Page 45 - Soccer360 - Issue 103

Griezmann’s time at FC Barcelona may not have brought him all the success he had hoped for, but it did allow him to add 74 more LA LIGA appearances that also count towards this great milestone
of 500 LA LIGA appearances. Under Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setién and Ronald Koeman, he scored a total of 22 goals before returning to Los Colchoneros.
His tally is all the more impressive when considering that only 36 other players in the history of LA LIGA have managed to reach that figure,
and the Frenchman is close to being the foreigner with the most appearances, as his 500 games means he is closing in on the 520 played by Lionel Messi. On the overall podium stand Rubén Castro, with 717 appearances, Nino, with 709, and Robert Fernández, with 674.
Among his honours, Griezmann has one LA LIGA HYPERMOTION championship to his name, the one won with Real Sociedad in the 2009/10 season. However, he has yet to win the main title, that of LA LIGA, which has eluded him in past seasons and with which he has a curious history. When he arrived at Atlético de Madrid in 2014, the capital city team had just become champions. The same thing happened to him in 2019, when he signed for FC Barcelona, who had just won the league title. Then, his return to Los Rojiblancos in 2021 also coincided with Atlético de Madrid’s recent victory in LA LIGA in the 2020/21 season.
As a 2018 World Cup winner with France and boasting many club and national team trophies to his name, the player with 500 appearances in LA LIGA has this one major objective left in his career in Spanish football. He was one of the best players in LA LIGA last season and hopes to lead Atlético de Madrid to glory in 2023/24.
Pablo Torre
Jonathan Bamba
5 TO WATCH
FIVE UNDER-THE-RADAR SIGNINGS WHO COULD BE KEY THIS SEASON.
After dazzling at Real Racing Club de Santander, Pablo Torre signed for FC Barcelona but didn’t have an easy first season at the Catalan club. Now, he is taking the tried and tested road of leaving the club on loan
for one season in search of minutes and the chance to show his quality. He’ll look to do
this at Girona FC, where he’ll find a coach, in Míchel, who loves good football and players with the quality that the Cantabrian possesses. “I really like Girona FC’s style of play and
I think this year can help me to grow as a footballer, that’s why I wanted to come here,” the player stated at his presentation.
JONATHAN BAMBA: LILLE TO RC CELTA
Luis Campos, a connoisseur of French football, has brought to Vigo one of the top performers in the Lille side that miraculously won Ligue
1 two seasons ago: Jonathan Bamba. “There were many offers, but Luis Campos was key in convincing me to come to RC Celta, as he told me a lot about the club and its surroundings,” said the player. The left winger will be a great addition to Rafa Benítez’s new project in Vigo, in what is a special year due to the club’s centenary celebrations.
Not only has Quique Setién gained a proven goalscorer, but this is a player who also has
a great personal story behind him. Born in England to an English father and Chilean mother, Brereton Díaz played in the youth set- up of England until Chile learned about him and convinced him to represent his mother’s country. Since then, he has made progress with the Spanish language, has incorporated his mother’s surname onto the back of his shirt and now he arrives at the Estadio de la Cerámica ready to make a name for himself in Spanish football.
MARC ROCA: LEEDS UNITED TO REAL BETIS
Marc Roca’s foreign adventure may not have gone as well as he had hoped. After leaving RCD Espanyol for Bayern Munich and not playing too many games for the German club, the midfielder departed for Leeds United to get back to his best and now he has returned to Spain to join Real Betis. They hope that the promising player who was once so marvellous for RCD Espanyol will be one of the key cogs in Manuel Pellegrini’s system.
It is difficult for Alejandro Catena to go unnoticed, given his height of 194 centimetres and given his immediate impact upon arrival at CA Osasuna. In a pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad, the centre-back scored a hat- trick in the first half of the game, making his height and superior aerial ability count. After several seasons of being Rayo Vallecano’s defensive leader, he’ll now wear the red of CA Osasuna and play in Europe with the Navarre side, while he’ll surely continue to stand out
as one of the most impressive defenders in LALIGA.
PABLO TORRE: FC BARCELONA TO
GIRONA FC
Ben Brereton Diaz
BEN BRERETON DÍAZ: BLACKBURN ROVERS
TO VILLARREAL CF
Griezmann and the objective of winning LA LIGA
Marc Roca
ALEJANDRO CATENA: RAYO VALLECANO
Alejandro Catena
TO CA OSASUNA
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