March 12 marks a full year since soccer in the U.S. — and around the world — shut down over the Covid-19 pandemic. Though we’re not out of the woods yet as we race to vaccinate as many people as possible before new variants threaten to add to the dreadful death toll, it’s a time for reflection on the strange, difficult year that was.
For the second time in two days, I find myself writing about man’s struggle against nothingness. Today, however, you’ll be glad to know that Dorking Wanderers’ Jake Gallagher destroyed the concept of nonexistence in a manner not seen since Albert Einstein called the distinction between past, present and future nothing more than “a stubbornly persistent illusion.”
When we look back at football in 2020/21 over the years to come, there will be no classics, no games to remember — because without fans, matches just don't have the same impact.
Of course, these changes were necessary to prevent the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus, and, if current trends hold, it seems that fans will soon be allowed back in stadiums again.
The excitement is building towards a pair of USMNT friendlies scheduled for the end of the month with the locations of the fixtures (Austria and Northern Ireland) dictating appearances from the European-based players who’ve helped supporters move beyond the last World Cup qualifying debacle.
Every year it seems like there are more and more soccer streaming services to sort through, as cable companies push content for the beautiful game behind paywalls. From the Champions League to the Premier League, it’s more vital than ever to open up your wallet to supplement a cable TV subscription with a multitude of soccer streaming services.
In soccer, rivalries are an important part because playing a “Derby” or “Clásico” is a privilege. However, a special flavor to these duels is tasted when remembering those players who, without any remorse, put on the shirt of the hated rival and played for both teams. These are the authentic "Judases" of soccer that will remain in history for their controversial passage from one team to another.
Here we bring you the biggest players who played for the hated rival.
No sport does rivalries quite like soccer. In terms of proximity, history, passion and the genuine animosity these conditions create, the biggest derbies and grudge matches in world soccer make the Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears look more like the World Stone Skimming Championship.
Every time it’s derby week in Europe, from Manchester to Madrid to Milan, American soccer fans listen to British commentators and ask themselves how to pronounce derby. Being one of the few American soccer websites that actively refuses to use British English, we at The18 decided it was time to once again explain basic soccer terms in American English.