Straight to Potocari!”, ordered General Ratko Mladic to his troops on July 11, 1995. Potocari is a village north of Srebrenica where thousands of Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) had taken refuge from Mladic’s Serbian troops, as there was a United Nations Blue Helmet base there. However, they did not protect them, and Mladic’s troops entered Potocari, where they separated the men and women and executed more than 8,000 people. Today, in Potocari, thousands of white tombstones rise in the cemetery next to the museum dedicated to the crimes of Srebrenica. Mladic was arrested in 2011 in Serbia, where he had been in hiding for 15 years, and sent to The Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Tribunal. During the trial, he confronted the judges and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017. Last week he died in prison at the age of 84.

Lamine Yamal has been the public spokesperson for the dressing room at the Champions League debut this Wednesday, against Feyenoord, at the Camp Nou (6:45 PM, Movistar). The Blaugrana star has said that the Champions League is his great motivation because it is the only title that, at 19 years old, he has not yet won.

Hansi Flick left Mestalla with a smile from ear to ear. The German coach was satisfied because his team put in a "fantastic performance at Mestalla." He emphasized this during the post-match press conference. The Blaugrana steamroller demolished (0-5) a disgraced Valencia in the midst of a social and sporting crisis. Flick celebrated that his pupils balanced "control with verticality." Barça dominated possession overwhelmingly (27%-73%) in the debut of the pair formed by Pedri and Rodri, which worked delightfully. As for verticality, it is explained by the constant runs of Raphinha, Gordon, and Fermín, and the finishing precision of Lamine Yamal, who prefers to receive the ball at his feet.

Sabadell continues to live a fairy tale in its return to the Second Division, after defeating Córdoba 3 to 2 thanks to a penalty goal by its captain, Albert Orriols, in the final minutes. The 'Arlequinat' team now has eight points and occupies a surprising third position. The match, played just on the day the city's main festival ended, was electric and had plenty of plot twists. In the end, the joy remained at the Nova Creu Alta, where they rub their eyes at a team that, having the fourth most modest budget, is currently standing up to the giants of the division.

For decades, a Valencia crest presided over the Mestalla stadium, installed at the very top of the grandstand. Until some fans found it on the ground, smashed to pieces. During some improvement works at the old stadium, it was removed and the workers did not look after it enough. The board announced they would put up a new one, but the fans saw it as another symbol of the owners' way of managing the club.