“What we call a rose would smell just as sweet if it had another name.”
William Shakespeare
Barrika's roared, the United States trembled and Europe triumphed. Do you know what I'm talking about? Those who don't follow golf have no idea, I guess. Those who do follow him, perhaps. I tell you. “The one from Barrika” is Jon Rahm, the Basque golfer whose brilliance was decisive in Europe's conquest of the Ryder Cup this weekend.
I am intrigued by this custom of Spanish journalism of identifying athletes both by their places of birth – “El de Santpedor”, “El de Manacor” – and by their names. Or, especially in the case of soccer players, being identified by a team they previously played for. For example, Leo Messi, “the former Barcelona player.”
I highly doubt that there is another country where this phenomenon exists. I, at least, don't know him. Curious. Why do they do it? Perhaps for fear of being repetitive, perhaps to show off how much they know. In any case, it is a practice that is based on the premise that Spanish fans have an admirably Wikipedian knowledge of the biographies of golfers, soccer players, tennis players and others.
I don't know... I consume sports in the press, on TV and on the radio with fervor, but I must confess that I do not reach the level of erudition that is required of me, that I often get confused, especially when I hear live narrations of a fast sport. like soccer in which several players participate in a space of a few seconds.
I doubt I'm the only one making a mess, and that's why I propose here an exercise for readers that could be both entertaining and of educational value. I offer you a ten question quiz with the answers (don't cheat) at the end.
1. Which player who fell asleep and scored a decisive own goal last weekend is called “the one from Camas”?
2. Who is the Viking they call “the one from Leeds”?
3. Who is known as “the former Borussia Dortmund player” or “the Birmingham player”?
4. What famous athlete, loved and hated in equal measure, is “the one from Funchal”?
5. What crack is “La de Sant Pere de Ribes”?
6. Who is the one who does not palm, but is “the one from El Palmar”?
7. Which footballer-golfer is “the one from Haverfordwest”? (I swear I have read this definition in the Spanish press).
8. Who is the young bride of Arab origin whom they identify as "the one from Esplugues de Llobregat"?
9. Which footballer who has been promising everything for 12 years and winning nothing is called “the one from Walthamstow”?
10. Who is “el de las Palmas”, the most famous Spanish football administrator in the history of the world?
Answers:
1. Sergio Ramos.
2. Erling Håland.
3. Jude Bellingham.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo.
5. Aitana Bonmatí.
6. Carlos Alcaraz.
7. Gareth Bale.
8. Laminated Yamal.
9. Harry Kane.
10. Luis Rubiales.
