Without Messi, Piqué, Busquets or Alba, in the last two years Barcelona has lost four of its players. four captains But the rivalry with Real Madrid is guaranteed with Gavi. Just look at what happened at the WiZink Center in Madrid during the celebration of the Nations League won by the Spanish national team.
Blaugrana’s Gavi was the victim of an unpleasant episode of barcelonitis, as he was scolded by a noisy section of the public. To the point that he even had to interrupt his speech in the face of cries of “Bitch Barça”. Being one of the icons of the new Barcelona project weighed more heavily on these fans than being a part of La Roja’s fifth great success.
The Andalusian interior took the microphone almost out of obligation when Fabián Ruiz, from Los Palacios like himself and Navas, took it out in the middle of the stage and started the chant for them to chant his name. Gavi started to speak but had to stop twice, first because of the commotion in the audience and then because of the shouts and insults. Visibly uncomfortable, Gavi sped up his words. It barely lasted 40 seconds. “Good afternoon everyone. I will be brief, I wanted to thank all the Spaniards and all the fans who have supported us in these two matches. Without them it would not have been possible. We will be eternally grateful to them. Long live Spain”, he finished. Jordi Alba’s face, with his arms folded, said it all.
Seeing the nature of events, Barcelona wanted to express their support for the player, only 18 years old, who has seen himself in the eye of the hurricane in an absurd way. Yesterday he published a photo on the networks of Gavi kissing the club crest on the shirt, which is how he usually celebrates his goals. Gavi appreciated the gesture. “Always Barça”, wrote the young footballer on Instagram, who accompanied the text with two hearts, one blue and one red.
League and Super Cup champion and winner of the Kopa Trophy and the Golden Boy, as well as being the youngest debutant for Spain – when he was only 17 years and 62 days old – his appearance should be seen as magnificent news. Despite this, Gavi has been immersed in an extemporaneous controversy, a debate that was believed to be over: that of the Barça-Madrid war in the national team.
And it’s not the first time it’s happened to him in his short career. “I guess the problem is that he is a Barça player. If he was from another team, the flaw would be a virtue”, Xavi defended him when he was accused of being too intense.
The truth is that this course has become the scourge of the whites. After being a substitute in the Bernabéu defeat (3-1), his contest was key in the final of the Super Cup in Arabia, where he opened the scoring and assisted in the other two Blaugrana goals (3-0). There was some hair-pulling by Ceballos near the end. It didn’t stop there. Gavi kept him there and in Barça’s La Liga win at the Camp Nou (2-1) he gave Ceballos a push from behind. In the Cup (0-4 for Madrid) he faced several times with Vinícius.
In a very short time, Gavi has become an indispensable piece for Barça. Despite his youth, he has played 47 and 49 games in his first two seasons in the elite. The club has even gone to court to enroll him in LaLiga with a number from the first team. Just yesterday, the player’s number appeared again on the LaLiga website with number 6 as a precautionary measure. But he has also reached the national team to stay there. Since Luis Enrique made his debut on October 6, 2021, Spain has played 21 matches and the midfielder has played them all, 17 as a starter and four coming off the bench.
The Nations League was Spain’s first title in 11 years and many of those who went to the party were too young to remember the golden era of the national team, which between 2008 and 2012 won two European Cups and a World Cup with a strong group of Barcelona fans and the influence of the style. Out of ignorance, some decided to collect their bill with Gavi at the least convenient time.
