I had a teammate growing up who was our regular penalty kick taker. He would slowly walk up to the ball and kick it meekly toward the corner. Eventually, the ball would trickle into the back of the net, with supreme accuracy overriding the deliberate pace of the shot. Brazilian legend Zico’s free kicks would do the same thing, only from 20 to 40 yards out.
Two weeks after being named the 2017 U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year, 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund attacker Christian Pulisic added another first to his individual trophy cabinet: the accolade for December’s Bundesliga Goal of the Month.
It was the eighth Bundesliga goal of Pulisic’s career, but the first to be named Goal of the Month. The composed finish against Hoffenheim from December 16 gave Dortmund all three points in the 89th minute.
When FC Barcelona signed 12-year-old prospect Cristobal Munoz from a youth side affiliated with Malaga last March, the deal was heralded by Barcelona-based daily Sport as the capture of “the hottest young prospect in Spanish football.”
“I used to try to look at the ball and when I’m looking at that ball, I’m trying to see who is moving where and how to make sure I can plan my goal. Sometimes it’s instinct. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to lie — sometimes it’s an instinctive finish. But most of the times, you see a lot of strikers in one-on-one situations or when the ball is traveling, losing their way in what they’re trying to do because they’re thinking about it while they are doing it.
Burnley’s sensational quest for European football continued apace Tuesday with an improbable 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford. Ashley Barnes gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the third minute after a free kick into the box was eventually scrambled home, then Steven Defour went direct with a sensational effort in the 36th minute, leaving David de Gea fanning the air.
It's a SportsCenter Top 10 certainty.
Well, happy birthday Kylian Mbappe, ya filthy animal! Today, December 20, Mbappe turns 19. The question of how good he’ll be a few years from now is dwarfed by the immediate: how good is this kid right now? Yes, today’s highlight is from a match against yo-yo club SM Caen, but my word.
Compared to the pain of missing the event entirely, the tale of the USMNT’s 2006 World Cup can now be viewed in a more favorable light. However, after reaching the quarterfinals of the 2002 competition and subsequently breezing through CONCACAF qualifying for the ’06 tournament in Germany, it was with huge belief and soaring naivety that we approached the world’s biggest stage.