Šime Vrsaljko reflects on the 2018 World Cup and the decision to play despite dealing with a torn ACL:
"I knew that if I went for surgery, I wouldn’t make it to the World Cup. I believed I could push through. For more than a year I played football without a ligament, which led to cartilage damage."
"In the quarter-final against Russia, in extra time, during one sprint my knee, because of that instability and the fact that I had no ligament, simply jammed. I felt something rough happen inside it, it twisted in a way it shouldn’t have because there was severe inflammation of the cartilage and the ACL, which wasn’t holding the knee at all."
"I had to decide, England was coming up in the World Cup semi-final, whether I would do everything to play or not. I decided that it was a moment where there is no giving up. I want to play. If I had struggled and suffered for a year and a half, I would endure England as well. My decision was to play. That’s how I saw it then, and that’s how I see it today. I would do everything exactly the same. After that I played the final against France and then another six months with Inter. By doing that, I brought myself to a state where I simply wasn’t usable anymore, not for playing, but even for walking.
I won’t say that the England match was to blame, it was two years of playing in that condition. After that, things unfolded the way they did. But even if someone had told me that the England match would shorten my career, I would still have done the same. It was my decision, I stood firmly behind it. I was overjoyed that I could take part in a World Cup semi-final. That was my only goal, nothing more." [SN]
🇧🇷Raphinha: „Szczerze mówiąc, czasami czuję, że staję się dla nich ciężarem i może ich irytuję, ale uważam, że to ważne. Być może podczas meczu myślą sobie: „On za dużo gada”. Ale taki jest mój styl. Wymagam więcej od graczy, o których wiem, że są w stanie dać z siebie więcej. W grze musi być ktoś, kto jest „awanturnikiem”, i nie mam nic przeciwko, jeśli to ja. Potem w szatni świętujemy razem”.
ℹ️ Barca Times
Raphinha to ktoś więcej niż tylko bardzo dobry zawodnik. To jest przywódca. Jego powrót naprawdę wiele zmieni.
Trent: “I knew for a long time that I would only leave Liverpool for Real Madrid. No one else”
Mo Salah: “I can’t see myself ever play against Liverpool. That would make me sad.”
One is a scouser, another from Egypt.🥀❤️
Arsenal fans deserve this suffering. Talked a lot all this season, just to see their team win nothing. Arrogant fanbase. I’ll forever hatewatch them, their tears are so tasty.