Central & South America
February Sucks, Why Aren’t We All At The Beach Soccer Championship?
As temperatures drop below freezing and blizzard warnings grip the Midwest, it feels as though winter has been here forever and shows no sign of abating. So it’s with an envious eye that we follow the 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship in the Bahamas.
The tournament, contested by 16 nations from February 20-26, will crown the region’s champion and decide which two teams will qualify for the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. On Friday, the quarterfinals will be contested and it looks like everyone is having a helluva time.
The Strangest Lionel Messi Moments That Prove His Genius
No matter the field they play on, geniuses are a difficult breed to understand. Each of them has his or her own peculiarities and habits that we will never understand because they see things on a different level. Albert Einstein once picked up a grasshopper from the ground and ate it. He also used to go on bird-watching walks while playing the violin and crying. Nikola Tesla had an aversion to jewelry; Vincent van Gogh severed part of his own ear. The list goes on.
But what does any of this have to do with soccer?
The Latest FIFA Rankings Are Out So We Don’t Even Have To Play Anymore
The FIFA rankings are a strange sort of beast, like Dr. Seuss’s Foo-Foo the Snoo. They don’t have any bearing on reality, and usually distort it, but they’re frequently referenced and even used as the framework to seed international competitions.
The latest FIFA World Rankings came out today and saw no changes in the top five.
FIFA World Rankings (2017)
1. Argentina
2. Brazil
3. Germany
4. Chile
5. Belgium
A Very Brazilian-Flavored Goal Was Scored In Brazil On Sunday
Audax, the surprise runners-up in last year’s Campeonato Paulista (Sao Paulo’s top professional football league), opened the 2017 season with a 4-2 victory over 21-time champions Sao Paulo.
When teams come flying out of the gate with goals like this, there’s not much you can do. Audax’s second goal screamed Brazilian football with a series of one-twos and back heels allowing Pedro Carmona to score from ten yards out.
Brazil Has Way More Transfers Than Any Other Country
There are always a few things to look forward at the beginning of a new year; new-year resolutions, new season in some countries, new players for a lot of clubs and new data.
Yes, this is a soccer nerd kind of article, so if you are afraid of numbers, you better start running.
If you’re like me and can’t wait to see what keeps this machine that we call soccer clicking, get comfortable and ready yourself for some surprises because FIFA released its yearly transfer report and it is an interesting one.
There's A New Freestyler In Town, And She Shows Us Age Is Just A Number
When They Say Have A Go, They Don’t Mean From 40 Yards
Jerry Ortiz of Colombia’s Once Caldas scored one of the best goals you’ll see all year against Peru’s Universitario in a friendly match. The 24-year-old has just arrived at Once Caldas from fellow Colombian club Atletico Huila.
This is one way to introduce yourself to your new club. The goalkeeper isn’t even out of position, that’s just a swerving, looping bomb from Ortiz. My word, Jerry.
Diego Maradona Will End His 22-Year US Travel Ban By Speaking At Harvard
Diego Maradona’s expulsion from the 1994 World Cup in the United States, for what FIFA executive committee member Michel d’Hooghe described as “a cocktail of drugs”, resulted in a 15-month ban from soccer, but the verdict also prohibited Maradona from visiting the US for 22 years.
Chapecoense Begin The Painful Process Of Returning To The Pitch With A New Squad
Following the tragic events of LaMia Flight 2933, which took the lives of 22 Chapecoense players, 23 staff and board members and a total of 71 people, the club have now begun the difficult process of returning to the field with a new squad and manager.