Kevin De Bruyne didn’t have the greatest week. For starters he’s gone on record to say he hates the UEFA Nations League calling the tournament “glorified friendlies”, then he and Belgium got embarrassed at home in a 4-1 defeat to the Netherlands on Friday and to top it all off a De Bruyne nutmeg video has gone viral.
So it’s over then? It’s really over? Lionel Messi, the Greatest Of All Time, is leaving Barcelona after the agreement of a new contract deteriorated in the face of “financial and structural obstacles (Spanish Liga regulations).”
When attempting to explain what made Ronaldo “O Fenômeno” ("The Phenomenon”), we usually like to focus on the frightening mixture of pace, technique and composure that added up to 15 World Cup goals and a career total of 309, of which 11% were scored after rounding the keeper.
There are few feelings better in the soccer world, and dare I say world at large, than cruising by an opposing player with a nifty piece of footwork. Obviously, 1v1 moves are extremely dependent on the situation you’re in - you can’t expect a singular go-to move to take you by a defender regardless of where you are on the field and what’s happening around you. Speed and acceleration play a huge role in the proper execution of these moves, so keep that in mind.
The fastest LaLiga debut goal for Real Madrid since Ronaldo (and a brilliant one at that). A hat-trick on his second Champions League appearance. That ridiculous outside-of-the-foot volley against Club Brugge.
The Premier League has earned its place as the most-watched domestic competition on the planet with a package of blood and thunder. In cauldron-like atmospheres up and down the country, clubs compete at exemplifying heavy metal football while engaged in tit-for-tat thrill rides for 90 frantic minutes.
But what sets the Premier League apart is that it’s also home to some of the game’s most sublime artists. These are the players who remind us that while force allows you to exert some form of control over proceedings, dominance can really only be achieved through understanding.
Injuries, a contentious World Cup and the personal admission of a desire to abandon the PSG project have all adversely affected Neymar over the past two years — so much so that he found himself omitted entirely from the 30-man list for the 2019 Ballon d’Or.
As an American, it’s only natural that you’ll go through life encountering people that aren’t soccer fans. I’ve found — time after time — that the greatest bridge over that divide is Zlatan Ibrahimović. Introducing the big Swede’s personality to the uninitiated turns ambivalence into interest, and showing the Galaxy striker’s most famous goals turns interest into “holy shit, that’s incredible!”