Abraham P. RomeroSpecial envoy Leipzig
Special Envoy Leipzig
Updated Monday, February 12, 2024-23:20
Kroos and the whistles in Arabia "They are confirmation that I did the right thing"
Carlo Ancelotti The "recycling" of the 'famiglia'
«See? It is easy".
After each goal, and there are already seven this season,
Brahim Díaz
(Málaga, 1999) approaches the stands, stops, and instead of raising his arms in a cross like his friend
Jude Bellingham
, he raises his forearms with his palms. hands up and makes a gesture with his face, as if to say that what he just did is not that big of a deal. And for him, it is not. «It's like telling people that: 'See? It's easy'”, explained the Andalusian in Valdebebas when he began with a celebration that is already viral. Tonight, in
Leipzig
and in place of the injured Bellingham, the former
Málaga
and
Manchester City
player will try to repeat his gesture.
It is a celebration that he started this year but that comes from afar, from the eternal afternoons
sitting at home with his four sisters playing board games,
where he was already the most competitive in the house. For the
Abdelkader-Díaz
family , the last few years have been a roller coaster of emotions. Almost the last decade.
In Valdebebas they still remember the presentation of the Malaga native at the
Bernabéu
on a cold January 2019. There were his parents,
Sufiel and Patricia
, and the four little sisters Zaira, Idaira, Dunia and Irina, who more than once suffered the celebration in their flesh. who now watches Spanish football.
Lug in San Siro
And perhaps because of that presentation, in which the midfielder was 19 years old and had a fine body still to develop, in the white team's sports city
Brahim's physique has drawn attention
this season, already since the preseason in the capital and in the United States. Joined. "He's like a beast," they admit from the Madrid locker room.
Brahim has gained in lower body, muscle mass and volume in the upper body, both in the abdomen and in the back and arms. It is the result of the work he has been doing since his time in Manchester, but especially during his last season at Milan, where the tradition of
extreme physical work
in clubs was perfect for him to gain strength and muscle. At San Siro, little Brahim made his
growth spurt
.
'Brahino' for the locker room
«He has always wanted to gain muscle. Being a player who is stopped with his body, he understands that he needs to protect himself physically," summarized in the Madrid sports city. And you can see it. So much so that in the locker room those who shared space with him before leaving for Milan still do not believe his physical condition: "It has nothing to do with it," they say. "
Roadrunner", "beast" or "wizard
" are some of the nicknames used for him, although the main one remains the simple "
Brahino
".
Curiously, Brahim's season has depended directly on one of the first people he had dinner with in Madrid this summer. Madrid brought the Andalusian together at a table with Bellingham and
Arda Güler
to work together during the preseason and it went well, because the Englishman and the man from Malaga, who speaks English from his time in
Manchester
, understood each other perfectly from day one.
Waiting for Spain
Of course, the vast majority of Brahim's minutes have come with injuries or rest from Bellingham. "
He has a problem, and that is that Jude is in his position
," Ancelotti admitted in the fall. Brahim took advantage of
Vinicius
' physical problems
to find a place in the eleven for some games, but the Brazilian's return and the Italian coach's confidence in
Rodrygo
have relegated him to the bench. Even so, Ancelotti's words towards the man from Malaga are not the same as those he used last year.
12 months ago, when there were rumors about his return, not everyone in Valdebebas was clear that Brahim could be as important as he is this year. And we return to the physical. They remembered him as lighter, less powerful in duels. But not anymore. "
He has improved physically and also tactically
, he is much better," Ancelotti praised him.
On the horizon, the next call for the national team. He can choose between
Spain and Morocco
, but he would not hesitate when faced with a call from
Luis de la Fuente
.