Videos

Joao Contreras collapsed after being stuck by lightning in a Copa Peru match. Fortunately, he survived.

It is well documented that the world's most popular soccer clubs compete for the next up-and-coming Messi or Ronaldo. See, for insance, this article about the 9-year-old AS Roma signed earlier this year. Youngsters who show promise and skill are top priorities for any club's youth system – and after you see some of the videos of these wonderkids play, you can understand why. 

At The18, we have a thing for animals and soccer. So anytime the beautiful game and some type of creature collide, we’re all over it. This time we venture to the little island of Crete off the coast of Greece. 

Two local teams were playing a game of soccer when a random goat found his way onto the pitch. But this little billy goat wasn’t there just to watch the game. He wanted to play in it. 

About a week ago, Zlatan Ibrahimovic named his dream team, consisting of all the players he’s played with. He, of course, put himself on the list starting alongside Leo Messi, but the Swedish great may have forgotten one player. 

David Luiz has now come out with his starting 11, and the Paris Saint Germain defender failed to put his teammate in his 11 as well. The two shared only three of the same players in their XIs: Lionel Messi, Thiago Silva and Maxwell. 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic made a Super Bowl commercial for Volvo. Sadly, it didn't run.

For those that have watched The Wire or Luther, you know the bad*ss that Idris Elba is. The talented English actor, whose parents hail from West Africa, has teamed up with Yaya Toure, Patrick Vieira and several other soccer stars in a new campaign to fight Ebola. 

At The18, we have covered many stories about soccer hooliganism and match abandoments around the world - from the biggest rivalries in soccer, to the worst instances of fans rioting on the pitch, to street brawls outside stadiums (some of them very strange indeed).

Sometimes all it takes is a little glimpse into the lives of professional athletes to remind us that they are not, in fact, that different from you and me. With the advent of social media, those little glimpses have turned into recorded moments that we can watch over, and over, and over again. 

Andrea Pirlo. A man whose look bleeds elegance. The Italian midfielder is loved by everyone not only for his beard, but for his pure class and majesty on the pitch. The Juventus striker never seems to be nervous or worried about anything and he acts the exact way when he's leading Serie A side Juventus. 

Aging Mexican star Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored two goals in what may have been the last game of his career.