The Pride of Vallekas

Today's article is not filled with words. Rather, it is a mini-project I've been working on for a week but have decided to end. I was trying to assemble photos of Abdoulaye Ba in the news - all of them. Yes, every transfer rumor and done deal that I could find. Why, you ask?  I was trying to see what attention a "promising" youngster actually gets. I attempted to do all, but settled on news mentions to Premier League clubs, a league he has never played in. And even if I missed out a mention here or there, what I found was a fabricated ecosystem that we all consume. I hope you enjoy watching it from the outside. The first time Abdoulaye Ba became a "thing" was July 3, 2012, when talkSPORT linked him to West Ham, Stoke City and QPR. Then ESPN linked him to Aston Villa: And then the Daily Mail reported that the deal looked dead: But Mail Online wouldn't give up, saying that Aston Villa wouldn't give up. But then nothing. ...

Today's article is all about players who moved in 2015. Asunción-based club Cerro Porteño shockingly released legendary Spanish goalscorer Daniel Güiza, who was the Pichichi winner in 2008 playing for seventh place Mallorca – ahead of the likes of Luís Fabiano, Sergio Agüero, Raúl, David Villa, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Diego Forlán, Frédéric Kanouté and Samuel Eto’o. He was instrumental in Spain’s Euro 2008 win too. In 2015, the then 35-year-old, signed for third-tier Andalusia-based Cádiz. Whose fans were irritated by his origin from fierce rivals Xerez, and by his commitment made ten years ago to never play for – you guessed it – Cádiz. And yet, less than a year later, it was Güiza who scored the only goal at Hércules in the second leg of the play-off finals (2–0 on aggregate), helping the club return to the second division after six years. Look at Asturian player Miguel Marcos Madera aka “Míchel”. In January 2010 he was a Sporting Gijón legend, joined Birmingham and was ...