Inspiring

It's been nearly a year since Miguel Almirón made his big-money move to Newcastle United from Major League Soccer's Atlanta United.

In Atlanta, the Paraguayan scored 22 goals in 68 appearances over the course of two seasons. He was one of the attacking powerhouses of the league and one of the main reasons Atlanta's expansion season in 2017 and title-winning 2018 campaign were both large successes.

Sergio Ramos has had his best idea since deciding to pull a Panenka on Rui Patrício at Euro 2012. The Real Madrid captain said he believes there should be two Ballon d’Or trophies, thus eliminating that tiresome argument over whether the award should simply be given to the best overall player on the planet (always Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo) or to the player who performed most influentially over the strictly defined duration of a season (usually Messi or Ronaldo, but sometimes a little less clear).

This Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET, the Seattle Sounders host Toronto FC at CenturyLink Field in the 24th edition of the MLS Cup. It’s the end of the trilogy as the Sounders and Reds do battle in Major League Soccer’s showpiece event for the third time in four years, and it’s being broadcast nationally on ABC and Univision.  

It’s been a pretty disastrous start to the LaLiga season for Madrid-based CD Leganés. This is the club’s fourth consecutive season in the Spanish top flight but after achieving its highest-ever finish last campaign (13th), Los Pepineros look destined for a drop to the Segunda División. 

With the club languishing in last place, manager Mauricio Pellegrino was sacked on Oct. 21 following a winless streak of nine matches. Mexican manager Javier Aguirre was appointed on Nov. 4 and he’s now tasked with saving this sinking ship. 

Nutmegs — alongside cross-field rakers, back heels and an inordinate amount of step-overs — constitute one of the greatest forms of artistry in our beautiful game. The act of the nutmeg is equal parts illusion and imagination; it transcends the simple reality of moving the ball from Point A to Point B and replaces it with something sublime. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, a nutmeg tells us of beautiful, untrue things. (After all, a nutmeg is rarely ever a decisive moment.)

The weather in Boulder, Colorado, where The18 is headquartered, has been nothing short of miserable this week. Since a snowstorm blew in on Sunday, the temperature hasn’t gone above freezing, with windchills dipping below zero. Boulder has received 16 inches of snow since Sunday in an unusually cold end to October. (Thanks climate change!)

But soccer stops for no Old Man Winter.

If you’re curious what gameday might entail, we've got you covered. We put together four itineraries that start at different points in the city so fans from every neighborhood can get inspired. Or, try them all and experience everything the Windy City has to offer. No matter what, these gameday itineraries deliver a 100 percent Chicago-style soccer experience and end with your home team playing under the bright lights at Soldier Field.  

They formed a four-man wall. They had a defender lie prone behind the wall to block a low shot. They dropped another defender to the goal-line to clear any effort at the near post. They had Czech international Tomáš Vaclík between the sticks. 

It didn’t matter.

Lionel Messi’s first goal of the 2019-20 season flew in from 23 yards out, avoiding it all with astonishing ease.

Today marks the 36th birthday of Trivela King Ricardo Quaresma. Am I using the date as an excuse to watch Quaresma highlights before subsequently sharing them with you? Absolutely.

I believe that no player represents the gulf between professional footballers and amateurs better than the Portuguese wizard.