Amazing

The greatest footballer you’ve never heard of was an absolute beast on the pitch, scoring more than 900 goals in the first half of the 20th century. The towering chain-smoker once broke a man’s arm with a penalty kick and was unafraid of defying social norms.

Lily Parr of is a legend of the game forgotten to time and ignored by many after England banned women’s football in 1921. 

Chances are, if you’ve done soccer, you’ll know about goals. But what are they? How does a goal become a goal and not something else? When will you know if you’ve actually seen a goal?

These are all good, valid questions. You see, all goals are created equal, but not really. Goals come in all shapes and sizes, and you never really see the same goal twice. 

At the most basic level, a goal is a goal when the ball crosses the goal line in its entirety. That’s really what a goal is. That’s really the science behind it in a nutshell, I guess.

In a playing career that included stints with Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter, Serbian Sinisa Mihajlovic built a reputation as one the world’s finest dead-ball specialists. Alongside Andrea Pirlo, no player has scored more goals from direct free kicks in Serie A history than Mihajlovic with 28.

He was named Torino manager before the start of last season and guided the club to a ninth-place finish in Italy’s top flight. For a goalkeeper, playing under Mihajlovic is obviously a nightmare.

The year is 1931. Ghandi has been released from prison. The Empire State Building has just been completed in New York City, and France has just earned its first-ever international victory over England.

The two nations faced off in Paris with England representing the big bully and France the underdog. Despite the odds, Les Bleus pulled off the upset, recording their first win against their rivals with a commanding 5-2 result. The French were jubilant after the win — they had literally beaten the Three Lions at their own game.

Approaching his 40th birthday, Italian shot-stopper Gianluigi Buffon has been open about his plans for the future over the summer. If Juventus fail to win the Champions League this season, Buffon claims he’s “99.9 percent” certain that he’ll end his professional career after the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

If Buffon is able to win that elusive Champions League title, his competitive nature would see him return to the field in an attempt to win the FIFA Club World Cup the following season.

There’s something beautiful about watching Lionel Messi in action. It’s poetic, balletic and scintillating. The anticipation when he receives the ball brings butterflies to the stomach. The way he effortlessly skips by defenders and zips in shots from long range makes the heart sing. How he deftly controls a sharp pass with the outside of his left boot before depositing a shot into the lower corner tingles the senses like a romantic first kiss. 

But mostly, we just love seeing Messi embarrassing the sorry fools who try to stop him week after week.