Apart from Zinedine Zidane’s masterful headbutt on Marco Materazzi, the most infamous foul in 21st century World Cup finals is certainly Nigel de Jong’s hatchet man kung fu kick into the chest of Xabi Alonso.
It should’ve been a straight red — even referee Howard Webb admitted as much later — but it takes some cojones to effectively end the World Cup final after only 28 minutes.
In a season already filled with insanity, it’s no surprise that there's also been a slew of hilarious and outrageous surprises on the pitch.
Now, most of us would agree that we put professional athletes on a pedestal where they can do no wrong and everything they do is perfect, but what if I told you the 2019-20 season — in all of its absurd glory — produced some of the best bloopers and open-goal misses? Comic relief might be something we all need.
The hype and excitement around 17-year-old Jude Bellingham reached its apex when Borussia Dortmund made it official that the teenager was leaving Birmingham City to join the German giant.
Bellingham is full of talent, especially his ability on the ball and propensity to evade players. His highlight reel emphasizes his skill with the ball at his feet. The midfielder caught the eye of several big teams with Dortmund snatching him up for a Birmingham City record fee of nearly $26 million.
Manchester United dropped crucial points in the Champions League race and West Ham secured its safety in the Premier League after the two clubs drew 1-1 on Wednesday.
The real story out of the feisty tie was Paul Pogba’s questionable decision making that led to the Hammers’ goal.
West Ham took the lead moments before halftime courtesy of Pogba pulling the most youth soccer move you’ll ever see at the highest level of the sport. Pogba was clearly caught off guard during a West Ham free kick and instinctively chose to protect his face.
Chelsea beat Manchester United 3-1 on Sunday to book their place in an all-London FA Cup final, helped by two errors from United goalkeeper David de Gea and an own goal by Harry Maguire.
Chelsea, who will face city rivals Arsenal in the Aug. 1 showpiece, had lost to United three times this season but looked brighter from the start at Wembley and took control with goals either side of halftime from Olivier Giroud and Mason Mount.
Players and coaches around Europe are becoming increasingly perplexed by the current handball rule which one has said is best suited to foosball.
Forwards have seen goals chalked off for almost imperceptible handballs while defenders have conceded penalties for unintentional ones in innocuous situations because their arm was seen as making the body "unnaturally bigger."
Borussia Dortmund’s 2019/20 season is over. Erling Haaland, the 19-year-old phenom who scored 16 goals in his first 18 BVB appearances, is free to do whatever he damn well pleases as a teenager that makes around $170,000 per week. That’s my take as an old poor boy.
But his dad — as all dads are wont to do — sees it differently.
American players in England’s second-tier Championship have to be the most dangerous players out there. Two weeks after USMNT and Reading defender Matt Miazga was suspended for throwing punches, another American has committed a war crime on the field.
Somersault throw-ins in soccer are as rare as they are successful. The idea isn’t terrible per se — a launched throw that has the potential to be as effective as a corner kick sounds great. More often than not though, the end result is the thrower embarrassing themselves in front of everyone.
Iranian international Milad Mohammadi’s awful attempt at the World Cup stands as a grave reminder for how it can go wrong.
The MLS is set and ready to go for its return on July 8. Players are finally training in Orlando, Florida, soaking up that humidity and blistering heat.
These world-class athletes are putting in the work and pushing their bodies to the limit.
And come on, these are grown-ass men we’re talking about. Their diets have to be lavish. Just picture it — four-course meals, bottomless drinks, room service galore.
I mean, they have to be filling at the very least, right?