At the tender age of 19, any sort of highlight involving Paris Saint-Germain and France forward Kylian Mbappe is technically still from his “youth.” This is especially true since he started playing for Monaco’s senior side at the age of 16 and dominated the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship at the age of 17. Now he’s a World Cup winner at 19.
The Premier League, our beloved pinnacle of English football, is here glaring at us. With this pyramid of sports excellence comes the often unsung builders: the players who make this league superior to others.
We’ve all been waiting patiently since late May and thanks to the Russia World Cup, witnessing the finesse of some players has only amped up our excitement.
It’s important, fulfilling even, to count one’s blessings during times of joy and excitement. In this case, it’s counting down the 18 best Premier League players in the 2018-19 season.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the top scorer in UEFA Champions League history, but he’s scored less goals in Serie A than Alexi Lalas. Yes, the former USMNT defender has played 44 more games in Italy’s top division (44 to 0), but I’m not gonna let that stop my narrative.
Serie A is home to the most nefarious and stifling defenses on the planet — it’s the birthplace of catenaccio and Fabio Cannavaro placing you inside his back pocket.
Mbappé. Pogba. Griezmann. Giroud.
These are just some of the players who starred for France during its most recent World Cup victory, and they are now household names around the globe.
For clarification, the Balotelli Challenge does not refer to a competition in which you try to piss your coaches and teammates off with questionable behavior on and off the pitch. Nor does it mean trying a fancy finish when you’re clear on goal or wielding goal celebrations that are nearly obnoxious enough to get you punched in the mouth. Ah, enough I suppose. Mario Balotelli has been through the ringer these past few years.
Penalty kick shootouts are a part of soccer that people love to hate. Rightfully so, most believe that a series of pressure-filled spot kicks to settle a game after 120 minutes of deadlocked, hard-fought play is both cruel and unusual. The drama of a penalty kick shootout is undeniable no matter the circumstance. However, tensions reached a mind-boggling level during a playoff between two Southern California high schools in February of 2012.
It’s not an uncommon sight: A new signing at a club is often forced to sing a song for his new teammates. What is uncommon: the new signing being a 40-year-old legend of the game. And Gianluigi Buffon singing for his new Paris Saint-Germain teammates may be the best thing we’ve seen from the Italian since the 2006 World Cup.
When we think of football or soccer and hip hop’s most famous element, rap, the pair seem more of a confusing combo than a dynamic duo. For those of us who know the value of street soccer, like France’s urban football scene, the beautiful game is no stranger to rap music.
From old school rap groups like A Tribe Called Quest and the underground corridors of British Grime rap to living legend Jay-Z, this is a journey through soccer in rap.
Ah, the beginning of the millennium — a time of Sum 41, camo pants and Hit Clips. Some of the hot trends of the early 2000s we long for again, others are better left in the past. Make no mistake, the earliest kind of MLS All-Star Weekend absolutely belongs in the first category.
MLS used to be so much cooler pic.twitter.com/J5YYGlsVXT
Two and a half years ago, Lionel Messi’s wife Antonella Roccuzzo gifted hubby a Mastiff puppy. He was just a little guy then, and we all loved him dearly.