Earlier this week, 13-year-old Olivia Moultire made headlines when turning pro by signing an endorsement deal with Nike and a representation agreement with Wasserman Media Group. This is an unprecedented move in the women’s game — and really a rarity in all of sport given how young she is — but it’s certainly not without parallels on the men’s side.
When Claude Puel was fired by Leicester City over the weekend, there were no more French head coaches at a top-flight Big 5 league outside of France. It got us thinking, which country produces the best coaches by nationality?
Is it Italy, with its highly tactical league? Or England, the inventors of the sport? How about Germany, with the largest population in Europe? Spain’s gotta be up there with the deepest league in Europe, right? Or maybe France, which just won the World Cup?
Attention football fans, Netflix will be adding to its football content on March 21. Mark your calendars because March 21 is not only french footballer Antoine Griezmann’s 27th birthday, but he is also being recognized for his stellar career to becoming a World Cup champion.
Coming soon pic.twitter.com/aEZXNoIu3W
Lionel Messi registered his 50th professional hat trick Saturday, which led to another Twitter frenzy.
Messi now trails just Cristiano Ronaldo with regards to career hat tricks — Ronaldo has 51 three-score outings. The two are compared and argued over more than we’d like to admit. However, the GOAT discussion has officially ended.
Both players have received praise from about everyone in the world, but Messi has officially one-upped his rival with this unmatchable praise:
Legendary England goalkeeper Gordon Banks, who was pivotal in bringing his country its only World Cup victory, died earlier this month at the age of 81. On Saturday, his former club Stoke City honored him with this amazing throwback Jack Butland Gordon Banks jersey.
The 2019 MLS season is right around the corner, and the buildup to it has been filled with news of growth: new MLS teams, new exciting young players and the new kits they’ll be wearing.
Mixed with the old and the new of MLS is the stadia. In MLS, a good portion of the league's teams now have their own soccer-specific stadiums. Some clubs are currently going through the process of building a stadium, some are renovating and others are still waiting to leave their baseball fields behind.
Here’s a roundup of new stadiums coming to MLS this year and a few years down the road.
The 2018-19 season could prove to be a special one for the Arsenal women. The Gunners are trailing Manchester City by two points in the FA Women’s Super League, but Arsenal maintains two games in hand. The club could also capture its first piece of silverware this season when playing City on Saturday in the final of the FA Women’s League Cup.
Arsenal men’s goalkeeper Petr Čech has been paying close attention, and the Czech shot-stopper made good on his promise of taking the team out for dinner on Monday night while footing the bill for 16 people at Sushi Samba in London.
Did you know there’s a 33-year-old American playing goalkeeper in the 2. Bundesliga? I did not, but I’m starting to connect the dots. That man is Kenneth Kronholm, born in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and he’s a certified mad lad.
You know what they say, ridiculous backheel flicks usually come in threes. This past weekend, we were treated to three outlandish finishes of the tacquito sauce variety — one in Amsterdam, one in Nuevo León and one in Poland.
Let’s take a look at all three in descending order.
#3. Kasper Dolberg (Ajax vs. NAC Breda)
The oddly obscure, yet important CONCACAF Champions League returns this week as 16 of North America's best clubs compete for a spot at the (potentially hugely revamped) 2019 FIFA Club World Cup. While the competition remains on the sidelines for U.S. soccer fans, access to watch the matches just got slightly easier.