Pedro Sánchez applies Johan Cruyff's football maxim to politics, which went something like "If we have the ball, they can't score any goals." Or, with a slight variation, "if you have the ball, you don't need to defend, because there's only one ball." Therefore, the point is to have the ball, meaning to set the terms of the debate. In this regard, the extraordinary regularization of immigrants is an impactful measure, the first in 20 years, and it goes to the heart of the debates currently shaking the Western world. Impossible to ignore.

"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.

This Tuesday marks ten years since Johan Cruyff died, and countless Barça fans are lighting a candle in his memory these days at the altar of our footballing devotions. Because Cruyff changed world football, but he performed the miracle in Catalonia. The two times Barça signed him, Agustí Montal as a player in 1973 and Josep Lluís Núñez as coach in 1988, he brought about (and may Espriu forgive me) a glimmer of light in the darkness.

Xavi Llorens (Barcelona, ​​1958) is the quintessential unsung hero of Barça. A pioneer of the women's team – which he managed between 2006 and 2017 – Llorens has also been involved in futsal and youth football, allowing him to boast of having been Leo Messi's first coach at the club. "I've always been told that a pétanque team will be formed and that I'll have to start it. What I like is being in the shadows, doing less visible work, and going almost unnoticed," he explains to ARA. The coach – who has played various roles in the game of pétanque – laid the foundations for a Barça team that won three Champions League titles. "We just had to work and convince the players that what we wanted to do was win a lot of things," he says.

The Johan Cruyff Stadium opened its doors to bees, gorillas, and astronauts for Carnival. Barça's mascot, Cat, arrived wearing a superhero cape and mask, and Esmee Brugts dressed as a magician, providing two assists—one to Ewa Pajor and another to Claudia Pina—that helped give them an early lead against Eibar. Patri Guijarro, with a long-range shot, and Irene Paredes, with a header, completed another resounding victory for the Catalan side (4-0). Pere Romeu emphasized in the pre-match press conference the importance of taking an early lead. Barça followed their coach's instructions, and Ewa Pajor opened the scoring after a brilliant through ball from Esmee Brugts. The Dutch full-back had a good spell, also connecting with Claudia Pina for the second goal. Patri Guijarro didn't need any assistance, extending the lead with a shot from the edge of the box. The Balearic midfielder has also become the fifth player with the most appearances in Barça history (361). The Blaugrana came out determined to settle the match quickly after a week without any fixtures.

Barça defeats Atlético de Madrid and makes a statement in La Liga F. Pere Romeu's team takes advantage of Real Madrid's defeat and now has a ten-point lead at the top of the table. The Blaugrana came out with a clear game plan, aware that they couldn't afford to slip up against the second-highest scoring team in the competition (Barça is the first). Goals from Alexia Putellas, Claudia Pina, Esmee Brugts, and Salma Paralluelo – who was returning to action after a three-month injury layoff – secured another three points in a match played early due to the Spanish Super Cup, which takes place from January 20th to 24th in Castellón. Barça will play their semifinal match against Athletic Club de Bilbao on Wednesday the 21st (7 pm).

"Bach is the musician and Mozart is the music," that great master of musicians, Oriol Martorell, used to say. In any case, and following his idea of ​​attributing to one person the highest representation of the profession and to another the personification of the specialty, let's play for a while, since this is a matter of taste.

Surely while Alexia Putellas He was enjoying the European victory of the Barça men's team at the new Camp NouShe imagined playing in the Champions League quarterfinals. With today's victory against Benfica (3-1), Pere Romeu's team is now one step closer to fulfilling that dream. The Blaugrana are virtually qualified for the quarterfinals after a flawless group stage. With one match remaining in the European competition, the Catalan side has four wins and one draw, scoring eighteen goals and conceding only three.

Barça struggled, but secured an important victory to extend their lead at the top of Liga F. Without Ona Batlle, Patri Guijarro, Kika Nazareth, Salma Paralluelo, and Aitana Bonmatí – to whom her teammates dedicated a supportive jersey after a A fracture in her left fibula will keep her off the field for a minimum of five months.Pere Romeu rested Laia Aleixandri and Claudia Pina with Wednesday's Champions League match in mind. However, the Blaugrana ran into a brick wall in the Canary Islands' defense, and the Catalan coach had to field his starters to secure the victory. Goals from Ewa Pajor and Alexia Putellas in the final minutes handed Tenerife their first away defeat of the season.

When he arrived at Girona, his daughter didn't yet have a driver's license because she was underage. Now she's 27. "The evolution of my personal life has gone hand in hand with that of the club, yes. Everything has changed a lot," acknowledges Santi Pou (Vic, 1966), a member of the sporting department, assistant to Quique Cárcel; part of the first team's coaching staff, with Míchel Sánchez; and for a decade, head of methodology for the Girona youth academy. "It's been many hours of hard work, but now we enjoy stability and prosperity. My family has had no choice but to understand, because ten continuous years working at Girona means being with the professionals in the morning and with the kids in the afternoon. But I've done it, and I continue to do it, with passion," he admits.

Barça spreads joy. Once the ball is rolling, things are seen from a different perspective. Hansi Flick's team plays from memory and revolves everything around Pedri, a small midfielder who has become the center of gravity of a special team. But the goals were scored by an electric Ferran Torres. Against Getafe, the job was already done at halftime. And to think that more than a few were biting their nails thinking they'd have to play games without Lamine Yamal, the genius who this Monday is aiming to win the Ballon d'Or at just 18 years old. And you'd have to live without him playing at home in a small stadium like Johan Cruyff. But that team doesn't waste time complaining. It creates its narrative through football. And how this Barça plays.

José Bordalás is the man of the moment at Getafe. The Alicante-born coach has begun his ninth season, divided into two stages, on the Coliseum bench. Although many people define him as a defensive coach, he claims that one of his technical role models is Johan Cruyff. This Sunday (at 9 p.m. live on DAZN), and thanks to the delay in the construction work at Camp Nou, he will visit a stadium named after the former Barça player.. Without a doubt, a special duel.

Before summer ends on September 22nd—the start of the autumn equinox—Fermín López wants to continue making headlines. If during the final stretch of the transfer window he was the focus of news due to Chelsea's interest in signing him, with Barça rubbing their hands at the prospect of a lucrative transfer and him ignoring the daisy, against Valencia it was because of his football. Fermín remained silent until the transfer window closed and decided to continue wearing the Blaugrana, which had always been his main desire despite letting the Londoners woo him. Against Valencia, he spoke where he usually does best: on the pitch. And, specifically, at Johan Cruyff's, where he already demonstrated during the Gamper why Hansi Flick was not keen to let him go. Against Valencia, he opened the scoring with a brace in a 6-0 rout that energized the 5,862 fans who didn't completely fill the small (and temporary) Barcelona stadium.

With just five days to go until the first home game of the season, Barça has made it official that it will play Valencia this Sunday at the Johan Cruyff Stadium. "The club is working intensively to obtain the necessary administrative permits for the opening of the Spotify Camp Nou in the near future. For this reason, the match will ultimately be played at the Johan Cruyff Stadium," the club explained in a brief statement. "FC Barcelona thanks its members and fans for their understanding and support during such a complex and exciting process as returning to the new Spotify Camp Nou," the club continued.

The Torrelameu City Council (Noguera) inaugurates Johan Cruyff Street this Saturday. It is the second municipality in our country to name a street after Cruyff, after Vallfogona de Riucorb (Cuenca de Barberá) did so before anyone else in 2016, the same year of Johan's death.