The greatest footballing nation to have never won the World Cup? It’s the Netherlands. The Oranje have thrice reached the final, losing to hosts West Germany in ’74, hosts Argentina in ’78 and Spain in 2010. The most famous of those defeats came against the Germans, because this was a tournament that had been turned into a pageant for the Dutch vision of Total Football.
Goalkeepers are a different breed from the rest of us. It’s bad enough they’re allowed to use their hands and train in the weirdest ways imaginable, but they also have a crazy fashion sense. In addition to being able to wear pants and oversized gloves, goalies with hats have long been a part of the game, though it’s not as common these days. So we thought it would be a good idea to look back at goalkeepers who wore caps to remind everyone of just how weird goalkeepers are.
March 2 is a special day for Texans. At least it is for the ones who log into Facebook and are flooded with stories about Texas Independence Day and remember — if only briefly — that Texas declared independence from Mexico on this date in 1836. So we thought it’d be a great idea to look at the best soccer players from Texas to commemorate this semi-special date.
Last week, there was a horrific moment in the Champions League when Real Madrid left back Marcelo shattered his arm while unleashing a blood-curdling scream that was captured by live television cameras. Millions of viewers at home thought they were going to be sick.
Maybe you’ve never heard of John “Budgie” Burridge. That’s understandable, because although his career lasted nearly 30 years, he spent that time bouncing around 29 different clubs. However, he did make over 50 appearances for eight different teams: Blackpool, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Wolves, Sheffield United, Southampton, Newcastle United and Hibernian.
The World Cup: one team wins and becomes legend, 31 other squads face the most harrowing defeats of their careers. To the winner goes the spoils, to the loser goes tears, infamy and the lifelong question of “What if?”
As a quadrennial event, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The sporting drama is simply unmatched at a World Cup, and sometimes, the losers are as immediately recallable as the victors (think Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt in the 2006 final).
Here are 19 iconic photos (dating back to 1986) that showcase the agony and heartache of the World Cup.
Next Tuesday, Chelsea and Barcelona will renew one of the greatest footballing rivalries of the 21st century. Beginning in 2000 and ending with that Fernando Torres goal scored almost six years ago, Barca and Chelsea met 12 times in the Champions League, including the 2000 quarterfinals, the 2005 and 2006 Round of 16 and the 2009 and 2012 semifinals.
WATCH THIS: Greatest Games, 2009 UCL Semifinal
The five years Ronaldinho spent at FC Barcelona were undoubtedly the pinnacle of his career. That’s where he led his club to the UEFA Champions League title and was twice named the FIFA World Player of the Year. Although he spent two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, a single UEFA Intertoto Cup is the only piece of hardware he earned with the Parisian side, perhaps going someway towards explaining why his highlight reel in France is hugely under appreciated.