Celta de Vigo

Celta Vigo forward Fedor Smolov ignored a lockdown order and left Spain to return to Russia for his fiancee Maria Yumasheva's 18th birthday party, according to The Guardian. 

He was the second Celta Vigo player to defy the quarantine order after forward Pione Sisto drove home to Denmark last week. 

"The player repeatedly requested permission to travel to Russia for a personal matter," a club source told AS regarding the 30-year-old Smolov (via The Guardian). "The club could not give it to him because La Liga did not authorize it, but he promptly reported his movements and left with the commitment to return once he solved his personal affairs."

Smolov said last week he understood he wouldn't be able to visit his fiancee, Yumasheva—who is the granddaughter of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin—due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair were engaged in January.

"I get along well, nothing new can happen," he said. "I don't think about anything and I accept the situation."

Apparently not. Smolov is now reportedly facing a fine upon his return, per The Guardian.

The forward has made five starts for Celta Vigo this season, with one goal. He joined the club on loan in late January. 

Denis Suarez has put his failed loan spell with Arsenal behind him and officially left Barcelona on a permanent basis to join Celta Vigo.

Suarez, who began his career with Celta, rejoined the club on a four-year contract on Sunday. The deal was announced on Celta's official Twitter account (h/t Sport).

Barca are set to receive "12.9 million euros, plus 3.1 million in variables," per Sport. It's a happy resolution for a talented player who has struggled for playing time since first moving to the Camp Nou back in 2013.

A lack of minutes led to Suarez being loaned to the Gunners during the January transfer window. It looked like a smart move for all parties.

Arsenal needed more strength in depth in midfield and Suarez was reuniting with head coach Unai Emery. The two had worked together when Suarez moved to Sevilla on loan for the 2014/15 season, a campaign that ended with the club winning the UEFA Europa League.

Any hope of rekindling similar magic quickly disappeared, with Suarez bemoaning his brief time in north London. He recently told Cadena Ser Radio (h/t Sid Lowe of The Guardian): "I don't think I was even at 50 percent. After 15 days of being at Arsenal, I wasn't right. From the 16th I wasn't even at 50 percent."

Ultimately, Suarez made a mere six appearances, all as a substitute, for the Gunners. He didn't manage to register a single goal or assist in 95 minutes of action.

Even so, landing the attacking midfielder represents a coup for Celta. Suarez had been linked with a move to Valencia, per Marca's Fernando Alvarez.

He was said to prefer joining Los Che and reuniting with manager Marcelino. The pair enjoyed a fruitful partnership when Suarez was transferred to Villarreal in 2015.

He only spent one season with the Yellow Submarine but thrived in Marcelino's 4-4-2 setup, helping the club reach the semi-final of the Europa League. Suarez was so impressive for Villarreal, Barca quickly exercised a buy-back option.

Things haven't worked out since, but Celta will hope they're getting the same player from the 2015/16 campaign. If so, Suarez will be a major asset for a club that flirted with relegation last season.

Suarez is a skilled technician whose game is based on flair and vision. He should become the chief source of supply for striker and club talisman Iago Aspas.

Celta have another talent in the final third, while Barca have added to a transfer kitty already boosted by the sales of goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen and playmaker Andre Gomes.

Celta Vigo will be able to count on the goals of Iago Aspas until 2023 after the 31-year-old forward signed a contract extension on Wednesday.

Aspas' decision was reported by Football Espana, who noted how much of a boost it offers the club still fighting to avoid relegation from La Liga: "Aspas had missed three months of action with a calf problem, coinciding with his side's form plummeting but netted five goals in three games since his return."

Celta Vigo with and without Iago Aspas featuring in La Liga this season

For more player stats -- https://t.co/4Zkd2oUvsi pic.twitter.com/krw28o30DA

— WhoScored (@WhoScored) April 17, 2019

Even with those goals, Celta remain just a point above the bottom three. Having Aspas available has to make manager Fran Escriba's team a favourite to ultimately achieve safety.

Aspas staying put is not only a huge boost to Celta, it's also a pleasing show of loyalty from the player who returned to the club in 2015 after a brief and ill-fated spell with Liverpool:

He was linked with a big money move to China and decided to stay with Celta Vigo to save them from relegation.

Only Lionel Messi has a better goals-per-game average in La Liga this season.

Iago Aspas signs a new four-year contract with Celta. 💙 pic.twitter.com/kSsGfz84HG

— bet365 (@bet365) April 17, 2019

Football Espana's report also noted how Aspas was set to be out of contract in 2021. His decision to prolong his stay at Balaidos makes sense given how much his form has been revived since his return, netting 85 goals in all competitions since rejoining the club.

This season, Aspas is the highest-scoring Spaniard in La Liga. He's also keeping pace with some of the game's most gifted stars:

Only Lionel Messi (1.14) has a better goals-per-game average in La Liga this season than Celta’s Iago Aspas (0.71) 💪 pic.twitter.com/1TKgzeYw4T

— GOAL (@goal) April 12, 2019

Those numbers will likely surprise Liverpool fans, who may remember Aspas as a timid figure who failed to assert himself after being brought to Anfield by Brendan Rodgers back in 2013.

However, such struggles are now merely distant memories for a striker who has come into his own. Although he wears No. 9, Aspas is far removed from a traditional target man.

Instead, he's all about perceptive movement, drifting out wide to drag markers on to the flanks or dropping off the front to help link play.

Through a mixture of intelligence and versatility, Aspas has not only made himself essential for Celta, but he's also become a useful option for the Spain national team.

Aspas scored a debut international goal against England in 2016, and he's since netted for his country at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

If Aspas can help Celta beat the drop, his new contract makes him the ideal talisman to build a more competitive team around ahead of next season.  

There are some familiar names at the top of the Liga scoring chart. Leo Messi leads the way on 29, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez on 23. Then on 19 goals comes two men: Antonine Griezmann and Iago Aspas.

Liverpool fans might be surprised to see that final name on the list, but Aspas has worked hard to win over the Spanish public and a place at the World Cup in Russia looks destined to be his reward. 

---

In truth, Iago Aspas never backs down from a fight. There was one day, however, when maybe he should have walked away. In March 2013, Aspas was playing for his hometown club Celta Vigo in their derby match against Deportiva de La Coruna. It was the first time Celta had met their Galician rivals at the Riazor Stadium in A Coruna in six years. The 25-year-old Aspas was wound up. He despised Depor. He said he wouldn't even take a girlfriend from the city of A Coruna.

It was a critical match in both clubs' fortunes. The pair were rooted to the bottom of La Liga as the spring bled towards summer and the end of the season. Some 34,000 fans streamed into the ground, including travelling support that took the hour-long drive from Vigo, members of the Iago Aspas Supporters Club among them, per La Voz de Galicia.

Depor took the lead after nine minutes. About 20 minutes later, the ball was knocked down towards Depor's penalty spot. Aspas went to challenge for the ball with his marker, one of Spain's grizzliest defenders, Carlos Marchena.

These days, Marchena has returned to where he started in the south—he's on the coaching staff at Sevilla. He grew up in a quintessential Andalucian town, Las Cabezas de San Juan Ramon in Andalucia, and is as hard as nails. During a La Liga career that spanned three decades, he once played in 50 consecutive undefeated matches for the Spain national team. He's a World Cup winner and a wily operator.

When the ball dropped in the square between Aspas and himself, Aspas beat him to it and flashed a shot over the bar. The pair spilled to the ground. Marchena fell back over Aspas. He said something to him. Aspas took the bait and stuck him with a head-butt.

The 33-year-old Marchena milked it, dropping to the canvas with his head held in his hands and rolling slowly backwards and forwards like a man with a bad fever. Aspas was sent off. Reduced to 10 men, Celta were beaten 3-1. Worse—Aspas, who had been the club's leading scorer that season, was suspended for four games.

"We still talk about that derby match in 2013," says Borja Reforos, a journalist with Atlantico Diario. "Both teams were fighting not to go down. The derby was very, very heated. Marchena said something and Aspas didn't give him a bad head-butt but Marchena reacted theatrically. Most of Celta's fans felt disappointed because we knew the importance of that match about losing their best player. Everyone knew that Marchena, well, he is well known as a troublemaker." 

The rush of blood cost him dearly. He was on the verge of being called up to Spain's national squad for the first time, but Vicente del Bosque decided against it because of his indiscretion, per La Voz de Galicia. It was a cruel added blow.

Aspas was constantly in trouble early in his career because of his fiery temperament. He was born in August 1987, growing up in Moana, a Galician fishing town, which looks across the sea at Vigo. His mother was a fishmonger. Several of the menfolk in his family earned a living from football, including an uncle; one brother is a goalkeeper; his older brother Jonathan who played several seasons in midfield for Celta and a couple of cousins who traded in the country's lower leagues.

After coming up through the ranks at Celta's youth academy, Aspas fell out with the club and was shipped out on loan to a neighbourhood club in Vigo, Rapido Bouzas at the start of the 2005-2006 season. When the two sides met, Aspas got sent off. It was part of a pattern.

"As we say in Galicia, he was "un gamberrada"—a hooligan. He was naughty," says Manuel Pedro Seoane Cordal, president of Rapido Bouzas. "There is a story that he was once sent off in a match because he pulled down a player's underwear. If he did it or not, I don't know. That's a legend about him. 

"He was an explosive player. He had a lot of quality, but he had a very bad character on the pitch—'mala leche'. He was all the time getting sent off. The joke was that he used to get a red card every game; it wasn't that much but he was a guy with a bad mood—all the time arguing with other players, protesting against the ref. He loved to complain.

"He is a player who pushes himself to the limits. He's not like Messi who is 'muy tranquilo' or Iniesta, who is very relaxed. Aspas is a fighter who plays every match as if his life depended on it, and if he is in a situation where he has to kick somebody, well, he would do it. He has no fear. All the guy wants to do is win no matter what!"

Seoane explains that Aspas has a Jeckyll and Hyde personality. Off the pitch, he's full of smiles and easy company: "Outside the pitch," he says, "Aspas is an excellent guy, very friendly, very cordial, very happy. Inside the pitch he's transformed."

Aspas curbed his ways at Rapido Bouzas and returned to Celta where he made a sensational start to his senior career. In only his second game for the club, he was sprung from the bench in a relegation battle against Alaves in June 2009 with an hour gone on the clock. The club was drowning in over €80 million of debt, per ESPN, and relegation to Spain's third tier, a four-division morass could have signalled oblivion for Celta.

With his side a goal down, the 21-year-old Aspas delivered—scoring two late goals to secure a 2-1 win. "That image of Iago celebrating the goals and going absolutely crazy on the pitch and the whole stadium that went crazy as well. I think it is the most vivid memory I will always have about him," says Juan Carlos Alvarez, sports editor with Faro de Vigo.

The Iago Aspas legend at Celta was born. He has repeatedly added to the lore over the years—scoring 23 goals during their successful promotion campaign to La Liga in 2011-2012; several goals that dragged the club to within a whisker of the Europa League final last season, only to go out to eventual winners, Manchester United, in the semi-final; and a golazo against England at Wembley on the night of his international debut.

A big-money move to Liverpool at the start of the 2013-2014 went sour. During a season at Anfleld, he failed to score a goal in the league, and spent the bulk of the season on the bench, unable to dislodge Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge as the team's two preferred strikers. His time at the club is remembered for a botched corner kick where he comically "passed" the ball to Chelsea's Willian who took off on a counterattack from the edge of the box.

The environment was wrong for Aspas at Liverpool. He failed to learn the English language, and spent a lot of the time holed up with his Spanish entourage, including family members.

"I heard not directly but from mutual friends that he had problems at Liverpool because the club has a manner of playing, of behaving on the pitch, which is very correct," says Seoane. "He didn't like to conform. It would be different at a club like Atletico Madrid where he would fit. Celta doesn't curb him. It lets him be."  

Aspas has found his mojo again at Celta. This season, as was the case last season, he is the top Spanish scorer in La Liga. He has been called up to seven consecutive national team squads, and scored against Argentina in last month's friendly at the Wanda Metropoltiano. He is getting better with age, and looks a shoe-in for Spain's FIFA World Cup squad in the summer.

"I think the key is his determination, his mentality, his capacity to learn," says Alvarez. "He is 30 years old. He is at an advanced stage of his career, but everyday he learns something new. Every day, he is a better footballer. That is his big virtue. He is fast, scores a lot of goals. He knows how to solve a game, and he has this desire in his career to continually learn, even from his mistakes. That capacity to continue evolving is what has taken him to the top."

It's notable that he has only picked up three red cards in the last nine seasons, per Soccerbase.com. He has matured, but is still hungry for goals. Tonight at the Balaidos Stadium in Vigo he takes on Barcelona, one of the meanest defences in La Liga, and which is hoping to end the season unbeaten for the only time in the league's history. He'll relish the challenge. 

All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise indicated.

Follow Richard on Twitter: @Richard_Fitz

Celta Vigo loanee Giuseppe Rossi visibly wept after being removed from his team's game against Eibar in La Liga on Sunday after suffering what appeared to be a serious knee injury, according to Kyle Bonn of NBC Sports Pro Soccer Talk.

Rossi, who is on loan from Serie A side Fiorentina, was removed in the 35th minute, per Celta's official Twitter account (h/t Bonn). The attacker was in tears after he received medical treatment.

The setback is undoubtedly a blow for Rossi, a talented player whose career has been blighted by injury woes. Bonn also noted how the 30-year-old Italian twice tore his ACL during a previous spell with Villarreal.

Now there are fears Rossi has succumbed to the same problem, per Sky Sport reporter Matteo Moretto (h/t Bonn): "No update has been given by Celta Vigo yet, as their 2-0 loss to Eibar has just gone final, but there are reports that Rossi has possibly suffered yet another ACL tear, this time in his left knee."

si teme la rottura del legamento del ginocchio sinistro per Giuseppe Rossi. Giocatore uscito alla mezz'ora di #CeltaEibar. Preoccupatissimo. pic.twitter.com/dMZwksltob

— Matteo Moretto (@Matte_Moretto) April 9, 2017

Rossi had joined Villarreal after coming through the ranks at Manchester United. He had shown devilish pace and true quality as a finisher during his brief time at Old Trafford.

However, injuries have too often kept fans guessing about how prolific Rossi may have become had he managed to stay fit.

For more news, rumors and related stories about Giuseppe Rossi, Celta Vigo and La Liga check out the La Liga and Celta Vigo streams on Bleacher Report's app.

Alaves held hosts Celta Vigo to a scoreless draw in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final at the Estadio Municipal de Balaidos on Thursday.

The Galicians dominated before half-time against an Alaves team that rarely ventured out of their own half, but chances were rare. Heavy rain opened up the match a little in the second half, but the Basque side stood firm and preserved the clean sheet.

The hosts began with John Guidetti and Giuseppe Rossi on the bench, giving them plenty of extra weapons to bring on late in the match if needed. Ibai Gomez started for Alaves.

As expected, Celta opened the game with plenty of possession and attacking intent, and Daniel Wass claimed an early free-kick following a foul from Theo Hernandez.

Iago Aspas failed to hit the target with his first look at the goal, while Deyverson spent the opening stages seeing little of the ball as Alaves sat back with nearly all of their players and absorbed the pressure.

As La Liga's official Twitter account shared, the visitors have quite the reputation for defensive resiliency:

Alaves are the semi-finalists with the most clean sheets in this year's #CopadelRey (4).

📺 Watch Celta-Alaves 👉 https://t.co/fDCrZFv0EU pic.twitter.com/hza9t2SVLN

— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) February 2, 2017

Unsurprisingly, the pace of the match dropped after Celta's fast start, and chances were rare. The home fans were anything but happy, as Alaves served up a drab, dull performance.

Deyverson saw a few long balls launched in his direction, and he threatened once or twice on the counter. But most of the action took place near the opposing box. Wass tried his luck with an ambitious cross that nearly caught the defenders by surprise, but fortunately for Alaves, Victor Laguardia recovered in time.

Theo Bongonda and Aspas both nearly connected with another inviting cross before the former earned the first booking of the night for a foul on Laguardia. With 10 minutes left to play, the ball popped open in what was easily the most exciting moment of the half.

Sergio Alvarez had to make a late save to deny Manu Garcia, and Theo Hernandez missed the target with a sliced effort before the official called for an end to the half.

Marca summed up the half:

HALF-TIME: 0-0

It's Celta's attack vs Alaves' defence ...

... and the defence is winning.

LIVE BLOG: https://t.co/bG0bZg9KE2#CeltaAlaves pic.twitter.com/qTES5EpEPH

— MARCA in English 🇺🇸 (@MARCAinENGLISH) February 2, 2017

During the course of half-time, the rain intensified, and by the start of the second half, the pitch had taken a beating. Marca shared this image:

The rain in Spain falls mainly on Balaidos.

Sergio Alvarez slips, but it's still 0-0.

LIVE BLOG: https://t.co/bG0bZg9KE2#CeltaAlaves pic.twitter.com/73SFz5zDOJ

— MARCA in English 🇺🇸 (@MARCAinENGLISH) February 2, 2017

The level of play didn't improve in such conditions. Alaves defender Zouhair Feddal cleared cross after cross, frustrating the hosts with his aerial dominance.

Deyverson tried his luck at the other end of the pitch, but Hugo Mallo got in front of the striker to make a good block. Hernandez flashed his speed and almost found the mark with a low drive, but a deflection took the ball into the side netting instead of the goal.

Fernando Pacheco did well to deny Bongonda, who had little time to aim a shot, and Aspas hit the bar with a powerful volley as Celta got closer to a deserved lead.

Alaves threatened as well, with Alvarez forced into another save by Edgar, and Aspas comically missed the target with a poorly struck shot from a promising position.

Pione Sisto and Guidetti were introduced as Celta hunted for a late goal, and Pablo Hernandez went close, striking the post. Aspas also put Pacheco to work, but Alaves survived, setting themselves up for Wednesday's return leg.

Per La Liga's official Twitter account, Aspas believes he and his team-mates will not alter their approach:

🎙 Iago Aspas: "We knew that Alaves were a tough team. The return leg will be difficult but we'll go looking for goals." #CopadelRey pic.twitter.com/HYdG5YxDld

— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) February 2, 2017

Alaves got lucky a few times in the second half and were aided by the conditions on Thursday. They'll have to be more positive in the return leg, because Celta likely won't miss as many chances again.

Celta Vigo pulled off a huge shock to eliminate Real Madrid from the 2017 Spanish Copa del Rey, and they will now face Alaves in the first leg of the semi-final on Thursday.

Alaves defeated Alcorcon to advance and will believe they can make it to the final if they restrict the hosts in the opening game.

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid meet in the other semi-final to decide which Spanish giant advances all the way to the end of the competition.

Here is how you can watch the first instalment of the last-four fixture:

   

Date: Thursday, Feb. 2

Time: 8 p.m. GMT/3 p.m. ET

TV: beIN Sports USA (U.S.)

Live Stream: LaLigaTVLaCopa, beIN Sports Connect, fubo.tv

   

Preview

Real Madrid's cup ambitions were dashed by a valiant Celta side in the quarter-finals, defeating the champions of Europe 4-3 on aggregate.

Los Blancos had been expected to travel to the Balaidos Stadium and prevail after losing the first leg, but Cristiano Ronaldo and his team-mates could not overturn the disadvantage.

The Sky Blues will be delighted the draw fell in their favour, as Barca and Atletico meet in the other semi-final.

Celta are enjoying a fine campaign, residing in eighth in La Liga and just outside the UEFA Europa League positions.

However, Alaves are also fighting the good battle in Spain's top division and lie 12th. They are 11 points clear of the relegation zone, allowing success in the Copa to become a focus and priority.

Fans of Spanish football might be underwhelmed by a cup match involving mid-table sides, but the prospect of getting to the final is equally realistic for both clubs.

Celta have announced the signing of Danish attacking midfielder Andrew Hjulsager, per their official website (h/t Adriana Garcia of ESPN FC).

The player has impressed in the Danish Superliga, scoring seven goals in 19 appearances for Brondby, per Garcia.

The transfer will give Celta coach Eduardo Berizzo flexibility in attack with Chile winger Fabian Orellana going to Valencia on loan, per club statements (h/t Garcia). Berizzo had already banished Orellana for "an unacceptable lack of respect," per EFE (h/t Padraig Whelan of Marca).

Previous to the loan move, Celta sporting director Felipe Minambres confirmed the player would not feature for the team again, per EFE (h/t Whelan).

Based on the coach's report, the club has decided to look for a fresh start for Orellana in January.

We will attempt to find the best solution, which would be a sale.

The club comes first, above all individuals and we support our coach 100 percent. It doesn't matter if there has been an apology or not, the decision has been made.

We think the coach's decision is correct but we believe we will receive offers for Orellana because he is a great player and we are already working on a replacement.

It is unknown if Hjulsager will be available to feature in the first leg, but he will be a credible threat once selected.

Celta will be expected to make it to the final, but two-legged affairs often raise surprising results.

Alaves average a goal conceded every match in La Liga, per Sky Sports, but it is their attack that might be their overriding weakness.

The visitors are not prolific, and they will struggle to score away from home.

The first leg will dictate how this fixture unfolds, and Celta will hope to place one foot in the final with a stellar performance on Thursday night.

Iago Aspas stretched out his shirt with his left hand, lifting the chest of it toward his mouth to kiss the badge. It's his badge, and he's been kissing it a lot lately, more than any of his team-mates can or perhaps ever would do, and more than nearly every player in La Liga could have done with their own. 

Aspas had been teed up by Theo Bongonda early in the second half on Sunday at the Benito Villamarin, turning it home on the volley with the outside of his left boot. And so the customary celebration unfolded, lips to the badge, for the second time in an hour; for the fifth time in four games; for the 10th time in eight; for the 12th time in 13. 

The striker who's back at home at Celta Vigo is sizzling, and Spain is taking notice. His two goals in Celta's 3-3 draw with Real Betis took him to 12 goals for the season in all competitions and to nine in the Primera Division.

That's five more league goals than Neymar and Karim Benzema, four more than Gareth Bale, and three more than Antoine Griezmann, Kevin Gameiro and Yannick Carrasco. It's the same number of goals as Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, and it's only one fewer than Cristiano Ronaldo. 

It's said that there's nothing quite like home, and Aspas is showing it. Dashing and confident, inventive and lethal, he scored two in the derby against Deportivo La Coruna, two in one of the games of the season against Las Palmas and two more on Sunday in another thriller with Betis.

He's scored against names like Barcelona and Ajax, and he's scored against England—at Wembley and in a Spain shirt. All just two years after that corner. 

Máximos goleadores de #LaLigaSantander...

10- Cristiano Ronaldo
9- IAGO ASPAS, Messi y Luis Suárez 🔥#RealBetisCelta pic.twitter.com/y5vbuukw0x

— LALIGA (@LaLiga) December 4, 2016

Few moments in Premier League history have ever been seized upon and held up by so many to define a player's time in England in the way Aspas' corner against Chelsea has been. In Liverpool's 2-0 loss to the Blues in April 2014, a game that dented the Reds' title charge, the Spaniard's comical ball from in front of the Kop in the dying seconds was one perfect for the digital generation and essentially what Vine was created for. 

It was as though he was colour blind or, worse, didn't even look. His flat ball from the corner found Willian standing on his own, at least 15 yards away from any Liverpool player. On Merseyside, Aspas will never live it down. In Vigo, he doesn't have to.

Aspas is now back at the club of his home and his heart after stints away at Liverpool and then on loan at Sevilla. To understand what Celta means to him, you must look at his history there. 

Now 29, he joined the club more than two decades ago at the age of eight, progressing through the youth ranks and into the first team at Balaidos. He's the local lad from Moana who saved them from relegation from the Segunda Division to the desolate third tier in 2009, scoring two late goals against Alaves on the penultimate weekend of the season, the second of them in stoppage time with the score locked at 1-1. 

He's also the man whose excellence and goals—23 of them—in 2011-12 brought Celta back up to La Liga after five seasons away. He's the man who, once his team had got there, ensured they stayed. It's not an exaggeration to say Aspas is the reason Celta are where they are, flying and settled in the top division and one of the most exciting teams in the country. 

#BenvidoIago #CrecemosXuntos pic.twitter.com/mMZ01RYW5r

— RC Celta (@RCCelta) June 12, 2015

In 2013, his move to Anfield looked like the major break in his career. He was coming off 37 goals in two seasons, and those at Celta understood he had to go. 

Spain's smaller clubs happily sell to the financial monsters in the Premier League because that's what they need to do to survive. Aspas was waved goodbye to in Vigo, but Celta knew it had to be this way. Doing this also helps them buy the player they hope will follow; selling Aspas allowed Celta to buy Nolito. 

But selling Aspas never worked out for Aspas, even if it worked out for his club. At Liverpool, he found himself caught behind the barnstorming pair of Suarez and Daniel Sturridge in the Reds' best season for years. Adapting to the physicality of the Premier League was also difficult for a player expected to play like Sergio Aguero but built like Joe Allen.

It didn't help that he was never able to knock down the language barrier nor embed himself into the city. Marca (in Spanish) said a couple of years later that the only word he ever learned was "yes," but that wasn't true. As noted by Pete Jenson for the MailOnline, he told Spanish radio not long after his move that he'd also learned the phrase "f--k off."

Why was he signed, then? It was because he can seriously play, but what the former Red shows is that making a transfer work is about more than talent. A player must fit in, not just to a system or a style, but to a squad, a club, a city and country. It's about personalities and ambitions aligning. It's about knowing who you're getting (the person) and not just what you're getting (the footballer). 

If it was just about talent, then Aspas would have worked out at Liverpool. You only have to look at him now to see it. 

Iago Aspas is of course back at his first club Celta Vigo this evening. He was given a warm welcome yesterday... pic.twitter.com/4dKYm2ynrx

— AS USA (@English_AS) May 10, 2015

Back at Balaidos, the local hero is leading Celta again with all the qualities Liverpool once saw. A source of incessant energy, he's always at the heart of everything Eduardo Berizzo's team do, and he's usually the man finishing it all off as well.

Last season, he played in the middle of a potent front three that included Nolito and Fabian Orellana. The former is now gone, off with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but Aspas still ploughs on. This season, he's scored goals on the break, in traffic, with dinks, with volleys, with blasts and with curling strikes—just ask England. 

The Celta star hadn't even expected to play that night at Wembley, but an injury to Diego Costa opened the door for a call-up. He found out when he was in the shower at Celta's training ground in A Madroa; Julen Lopetegui was on the phone, and Aspas thought it was a joke. 

"I was in the shower," he told the club's official website (h/t AS). "I still can't quite believe it."

He might have been struggling to believe it even more when he scored on his debut, after coming on in the second half. But if he couldn't, plenty of the others could believe it. This was what he'd been doing for months, scoring for fun, "fun" being the operative word.

He and Celta are among the best entertainment La Liga has. In six of the club's last eight games in all competitions, there have been four goals or more; in five of them, there have been five or more, two of them ending 3-3, the derby ending 4-1 and the thriller with Barcelona ending 4-3.

Aspas scored in all of them, and he scored against Barcelona last season, too. Twice. After the second of them, he kept running beyond the goal and toward the crowd, launching himself on top of the advertising boards, arms in the air, the crowd going wild in front of him. It might be the image of his career.  

"I feel loved here," he said that night, per Sport (in Spanish), and he is. He'd be loved at Balaidos whether he had nine goals in the league or none. But he has nine, the same number as Messi and Suarez; only one behind Ronaldo. That corner will never define him. 

Oj, oj, oj! John Guidetti slår till med ett riktigt drömmål mot Atlético Madrid:https://t.co/Vmp2WAEXxO

— Magasinet MATCH (@MagasinetMATCH) January 27, 2016

Celta Vigo striker John Guidetti provided an impressive reminder of his talent on Wednesday with a stunning long-range strike against Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon Stadium.

The two sides were competing for a place in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey when former Manchester City prospect Guidetti picked the ball up just inside the Atleti half.

Así ha sido el golazo de Guidetti desde fuera del área #Copadelrey pic.twitter.com/p2R2ygaUmq

— Fair Play (@FairPlay_1986) January 27, 2016

He drove forward before unleashing a powerful 35-yard effort that flew into the back of the net.

It put Celta 2-1 up and on their way towards an impressive win.

[Twitter]