Culture

Ole Gunnar Solskjær went some way toward discarding his “Baby-face” misnomer on Monday with a savage dig at anyone that dares stray from mass conformity. Much like José Mourinho before him with his effusive praise of Scott McTominay’s “normal haircut,” Solskjær’s weird anecdote about dismissing a transfer target solely because of what they did with their hair shafts must have Paul Pogba raring to sign a contract extension at Old Trafford.   

In my opinion, there was no more beloved character in 2020 than Ted Lasso. During a difficult year, his eponymous show on Apple TV+ was a joy to watch. The first season had everything you could want from a series during a global pandemic: laughter, heart and soccer. 

But Ted Lasso met his match on Friday, and that was another of 2020’s biggest stars: Trevor Noah. 

As much as we at The18 love women’s soccer, it’s a sad fact that the men’s game receives far more attention, whether it’s from FIFA, other media companies, potential sponsors or the fans themselves. (We could spend hours debating why this is the case, but that’s for another story.) Despite this, there are still a large number of women’s footballers who are far more famous than their partners, who are themselves professional soccer players. 

A recent Netflix documentary about the legendary Brazilian soccer player Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé, tells a compelling story of the athlete’s rise to fame from 1950 to 1974. The 99-minute documentary, which includes interviews with the 80-year-old Pelé, shows Pelé’s spectacular life against the backdrop of Brazil’s politics. But the film fails to address deeper questions of race and class.

There is an Irish saying that goes Tiocfaidh ár lá, which translates to "our day will come." This refers to the day that Ireland will no longer be divided; when Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will finally come together as the single nation they were before British rule.

It is a phrase that is strongly laced politically and has some negative connotations in connection with the IRA, but it is ultimately a fight for freedom guided by hope.

The hope that Irish people will one day be united.