Soccer fans will occasionally look back at the early years of Major League Soccer and chuckle at how Americans tried to make the sport different. While people poke fun at MLS weirdness, the Chile Long Penalty from 1990 is an alteration to the rules that no one seems to remember or talk about. This rule was far more bizarre than the old MLS penalty kicks.
First let’s take a look back at what MLS did in the 90s.
The USWNT is the most dominant force in women’s soccer history. The U.S. has never been ranked lower than second in the world and has won more World Cups and Olympics than it’s lost. But if there’s one thing the players love more than winning, it’s dogs.
It’s National Pet Day, apparently, and I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of a better group of people to celebrate with than the USWNT.
This list for the players with the most career goals in the history of soccer stretches from players who played in the early 1900s to the present day. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi score at an unprecedented rate in today’s game, but there are those from history whose rate of scoring was even more impressive.
The Guinness World Record for the most goals scored in a specified period is 1,281 by the Brazilian great Pele, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento.
An olimpico goal — one scored directly from a corner kick — is always a sight to behold. Damián “Kitu” Díaz of Ecuador’s Barcelona SC scored one of the most unique olimpicos ever seen on Thursday in the Copa Sudamericana when he caught the Montevideo Wanderers’ goalkeeper out of his goal during the corner kick.
Díaz spotted the goalkeeper standing six yards away from his goal and had the audacity to curl the ball into the goal while the goalkeeper wasn’t looking. Brilliant.
When it comes to the most underrated players in the English-speaking world, you could certainly make a case for Brazil's Rivellino — a fantasy footballer with pioneering dribbling skills, an outrageous free kick arsenal and a left foot like a field howitzer. Rivellino was hugely admired by Pelé and inspired both Diego Maradona and Ronaldinho, but these names have largely superseded Rivellino's own in football lore.
Earlier this year, I watched part of the NCAA football title game on an alternate ESPN2 broadcast featuring coaches from Texas A&M talking about the game. It was garbage television, and I’m an Aggie. When I saw the NCAA women’s basketball title game Sunday night had an alternate broadcast on ESPN2, I was initially skeptical, but I’m so glad I watched.
The 2022 World Cup draw released on Friday, April 1, placed the USMNT into a group with England, Iran and the winner of the UEFA playoff between Ukraine, Scotland and Wales. It’s a group a lot of American fans celebrated on social media as an easy group. Do the numbers back it up? Here’s a brief history of U.S. men’s soccer against its Group B opponents, including a spicy USMNT vs England history in World Cup play.
African footballers have been migrating overseas since the 1920s, when French leagues attracted some West African players. The migration of African talent to Europe intensified from the 1980s to the 2000s as football became more globalized and economically viable.
Thousands of African footballers have since found their way to Europe. Many have succeeded in carving a niche for themselves, like Abedi Pele, Didier Drogba, George Weah and Samuel Eto'o. The performances of these stars have reinforced the perception that the African continent has some of the best football talent.