A little over a week ago, we checked in on Kazuyoshi “King Kazu” Mirua, who’d just broken Sir Stanley Matthews’ record as the oldest professional footballer at 50 years and seven days. While, since that day, he’s not only gone on to further that mark, but he’s also broken another of the legendary Englishman’s records by becoming the oldest recognized goalscorer in professional football history.
It’s not often that the play of the weekend is a tackle, but Mats Hummels might’ve provided just that after his remarkable recovery and slide tackle in Bayern Munich’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt.
With the scores level between first and sixth in the Bundesliga table at the Allianz Arena, Branimir Hrgota raced clear of the Bayern defense for a one-on-one opportunity against Manuel Neuer. However, just as Hrgota shaped to shoot, Hummels came sliding in from behind to clear the ball for a corner.
The appointed heir to Gianluigi Buffon as Italy’s No. 1, could it be possible that AC Milan’s Gianluigi Donnarumma will eventually dwarf the Juventus legend? The 18-year-old goalkeeper was sensational in Milan’s highly controversial defeat to Juventus, recording nine saves and showcasing his strength, agility and tenacity.
Ten years ago today, a roguish little imp touched down in the Camp Nou and began to do things with the football that this planet had never seen before. It’s said that he was 19 years of age at the time, and his well shampooed mop of hair, preciously pushed back with a hairband, and wiry frame do allude to an awkward period in life, but to highlight your greatness at such a tender age by scoring a hat trick against Real Madrid in El Clasico, that defies all notions we have of the effect of time on a person.
Esteban Cambiasso might just be the most interesting footballer in the world. His lasting legacy will be as Jose Mourinho’s defensive midfield marshal during Inter Milan’s unprecedented Italian treble in 2009-10, but he’s only added to his legacy since that historic season.
Lost in all the madness that was Leicester City’s title-winning run last year was the influence of the man who made it all possible in the first place — Esteban Cambiasso.
The Олимп-2 pitch in Rostov-on-Don was frozen. It was wonderfully patchy and Jose Mourinho wondered if you could even call it a field at all. His desire to have the venue changed was laughed off by a UEFA official, Mourinho claiming the official told him “the players are insured, so if something happens, no problem.”
The fight for second place in Serie A is serious business. Roma and Napoli are not fighting solely for the privilege of finishing behind Juventus, but battling to avoid a Champions League playoff qualifying spot. So bad is the history of Italian teams in the playoff rounds that Italy has, more often than not in recent years, only had two representatives in the group stages of Europe’s premier footballing tournament.
Thus, when Roma and Napoli played one another this weekend, the chance to finish in second was up for grabs.
Before Wednesday’s historic events at the Camp Nou, everyone had agreed that Barcelona would need to play a perfect match to turn the tide against Paris Saint-Germain. They would need to do unto PSG as PSG had done unto them. Sure, Barcelona could score four goals, but could they keep Edinson Cavani, Lucas Moura, Julian Draxler and Angel Di Maria off the scoresheet?
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a hat-trick, with two of those strikes being assisted by Christian Pulisic, and the 18-year-old American registered his first Champions League goal as Borussia Dortmund eased past Benfica and into the Champions League quarterfinals, winning 4-1 on aggregate.
Dortmund were kicking themselves after throwing away a number of great opportunities in the first leg and found themselves trailing 1-0 in the tie before today’s match. However, those frustrations were quickly forgotten when Aubameyang opened the scoring in the fourth minute.
A beautifully composed finish from 18-year-old American attacker Christian Pulisic has given Dortmund a 2-1 aggregate lead over Benfica in the Champions League round of 16. Pulisic provided the assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and almost had another with a great pass to the striker, but he’s now gotten himself on the scoresheet with a wonderful finish.