The London Derby between Arsenal and Chelsea has countless highlights. But on this day, December 10th, 9 years ago Michael Essien scored a screamer that nearly made Stamford Bridge explode. Sure, it was only an equalizer, but the 84th minute rocket was huge for Chelsea at the time as they were trying to keep pace with runaway leaders Manchester United. The game was back and forth, with pushing and shoving and loads of talent on the pitch.
Carles Puyol embodies all of the characteristics of a defender you fear: he’s strong, he’s aggressive, he’s got hair to put Tarzan to shame, he just might be an animal of a man. You are used to him scoring goals off of set pieces, but that’s about it when it comes to Carles Puyol skills. He’ll pass around the back like all world-class center-backs do. He’ll have the odd long ball forward.
Located on the outskirts of the historic city of Florence in the picturesque hilly landscape of Tuscany, a club is redefining, or reintroducing, what the relationship between a team and their supporters can be.
Centro Storico Lebowski, spearheaded by a conglomerate of supporters fed up with "mod€rn" football and the growing disconnect between Italian clubs and their supporters, is founded on the prioritization of fan ownership, self-management and a bit of Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a senstational free kick goal today against Malmo in the Champions League. It was only his 3rd free kick goal in his last 99 attempts and his first in his last 20. But the Portuguesse star has now scored 70 goals in 69 gams for Real Madrid. It was Ronaldo's first direct FK goal in the Champions League since April of 2014. Ronaldo finished the match with 4 goals coming in a span of 20 minutes. He has set the record for most goals scored (11) in the a Champions League group stage. Here is another angle of the first goal:
Football is played all over the world. As cities and nations grow, the stadiums that they build to play football in become beacons of pride, displays of power, and dedications to the game we all love. This video and the following pictures of amazing stadiums show just how monumental and legendary that all of those manifestations can be.
What happens when you fall down in a soccer match? Well, normally players beg and plea to the referee. But that wasn't the case for Jairo Samperio. The Spaniard playing for German club FSK Mainz slid into the box while trying to get a cross in, but a deflection sent the ball right back where it came from. With out hesitation, the crafty Samperio executed a perfect scissor kick lob all while while lying on his back.
Jairo found the net later on in the match en rout to Mainz ending Hamburg's two game winning streak.
What's better than long range goals? Long range goals by 18-year-olds, that's what. And boy did Benfica youngster, Renato Sanches score a beauty this past weekend. The lad from Lisbon's first goal was a memorable one, when he unloaded from 35 yards out, to secure Benfica's 3-0 victory over Academica De Coimbra.
It's hard to pick the greatest goal of Cristiano Ronaldo's career. I mean, the guy has scored over 500 goals over his 13 year career, so picking just one of them as the best is a tall task. But this long range rip against Porto back in 2009 has to be right atop the list. The younger CR7 has the onions to even attempt this shot, let alone pull it off. It almost makes you sad, because now as the quantity of his goals goes up, it feels like the quality has gone down. Yeah, i know the game is about putting the ball in the back of the net, but I can still be bummed about it.
The goal of the week from the Premier League this weekend came from an unlikely suspect. Bournemouth defender Adam Smith scored an absolute beaut of a goal to spur his clubs comeback 3-3 tie with Everton. The 24-year-old from England only has 5 career goals in 100+ appearances, but the substitute gave Bournemouth fans a lasting memory for a squad who is in a tight relegation battle. Smith's curler was so filthy, not even Tim Howard had a shot at saving it, and even Tim knows that. This goal just bleeds beauty, it has everything.
He's not Messi, but this Lucas Melano Messi-like goal would make La Pulga proud. The fellow Argentine went beast mode en route to a ridiculous goal that sealed the Timbers spot in the MLS final. Melano received a pass cutting into the box and proceeded to fake out not only FC Dallas defender Matt Hedges, but also goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez. The fake passes we're executed perfectly which gave Melano just enough room to flick home the golazo. We're starting to think that Melano should be getting more minutes, because he obviously has the potential to play like his countryman Lionel Messi.