What a club, Barça. 126 years of glory and debate. More than a century of struggle, of falling in love at the feet of players like Lamine Yamal, and of throwing plates at each other. To celebrate the club's birthday, there was a gem on the pitch thanks to the brilliance of the player from Rocafonda, and some chaos in the stands. Lamine Yamal teamed up with a colossal Raphinha to turn around a match in which Alavés struck first. Meanwhile, in the stands, chants against the board erupted after the digital ticketing system failed, leaving many members with seats on the stairs because they weren't assigned any. Beauty and chaos. Football and debates. That's Barça.

Denis Suárez will return to the pitch at the Spotify Camp Nou this Saturday (4:15 p.m.). He will be wearing the Alavés jersey in a stadium that only reopened its doors last week after more than two years of renovations. The Galician midfielder's return is seen as a reunion with the place where, almost a decade ago, he was presented as one of the club's great future prospects. Six years after his move to England and a journey marked by loans and changes of scenery, Denis Suárez returns to Barcelona a different player. He does so with experience and lessons learned, and possibly at one of the peak moments of his career.

"I was really embarrassed, to be honest; but luckily, I wasn't the only one. It happened to all of us. We were there, standing in a room, dressed in Girona's training gear, and an instructor was forcing us to do really strange movements. We looked at each other, completely confused. I'd never been shocked before." The speaker is Jose Martínez. He remembers that unexpected session proposed by Javier Salamero, the coach and sporting director, depending on the season. To imagine what the players felt at that moment, it's necessary to understand the context. In 2012, the team was second to last in the Second Division, six points from safety after winning only four out of 27 matches; and the board had already sacked two coaches, Raül Agné and Josu Uribe. But instead of going to Montilivi every day, Salamero, called in as an emergency replacement, thought it would be better not to go. "It's shocking to have your routine disrupted like that. Because when everything's going wrong, the first thing they usually tell you is that you have to train more. Well, on Thursdays or Fridays we did other things. And it was a success, because we'd laugh our heads off and end up closer than when we started the day, and because we hadn't even started the day badly. This formula doesn't exist. In fact, the first thing we did was beat Deportivo, who were the runaway league leaders and would end up getting promoted." Such is football; that Girona team under Salamero was a success: in 12 matches, they racked up 7 wins, 4 draws, and 1 loss. Players like Jose, Migue, Dorca, Coro, Jandro, and David García, who didn't know how to pose for the Zumba instructor, became unstoppable on the pitch.

Espanyol, who on Tuesday, comfortably positioned in the European zone, celebrated their 125th anniversary, had high hopes. lighting up the city of Barcelona And on Wednesday, after some difficulty, they secured qualification for the next round of the Copa del Rey after win at Atlético Lleida's groundBut happiness is never complete for Espanyol, who on Sunday suffered a defeat at Alavés thanks to an early goal from Denis Suárez and another from Lucas Boyé, who capitalized on the errors of a team unaccustomed to making them. The Basque side brought Espanyol back down to earth.

Espanyol breaks the curse away from home. The white-and-blues suffered hard to end up adding the first victory of the season away from home (0-1), a golden victory that not only keeps the Espanyol away from relegation, but also sends a message: Espanyol is very much alive, also away from Cornellà-El Prat, and will continue fighting until the end. From now on, moreover, they will do so without the pressure of being one of the five teams in the five major European leagues that had not yet achieved their first victory on the away field. Almost two years later, the first away victory is here.