We had a lot to be thankful for in 2018 — a World Cup, a historic Real Madrid three-peat, the remarkable seasons from Luka Modric, Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe, other things that I’m forgetting because I'm a goldfish boy.
Here are 10 trends that I’ve managed to remember in the footballing calendar year of our Lord Gourav Mukhi 2018.
Top Soccer Trends 2018
#1. Wall Tactics to the Fore
Marcelo Brozovic's sliding stop.
Scott McTominay just being weird.
#2. Scoring Ridiculous Overhead Kicks At Ridiculous Times
Cristiano Ronaldo
Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale's goal is better with Titanic music pic.twitter.com/Tp3xOKXui1
— khaos (@khaosGG) May 26, 2018
#3. Lacing Ridiculous Half-Volleys At Ridiculous Times
Nacho
#MundialTelemundo ¡Un verdadero golazo! Así narró @AndresCantorGOL el tanto de @nachofi1990 que tiene en ventaja a #ESP sobre #POR pic.twitter.com/m8VcRZzAyQ
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) June 15, 2018
Benjamin Pavard
#MundialTelemundo @BenPavard28 le pegó como venía y con un golazo empata el marcador #FRA 2-2 #ARG pic.twitter.com/Dn9cPvDX2p
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) June 30, 2018
#4. We’re Not Sure What This Is, Who Knows
#5. Going Blonde
#6. Being On Chelsea But Being On Loan
These are the Chelsea footballers on loan:
If you’re interested, Chelsea’s lead scout is Gianni Picchioni, who joined the club as part of the staff that Maurizio Sarri employed at Napoli. Do you think he had any idea what he was getting himself into?
#7. Horrendous Goalkeeping Blunders
Loris Karius
obvious pic.twitter.com/6tLJRdYEry
— ✵ لآ الہ الآ آللـّہ ✵ (@pharmaciist) December 23, 2018
Big Willy
#MundialTelemundo ¡Regalito de @willy_caballero! que aprovecha Ante Rebic para poner arriba en el marcador a #CRO sobre #ARG pic.twitter.com/gzChwP1AqM
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) June 21, 2018
David de Gea
Oh boy de Gea is going to want this one back and it's totally against the run of play.
Ronaldo with a strong shot but that's badly mishandled. 2-1 heading into halftime, Portugal up and Ronaldo has both to no ones surprise. #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/mR23iczBgO— Nick Wojton (@Nick_Wojton) June 15, 2018
Alisson
¿Karius? El error de Alisson con el Liverpool este fin de semana pic.twitter.com/bEi2WWfYqC
— Estadio (@estadioec) September 4, 2018
#8. Diego Maradona Getting Lit
Diego Maradona with one of the greatest post-match interviews ever. pic.twitter.com/GjwjdyTXOq
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 26, 2018
Maradona's highlights vs Nigeria looool this guy is something else man pic.twitter.com/YxtGCjVvyz
— Monzi [cvg] (@Magic0fBarca) June 26, 2018
#9. Appreciating Luka Modric And Then Hating Luka Modric
YES!
Modric is on fire #ARGCRO
Adios Argentina and Messi#Kenya7s pic.twitter.com/rapAqzRRSa— Lomaria Kiptöö (@Lomaria_Kiptoo) June 21, 2018
NO!
#10. The End Of Living The Dream
The kick-off times aren’t optimal, but as Americans, we’ve been living the dream when it comes to viewing the beautiful game. Essentially, we’ve always been treated to whatever, whenever, for next to nothing.
But with the rise of NBC Sports Gold, B/R Live, ESPN+, Fox Sports Go, fuboTV and everything else, we’ve now got a smorgasbord of relatively cheap, but relatively overwhelming selections to piecemeal together if we want to watch Newcastle United, LaLiga and Ajax’s march to the Champions League final.
It was fun while it lasted, but now they’re after our precious monies.