Awareness, patience and science

awareness. With a mask and sweatshirt, and one of his sons holding hands, Messi exercised his right to vote as a fan, captain, and legend. His vote, free and secret, will not be as decisive as his, which has remained silent during the long electoral process for Barcelona. It is not uncommon in soccer to see a rehearsal like this: the fans and the players elect a president together. Barcelona has many faults, but democracy is one of its great virtues. In the past few months we have been watching the disintegration of an institution that will continue to be exemplary, precisely because it is in decline, pushing Messi to vote for his future, as another institution.

Patience. We lose patience upon the first defeat of our team, and the youth who did not appear for the first time loses patience, the attacker who does not find the tire loses his patience, the injured who has not healed, the press that requests the offer, the coach who is still looking for his staff and his manager who expects the results. Wanting to buy time from time, the game gave more power than ideas, to accelerate more than tempo and modernity than tradition. A tournament that is forgotten in days, a player in weeks, and the team becomes a memory in months: it is the tragedy of short tournaments. If football continues at this rate, he will lose his mind one day as well.

Science. There are those who see football as a sport, those who see it as art, and those who think it is business. In fact, they are all three at the same time. It all depends on the moment the team passes through. When we lose we turn to the spirit of struggle and dedication of the athlete: we call them champions. When we’re on top we feel like we’re experiencing a unique show: we call them artists. And when things don’t go well, we think someone is cheating on us by turning the game into a bargain, so we call them mercenaries. Football can be a sport, an art, or a business; But his understanding is science.