The year 2022 will be remembered for the Qatar World Cupthe first held in autumn, won by Argentina’s Leo Messiand for the women’s euro cupobtained by the hostess England. The real Madrid triumphed on almost all fronts (he only missed the Copa del Rey) while the Barcelona crashed twice in Europe. Benzema won the Ballon d’Or in a year in which Gavi Y Alexia Putellas They were also awarded. And four legends were protagonists: Paco Gento left us in january Pele passed away two days before the end of the year, Pique announced his surprise withdrawal Joaquin He continued playing another season thanks to the Copa del Rey.
Paco Gento, ‘La Galerna del Cantábrico’, dies
(18-1-2022) Paco Gento, the only footballer to have won six European Cups, died in Madrid at the age of 88. Honorary President of Real Madrid, where he played 600 games and scored 183 goals in 18 seasons (53-71), he is considered by many to be the best left winger in history. He is a legend of Spanish and world football.
Chelsea win the ‘last’ Club World Cup
(12-2-2022) The 2022 Club World Cup champion was Chelsea. The team then led by Tuchel beat the Brazilian Palmeiras (2-1), champion of the Copa Libertadores, in the final. Lukaku and Raphael Veiga scored in regulation time and Havertz unbalanced the game in extra time. Second intercontinental title for the English and, for the moment, the last edition of the tournament (there are still no dates for next year).
Italy out of the World Cup again
(24-3-2022) Italy, four-time world champions, was left out of the World Cup for the second consecutive time after missing the one in Russia in 2018. This time, North Macedonia was their executioner in the playoffs thanks to a goal from Trajkovski in minute 92. The ‘Azzurra’ , despite being the current Eurocup champion, was one of the illustrious teams that was not in Qatar.
Eintracht fans storm the Camp Nou
(14-4-2022) Bad year for Barça in European competitions. Relegated to the Europa League, they fell in the quarterfinals against a surprising Eintracht (2-3), whose fans stormed the Camp Nou with 30,000 Germans in the stands. Already in this 22-23 season, the blaugranas were again eliminated in the Champions League group stage against Bayern and Inter Milan.
Joaquín postpones his retirement thanks to the Copa del Rey
(23-4-2022) The current format of the Copa del Rey gives rise to teams less accustomed to titles being happy. This was the case of Betis, who beat Valencia on penalties (1-1) in the final at La Cartuja. Borja Iglesias and Hugo Duro were the scorers and Miranda scored the decisive maximum penalty after Musah’s failure. Joaquín, who had thought of withdrawing, decided to continue for another year thanks to this success.
Mbappé’s scared
(21-5-2022) It seemed sung and announced that Mbappé would sign for Real Madrid this summer. However, he was scared and decided to renew for PSG for a mega-million dollar contract: 630 million euros gross until 2025. Pressure from Al Khelaifi and French president Emmanuel Macron forced the French star to leave Florentino Pérez without his long-awaited reinforcement.
Milan win Serie A after eleven years
(22-5-2022) Milan won Serie A after eleven years of waiting. The Italian team, seven times European champions, came out of a long journey through the desert at the hands of Stefano Pioli. They achieved the title with a difference of two points over their neighboring rival, Inter. Giroud and Leão, with 11 and 10 goals respectively, were the Milanista stars.
Eintracht and Roma, champions of the Europa League and the Conference
(25-5-2022) Eintracht was the surprise of the season in Europe by winning the Europa League. They beat Glasgow Rangers in the Sánchez Pizjuán final on penalties (1-1). In the first edition of the Conference, the champion was Mourinho’s Roma, beating Feyenoord (1-0). The Portuguese made history by winning the three current European titles.
Real Madrid reigns in Spain and Europe
(28-5-2022) Almost round season for Real Madrid, who did a double by winning LaLiga and the Champions League. In the league competition they were far superior from the outset and ended up winning the title with a 13-plus advantage over Barça. In the European Cup, they won their 14th trophy after heroic comebacks against PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City and winning the final against Liverpool (0-1) with a goal from Vinícius.
Nottingham Forest returns to the Premier after 23 years
(29-5-2022) Nottingham Forest is a special club. It is the only one that has more European Cups (2) than local leagues (1). However, he had not set foot in the Premier League for 23 years until this summer. They moved up the promotion after beating Middlesbrough. For its return to the elite, the English club invested 148 million euros, more than some great Europeans.
Haaland earthquake in the Premier
(13-6-2022) Erling Haaland is called, together with Mbappé, to dominate the football scene in the future. The Norwegian is a scoring machine that, since this summer, Manchester City and Guardiola have enjoyed. His arrival at the Premier was an earthquake from the outset. His statistics are already scary: 18 goals in his first 13 games.
Lewandowski excites Barça with the ‘levers’
(19-7-2022) Immersed in a very big economic crisis, Barça made a summer investment of 158 million euros thanks to the famous ‘levers’. The president Joan Laporta threw the house out the window to set up a dream squad with which to excite his fans. The star signing was Robert Lewandowski, the Polish striker from Bayern Munich.
England win their first Women’s Euro Cup
(31-7-2022) With the World Cup in Qatar moved to autumn, the media attention during the summer focused on the Women’s Euro Cup in England. Jorge Vilda’s Spanish team started out as one of the applicants, but everything was ruined with the injury to Alexia Putellas. Even so, they fell in the quarterfinals to the hosts, who won their first tournament after beating Germany in the final (2-1).
Real Madrid win both Super Cups
(10-8-2022) Real Madrid continued their triumphant run of the year by winning the European Super Cup against Eintracht Frankfurt (2-0). Alaba and Benzema confirmed Madrid’s superiority in Helsinki. A title that joined the League, the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup, which he won in January in Saudi Arabia. They beat Athletic Club in the final (0-2).
Morata puts Spain in the Final Four of the Nations League
(27-9-2022) Spain will be a finalist in the third edition of the Nations League, which will be held in June. They qualified for the Final Four in the Netherlands after being the leader of a very tough group with Portugal, Switzerland and the Czech Republic as rivals. The Spanish National Team played a card in Braga against the Portuguese and it came out expensive thanks to a late goal by Morata.
Marcelo Gallardo says goodbye to River
(13-10-2022) Marcelo Gallardo ended eight seasons as River Plate coach. The ‘Muñeco’, one of the great coaches in the club’s history, said goodbye with a spectacular list of winners, with two Copa Libertadores as the jewel in the crown, and 424 games directed. His farewell was against Betis in a friendly match that ended in victory (4-0).
Benzema’s Ballon d’Or
(17-10-2022) Karim Benzema has been, without a doubt, the footballer of the year in Europe. His performance with Real Madrid (42 goals in 44 games, top scorer in LaLiga and top scorer and best player in the Champions League 21-22) earned him the Ballon d’Or for the first time in his career at 34 years. Sadio Mané and Kevin de Bruyne completed the award podium.
Alexia Putellas and Gavi, awarded
(21-10-2022) Spanish football has also received awards this year. Two of the great national stars, Alexia Putellas and Gavi, received the women’s Ballon d’Or and the Golden Boy, respectively. The Barça captain won her second trophy, making her the most decorated Spanish player, while the midfielder confirmed himself as one of the stars of the future.
Flamengo wins its third Libertadores
(29-10-2022) Flamengo established itself as the best club in South America by winning the Copa Libertadores. In a final with a Brazilian flavor against Athletico Paranaense held in Guayaquil (Ecuador), Gabigol tipped the balance for ‘Fla’ with a historic goal. The Rio de Janeiro team won its third continental win after those achieved in 1981 and 2019.
Piqué announces his retirement by surprise
(3-11-2022) Gerard Piqué, legend of Barça and Spain, announced his retirement by surprise through social networks. The Catalan defender decided to end his career after disagreements with the club of his life with historical data: 616 games, 52 goals and 30 titles as a culé, as well as a World Cup and a Euro Cup with Spain (102 games and 5 goals). He was sent off at his farewell to Osasuna.
Cholo’s worst moment
(9-11-2022) After ten consecutive years as coach of Atlético de Madrid, Cholo Simeone experienced his worst moments after being left out of Europe. In just two weeks, a disastrous streak of results, marked by bad luck, against Leverkusen, Cádiz, Porto, Espanyol and Mallorca put the Argentine on the trigger and his future at the club seems up in the air.
Cristiano Ronaldo leaves United in the middle of the World Cup
(22-11-2022) The relationship between Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United broke up in the middle of the World Cup in Qatar. The English club announced the departure of the Portuguese by mutual agreement and thus ended a few weeks of crossed messages between the footballer and coach Ten Hag. Cristiano is a legend of the ‘Red Devils’, with more than 300 appearances and more than 100 goals in his two stages.
Messi wins the most atypical World Cup in history
(18-12-2022) Argentina became world champion 36 years later in an unforgettable final (3-3, 4-2) against Mbappé’s France. Morocco was the surprise, fourth, in a tournament in which Spain disappointed. The team led by Luis Enrique began with great hope against Costa Rica (7-0), but gradually declined until they were eliminated in the round of 16 against the Moroccans on penalties.
Pelé, ‘O Rei’ of football, dies
(29-12-2022) Edson Arantes do Nascimento died in a hospital in São Paulo at the age of 82, a victim of cancer. ‘O Rei’ Pelé was everything in football and is considered the best player in history. He was voted the “Athlete of the 20th Century” three times: by the IOC, L’Équipe and Reuters. In addition, FIFA chose him “Best Footballer of the 20th Century”. He is the only player to win three World Cups (1958, 1962 and 1970) and the youngest to do so, in Sweden 1958, at the age of 17.