The No. 9 in soccer, traditionally the number reserved for the team's starting striker, has been the subject of various discussion points over the last few years. From arguments revolving around the importance of the position in modern tactics to the belief that the No. 9 is being phased out of the game, doubts have been cast upon the future of the role.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said the Premier League should be worried about the increased spending of China in the transfer market. In this last January window, Chinese clubs were responsible for three of the top four biggest deals.
This Sunday all over our nation people will gather for what might as well be considered a national holiday.
It is just a perfect embodiment of what America is: food, beer, and Football! And maybe it’s a tad “Grinch That Stole Sundays” of me with all their noise, noise, noise, but I guess I think it’s unfortunate that the sport's biggest game has reduced itself to the spectacle that it has become and it's more about the party, food, commercials and halftime show for most of its viewers than the game itself.
The month of Manuary is coming to a close and guys around the world are dreading the fact they won’t have a legit excuse to let their facial hair grow to uncontrollable lengths. For those unaware, Manuary is an unwritten extension of No Shave November and Don’t Shave December, where men tend to grow their beards with disregard to any grooming tools and to combat Mother Nature and Jack Frost’s winter wrath.
Javier Hernandez has been linked with Liverpool lately, and it isn't exactly hard to see why. Chicharito has been in magnificent form this season, scoring 21 goals in 24 games in all competitions for Bayer Leverkusen. A player of his skill set could be exactly what Jurgen Klopp needs. The German's team has played some good football at times, but a lack of clinical finishing (and some suspect defending) has seen them fail to make any headway in the Premier League table.
The footballing wheel of fortune knows no reverence for history, pedigree or sheer support. One moment you’re champion, the next you're out of a job. Just ask Jose Mourinho. For the spoilt supporter, this typically means having to wait another year for a trophy. For those who are less fortunate, this can mean watching your team plummet down the ladder to the dark depths of the footballing.
I used to revel in the life-like simulation of EA Sports’ FIFA, the true to life representations of players, the robust animations and the required patience of learning the game's more intricate controls.
The magisterial dribbling skills of players like Neymar, Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria are revered the world over. These players are commonly heralded as masters of the ball, dribbling wizards who require the attention of multiple defenders in order to be stopped or at least contained.
After any given weekend, social media will be crawling with vines and GIFs of these superstars flat-out embarrassing opposition. Outside of this prevailing common knowledge, who are some of the world’s best dribblers?
Newcastle United are struggling. They’re struggling for goals, they’re struggling to properly defend for 90 minutes and they’re struggling to get their fanbase behind a team that’s owned by a modern day slave driver and managed by the imprudently jubilant patch of hair that is Steve McClaren.
Francesco Totti’s wife of 10 years, Ilary Blasi, has revealed to an Italian weekly that the great man is preparing to announce his retirement from football after 24 illustrious seasons with A.S. Roma.
Goddammit.
With Totti turning 40 next year, and having been sidelined by injuries throughout much of 2015, Blasi is quoted as saying, "...right now he is desiring something else."