As a 24-year-old, the sky was the limit for Italian American forward Giuseppe Rossi. Having come through the youth ranks at Parma and Manchester United, he was now flourishing in La Liga with Villarreal. In four seasons, he’d seen his goal totals gradually increase with the club: 13, 15, 17 and then a staggering 32 in the 2010-11 season.
It’s safe to say that Spain has been the most dominate footballing country over the past decade at both the club and international level. Since 2005, a team from La Liga has won the UEFA Cup/Europa League seven times and the Champions League on six occasions. Of those 13 titles won by Spanish clubs, four of those finals have pitted Spanish clubs against one another in the final.
At the international level, the Spanish national team has won two European Cups (2008, 2012) and a World Cup (2010).
UEFA Cup/Europa League
The 150th meeting between Ruhr-based clubs Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 ended in a 1-1 draw at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, but the match was not without its fair share of wonderful moments.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave the visitors the lead in the 53rd-minute, but Schalke academy project Thilo Kehrer scored his first-ever Schalke goal in the 77th to split the spoils. Here’s how it all went down.
Just scoring a goal in De Klassieker, the biggest club football rivalry in the Netherlands pitting Amsterdam’s Ajax and Rotterdam’s Feyenoord, is grounds for footballing legend. Factor in the additional importance of this early goal being the impetus for Ajax’s 2-1 victory, a result which saw them close the gap on their most hated rival to only three points at the top of the Eredivisie table, and it’s bordering on folkloric status.
Another match day, another performance that left many questions over Barcelona’s ability in a season that still has them fighting for the treble, which is a ridiculous thing to say. At times, this Barcelona side looks as good as any from the past 13 years, but they’re also more than capable of ringing their own death knell and signaling a need for transformation.
Against relegation certainties Granada, anything less than a comprehensive victory, even without the suspended Lionel Messi, would’ve had Blaugrana supporters looking towards Sevilla’s midweek visit with angst.
As a player and manager, former Celtic midfielder, captain and coach Neil Lennon has always worn his heart on his sleeve.
Now working as the bench boss for Edinburgh’s Hibernian, which plays in the Scottish Championship (second division) — for the moment anyway — the Irishman’s, uh, enthusiasm seems to have once again gotten the better of him.
Ladies and gentlemen, Bayern Munich's home kit for the 2017-2018 season may have made its firs appearances online.
It's throwback to the jerseys that Bayern Munich were wearing in the 1970's, and Adidas did a fantastic job replicating it, but also making sure that the jersey has a modern look.
According to Footy Headlines, the jersey is completely red with thin, vertical white stripes. The shorts for next year are expected to go back to the classic red.
Borussia Dortmund and FC Schalke 04 will meet once again in the Revierderby Saturday. They last met in a nil-nil draw on October 29, 2016.
This will be the 150th iteration of the derby. Schalke leads the all-time series with 58 wins to Borussia Dortmund's 51. They have drawn 40 times.
The first match between the two teams took place on May 3, 1925, with Schalke winning 4-2. Schalke won all three matchups against Dortmund that season.
Bundesliga also-rans Hoffenheim and Hertha met in a battle pitting fourth and fifth in the German top division. Hoffenheim would ultimately win 3-1, climbing above Borussia Dortmund and into third in the table — only 14 points behind Bayern Munich.
The match featured two must-watch but starkly contrasting goals. Peter Pekarik opened the scoring for Hertha after a truly bizarre assist from Alexander Esswein. It was just an awful mis-hit, but that stupid cliche they all count the same.
Djalminha was capped by Brazil only 14 times (still managing five goals). That's less than what Freddy Adu, Conor Casey, Break Shea, Chris Wondolowski, etc. have accumulated with the USMNT. It's with this realization that you begin to understand the enormity of the gulf in talent between Brazil and the United States.
Djalminha was the precursor to Ronaldinho. He had a pretentious amount of skill, but he also made Ronaldinho’s, at times, questionable behavior look like grounds for canonization into sainthood.