Jose Alberto, coach of Racing Santander, is aware of the difficulty of the task that awaits his team when it faces Barcelona, on Wednesday, at Camp Nou, the stronghold of the Catalan team.
Alberto said in a press conference on Tuesday: “Playing such matches is a dream for all of us.”
He added: “We realize the difficulty of the task in light of Barcelona’s awakening and state, but we will try to perform with courage and boldness while anticipating difficult moments and suffering, but the match will be a good opportunity for us to perform well.”
Camp Nou Stadium was chosen to host the Champions League final in 2029, 30 years after the last time the Catalan city hosted this major European meeting.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick commented: “This is happy news for the club. Camp Nou will be an amazing stadium after the renovation work is completed.”
The Association of Amateur Clubs in Cameroon called for an investigation to be opened against the country's Football Federation and its president, Samuel Eto'o, against the backdrop of media reports that spoke of suspicions of corruption.
Eto'o was accused of illegally receiving a financial payment from the Russian Football Union in connection with a friendly match between the two teams that was held in October 2023.
According to the association’s allegations, the Russian Federation violated the terms of the contract concluded with its Cameroonian counterpart by transferring approximately 567,000 euros ($654,000) to a bank account that does not belong to the Cameroonian Federation.
The League also announced its intention to file a lawsuit against Eto'o, the former striker for Barcelona, Spain and Inter, before the Cameroonian courts, in addition to filing a separate legal complaint in Russia against the Russian Football Federation.
Last month, Eto'o announced his support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who is facing increasing criticism and demands to step down due to a controversial plan, which he later retracted, to sell World Cup rights, saying that the Italian-Swiss official "did not commit anything wrong."
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said that Lamine Yamal, the Catalan team's star, deserves to win the Ballon d'Or, adding that he hopes the uproar over determining the identity of the winner of the World Player of the Year award will end.
Yamal (19 years old) caused a stir about his opinion of the nominees for the prestigious award, during an interview with the Movistar Plus channel.
Yamal, who won the local league and Super Cup titles with Barcelona and the World Cup with the Spanish national team, indicated that he sees himself and Kylian Mbappe, the Real Madrid star, as the closest to winning the award, adding that his titles give him an advantage to win this award, which will be presented at a ceremony that will be held in London next month.
Flick said in a press conference on Tuesday, before facing Racing Santander in the Spanish League on Wednesday evening: “Choosing the best player in the world is a difficult question to answer. I can only talk about Yamal, and I will not talk about Mbappe.”
The German coach added: “Lamine performs wonderfully on the field, and expresses his opinion clearly and confidently. I would have preferred him not to speak in this way, but he is frank, and I will support him.”
He added in statements reported by the British news agency (BA Media): “I agree with him that he deserves to win the award after winning two titles with Barcelona and the World Cup with Spain, and there are many wonderful players, and I hope this controversy will end.”
He continued: “I also hope that this does not affect the players’ concentration. Awards and titles will come at the appropriate time, and we must work with focus and seriousness, and then the results will come one after the other.”
Flick also said: “Winning the Ballon d’Or or any other award does not matter. Rather, what is more important is the team’s achievements.”
Barcelona achieved the full mark by winning all six of its matches this season, including a landslide victory over Dutch Feyenoord, 5-1, at the start of its Champions League campaign.
Flick warned his players not to underestimate the confrontation with Racing Santander.
The German coach said: “We only think about winning every match, and our current focus is on Wednesday’s match. We will play among our fans against a distinguished team, and it will not be an easy confrontation. So we must perform with high concentration.”
