'BE STRONG, CAPTAIN', t-shirt in support of Marc ter Stegen
When tough times come along, any show of support is always welcome. The Barça players took to the field ahead of the win against Getafe on Wednesday wearing a t-shirt that bore the message “MOLTA FORÇA CAPITÀ” in Catalan and “BLEIB STARK KAPITÄN” in German ("BE STRONG CAPTAIN") in a show of solidarity with goalkeeper Marc ter Stegen.
The crowd at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys also showed their support for the German international as the team emerged after Ter Stegen picked up a serious knee injury in the win over Villarreal last weekend. The recovery process for the blaugrana legend has already got under way after a successful surgical procedure on Monday of this week.
On social media, the goalkeeper has also been inundated with messages of support from his team mates, rivals such as Athletic Club and Real Sociedad, as well as individuals like former team mate Sergi Roberto and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Raphinha shows off player of the month award
Brazilian Raphinha has had an excellent start to the 2024/25 season under new coach Hansi Flick. The forward has scored five goals already in the league this season and only his team mate Robert Lewandowski has more with six.
The fans at the Estadi Olímpic showed their appreciation for Raphinha before the game as the blaugrana received his player of the month from La Liga for the month of August. The award organised by the Spanish League for last month also saw Barça claim further honours with Hansi Flick named best coach and Lamine Yamal best U23 player.
Honorary kick off
For just a moment, the spotlight was not on FC Barcelona players but on two sailors - Peter Burling and Silvia Mas. Both are competing in the 37th edition of the America's Cup which is taking place in Barcelona. The honorary kick off saw both wearing the Barça shirt, uniting two emblematic names in sport, FC Barcelona and the America's Cup, which share values such as excellence and hard work and which inspire future generations.
All in all, a busy pre-game agenda of events before Barça v Getafe, not forgetting also that the game took place during International Deaf Week and so the Barça anthem before the game was also available in sign language - 'Tots units fem força!'.
