Previously on The Good Football
Throwback Tracks
August Favourites
As I sit here going through my September notes to write this newsletter, I can’t believe some of these things happened just last month. There’s been so much going on that I feel like I’ve lived six months in the past three — lots of good things, but still… lots. My days have been filled with football, work, friends, coffee, good music, and bad Brazilian soap operas. I hope your autumn is also off to a good start.
Here are the things I liked the most in the past month 👇
First, Olivia Dean.
My absolute #1 favourite thing in September was Olivia Dean’s ✨perfect✨ no-skips new album and seeing the rest of the world fall in love with her too. Plus, I just discovered she’s another one of us football girlies, so here’s a soundtrack for your reading time:
This one moment at a CE Europa vs Barça Femení B game
We went to support a friend who plays for Barça’s youth women’s team against a very local Barcelona club in an iconic stadium tucked between buildings, with neighbours watching from their windows. The game was great, we won, our friend scored, but my favourite moment happened after the final whistle.
When we were congratulating our friend and her sweet teammate, a little girl approached them with her dad, asking if they could take a photo together. Guys. That sent me. Tears immediately started rolling down my face lol.
There’s just something about women’s football that hits me in a way the men’s game never did. The fact that we live in a world where a little girl can go to a local match, and the reality of girls playing football is so close she can touch it — and take a photo with it. And that these young players already get to be real-life models of a dream for even younger girls. That the work of every woman who came before opened the doors so that this world could exist for them.
This is the good football.
I met Camilo from @taco_perdido!
When you work remotely and all your clients and colleagues fit inside a Teams (😩) square, it feels so good to meet someone in real life and talk over a cup of coffee, especially when they’re as great as Camilo, the @taco_perdido man himself.
I’ve mentioned his IG account here before and have been a fan since the first post I came across. He’s as kind as he is talented, so if you don’t follow him yet, here’s your sign.
Also, if we haven’t met yet and you’d like to connect (in person or through a Teams/Meet square), just reply to this email!
Aitana Bonmatí’s Ballon d’Or 🏆
You can imagine how happy I was to see Aitana take another Ballon d’Or home and become the third footballer to win three of them, right next to Platini and Messi. Do you realise how important and impressive it is that there’s a woman up there now? And if the player at the top is also a good footballer… that’s everything I could have asked for.
Yet, I felt like I came across more questioning than celebration online. Many believed Mariona should have won it, considering both of their seasons, especially since the Arsenal midfielder won the Champions League. I get that. To be honest, I think it’s such a weird concept for journalists to vote and choose one best player for the season when there are so many different variables involved and everything feels so subjective and relative. Anyway, I have no ambition or commitment to be impartial here — nor do I watch football from a “neutral” lens. So I can’t tell you who should’ve won, but I can tell you that I think Aitana is the best player we’ve got right now. And that I’m 100% biased.
It’s Aitana Bonmatí’s world and we’re just living in it, baby.
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