Few had it down as a good development for Raphinha when Lamine Yamal burst from Barcelona’s youth ranks to make the position on the right wing his own.
That was where the Brazilian preferred to play, but his performances had been hot-and-cold since moving from Leeds United, the fans had not really warmed to him, and he appeared set to leave because Barca needed money and there were willing suitors in the Premier League.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham were all interested when he left Elland Road in 2022 and offered more than Barcelona, but he wanted a move to the Nou Camp for a couple of reasons.
One, his father had idolised Ronaldinho in Barca colours. Two, Deco, his agent and long-time mentor, had represented the Catalan giants and still had strong connections.
Deco, who would forgo his agent’s fee to make the deal happen, is no longer an agent but Barca’s sporting director and Raphinha, arguably the most important player in the team, suddenly prominent in public debate about the world’s best footballer.
It has been a remarkable transformation under Hansi Flick, who has maximised his versatility, speed and work rate, sometimes running him free as No 10 and often off the left with a licence to drift.
Raphinha has pieced together a Ballon d’Or worthy campaign from a free-roaming position
Raphinha has scored 13 goals and provided seven assists in 26 games in this season’s LaLiga
The winger has scored the most non-penalty goals in the Champions League this season (nine)
The results have been exceptional. Raphinha has 13 goals and seven assists in 26 games in this season’s LaLiga. In the Champions League, he has nine goals in nine games, making him the top scorer in the competition minus penalties.
Moreover, he is influencing big games at key times, a gift that elevates the very good into the ranks of the great, such as his goal at Benfica on Wednesday, to clinch a 1-0 win for 10-man Barcelona in the away leg of the last-16 tie.
Complete the victory and Flick’s team will face Borussia Dortmund or Lille with the reward a place in the semi-finals for the first time since Lionel Messi’s prime years.
Raphinha leads the crusade and this enhanced status is reflected in Brazil, where boss Dorival Junior agreed last week that Raphinha was ‘a serious candidate’ for the Ballon d’Or.
Brazil’s head coach is expected to blend the 28-year-old Barcelona forward into an attacking quartet with Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo of Real Madrid, and Neymar, who is another born-again after his return to Santos, for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina.
Dorival did not miss a chance to gently scorn the media either, reminding them how Raphinha had been among those most heavily criticised during last year’s Copa America when Brazil flopped.
Those aware of Raphinha’s origin story never doubted his competitive courage.
He spent six of his teenage years in the varzea, Brazil’s network of unofficial amateur leagues where they often play on red-dirt pitches without nets or kits, and where intimidation is common.
Brazil’s head coach, Dorival Junior, agreed that Raphinha is a genuine Ballon d’Or contender
Raphinha moved from Leeds to Barcelona in 2022 for a £55million fee including add-ons
‘The varzea makes you hot-headed,’ he told Mail Sport’s Josue Seixas, while at Leeds in 2021. ‘If you can’t be aggressive and focused, the guys will eat you up.’
It primed him for a career which has been anything but a charmed procession, through unfashionable outposts like Avai in Florianopolis, Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal and to Rennes in France after a year at Sporting.
Two years at Leeds under Marcelo Bielsa was spent battling for survival in the Premier League before sealing his dream move to Barcelona. His success is for those who fight and refuse to give up. Nobody is eating him up.
12 months on
12 months have passed since an emotional night at Bournemouth for the rescheduled Premier League game against Luton originally abandoned when Tom Lockyer suffered a heart attack.
Home fans raised money towards travel costs for away fans and Lockyer returned to a standing ovation and met the paramedics who had saved his life.
The entire experience bonded the clubs tightly together and the football thrilled, as Bournemouth came from 3-0 down to win 4-3, a momentous comeback to propel the clubs into different orbits.
Andoni Iraola and his team are still on the rise, chasing a place in Europe for the first time while bigger clubs covet his talent and several of his players.
Rob Edwards, so impressive in his public handling of Lockyer’s health scare as well as his attempts to defy the odds as relegation favourites, is out of work and Luton are in danger of crashing through the Championship. The horror probably hit the club harder than they realised at the time.
12 months have passed since Tom Lockyer suffered a heart attack against Bournemouth
Lockyer, having decided to continue playing, has been out all season with an ankle injury which has required two operations.
It might be next season before he is back in the team, by when Luton could be in League One. They are five points from safety with 10 to play. Bournemouth could be in the Europe.
