The internet is divided right now over an incredible video of Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland stacking three balls on top of each other and then proceeding to shoot each one into the upper 90 of a goal. Is the Erling Haaland video real though?
I hate to be that guy, but this video probably isn’t real.
Before we debate, let’s watch the video.
This is real, trust uspic.twitter.com/UExs5LbKUi
If you were a documentary filmmaker, you couldn’t be handed a much better subject than the life of Wayne Rooney. He achieved worldwide recognition at the age of 16, played with an unmatchable style, finished as the all-time leading scorer for both Manchester United and England and courted controversy throughout it all.
Not all overhead kicks are created equal. The greatest differentiator has to be that moment of posterization — when the foot meets football at its absolute zenith and the body’s parallelism with the ground seems to foreshadow certain death.
On one end of the scale there's the footballer who’s simply throwing their leg at the chance and falling over. The result is still a great goal, but the lasting effect isn’t much more powerful than watching a somersault.
Anyone who came of age in the 80s and 90s knows the name: Gheorghe Hagi. Nicknamed “Maradona of the Carpathians,” the Romanian icon was good enough to play for both Real Madrid and Barcelona while retiring as his country’s all-time leading goal scorer. His son has been on the soccer radar since joining Fiorentina at the age of 17, and on Friday the Ianis Hagi goal vs Germany showed this youngster has a touch of his father’s abilities in him.
After allegations of repeated sexual abuse, coercion and harassment led to the firing of NC Courage head coach Paul Riley, the resignation of NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird and the cancellation of last weekend’s matches, the league returned to play on Wednesday with the Courage in action against Racing Louisville at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly aren’t done sharing their stories, and they’re not content with the few changes that have already taken place in the NWSL. They want more, and they appeared with Alex Morgan on NBC’s “Today” show on Tuesday to demand further justice not just for themselves but for women’s athletes everywhere.
As José Mourinho once explained, Mario Balotelli occasionally starts playing his own game with its own set of rules out on the pitch.
In the 62nd minute of Friday’s Süper Lig encounter between Balotelli’s Adana Demirspor and home side Antalyaspor, the 31-year-old striker sprinted through the midfield on a counter attack that was quickly looking like a three-on-two for the visitors. With the score level at 1-1, this represented a huge moment for Adana Demirspor.
With clubs like Werder Bremen, Hamburg, Schalke and Nürnberg, the 2. Bundesliga is quietly becoming the place to be. Look no further than these highlights from Friday’s match between Erzgebirge and Hamburg if you need more proof.
In a 1-1 draw, we witnessed two of the most memorable goals of the 2021-22 European season.
Erzgebirge’s opener in the 23rd minute came after Hamburg defender Jonas David planted a clearing header into attacker Antonio Jonjić. The ball struck Jonjić in the back of the head and flew into the goal.
More famous than our smartest minds, richer than our most corrupt politicians, footballers are the pinnacle of cultural relevance in today’s society, especially in Europe. All the best footballers have, at one time or another, been paid to appear in an advertisement to promote a product. So what is the best soccer commercial of all time? I submit for your viewing pleasure, Peter Schmeichel’s bacon promo.