Europe

When Alejandro Garnacho was born in Madrid in 2004, he'd already missed Cristiano Ronaldo's first season with Manchester United and his legendary performance in the FA Cup final as a 19-year-old.

However, Ronaldo would transfer to Real Madrid five years later and Garnacho — who spent his youth career in Madrid with Getafe and then Atlético — was in the city for all nine illustrious seasons of CR7 at the Santiago Bernabéu.

It's early in the race for the 2023 Ballon d'Or, but with the season now over 30 percent complete, there's no denying that Real Madrid utility man Federico Valverde has put himself in the conversation with some unbelievable contributions in the Champions League and LaLiga.

It used to be that Valverde was the unsung hero of either the midfield (deputizing effectively for Luka Modrić or Toni Kroos) or right wing (with Karim Benzema and Vini Jr in the spotlight), but this year, whether deployed on the wing or in midfield, the 24-year-old has blossomed into the star of the show.

Every weekend in global football ushers forth a new 30-yard screamer, mesmerizing solo dribble or acrobatic display of technical ability to feast on, but it's a rare thing indeed to see an effort of such bend and swerve that it makes Roberto Carlos weep gentle tears upon his tree trunk legs.

Bend it like Beckham? David Beckham never took a shot near the halfway line that looked destined for a throw-in on the near touchline before violently changing course and swazzing inside the far post. No, bend it like this guy on Kvk Avelgem in Belgium's fourth provisional division. 

Hartlepool United manager Keith Curle led his side to a 2-1 victory over Grimsby Town on Saturday to climb off the bottom of the League Two table, and the 58-year-old wasn't bashful when discussing his feelings during the post-match interview.