Babolat made a new custom bag for Rafa Nadal’s retirement.
“Rafa Nadal & Babolat since 1995”
“1250 Babolat racquets and 0 broken”
22 Grand Slams.
36 Masters 1000.
23 ATP 500.
10 ATP 250.
This is so special. 🥹
(via Babolat IG)
Whenever I see Vini crying or reacting to racism, I can't help but remember the time Dani Alves had a banana thrown at him and how he reacted.
He didn't stop the match there and started abusing the crowd and calling for someone's head. Nope, he simply picked up the banana, ate it, assisted a goal, and thanked the racist jackass in post match conference for giving him an extra dose of "energy" to assist a goal.
This simple yet powerful act by Dani not only brought global attention to racism in Spain that night, but also started a global movement where players would post themselves eating banana with caption #SayNoToRacism. But most importantly, it stripped the racists of all the power they had against him in an instant and he never faced racism again since then.
I'll never advice Vini what to do, everyone has their own way of fighting their battles. But it's evident that the battle against racism requires a unique approach.
It's not like a personal insult that can be met with immediate retaliation like Zidane's headbutt or Valverde's punch. Unfortunately, showing vulnerability to racism only emboldens bigots hiding in the shadows to pounce.
Players like Pogba, Balotelli, and Vini have learned through difficult experiences that reacting to racist provocations only makes the trolls louder.
The key is to strip them of that power. Don't let them see it gets to you, even if it does. Ignore the noise, score a goal on their head, and later thank them for the motivation. Just like that the trolls would have no choice but to go back to their stinky caves.
In a world full of racists, be a Dani Alves. And in a world full of rapists, don't be a Dani Alves.
That's all 👍🏻
🇪🇺⛔️ Reminder: this is the last Champions League campaign in which we will see the traditional group stage phase...
From next season, it will be a 'swiss system' — 36 teams will compete in one big league table, as opposed to groups.
Each team will play 8 matches against 8 different opponents.
The top 8 in the league, will advance to the knockout stages.
Those who finish 9-24th, will compete in two-legged play-offs to join the last 16.