Raphinha, the Brazilian who doesn’t look Brazilian takes advantage of Dembélé’s new drama

by time news

BarcelonaThe arrival of Raphinha at Barça generated some surprise among the coaching staff. The Brazilian winger was not a request from the coach. What Xavi really wanted was for the club to make Ousmane Dembélé’s renewal effective. For this reason, once the continuity of the Gallic winger was secured, he preferred that efforts be focused on strengthening other demarcations of the field that had also been left limp. But Joan Laporta went for the right, in an operation that cost more than 60 million and that had the intermediation of Deco, ex-Blaugrana footballer and now the footballer’s agent.

Raphinha has had to live since the summer with the stigma of not being anyone’s favorite footballer. Xavi already made it very clear from the first day, in the lineups and in the press rooms, that his franchise winger was Dembélé, of whom he has often repeated that “well worked can become the best in the world in his position” . The footballer has also not been one of the most loved by the fans, partly because he is a Brazilian who does not look Brazilian. His football has nothing to do with what other cariocas like Neymar and Vinícius exhibit. He has lived in the shadows, as a luxury substitute or playing in a position that was not his favorite, until with Dembélé’s injury he was seen as the marshal on the right side. With the goal in San Mamés, which meant the agonizing victory against Athletic Club, Raphinha already has nine goals this season. But the most important detail is that between goals and assists he has already contributed to giving 15 points to a team that leads the League with an iron hand.

The road has been tough for Raphinha, a left-footer who likes to play on the right wing. It’s your comfort zone. To the point that, when Xavi relegated him to the left (the right was for Dembélé), he asked the coach to “make him play on the right” because on the other side “he didn’t contribute much”. It’s not just the position, it’s also the minutes. Raphinha has played in 37 of Barça’s 39 games, but has only started in 23. They are 2,048 minutes, 61% of the total. Although, beyond this statistic, the real problem is the substitutions: of the 37 games, only 2 have been played to the end. In 35 it has been replaced. And this caused him, in the game at the Camp Nou against Manchester United, to have a monumental tantrum on the bench. He came to need the help of his colleagues to calm down. At the end of the game he apologized to the coach.

Raphinha has scored nine goals and provided nine assists

Raphinha has scored nine goals (one every four games) and provided nine assists. In the ranking of effectiveness, he already surpasses Dembélé (8 goals) and is only behind Lewandowski, the team’s little one (25). The Brazilian’s individual contribution has been particularly key in the last two League games, where he has scored the goals in the victories against Valencia and Athletic Club. The other decisive goal came in Pamplona, ​​in a match in which Lewandowski was sent off and where, with a header in the 85th minute, he completed the Blaugrana comeback and gave the team the three points in the last match before of the stoppage of the World Cup. To these goals, we must add two decisive assists: one at Mestalla, serving a magnificent ball for Lewandowski to score the winning goal in stoppage time; and another against Getafe, with a cross that Pedri finished off at Camp Nou.

The Brazilian winger is in a good moment of form and Barça needs him to extend the streak, at least, one more game. And it is that Ousmane Dembélé, injured in his left thigh in Montilivi (January 28), will remain on leave until after the national team break. The recovery was planned for a month, but it will end up being two, as confirmed in the Barça dressing room. Therefore, in Sunday’s La Liga classic, where the Blaugrana can leave the La Liga open for judgment – ​​if they win they would leave Real Madrid 12 points behind –, Raphinha will keep his place on the right side of the attack.

Raphinha’s departure this summer is unlikely

Listed in England after a fairly successful move to Leeds, Raphinha was a marquee player who had many suitors in the summer. One of them, Chelsea. Deco’s intermediation was key to him ending up at Barça. Despite the fact that his start to the championship was irregular – in scoring statistics and in the role given to him by the coach -, he continues to be a winger with a lot of potential. From the Camp Nou offices, they say that they received offers in January, but that they rejected them. In the summer it is very likely that more will arrive, although their exit remains difficult. Beyond the fact that the coaching staff is very happy with their performance, Barça lives suffocated by the fair play financial and the departure would only pay off if the club received a proposal that far exceeded the 60 million it cost. If not, it is unlikely that he will move from Barcelona.

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