Gen Z were finally given some ammunition with Raphinha. For 20 years, that crop of Leeds United fans has had to listen to stories about the glory years of Don Revie, Howard Wilkinson and David O’Leary.
They had no comeback, no dewy-eyed memories of watching the club’s best-ever players in the flesh. Whenever their parents or grandparents took them down the pub or rolled back the years at the dinner table, all they could offer was League One or Steve Evans.
Raphinha changed all that. The Brazilian is the best player to have pulled on a Leeds shirt in 20 years and symbolised the club’s return to the top flight.
READ MORE: Raphinha completes transfer to Barcelona from Leeds United with a penalty clause included
If Marcelo Bielsa paved the way for that return with promotion, Raphinha was the reward walking down the path for fans who had suffered for so long in the EFL. At his peak, Raphinha delivered world-class football on a weekly basis.
You have to go back to O’Leary’s Champions League era for the last player of that quality employed at Elland Road. Raphinha brought the unpredictable. You would travel to every match, home and away, in anticipation of what he might create.
There was the unmistakable sound of seats hitting backrests as supporters craned to see his magic when he set off down the right flank. The give-and-gos on the halfway line as he raced into space behind a sleeping left-back became synonymous with the Bielsa-Raphinha era.
The first memorable moment of quality came in a low-key second appearance. In the 84th minute of that memorable 3-0 win at Aston Villa (Patrick Bamford’s hat-trick), there was a cut inside from the right flank and a 40-yard, left-foot drill which took three Villa men out of the game.
It wasn’t a goal or an assist, but it was the first time we were given pause for thought about what Victor Orta may have plucked from France. Three substitute outings soon gave way to starts and Raphinha never looked back.
The daisy-cutter at Everton, the free-kick dedicated to Ronaldinho’s mum, the retirement of Gary Cahill, the euphoric far-post slide against Manchester United, the penalty at Brentford. Raphinha only made 67 appearances, like a Steve Hodge or a Stephen Warnock, but he gave you reason to believe Leeds could win whenever he was on the field.
He did his bit last season. Everyone at Elland Road knows he could have phoned it in down the home stretch of last term, waiting for his cut-price relegation release clause to kick in for a fast exit.
The fact he fought all the way until the final seconds of the campaign spoke volumes and retained the respect of everyone he worked with. He wanted his move away and Leeds were not going to be obstructive.
It has taken longer than anyone would have liked. More than seven weeks have passed since Raphinha’s Hounslow heroics. Leeds did not even receive all the paperwork they needed from Spain until Joan Laporta was out on the field kicking balls with the Brazilian.
It’s been a test of endurance. Raphinha wanted his Catalonia move, Leeds wanted the market rate for a starting Brazil attacker, Chelsea wanted an answer and Barcelona, at one point, seriously wanted an agreement to push this all through in January after the World Cup.
Leeds were never going to go for that and Raphinha would have had massive reservations too. Thankfully, it did not come to that. The Whites expect to have every penny of their fee upfront and imminently. With Kalvin Phillips long gone too, the money has been banked and the next iteration of Leeds is here.
They need another talisman. Raphinha takes 17 goals and 12 assists from the past two seasons with him. Bamford is dying to stay fit enough to be that figure. Joe Gelhardt may still need a year or two to hit that kind of level.
Brenden Aaronson, arriving from Austria, and Luis Sinisterra, arriving from the Netherlands, are the unknown quantities who could follow the trajectory Raphinha took when he arrived from France. He was barely heard of and became an international mainstay for Brazil.
Maybe it will be the striker who is yet to arrive. There are more options for Jesse Marsch to pick from, more subs to use and the potential to even spread around the Raphinha burden.
That’s the thing though, Raphinha never let it feel like it was a burden. That is what made him great. The Leeds shirt did not weigh heavy. He thrived on the pressure, adored entertaining people and that’s why he’s headed for the Champions League.
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