Every four years the FIFA World Cup takes place in a different country around the globe, allowing senior men’s national teams to compete against each other in a colossal soccer tournament.
The event holds a strong cultural significance for both the hosting country and the visiting nations, creating a sense of unity and reunion by playing the most diverse and international sport that exists in the surface of the earth today. However, the 2014 FIFA World Cup also has major economic, political, social, and environmental impacts that affect both the hosting country and its people.
In term of cultural significance, Brazilian football, unlike any other cultural interpretation of a particular sport, is considered a sacred and serious game. For Brazilians, soccer is everything. And for the government, soccer is a way of making money. For the past four years, Brazil’s government has spent close to 14 billion dollars on the construction and renovation of the 12 stadiums, urban mobility projects, security personnel, tourism infrastructures, and networks services among others. Yet, how much of this money has been spent on the people of Brazil? None.
Additionally, the tournament is creating an environment of social inequality and frustration among the people. As demonstrations and strikes rise in the cities of Brazil, social movements claim that 170,000 people have been threatened with eviction from their homes in the favelas, while hundreds of bulldozers tear then down and make room to hold the World Cup facilities.
On the other hand, it is worth mentioning that this World Cup will likely have some positive outcomes (government predicts). For example, Brazil’s hosting of the tournament will generate jobs (3.63 million jobs/year), increase tax collections, benefit cities’ GDP, and improve the national production of goods and services all around the country. At least there is some good news after all.
Last but not least is the impact on the environment. Due to Brazil’s rapid economic growth in the past years, the Amazon rainforest, which produces 20% of the earth’s oxygen and drinkable fresh water, will likely disappear in the next coming years. Why? Well, the need to obtain natural fuels to feed the necessities of the hungry tourists is pushing the industries to race the forest as a fast speed as a way to produce as much goods as possible.
Overall, the 2014 FIFA World Cup is a significant tournament that brings people together from all around the world in a celebration of the beautiful game of soccer. However, this “dark side” of the tournament makes Brazilians forget the cultural and social implications of the game and embrace a much more negative perspective towards it.
Therefore, it is important to look at the big picture and examine the 2014 World Cup from both sides of the argument (government and people), in order to understand in the most accurate way as possible the economic, social, political, and environmental issues that are taking place today in Brazil.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Luis Suarez: the passion of football reflected in an attitude
Uruguayan player Luis Suarez is in love with soccer. For the past year, he has become the player who has scored goals for passion and not for fame. He is, as soccer fans will say, a striker for love reasons. At his 27 years of age, Suarez has become a professional and talented player that scores goals for personal reasons: love and passion. Coming from a poor class family, Suarez started playing professional soccer so he could travel and live with his girlfriend, who had been living in Spain since she was 13.
Suarez's performance against England this past week clearly demonstrated how he is a man capable of doing things for honorable reasons. In the match, Suarez scored the 2 winning goals that allowed Uruguay to make it to the next round. What's even more impressive is that with only 28 days after a knee operation, he is still back in business. An incredible recovery seen by the fans as a "miracle" and as "bad news" for England's National Team, who is now officially out of the World Cup. Suarez story had made many people fall in love with a player who decided to play the game for the love he had for it.
He is not only on of the feared strikers in the world these days but also the top scoring player in the Premier League this past season with 31 goals and 14 assists. At the age of 15, Suarez received the advice of his wife and mother of his two sons Sofia Balbi of becoming a professional soccer player. When Sofia moved to Barcelona with his parents, Suarez found another reason to become a professional athlete.
Since Suarez belonged to a family with little to no money, the only chance of seeing his girlfriend again was to become a profession athlete and hopefully receive an offer from a European club. Well, his wish became come true when in 2006 he started playing for Dutch team FC Groningen. One year after that, in 2007, Suarez was sold to Dutch team AFC Ajax. It was at this moment of his career that Suarez knew that his dream had become a reality.
Much has changed for this player in the past years. When he was 13 years old, Suarez confesses that he "started to hang out with the wrong people" and to avoid playing the sport that he loved the most, soccer. However, a couple of years later, his life entered a different stage when he moved to Montevideo with his seven brothers. Once there, his parents divorced and Suarez abandoned the game.
This is the time when Wilson Pirez, formal coach at the time of his team Nacional, decided to give Suarez one more chance of staying in the team. It was when his girlfriend Sofia convinced him of playing the sport for living that he began to change his attitude both in and outside of the field and realize that he had to score goals in order to become the best. Suarez beat the team's scoring record that year after scoring a total of 63 goals in the season.
Suarez then played for 5 more years with his team Nacional, until at the age of 18 he achieved his first goal: playing in Europe. However, immediately after he started playing professional soccer, he achieved his second and most desired objective: living with girlfriend Sofia, first in Holland and then in England where he started playing for Liverpool. Like out of nowhere, Suarez transformed himself into a scoring machine and became in only a couple of years what many soccer players around the world wish for: a professional soccer player in love with the game.
Suarez's performance against England this past week clearly demonstrated how he is a man capable of doing things for honorable reasons. In the match, Suarez scored the 2 winning goals that allowed Uruguay to make it to the next round. What's even more impressive is that with only 28 days after a knee operation, he is still back in business. An incredible recovery seen by the fans as a "miracle" and as "bad news" for England's National Team, who is now officially out of the World Cup. Suarez story had made many people fall in love with a player who decided to play the game for the love he had for it.
He is not only on of the feared strikers in the world these days but also the top scoring player in the Premier League this past season with 31 goals and 14 assists. At the age of 15, Suarez received the advice of his wife and mother of his two sons Sofia Balbi of becoming a professional soccer player. When Sofia moved to Barcelona with his parents, Suarez found another reason to become a professional athlete.
Since Suarez belonged to a family with little to no money, the only chance of seeing his girlfriend again was to become a profession athlete and hopefully receive an offer from a European club. Well, his wish became come true when in 2006 he started playing for Dutch team FC Groningen. One year after that, in 2007, Suarez was sold to Dutch team AFC Ajax. It was at this moment of his career that Suarez knew that his dream had become a reality.
Much has changed for this player in the past years. When he was 13 years old, Suarez confesses that he "started to hang out with the wrong people" and to avoid playing the sport that he loved the most, soccer. However, a couple of years later, his life entered a different stage when he moved to Montevideo with his seven brothers. Once there, his parents divorced and Suarez abandoned the game.
This is the time when Wilson Pirez, formal coach at the time of his team Nacional, decided to give Suarez one more chance of staying in the team. It was when his girlfriend Sofia convinced him of playing the sport for living that he began to change his attitude both in and outside of the field and realize that he had to score goals in order to become the best. Suarez beat the team's scoring record that year after scoring a total of 63 goals in the season.Suarez then played for 5 more years with his team Nacional, until at the age of 18 he achieved his first goal: playing in Europe. However, immediately after he started playing professional soccer, he achieved his second and most desired objective: living with girlfriend Sofia, first in Holland and then in England where he started playing for Liverpool. Like out of nowhere, Suarez transformed himself into a scoring machine and became in only a couple of years what many soccer players around the world wish for: a professional soccer player in love with the game.
Brazil and their chaotic transportation system
Brazil is consider today to be one of the countries with the highest number of airports and roads in the world. However, what is good for some people is bad for others. The public transportation system in Brazil represents a big issue for the people that make short trips in the main cities, especially for the fans. Sometimes short rides that seem efficient and faster than other modes of transportation, are not always the best choice. Taking the bus to go cheer for your country or just grabbing a train to go back to your hotel, is a tedious and slow way of traveling.
For the rest of the world, relying on public transportation to move around the city is an efficient and easy way to travel, but for the 4 million people that visit Brazil for the 2014 World Cup is a nightmare. Also, visitors who want to see most of the matches have to travel between the 12 hosting cities of the World Cup, which can become another issue since Brazil holds one of the heaviest traffic in the world. So, how did Brazil commit this mistake?
For the past four years, the south american country has received money from state entities ($13.750 millions to be exact), to renovate the public infrastructure, build more hotels, and rearrange the satellite system so that half of the world (3.500 million people) could watch the World Cup on their TV's. How ridiculous is that?
The moment has come for Brazil to ask themselves a critical question: have all this investments and planning for the past 4 years been worth it? Are Brazil's public transportation systems ready to move massive amounts of tourists? I think not.
The biggest issues happen in the cities where the matches are taking place. Even know the government tries to reduce the agglomeration of traffic with labor breaks and the reduction of working hours, the respond isn't enough. During the first days of the competition, the cities of Brasilia, El Salvador, Fortaleza and Belo Horizonte registered the first sings of heavy traffic that made the government realize that the public transportation was not good enough to hold that many people.
In Rio the Janeiro, the city officials have calculated that approximately 320.000 people take the buses that connect the airports in Brazil with the host cities of the World Cup.
At the same time this is happening, the country believes that the remodeling and expansion done to the airports in the cities will allow the capacity these places can hold to grow up to 81% during the tournament.
The most important thing, experts say, is to improve the quality of its infrastructure so it can become an efficient, clean, and cheap mode of transportation. Whether this will happen or not, time will say. Clearly, Brazil needs to solve this problem since it represents a threat to both the quality of the service provided in the 2014 Fifa World Cup and the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympics that are going to take place in the city of Rio de Janeiro two years from now.
For the rest of the world, relying on public transportation to move around the city is an efficient and easy way to travel, but for the 4 million people that visit Brazil for the 2014 World Cup is a nightmare. Also, visitors who want to see most of the matches have to travel between the 12 hosting cities of the World Cup, which can become another issue since Brazil holds one of the heaviest traffic in the world. So, how did Brazil commit this mistake?
For the past four years, the south american country has received money from state entities ($13.750 millions to be exact), to renovate the public infrastructure, build more hotels, and rearrange the satellite system so that half of the world (3.500 million people) could watch the World Cup on their TV's. How ridiculous is that?
The moment has come for Brazil to ask themselves a critical question: have all this investments and planning for the past 4 years been worth it? Are Brazil's public transportation systems ready to move massive amounts of tourists? I think not.
The biggest issues happen in the cities where the matches are taking place. Even know the government tries to reduce the agglomeration of traffic with labor breaks and the reduction of working hours, the respond isn't enough. During the first days of the competition, the cities of Brasilia, El Salvador, Fortaleza and Belo Horizonte registered the first sings of heavy traffic that made the government realize that the public transportation was not good enough to hold that many people.
In Rio the Janeiro, the city officials have calculated that approximately 320.000 people take the buses that connect the airports in Brazil with the host cities of the World Cup.
At the same time this is happening, the country believes that the remodeling and expansion done to the airports in the cities will allow the capacity these places can hold to grow up to 81% during the tournament.
The most important thing, experts say, is to improve the quality of its infrastructure so it can become an efficient, clean, and cheap mode of transportation. Whether this will happen or not, time will say. Clearly, Brazil needs to solve this problem since it represents a threat to both the quality of the service provided in the 2014 Fifa World Cup and the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympics that are going to take place in the city of Rio de Janeiro two years from now.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Say goodbye to "ghost goals"
The FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) has added an incredible piece of technology in the goals of the 2014 World Cup, known as Goal- Line Technology (GLT). This is the latest method of determining when a ball has completely crossed the goal line with the assistance of electronic devices, at the same time it helps the referee in their decision of awarding a goal or not. The controversy regarding the Germany vs. England match in the 2010 World Cup (4-1), in where a bad call from the referee allowed the germans to win the match, has risen the awareness about this issue and the need to find a good solution to make the game fairer.
The system, which incorporates a total of 14 cameras (7 for each goal), is already making the difference in the 2014 World Cup. Johannes Holzmuller, Coordinator of FIFA's Quality Program says, "the objective of implementing this technology in the field is to help the referees when making decisions in the game". Sometimes, it's not always obvious whether or not a ball has crossed the line or not. Not even with a television camera. Therefore, this technology will reduce the number of blind spots in the game while minimizing the margin of error.
The new system, which is run by the german company GoalControl GmBh, substitutes the vision of a human eye (16 shots per second) and the only point of view that the referees have for high speed cameras that capture 500 shots per second and cover all of the possible angles of a soccer ball. The cameras, located around the field at a high distance, immediately capture the position of the ball in three dimensions when it's approaching the goal, at the same time it sends the data to a software of a computer unit located inside the stadium. If a ball goes across the line of one of the goals, all of the four referees in the game receive a signal in their hand watches in less than a second. In other words, there is no margin of error.
"The most important thing" Holzmuller says, "is that the number of incidents and bad calls will be reduced while improving the fairness of the game". Also, this technology will be used by 12 stadiums in the World Cup, with a margin of error less than couple of millimeters. This technology also represents a major improvement for people that bet on the game. Sometimes, winning or loosing money depends on whether a goal is in or outside the line. Therefore, it is important that this technology makes the game more accurate and precise at all times. The system that the technology relies on is revised by both FIFA agencies and the referee of the game before and after the game. They also have the choice of not using it in the game, if they find something suspicious or that generates doubt.
The system, which incorporates a total of 14 cameras (7 for each goal), is already making the difference in the 2014 World Cup. Johannes Holzmuller, Coordinator of FIFA's Quality Program says, "the objective of implementing this technology in the field is to help the referees when making decisions in the game". Sometimes, it's not always obvious whether or not a ball has crossed the line or not. Not even with a television camera. Therefore, this technology will reduce the number of blind spots in the game while minimizing the margin of error.
The new system, which is run by the german company GoalControl GmBh, substitutes the vision of a human eye (16 shots per second) and the only point of view that the referees have for high speed cameras that capture 500 shots per second and cover all of the possible angles of a soccer ball. The cameras, located around the field at a high distance, immediately capture the position of the ball in three dimensions when it's approaching the goal, at the same time it sends the data to a software of a computer unit located inside the stadium. If a ball goes across the line of one of the goals, all of the four referees in the game receive a signal in their hand watches in less than a second. In other words, there is no margin of error.
"The most important thing" Holzmuller says, "is that the number of incidents and bad calls will be reduced while improving the fairness of the game". Also, this technology will be used by 12 stadiums in the World Cup, with a margin of error less than couple of millimeters. This technology also represents a major improvement for people that bet on the game. Sometimes, winning or loosing money depends on whether a goal is in or outside the line. Therefore, it is important that this technology makes the game more accurate and precise at all times. The system that the technology relies on is revised by both FIFA agencies and the referee of the game before and after the game. They also have the choice of not using it in the game, if they find something suspicious or that generates doubt.
The technology always runs offline, meaning that nobody outside of the stadium can manipulate the system through the Internet. This is a new piece of equipment that has been put to the test in earlier competitions like the 2013 Confederation Cup in Brazil as well as other tournaments in England and Holland. Finally, it is safe to say that FIFA is aiming to make the sport as fair and accurate as possible for both the teams and all the fans out there. Thank you FIFA.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Kids in the favelas and their passion for soccer
Photographer Christoph Simon says, "In the favelas in Brazil, kids play soccer anywhere and any time of the day. They play with worn-out balls, in dusty fields, or even against the walls of a house...". Christoph claims that this is the real spirit of the first favela he ever captured with a camera, known as Cidade de Deus (City of God) in Rio de Janeiro. The favela, which is one most famous neighborhoods in the city, is composed of 700 households in an environment full of violence, and where public services like schools or hospitals are not even present. For more than one year, Christoph has been using this scenario as a personal project to frame a neighborhood full of youth and soccer.
Back in 2011, Simon was 50 years old and decided to take part in a project in Rio de Janeiro that would combine photography, kids enthusiasm, and soccer. Christoph says, "Before the start of the 2014 World Cup, I was looking for a way to illustrate the origins of the passion that brazilians have for the world of soccer. So I decided to go to the core of this spirit and ask the kids from the favelas to show me their passion for the sport from their own perspective".
It didn't take much time for the project to start. Simon started to take photographs with Tony Barros, a local photographer and director of the school Lente dos Sonhos (The lense of dreams), and started to frame that passion is several of them. In the weekends, Barros and Simon would go to all around the favela of Cidade de Deus to recruit voluntaries for their photos. Surprisingly, in just a couple of months, most of the photographs reflected just what they were looking for: passion for soccer.
From the beginning of the project, both Simon and Barros had the intention in mind of capturing images where soccer was the main theme. "The most difficult part of the project" Christoph says, "was to make sure that kids wouldn't pose for the photos. It took a while; however, I think I achieved my goal. It was truly fascinating and enjoyable to work with this people. They were always listening and paying attention to my instructions."
Cidade de Deus is a favela where the is a constant battle between police authorities and drug dealers. It makes life difficult for the people living in these areas. For Simon, it was a big challenge. Sometimes he would talk to drug dealers face to face to explain them why they were taking so many pictures of the people. Others, his friend Barros would use his diplomatic strategies with the police so they could be left alone and continue their work. In general, it was not an easy job.
After more than five months of hard work, Simon faced a big problem: he had more than 10.000 pictures that he had to edit. However, what he liked the most about this process was finding images full of joy and happiness. That passion that he was looking for at the beginning of the project was finally captured in thousands of photographs. After hard work and hours of sitting in front of the computer, Simon completed editing a series of images full of "happiness" and "captivating" moments.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Sometimes the best don't make it
Being a professional soccer player these days is not an easy job. The Brazil 2014 World Cup happens every four years and it's critical that teams go through the qualifying matches without having any injuries that would put them at risk. Some of the best athletes in the world like Di Stefano, George Best, or Giggs, have never played a World Cup due to to having some sort of injury in their career. Clearly, the World Cup is no exception for any player in the world.
A total of 736 players have been chosen to fight for the World Cup title this year. However, many players like Cech, Alaba, Montolivo, Falcao, Ribery, or Jesus Navas, have not been capable of recovering from their injuries in time for the cup. Some of the highest scoring players from the best leagues in the world will not attend this event due to injuries or their teams not been capable of qualifying for the tournament.
Let's look at Lewandowski's case. With 28 goals under his belt, Bayern's striker will not be going to the World Cup this year since the Polish national team has lost in the qualifying matches against England, Ukraine, and Montenegro. However, Lewandowski has kept scoring goals even if it wasn't with its national team: 20 goals in the Bundesliga, 6 in the Champions League, and 2 in the German Cup. Where is he now? Enjoying his summer vacation.
The same thing occurs with Swedish player Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who we will not see this summer playing in the World Cup. Ibrahimovic fought to the end to be in Brazil; however, it was not enough. His season with PSG (Paris Saint Germain) ended with an impressive count of 26 goals in the League 1, 3 in the French Cup, and 10 in the Champions League.
Colombian player Radamel Falcao is another one out of the list for Brazil. Ever since a defender caused him an injury in his left knee this past January, Falcao has been sitting in the bench. Till this day, Falcao has scored 9 goals in the league and 2 in the cup. However, injuries are injuries and Falcao will not make in time for the World Cup.
The same thing occurs with tops players like Negredo, who has scored 23 goal with Manchester City this season, and Frank Ribery, who finished his season with Bayern with 23 goals in the Bundesliga but will not be in Brazil due to a back injury. Again, injuries are part of an every day soccer player and do not always heal in time. Brazil 2014 will definitely miss having these players fight for the cup title.
A total of 736 players have been chosen to fight for the World Cup title this year. However, many players like Cech, Alaba, Montolivo, Falcao, Ribery, or Jesus Navas, have not been capable of recovering from their injuries in time for the cup. Some of the highest scoring players from the best leagues in the world will not attend this event due to injuries or their teams not been capable of qualifying for the tournament.
Let's look at Lewandowski's case. With 28 goals under his belt, Bayern's striker will not be going to the World Cup this year since the Polish national team has lost in the qualifying matches against England, Ukraine, and Montenegro. However, Lewandowski has kept scoring goals even if it wasn't with its national team: 20 goals in the Bundesliga, 6 in the Champions League, and 2 in the German Cup. Where is he now? Enjoying his summer vacation.
The same thing occurs with Swedish player Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who we will not see this summer playing in the World Cup. Ibrahimovic fought to the end to be in Brazil; however, it was not enough. His season with PSG (Paris Saint Germain) ended with an impressive count of 26 goals in the League 1, 3 in the French Cup, and 10 in the Champions League.
Colombian player Radamel Falcao is another one out of the list for Brazil. Ever since a defender caused him an injury in his left knee this past January, Falcao has been sitting in the bench. Till this day, Falcao has scored 9 goals in the league and 2 in the cup. However, injuries are injuries and Falcao will not make in time for the World Cup.
The same thing occurs with tops players like Negredo, who has scored 23 goal with Manchester City this season, and Frank Ribery, who finished his season with Bayern with 23 goals in the Bundesliga but will not be in Brazil due to a back injury. Again, injuries are part of an every day soccer player and do not always heal in time. Brazil 2014 will definitely miss having these players fight for the cup title.
I have to thank you the support it's incredible to read your messages. I also have to congratulate Jupp again for his award
— Frank Ribery (@RiberyOfficiel) enero 14, 2014
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Who will go where?
With the 2013-2014 soccer leagues over, many teams around the world are starting to decide what their next big acquisition is going to be. The summer market has just started a few weeks ago and major teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool, Paris Saint Germain, and Atletico de Madrid have already starting to work out deals and transfers between them.
Our first man in the list is Liverpool's striker Luis Suarez. At age twenty seven, the Uruguayan player has become the highest scoring player in the Premier League this season with 31 goals, 12 assists, and a total of 181 shots. Spanish team Real Madrid is in the constant need of looking for a next superstar for their squad next season and Suarez seems to fit the role. The club has already made an offer of 90 million euros to Liverpool, which the club is still reconsidering.
The problem for Liverpool right now is the negative implication that this operation could have for the club since they will be loosing one of their major players and stars of the team. Also, Real Madrid will not get Suarez that easy since the player signed a contract with the English team a couple of months ago, where they agreed to pay him a total of 10 million euros each year if he decides to stay.
The other big team in the news these days is Paris Saint Germain (PSG) who has also been working out some deals this past month. The team recently said that they will be willing to pay a total of 75 million euros for Chelsea's attacking midfielder Eden Hazard. If the deal were to happen, the player will be making 15 million euros for each of the five seasons that he will be playing with PSG.
Will Chelsea's coach Jose Mourinho allow his transfer to happen and loose one of their best players?
The third big transfer that is likely to occur this summer is between Spanish club Atletico de Madrid and Chelsea for Atletico's striker Diego Costa. The Brazil-born, who is part of the Spain squad preparing for the World Cup, has been identified by Jose Mourinho as being what Chelsea needs to win the Premier League title.
The 25-years-old is fresh from his season with Atletico, in which he scored 27 goals, plus 8 in the Champions League, as his club won La Liga title and were beaten by the city rivals, Real Madrid, in the European Cup final. Therefore, Chelsea is willing to offer 40 million euros in order make Diego Costa Chelsea's next superstar of the season.
Next in the list is twenty year old defender for PSG Marcos Aoas Correa, commonly known as Marquinhos. The player could be Barcelona's next big defender that the club has been looking for almost three summers, ever since they lost their biggest superstar and defender Carles Puyol.
Our first man in the list is Liverpool's striker Luis Suarez. At age twenty seven, the Uruguayan player has become the highest scoring player in the Premier League this season with 31 goals, 12 assists, and a total of 181 shots. Spanish team Real Madrid is in the constant need of looking for a next superstar for their squad next season and Suarez seems to fit the role. The club has already made an offer of 90 million euros to Liverpool, which the club is still reconsidering.
The problem for Liverpool right now is the negative implication that this operation could have for the club since they will be loosing one of their major players and stars of the team. Also, Real Madrid will not get Suarez that easy since the player signed a contract with the English team a couple of months ago, where they agreed to pay him a total of 10 million euros each year if he decides to stay.
The other big team in the news these days is Paris Saint Germain (PSG) who has also been working out some deals this past month. The team recently said that they will be willing to pay a total of 75 million euros for Chelsea's attacking midfielder Eden Hazard. If the deal were to happen, the player will be making 15 million euros for each of the five seasons that he will be playing with PSG.
Will Chelsea's coach Jose Mourinho allow his transfer to happen and loose one of their best players?
The third big transfer that is likely to occur this summer is between Spanish club Atletico de Madrid and Chelsea for Atletico's striker Diego Costa. The Brazil-born, who is part of the Spain squad preparing for the World Cup, has been identified by Jose Mourinho as being what Chelsea needs to win the Premier League title.
The 25-years-old is fresh from his season with Atletico, in which he scored 27 goals, plus 8 in the Champions League, as his club won La Liga title and were beaten by the city rivals, Real Madrid, in the European Cup final. Therefore, Chelsea is willing to offer 40 million euros in order make Diego Costa Chelsea's next superstar of the season.
Next in the list is twenty year old defender for PSG Marcos Aoas Correa, commonly known as Marquinhos. The player could be Barcelona's next big defender that the club has been looking for almost three summers, ever since they lost their biggest superstar and defender Carles Puyol.
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