With Christmas just around the corner and Santa putting his final touches on his naughty and nice list, we here at The18 thought we’d put together our own list of soccer’s naughtiest and nicest personas of 2014.
Naughty
Luis Suarez
2014 was an interesting year for Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan striker put together a great season at Liverpool, carrying the team to a Champions League berth while scoring 31 goals. But, then the World Cup came around and Luis decided to be Luis. In a group stage match against Italy, the hungry Luis Suarez reverted back to his old biting ways and took a chomp on Giorgio Chiellini, earning himself a four-month ban from all soccer competitions. Suarez will be getting a lump of coal and a maybe a mouth guard for Christmas.
Soccer Hooligans
A fight between hooligans in Russia. (Photo:YouTube)A fight between hooligans in Russia. (Photo:YouTube)
Hooliganism has always been a part of soccer, but 2014 has seen some nasty instances where supporters have gone over the top in their craft as ultras. There have been multiple deaths and bunches of matches abandoned as a result of hooliganism. It’s time that leagues take action against this behavior before more lives are lost over a game. Soccer hooligans, Santa has been watching and he is not going to come to your house this Christmas. Want to read more? Click here.
Sepp Blatter
Probably the most hated man in the soccer community. You could pick a number of different things that warrant Sepp’s spot on our naughty list. It could be the mess that is the 2022 World Cup in Qatar or the artificial turf debacle at next summer's 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada. The word “corrupt” has long been associated with FIFA, and that didn’t change in 2014.
Mario Balotelli
The signing of Mario Balotelli has been a disaster for Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool. The Italian international striker has just one goal in all competitions and has yet to find the back of the net in Premier League play. Not only has his play been poor, but (characteristically) the striker has made some questionable decisions off the field. Super Mario recently posted a racial Instagram photo that the resulted in charges from the FA. Balo insisted that he didn’t mean to offend anyone, which is probably true. But you have to make better decisions than that when you're a soccer superstar. Posting a picture of racial stereotypes isn’t going to be received well. Coal for you, Super Mario.
Hope Solo
Domestic violence has come to the forefront in 2014 and Hope Solo had her place in it. Back in June, Solo had an altercation with her sister and her 17-year-old nephew that resulted in visible injuries to both parties. Solo is facing two counts of fourth-degree assault and, just recently, the USWNT goalkeeper asked that the charges be dropped. Solo’s hearing is on December 30th, which won’t have her getting off the naughty list in time for Christmas morning.
Dan Shaughnessy
When you take a jab at the sport of soccer, you will most certainly be on this list. That's what Dan Shaughnessy did after the New England Revolution lost in the MLS Championship to the Los Angeles Galaxy. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but Shaughnessy took a pot shot at the Revolution following their heartbreaking overtime loss. Shaughnessy is a prominent sports journalist, but clearly doesn’t understand the shifting sports landscape and fan base in the United States. Then again, it's likely that Shaughnessy is just seeking attention. So, congratulations Dan, you landed yourself on the naughty list this year.
Silver lining of Revs loss is that now we don't have to pretend they are relevant. Nice try by the Revs. But we are a Four Team Town.
— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) December 7, 2014
Nice
Tim Howard
The name speaks for itself. Tim Howard became America’s #1 hero during the World Cup. After repeated stellar performances, Howard came to play when it mattered most. The New Jersey native broke the record for most saves in a World Cup match when he had 16 of them against Belgium. Nevermind that the United States ended up losing the match, his performance captivated the nation and acted as another springboard for Americans to fall in love with the game of soccer. Also, let's face it, the hashtag #ThingsTimHowardCouldSave may be the best hashtag of 2014.
The Best hashtag of 2014 - #ThingsTimHowardCouldSave. (Photo:@abstractia | Imgur)
Mario Gotze
When you score the World Cup clinching goal in the 113th minute of extra time you’re going to be on our list. Gotze became the first substitute to score a World Cup winning goal and was the youngest player to score in a World Cup final since 1966. Gotze is also dating German lingerie model Ann-Kathrin Brömmel, so it has been a pretty good year for the Bayern Munich midfielder.
Stephanie Roche
This goal is the reason we have Stephanie Roche on our nice list. The Irish footballer is up for the FIFA Puskas award, which is given to the scorer of the best goal of the year. Roche will be going up against James Rodriguez and Robin Van Persie, and that makes her the first woman to make it to the FIFA Puskas top three. Luckily, her goal was filmed by someone in the stands compared to RVP’s and James’s goals, which were being watched by millions. We hope Roche wins the award as the FIFA description speaks for itself. “When the ball came towards Peamount United forward Stephanie Roche against Wexford Youths, she had her back to goal, yet three touches later and without the ball touching the turf, it was in the back of the net. With her first touch she controlled it masterfully, before producing a dink over her marker’s head, spinning and unleashing a magnificent volley.”
Neymar
The Brazilian superstar was the poster boy for this year's World Cup. The Barcelona striker had four goals in the tournament before suffering a back injury against Colombia. Neymar also earned his way onto the list due to the way he handled multiple instances where children ran on to the pitch to meet him. Neymar you’re the man.
Lionel Messi
The Argentina star carried the Albiceleste to the World Cup final behind his four goals in the tournament before losing to Germany 1-0. Messi has broken a ridiculous amount of records in 2014 and is already considered one of the (if not the) best players to ever play the game. His tax evasion is a area of concern for Mr. Claus, but the heat he took from Argentines following the World Cup was unwarranted and simply not fair. Messi is a class act and for this reason alone we put him on our nice list.
James Rodriguez
One of the great things about the World Cup is the unknown stars that it produces. James Rodriguez introduced himself to the World in Brazil and hasn’t looked back. The lovable attacking midfielder isn’t hated by anyone (that we know of) and scored the goal of the tournament against Uruguay in the Round of 16. The Colombian then signed a £63 million deal to his dream club, Real Madrid, making it quite the year.
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