No one can argue that 2020 has been an awful year that we all want to put behind us. But before we look ahead 2021, we have to take a minute to appreciate how sports have provided something resembling normality in recent months.
Considering the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been incredibly lucky to have soccer leagues playing regularly since June.
The 2020 Concacaf Champions League resumed last night with leg two of Olimpia versus Montreal — 280 days after the Honduran side had disappointed 23,000 fans inside the Impact’s Olympic Stadium by snatching a crucial 2-1 road win.
Despite having to play the return leg at Exploria Stadium in Orlando — where the remainder of the competition will be staged — Olimpia advanced on away goals after Montreal could only find one through Amar Sejdič.
Thierry Henry is out; Olimpia plays Tigres in the semifinals on Saturday.
Jamaican Leon Bailey scored twice to steer unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen to a 4-1 victory over Hoffenheim on Sunday and take over the lead in the Bundesliga for the first time in six years.
Bailey first struck after four minutes, thundering in a shot from outside the box and from a tight angle past keeper Oliver Baumann.
Leon Bailey hit this beautifully pic.twitter.com/ttlv7cxNl3
As soon as the Liga MX final (Dec. 10 and 13) and MLS Cup (Dec. 12) finish, we’ll roll straight into the completion of the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League, which went on hiatus back in March at the quarterfinal stage because of the pandemic.
Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies has been named the 2020 Canadian Player of the Year, Canada Soccer said on Thursday, on the back of a remarkable season with the Bundesliga club.
The 20-year-old left back, who also claimed the honor in 2018, enjoyed a stellar year in which the German club won five trophies, including the Champions League. Davies earned the highest voting score from Canadian media and coaches, finishing just ahead of Christine Sinclair's record set in 2012, Canada Soccer said.
Gregg Berhalter, you sly dog.
18-year-old phenom Efraín Álvarez hasn’t filed a one-time switch from Mexico to the USMNT yet, but that hasn’t stopped Berhalter from luring Zlatan Ibrahimovic's cub into camp, showering him with praise and raising the pulse of Tri supporters everywhere.
La selección nacional de México esta viviendo un excelente momento bajo las órdenes del entrenador argentino Gerardo Martino, tiene un excelente récord de 18 victorias, 2 empates, 1 derrota (contra Argentina), 56 goles a favor y 21 goles en contra. Es una racha sin precedentes y México parece haber encontrado, por fin, un entrenador de ciclos que tenga estabilidad a lo largo de los años y pueda trabajar e implementar su idea futbolística a las próximas generaciones de la selección.
The USMNT defeated Panama 6-2 in Austria on Monday with braces from Nicholas Gioacchini (age 20) and Sebastian Soto (20) complimented by strikes from Giovanni Reyna (18) and Sebastian Lletget.
Beating Panama isn’t the be-all and end-all in international football — unless you’re England, then you’re winning the 2018 World Cup — but it's the perfect barometer for how this USMNT (fielding its second-youngest starting lineup of all time) will handle itself come next summer’s CONCACAF Octagonal.
A new era of the USMNT dawned on Thursday with Giovanni Reyna and Konrad de la Fuente playing in a front three that’ll soon be able to call upon Christian Pulisic and Josh Sargent for assistance. Watching the U.S. isn’t just fun again, it’s blissful.
Let's face it: International breaks can be difficult to follow. With the Premier League, you know there will be four matches each on Saturday and Sunday, two on Monday and maybe the occasional midweek fixture. The international break though? Chaos.
Some teams are playing friendlies, others in the UEFA Nations League, some are competing in World Cup qualifying, while others are still in the European Championship playoffs. And to top it off, you still have lower-level club fixtures being played. It's a lot.