Colombia and Paraguay bring with them the soft air of South America and a match that is decades old. These two teams have faced each other 42 times in the course of three generations. It is a soccer display of two different faces of the same continent: the warm Ocean-faring Colombia against the landlocked Paraguay. Two countries as united in their love for soccer as the rest of South America.
The opening ceremony sees tractors pulling hay bales and lumber, a procession of men in lederhosen and women in dirndl, traditional clothing of Alps peasants, leading Braunvieh cattle and goats across inaccessible Alpine roads.
Going on the road to try and capture three points, or even to salvage a draw, is never an easy assignment in soccer. The difficulty in playing aggressively against the home side is encapsulated in the away goals rule, a method of rewarding the away team for any attacking achievement in the match.
Whether it’s the benefit of home support, the psychological boost of familiar surroundings or the disadvantages away teams suffer from traveling to different time zones or climates, your home ground provides you with a significant advantage over the visitors.
Football is played all over the world. As cities and nations grow, the stadiums that they build to play football in become beacons of pride, displays of power, and dedications to the game we all love. This video and the following pictures of amazing stadiums show just how monumental and legendary that all of those manifestations can be.
It’s finally official: The state of hockey, 10,000 lakes and stereotypically mild-mannered behavior will now host the likes of Kaka, Clint Dempsey and Steven Gerrard. After months of speculation, MLS expansion franchise Minnesota United FC has a new home.
For Minnesotans, as well as interested bystanders, the final destination comes as something of a surprise. Saint Paul, generally used to playing second fiddle to fellow "Twin City” Minneapolis, has secured the deal.
Having already secured qualification for Euro 2016 at the top of Group E, Roy Hodgson and England have already switched gears, looking forward to the start of the tournament and setting their sights on winning their first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup.
However, England is already facing their first obstacle in France before they have even arrived.
Your flight to Heathrow is arranged. You have packed a primary umbrella, a backup umbrella and an emergency umbrella. You have your Oyster card ready to use on the Tube. Plans have been made to visit a proper chipper (fish and chip shop). I highly recommend Golden Union near Liberty of London. Fantastic! A trip to the British Museum is on the agenda. As are many visits to pubs.
The Champions League group stages are a joy for any football, futbol, and soccer fan alike because it means double the games during the week to watch your favorite club compete in Europe. Plus, it’s not everyday that Juventus, Manchester United, or Paris St. Germain come through town for a match.
Yet, the sky blue in the north of England must have missed the memo about City’s match against Juventus in the first group stage match of the year. The expanding Etihad Stadium that is soon to house over 60,000 spectators was having trouble selling out the stadium.
The arrival of West Ham United’s new Olympic Stadium in the 2016/17 season has Hammer’s fans on the edge of their old Upton Park seats in excitement for the new 80,000 capacity stadium.
Aberdeen have released one of the funniest statements we have ever read. The Scottish city has a seagull problem, which the local football club has gone to great lengths to mitigate. This includes, we are not making this up, installing a system that transmits bird distress calls, and, we are not making this up either, hiring a hawk to patrol the stadium.
Here is the full statement released by the team: