Англи тоглогч Барселонад нэгдсэнээсээ хойш Ла Лигийн дөрвөн тоглолтод дөрвөн оновчтой дамжуулалт өгч, багийнхаа амжилтад үнэтэй хувь нэмэр оруулж байна.
Тавдугаар сард Ньюкасл Юнайтедаас 70 сая еврогоор Барселонад ирсэн Энтони Гордон шинэ багтаа хурдан хугацаанд дасан зохицож, хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийн хайр хүндэтгэлийг хүлээгээд байна. Тэрээр Ла Лигийн хүрээнд хийсэн тоглолтуудад зүүн жигүүрт тогтмол гараанд гарч, нийт 17 гоол оруулсан багийнхаа довтолгооны гол хөдөлгүүрүүдийн нэг болжээ. Ахлах дасгалжуулагч Ханси Флик тоглогчийн хурд, эрчимтэй тоглолт болон багийн өндөр шахалт үзүүлэх философид төгс нийцэж байгааг онцолсон юм.
Гордон талбай дээрх гүйцэтгэлээс гадна Испани болон Каталан хэл сурч, багийн соёлд хурдан уусч байгаа нь мэргэжилтнүүд болон багийнхны анхаарлыг татаж байна. Ялангуяа Эльче багийн эсрэг хийсэн тоглолтод өөрөө гоол оруулах боломжтой байсан ч Фермин Лопезд гоолын дамжуулалт өгсөн нь түүнийг хувиа хичээдэггүй, багийн төлөө тоглодог тоглогч болохыг харууллаа. Райо Вальеканогийн эсрэг хийсэн тоглолтод Рафиньяд өгсөн өсгийгөөр дамжуулсан оновчтой дамжуулалт нь түүний техникийн ур чадварыг илтгэсэн шилдэг мөчүүдийн нэг байв.
Түүнийг Барселонад ирэхэд нь дэмжигчид Каталан уламжлалт малгай өмсгөсөн зургаар угтан авч, багийн түүхэнд нэрээ үлдээх эрхэм зорилготой ирсэн тоглогч хэмээн үнэлж байна. Одоогоор зүүн жигүүрт тоглож байгаа ч түүнийг ирээдүйд төвийн довтлогчийн байрлалд тоглуулах боломжтойг багийн эх сурвалжууд дурджээ. 1986 онд Гари Линекерийн дараа Барселонагийн үндсэн бүрэлдэхүүнд багтсан хоёр дахь англи тоглогч болсон Гордон ийнхүү гараагаа тун амжилттай эхлүүлээд байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
On a Barcelona home matchday, thousands of fans head towards the green line of the Metro. One of the most common routes to the Camp Nou from the city centre involves getting off at Les Corts station.
From there, a 10-minute walk along the area’s main avenue, Travessera Les Corts, brings you to a succession of bars sitting in the shadow of the stadium. This is where the loudest Barca fans gather before every game. The place is normally crowded with people meeting for pre-match drinks and food while fan groups light flares and sing their songs.
One of the most renowned of these bars is Casa Pin. Last week, in the build-up to the game against Rayo Vallecano, its customers will have spotted some new decor: below the signboard identifying the bar hung an England flag. A special one.
In the centre of the St George’s cross, there was a photo of Anthony Gordon, wearing sunglasses, mocked-up as if he was holding the Ballon d’Or. On his head was a ‘barretina’ — a traditional Catalan hat. Circling Gordon, the inscription: “Antoni Gros es Catala.”
The word ‘gordo’ in Spanish means fat, which brought Barca fans to attempt a funny translation of the England international’s surname from Gordon to Gros. Translated into English, the wording on the flag read ‘Anthony the big one is a Catalan’.
📍Casa Pin pic.twitter.com/v8cxaCeTZ0
— Joan Solé Giménez (@JoanSole_) August 31, 2026
On and off the pitch, the 25-year-old has hit the ground running since signing from Newcastle United for an initial €70million (£60.1m, $81.4m) in May. The Catalans have played four La Liga games this season, winning them all and scoring 17 goals. After coming off the bench in the opener against Elche, Gordon is now well established as the starter on the left wing, where he is yet to score but has delivered four assists.
“His speed, his intensity… it’s all very good for us and exactly what we were looking for in him,” head coach Hansi Flick said after Gordon’s first start against Athletic Club on August 27. “He has just arrived and has potential to improve and go to another level. We need him to reach that.”
Beyond the pitch, fans adore him. During that Athletic game, the Camp Nou crowd chanted Gordon’s name loud and clear during a break in play. He waved back, and tapped the club badge on his shirt.
Newcomer Gordon has endeared himself to team-mates and supporters alike (David Ramirez/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Barca players and backroom staff were impressed with the warm welcome Gordon received. Straight after the match, multiple team-mates went to the England forward and mentioned the chants, making it clear to him that this is not normal.
Normally, your name being sung by the Camp Nou crowd is a privilege you have to earn. Gordon has won the fans over quicker than anyone expected when he arrived.
There are multiple reasons for that.
First and foremost, his performances. Gordon’s relentless efforts in high pressing and other team-wide work have been outstanding, and have been complemented by no little quality on the ball. The standout moment was the assist delivered against Rayo — an impressive backheel to Raphinha that bamboozled the defence.
La asistencia de @anthonygordon es de 𝐉𝐔𝐆𝐎́𝐍. 🌟
LALIGAHighlights | VUELVELALIGA | @FCBarcelona_es pic.twitter.com/9s8vM7L4uG
— LALIGA (@LaLiga) September 2, 2026
There has been a planned effort from Gordon’s end to start well, too. In late May, during his presentation at the Camp Nou, he introduced himself by answering questions in Spanish. He then stopped by multiple fans on his way out of the stadium and spoke some of the regional Catalan language with them.
Sources close to the Englishman, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, like all others in this article, say research had been done beforehand to make a good impression, and he knew the importance of learning Catalan.
He started learning Spanish thanks to Daniel Martin, a Madrid-born physiotherapist who has worked at Newcastle for the past 10 years. He could already speak some words and understand basic conversations on arrival. Now he is dipping into informal chats and slang with his team-mates, while taking Spanish and Catalan classes twice a week.
Gordon has moved to Barcelona with his partner and son, and has been spotted dining at some of the top restaurants in the city, such as Botafumeiro — one of club president Joan Laporta’s favourites.
“Certainly the most impressive thing is how clever he is,” says a first-team source. “As a player, he knows what he can do, what are his strengths and how he can help the manager and the team. He is selfless and reads the game.
“Understanding the moments of the game is very important at Barcelona. Then, technically, he is at the required standard. But the most impressive thing about him is that he knows how to make the team better, and he fits well with Flick’s high-pressing philosophy.“
An example of Gordon’s awareness of dressing-room dynamics goes back to the La Liga opener against Elche. He came on with 25 minutes of the 90 to go, with Barca 2-0 up, and found himself running in behind the home defence. He had a one-on-one against the goalkeeper but instead of looking for his moment to score a debut goal, set up Fermin Lopez to finish into an open goal for Barcelona’s fourth of a game that ended 5-0.
“This is an example of Gordon understanding where he is and wanting to do things the right way,” another Barca source said. “That day it was a gift to Fermin, but in the future the team will surely get his back if it’s needed.”
Anthony Gordon’s future is believed to be as a No 9 (Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Those close to him say joining Barcelona was Gordon’s dream move.
There was plenty of interest around him this summer, with The Athletic reporting Bayern Munich’s pursuit of the winger, and it is well known that despite coming through the academy at Everton, he is a boyhood fan of Merseyside neighbours Liverpool (he started out in their youth system, but was released as an 11-year-old). But as soon as Barca knocked at his door, Gordon’s mind was made up.
“He won’t say it out loud, because that’s not his personality, but Anthony didn’t sign for Barcelona just to make the numbers,” a source from the player’s camp told The Athletic. “He has come here to make a big impact, get to really know the club and the city, and go down in Barca’s history books.”
Gordon is only the second English player to ever sign for the club on a permanent deal, following fellow England forward Gary Lineker in 1986.
There is a belief that a part of this instant impact is down to being surrounded by gifted players. He has grown up as a player outside England’s ‘Big Six’ and their renowned academies, and then moved to Newcastle, another side not quite among the domestic elite.
Who’s on my head? – Anthony Gordon or Rayan Cherki
Tifo Football
The positive atmosphere in the dressing room is another factor praised by the player’s entourage. The core of this squad have been together for multiple years at least, as many of his new colleagues were part of Barca’s famed La Masia youth setup. “It does feel like a family. All the players have been extremely nice. There’s a union you hardly see in professional football,” the same source says.
As stated earlier, Gordon has primarily been used as a left-winger, which the coaching staff believe is his best position, but another factor in his signing was his capacity to play centrally in attack, too.
He was deployed as a striker multiple times by Newcastle, as well as in his youth career: in 2023, England won the Under-21 European Championship (beating Spain in the final) with Gordon as their No 9, registering two goals and one assist in the tournament while starting five of their six games.
“I do think we will see Gordon as a nine at Barca eventually, but right now Raphinha is playing fantastically in the position and there is not a world in which he is taken off that,” a dressing room source said.
No matter what the role is, the Camp Nou crowd is thrilled to see ‘Anthony the big one’ becoming one of their own.
