Lewandowski and Falcao brought out the ‘9’ again to start the League

One of the attractions of the premiere of League 2022-23 it is to see it again Barcelona renewed and exciting, finally in an official match. It is this coming Saturday at Camp Nou (9:00 pm), match Vallecano Ray of Andoni Iraola, who last season won six points in the dispute against the Barça team. In the first round, in Vallecas, the match was decided by a goal from Radamel Falcao, worldwide, one of the most prominent scorers of the last decade. The 36-year-old Colombian scored that goal against Barça with the number 3 on his back, an odd number in his career. For this League is about to begin, as it progresses BrandFalcao will take back his fetish dorsal, the 9to be loaned to him by the teammate who wore it last season, the French striker Randy Nteka. The surprising event is that Falcao’s imminent ‘investiture’ in 9 del Rayo coincides with the possession of 9 of Robert Lewandowski at Barca. In the case of the Polish Golden Boot it is Memphis Depay who took off the 9 he wore last season to play Gamper with 25. Lewandowski He played his first three friendlies as a Barcelona player with 12.

Logically, behind these coincidental decisions there are marketing interests related to the football symbolism of that number, especially when it comes to two legendary scorers like Lewandowski Y Falcao. Soon to be 34, the former hammer of Bayernand with 36 the batter of River Plate, Port, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray Y Monacois about to start a championship in which the goal seems to be a matter of professional experts in the field, like the madridista Karim Benzemathat of theirs 34 years is in the best moment of his life as a striker, with the success of the previous ‘Pichichi’ as proof, as Iago Aspaswhat’s up 35 years He finished the eighth year as the leading Spanish gunner in the championship. Barça have another full and veteran specialist from the rival area, pierre aubameyangwith the 33 yearswhile Rayo has advanced to the Spanish-Brazilian playoff Diego Costaalso included 33 years.

Coincidence or not, then three games with 12 In his Barça shirt, Lewandowski made his debut as a culé scorer in the preseason with 9 on his back, to the delight of 83,021 spectators who on Sunday saw Barça beat the Mexican Pumas 6-0 in Gamper at the Camp Nou . In his jump to the elite of the Polish League, in Lech Poznańled by Lewandowski the 8even acting as a second striker when signed for Borussia Dortmundwhere is he 7 his back barely lasted the 2010-11 academic year.

The award 9 to Lewandowski is mainly reminiscent of his life in 2003 Ronaldinho Gaucho when signing for Barça, keeping a number, in that case the 10who until then looked Juan Roman Riquelme. Until Lewandowski, the president of Barcelona Joan Laporta He argued that it was “a club decision, an advertising image” and clarified that “Memphis fully understood this”. Roger Torello reported on MD that Lewandowski spoke with the Dutch striker about the matter at the Ciutat Esportiva de Sant Joan Despí. In 534 goals in his 739 official matches with his clubs –Lech Poznań, Borussia Dortmund Y Bayern– Lewandowski will try to maintain his impressive goalscoring rhythm at Barça, where in individual terms he is seeking his first ‘Pichichi’ in the League and a third Golden Shoe in a row.

Meanwhile, Falcao is recovering from some discomfort in his sights set on the premiere of a League at Camp Nou, The international coffee scorer hopes to have a physical regularity that will allow him to clearly improve the records which he set in his first season at Raywith six goals, one of them to beat Barça and bring comfort to the culé bench of ronald koeman through Xavi Hernandez. Throughout his career, 303 goals in 540 games fit Falcao’s high profile as a luxurious finisher.