Neymar got a new haircut. This in and of itself is not super noteworthy. Neymar gets new haircuts all the time.
What is noteworthy is how Neymar's partners on the Barcelona forward line, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, reacted to Neymar's new look, which looks kid of like a starter version of an '80s rocker mullet, with the sides shaved and the top and back slightly grown out.
Liverpool fans will be pleased to know that one of their young prospects is scoring goals that remind us of Neymar. Yes, THAT Neymar goal came to mind when we saw Sergi Canos score this beauty for Brentford FC. The 18-year-old Spaniard played youth soccer for Barcelona for three years before moving to England to sign a deal with Liverpool at the tender age of 16. This season the Reds loaned Canos to Brentford FC where the youngster has 3 goals in 17 appearances.
Paul Pogba and Lionel Messi hung out in Dubai because they are awesome. And Paul Pogba dabbed.
If you are unfamiliar with what "dabbing" is, it's the latest popular sports celebration dance, popularized by Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, that makes old white people very nervous and spawns comments like this from them:
Imagine playing a game of soccer and all of the sudden thinking to yourself, “I think the referee is having more fun than me.” Would this be a question that challenged your perception of life? Would you all of the sudden wonder, maybe I should have taken that dance class is high school? Would you declare that yes, you can wear that pink blazer that you’ve always been to afraid to wear? It is certainly a thought that has never passed through my mind, but then again, I have never played in a game officiated by Clésio Moreira dos Santos, a.k.a. Margarida.
Is there a prettier goal than a rabona goal? The answer is no. The skillful move is one of beauty and nonchalantness. The pros make it look so easy but it isn't. Laurent Koscielny was just fooling around in Arsenal training at the Emirates and saw the camera was on him. What does a baller do when the lights are on him? He performs obviously. After a series of little tricks, Koscielny rips a rabona into the upper 90 from about 15-18 feet like it's nothing.
Khethokwakhe Masuku has 18 letters in his name. For this reason we are already fans of his. Another reason, is because he scores 30 yard screamers like it's nothing. The Orlando Pirates midfielder starts his run from the halfway line and bursts forward before cutting inside. The 29-year-old had a right winger streaking open which he easily could have played through, but Khethokwakhe Masuku doesn't pass up opportunities to score screamers. He selfishly holds on to the ball and rips off a cracking shot back to his left as he's running right.
It appears that Liverpool's youth academy in India, DSK Shivajians Liverpool International Football Academy, is turning out world-class talent. On Sunday, Chhangte Lallianzuala – a product of DSK – scored a brace in only his second-ever international cap for India.
Talk about a good end to the year. On Christmas, Lallianzuala became the youngest player ever to appear on the senior national team for India. Two days later, during India's match against Nepal in the SAFF Championships, he scored this gem:
It takes a truly talented player to score a free kick at any point in a match, but to score one when the stakes are as high as a league title, well, that takes something legendary.
Back in 2007, Celtic were tied with Killmarnock 1-1 going into the closing stages of the game. Only a win would allow them to celebrate a championship, and arguably the game’s last real goal-scoring chance fell to Shunsuke Nakamura when Celtic won a free kick outside of Killmarnock’s box.
Un amigo me preguntó una vez: "¿Por qué los jugadores de fútbol celebran tan ridículamente?" No tenía una respuesta para él en ese momento, pero, tras una reflexión más profunda, se me ocurre que cada celebración de un gol es una extensión del deporte - un mini-drama que captura la esencia del fútbol en un acto. Los goles son difíciles de conseguir en el fútbol. Cuando un jugador oye el zumbido del balón en el fondo de la red, los gritos de miles de aficionados frenéticos, evoca una emoción cruda sin igual en casi ningún otro deporte.
In the past, we've covered violence in football. Take, for instance, this planned brawl between hooligans in Russia which takes place before every Spartak v. Dynamo match. Or this instance when Saliou Ciss transformed into the Incredible Hulk after being sent off.