In the Barcelona dressing room there is a tradition of giving a welcome to new players with a practical joke or challenge. Four have been incorporated, Semedo, Deulofeu, Paulinho and Dembele, but thus far there has only been one piece of banter. To who? Nelson Semedo. Why him? Because he was the only one of the four to go on the pre-season US tour which is where this time of activity takes place.
The truth is that poor old Semedo had bad luck, and on top of the challenge, he was also involved in the riffraff with Neymar which caused the Brazilian to leave a training session.
Semedo had to stand on a chair during the last dinner in the US and sing a ‘fado’ a typical melancholic Portuguese song. Although the player was timid initially, he eventually rose above it and passed the test. he was applauded and cheered by those present.
Marlon and Ezkieta also had to stand on a chair and sing, while Raul Pelaez was also a victim. The new man in charge of making videos for the first team, whose effort was of the sort which led to the players asking him to get off the chair and end his performance.
We will have to see what happens to Deulofeu, Paulinho and Dembele, but with master of ceremonies Gerard Pique on the scene, they cannot be sure of getting away without it.