It says everything about Joshua Kimmich’s ability that when he’s described as the heir to Philipp Lahm at the right back position for both Bayern Munich and Germany, no one bats an eye.
The 24-year-old has captured the Bundesliga title in each of his three full seasons with Bayern, and he shares Lahm’s Cruyffian quality of being able to play pretty much anywhere while still being the best player on the pitch.
On March 24, 2016, Johan Cruyff passed following a battle with lung cancer at the age of 68. As Gary Lineker said, football “lost a man who did more to make the beautiful game beautiful than anyone in history.” He revolutionized two of the game’s most storied clubs, Ajax and Barcelona (also the LA Aztecs), but his impact is still being felt around the globe.
You may recall back in January when Barcelona U-10 phenom Michal Zuk signed a brand ambassador contract with adidas. It was an unprecedented show of financial support for such a young player still years away from first-team experience, but his highlights speak for themselves.
As it turns out, the rest of Zuk’s Barcelona U-10 team is every bit as talented as he is.
Chances are, you’re somewhat familiar with the Marcus Rashford story. It’s well known that he’s a local lad, having joined the Manchester United academy system at the age of seven.
His astronomical rise at the club is also well documented. He made his first team debut for United at the age of 18 while the side was stalling under the leadership of Louis van Gaal. However, in the space of a few days, a star was born.
“Yes, soccer is mainly white.”
“We still have so far to go.”
“You wouldn’t say that if it was a white player.”
Celebrating Black History Month, Major League Soccer held another roundtable on black soccer in America.
Soccer is the world’s game, the most beautifully diverse sport bringing countries and cultures of all kinds together. But in the U.S. soccer remains, for the most part, a sport of the suburbs, a white sport even.
Bayern Munich sure loves Texas.
Last year, the German club partnered with FC Dallas to create a player-development program. Bayern has brought a number of Americans over on loan from the MLS club, even signing 18-year-old Chris Richards earlier this month.
It’s been irregular, but we’ve been treated to some pretty revealing interviews with Lionel Messi of late.
Although Nani never lived up to his billing as “The Next Cristiano Ronaldo,” take nothing away from the man who currently has 112 Portugal caps to his name and is still going strong in his 14th year as a professional.
The 32-year-old made his name with Manchester United — where he won four Premier League titles and the 2007-08 Champions League — but he’s gone on to have successful stints in Turkey (Fenerbahce), Spain (Valencia) and Italy (Lazio) before returning home to boyhood club Sporting.