Hugo Sánchez bicycle kick goals were out of this world. Currently everyone's buzzing about Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a marvelous bicycle kick goal against Juventus in the UCL quarterfinals, and it was about time, for Ronaldo had repeatedly tried to score via a bicycle kick with little success and quite a bit of internet trolling.
However, Real Madrid fans are no strangers to wonderful bicycle kick goals.
The vast majority of leagues around the world right now are on the home stretch for the end of the season. Relegation battles are heating up, the Champions League and Europa League are at the pointy end of things and some leagues (Premier League and La Liga, we’re looking at you) are pretty much wrapped up at the top of the table.
Despite some owners and managers settling for mid-table mediocrity or a respectable top-half finish, others will not. Here are some managers that you can bet your bottom dollar will be coming to an unemployment line near you.
Back in February, it was the humiliating 4-1 loss to Watford that was deemed the low point of Antonio Conte’s stewardship of Chelsea FC, but on Easter Sunday, Chelsea conceded a 3-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge to Tottenham — Spurs’ first victory at the Bridge in 28 years.
Mario Melchiot knows more about football than you or I. He knows more about football than the both of us combined. A native of Amsterdam, Melchiot was a product of the legendary Ajax youth system, making his debut for the first team as a 20-year-old before transferring to Chelsea at just 22.
He played extensively in the Premier League for the Blues, Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic, as well as amassing 22 international caps for the Netherlands over an eight-year international spell.
At around the same time that Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his MLS debut for the LA Galaxy on Saturday, scoring a late equalizer and then game-winner in dramatic fashion, another football icon made a late entrance and saved the day. In this case, the player was Lionel Messi and the circumstance was a two-goal deficit against Sevilla, an unbeaten season on the line.
At first there was the phenomenon of the Hollywood player, when the likes of David Beckham and Thierry Henry migrated to the world of American soccer. No need to mention Zlatan here, that’s just sad, isn’t it? These larger-than-life players spending their final playing days on MLS pitches was entertaining, but not alarming. They didn’t barricade entry to other players — namely young, talented American players. The clubs did.
Due to the dawning of the internet, increased globalization and the heavy concentration of players plying their trade in European club football, there are hardly any unknown quantities at the World Cup now. Years back, nations like Panama, Iceland and Peru would’ve left opposing managers scrambling for information, but in 2018, that’s hardly the case.
The World Cup is drawing closer and closer (79 days!). With that in mind, we have devoted ourselves to a sociological effort: defining the different kinds of World Cup fans out there.
These fans are outright obnoxious.
Not many countries can honestly say they are serious candidates to win the World Cup. Fans from countries with an actual chance of winning the trophy exude confidence and often, arrogance. The only consolation the rest of us have is watching one of these nations fail.
Step into the coliseum of humankind’s definitive sport, where the gladiators are not always the players but the awesome fans as well. Whether you’re rooting for West Ham United, Barcelona or Juventus, it doesn’t take a Luciano Pavarotti to turn your ordinary stadium into an extraordinary opera house of fans roaring out their love.
Here are The18’s most epic terrace moments. Feel free to chant along, just don’t wake up your neighbors.
Two months ago we would have said this wasn't possible. In fact, we specifically remember thinking a few months ago that it wouldn't be possible, but here we are: Cristiano Ronaldo absolutely has a chance to overtake Messi for La Liga top scorer.
Despite suffering through a suspension and the worst form of his career, Ronaldo is on fire and finds himself just three goals behind Messi at the top of the Spanish goal-scoring charts (Messi also leads La Liga in assists).