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Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior praised Barcelona star Lamine Yamal for publicly condemning anti-Muslim chants in a recent match, saying players need to stick together in the fight against discrimination. Vinicius spoke Monday, less than a week after Yamal criticized the chants by Spanish fans in Spain's friendly against Egypt last Tuesday. Yamal, who is Muslim, said the chants were disrespectful and intolerable. Vinicius, a Brazil international, has been often subjected to racist taunts while playing in Europe and is vocal about the fight against racism. He said "it's always complicated" to talk about the subject but "these things happen a lot." "Hopefully we can continue with this fight," he said. "It's important that Lamine speaks about it. It could help others. We are famous, we have money, we can balance these things better, but the poor people and the Blacks who are everywhere, they surely struggle more than we do. So we have to stick together, those who have a stronger ..
Barcelona may be the last team Hansi Flick coaches. Flick said on Tuesday he doesn't plan on coaching anymore when his stint with Barcelona is over. He spoke ahead of the match against Newcastle in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday. The teams drew 1-1 in England last week. Newly re-elected club president Joan Laporta said he plans to extend the German coach's contract until 2028. Flick said it's not the time to talk about renewing a contract which ends in 2027, but hinted he was keen to end his career at Barcelona. "Everyone knows I'm happy here, but I also need to talk with my family," the 61-year-old Flick said. "There will be time for that. I love working here. I've got a fantastic family and great support in Barcelona. In football, I always aim for the highest level. I'm not thinking about leaving. Barca will be my last club." He did not elaborate on a possible plan in place for his retirement. Laporta was re-elected on Sunday for another five years after winning a
Joan Laporta was reelected as the president of FC Barcelona for another five years after winning a leadership vote among members of the Spanish soccer powerhouse. Shortly after midnight in Barcelona, the club announced Laporta had won. His only rival, Victor Font, had earlier conceded defeat and congratulated Laporta "for his unquestionable victory." With the counting now over, Barcelona said Laporta received 68% of the votes. The club said that more than 48,000 of Barca's 114,000 club members cast ballots at Camp Nou Stadium or at four other voting stations across Catalonia in northeastern Spain and in Andorra. "Thanks to this marvelous club, where its fans still vote to decide who will be their president and executive board," Laporta said in his victory speech inside an auditorium at Camp Nou, flanked by members of his incoming board. Laporta successfully presided over Barca from 2003-10 during the glory years of coach Pep Guardiola and a young Lionel Messi. He was voted back
Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal scored the first hat trick of his career in a 4-1 win over Villarreal that moved his team four points clear atop La Liga. At 18 years, 230 days, Yamal is the youngest player to score his first hat trick in La Liga, according to Opta. His haul included a brilliant solo effort for his second goal, which saw him beat a player as he cut in from the right wing and curl a shot high into the far corner. "He's exceptional and he's here to make people happy," Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said on Saturday. "We need his goals to give him confidence. He's very young and he still has to improve, but everyone knows the quality he has. "Opponents put two or three players on him and that makes it difficult. Today I'm very happy for him. When he enjoys his football, it's perfect for him and for us." Substitute Robert Lewandowski added Barcelona's fourth in stoppage time at Camp Nou. Second-placed Real Madrid hosts Getafe on Monday with a chance to trim Barcelona's
Lamine Yamal missed a penalty as Barcelona lost at Girona 2-1 on Monday and passed up a chance to overtake Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. The defeat was the second in less than a week for Barca and left it second in the table, two points behind Madrid. A win would have taken it above its archrival but, instead, a crisis brewed for coach Hansi Flick, whose side lost to Atletico Madrid 4-0 in the Copa del Rey last week. The second loss came even though Barcelona took the lead early in the second half. Yamal hit the post with his spot kick on the stroke of halftime but 14 minutes into the second period Pau Cubarsi met Jules Kounde's cross from the right and placed his header perfectly into the top corner. The goal was Barcelona's 100th in all competitions this season and made it the second club in Europe's big five domestic leagues to hit the century after Bayern Munich. However, Girona roared back into the game just three minutes later. Barcelona's Joan Garcia was already the
Robert Lewandowski scored a hat trick to help Barcelona gain ground on Real Madrid in the Spanish league. After Madrid was held by Rayo Vallecano to a 0-0 draw its second consecutive setback following a Champions League loss at Liverpool Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal led Barcelona to a 4-2 victory at Celta Vigo to move the Catalan club within three points of the lead. Villarreal, which won 2-0 at Espanyol on Saturday for its third league victory in a row, stayed in third place, five points behind Madrid. Atletico Madrid, which beat Levante 3-1 at home on Saturday, was fourth, six points off the lead. Barcelona's offensive struggles continued it has conceded 16 goals in its last eight matches and hasn't had a clean sheet since September but the attack came through again to secure the team's victory on the road. We made some mistakes, but we did much better in the second half, with more control of the ball and the game, and we defended much better, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick ...