Xabi Alonso, you 34-year-old dog you. So are you resorting to only scoring goals as far out as your age? Because this 30+ yard cracking volley is pure greatness. That touch to kill the clearance, and then the approach on the bouncing ball that resulted in the back of the net. Your greatness will never be forgotten and we at The18 thank you for giving us this gem of a goal. Keep being you Xabi.
Bayer Leverkusen played today, and you know what that means: Chicharito scored another goal.
Video | @CH14_ juega. #Chicharito mete gol. This guy can’t stop scoring!! #PanchoVillasArmy https://t.co/mfWIYDcSOe
To the surprise of appriximately nobody, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez is the most popular player in the Bundesliga.
We know he's the most popular player in the Bundesliga because the Bundelsiga held a Twitter popularity contest, called "Bundesliga Idol," and, predictably, Hernandez won.
Bundesliga Idol followed the format of its namesake, TV show American Idol, with one contestant voted off every round.
Chicharito is coming to play in the USA in January.
At least, his team is coming. Bayer Leverkusen are scheduled to play in the Florida Cup, a friendly tournament involving teams from different countries around the world, in January. The tournament will take place in different sites in Florida.
Just when we thought Mexican forward Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez had reached the peak of his powers with an incredible run on form, he went and topped himself by scoring a hat trick in Bayer Leverkusen's 5-0 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach.
On the first goal, Hernandez got to show off his dribbling skills.
One of the best assists and goals you'll see this weekend courtesy of Kiessling & Chicharito. https://t.co/gajd7Po7JO
Some say that stopping a penalty in soccer is the hardest thing to do in sports. There is no real penalty saving trick. The net is so large, the ball so small, and the shot is coming from such a close range that keepers must guess which way they are going to dive before the ball is hit to have a chance at saving it. Even if they dive in the correct direction it is unlikely they’ll be able to stop it. If they’re unlucky and dive the wrong direction, well, let’s just say that every keeper in the world has been left on the proverbial other side of the coin.
Kerem Demirbay will likely not be insulting female referees in the forseeable future. Demirbay, a 22-year-old midfielder on loan from Hamburg at Fortuna Dusseldorf, made some inadvised comments toward a female match official.
"Women have no place in football," Demirbay told referee Bibiana Steinhaus after being red-carded during a Bundesliga 2. game. Demirbay was given a three-match ban, plus two additional matches.
Fortuna Dusseldorf decided that wasn't enough, and decided to punish Demirbay in their own way, by having him referee a girls' youth match.
United States international Fabian Johnson is in the form of his life for club team Borussia Monchengladbach. If Johnson consistently performs at this level for the Foals over the course of the campaign, it could well represent the greatest season ever for a US soccer player in a top European league.
What happens when you fall down in a soccer match? Well, normally players beg and plea to the referee. But that wasn't the case for Jairo Samperio. The Spaniard playing for German club FSK Mainz slid into the box while trying to get a cross in, but a deflection sent the ball right back where it came from. With out hesitation, the crafty Samperio executed a perfect scissor kick lob all while while lying on his back.
Jairo found the net later on in the match en rout to Mainz ending Hamburg's two game winning streak.
Hertha Berlin won the game, but Bayer Leverkusen's Mexican forward Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez continued hus run of fine form with another goal.
This run has seen Hernandez score 11 goals in his last 10 games and for his efforts be named the Bundesliga player of the month for November. His latest goal was an equalizer to level the Hertha Berlin-Bayer Leverkusen game at 1-1. Berlin would go on to win 2-1, with Hernandez picking up a yellow card for arguing with the referee in the 93rd minute.