“Turned the boos to cheers”, “Unreal growth” - Fans insist 27-year-old Barcelona star has become ‘captain material’ after 2-1 win over Athletic Club
Fans raved about Barcelona forward Raphinha's performance after the Catalan giants registered a 2-1 win over Athletic Club on Saturday, August 24. The Brazilian started the match behind Robert Lewandowski and was one of the key players on the field throughout the ninety minutes.
Blocking the opposition's passing lanes through aggressive pressing was another important facet of Raphinha's game. The 27-year-old won nine ground duels out of 13 and also maintained a passing accuracy of 83% throughout the game.
The Brazilian was a also key contributor to Barcelona's second goal. He had the vision to locate Pedri's run on the left side of the penalty box and produced a perfectly measured pass to the Spaniard. Pedri's cross into the box reached Lewandowski and the Polish striker found the finish to make it 2-1 for Barcelona.
During the final minutes of stoppage time, Raphinha showed true sportsmanship when he helped calm down a tense situation that was developing between the two teams. It started when Ander Herrera fouled Pau Cubarsi and Fermin Lopez went to have a stern word with the former. Like a true leader, Raphinha separated the two, taking the Barca youngster away.
Fans lauded the Brazilian on X (formerly Twitter) and tweeted about how he turned his fortunes from 'boos to cheers.' Some of the popular comments on X are as follows:
"History will remember raphinha as a player who turned the boos to cheers, a player who fought for the blaugrana jersey, a player who gave his 100% in every match. Raphinha is class," declared one fan on X.
"Raphinha breaking up a fight instead of starting one. Unreal growth. Definitely capitan material," opined another Barcelona fan.
"Look at Raphinha. Just look at him. Calming down Fermin just like a captain is suppose to. I don’t know man, he’s grown so much for me. Remember when during the summer a fan said something bad about Barça to him and he shut it down. Yeah, we must cherish him more," agreed another netizen on X.
Many Barcelona fans also stated that Raphinha is not appreciated enough in the Barcelona squad. One commented:
"We do not Appreciate Raphinha enough/I don’t remember the last time he had a bad game/He is always Solid/Top Top baller"
"“How is Raphinha a Barca captain"/Oh you mean the only player that stepped up and showed real mentality for us in the champions league last season ?" declared another.
"if anyone had doubts about why raphinha was handed a captaincy spot, watch his performance and body language today," another fan wrote about the Brazilian.
Some of the other reactions were as follows:
"Raphinha for that goal, and everything leading up to it/Wowzers. I knew he was a baller but he's genuinely reborn under Flick. That's my f*cking BOY," lauded a fan.
"With each passing game, Raphinha looks more and more comfortable playing as a #10. His decision-making is growing more and more consistent," inferred another.
"Raphinha’s passion and hustle every time he’s on the field is remarkable," one fan wrote on X.
Barcelona's Raphinha excluded from Brazil's World Cup Qualifiers squad
Raphinha has been unexpectedly left out of Brazil's squad for the World Cup 2026 qualifiers. The Brazilian attack for the upcoming qualifying will have Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Endrick, Estevao, Luiz Henrique, Pedro, and Savinho in attack.
Despite being a consistent performer for both club and country, manager Dorival Junior decided to not opt for him. This news came shortly after Raphinha was selected as one of the five captains for Barcelona by Hansi Flick for the 2024-25 season.
Raphinha has played 27 games for La Selecao so far, recording seven goals and six assists. He also scored a goal in the recently concluded Copa America 2024, where they lost against Uruguay in the quarter-finals on penalties.