Alright class, pay attention because this is about to become very confusing stupid. Athletic Bilbao won the 1904 Copa del Rey tournament. Still with us? Good. They also happened to win it without playing a single game [insert record scratch here]. Not a single one. Not even a five-a-side in the park.
US scientists are on the verge of announcing the discovery of gravitational waves, ripples in spacetime that Albert Einstein first predicted over 100 years ago.
The second black player to represent England at any level and the first British player to transfer to Real Madrid, Laurie Cunningham was a footballing pioneer and a legend of his own time. His premature death at 33 years of age cut short the career of a player who “was as good as Cristiano Ronaldo” according to Spanish manager, and former Real teammate, Vincente del Bosque.
Hey Arsenal fans. Remember Andrey Arshavin? The boyish Russian whose career imploded and collapsed faster than Howard Dean's presidential campaign? Well, things haven't gone so well for the one time Russian player of the year.
If you watched the Milan derby this past weekend, you may have seen this olive tree ceremony before the game.
The Milan derby was the latest game to see the ceremony take place. Photo: @waatp | Twitter
Basketball great, Kobe Bryant, is an avid soccer fan. Having grown up in Italy, Bryant played soccer everyday and became immersed in the culture during his time there. So, which team does Kobe Bryant support? Why, A.C. Milan of course.
Messi cannot break the laws of physics. As much as some of his fans love to say that he does, and as magical as his talent may seem, it is physically impossible for him to break the laws of physics. It is impossible for all of us, independent of some sort of incredible technology, to break the laws of physics. With a ball at his feet, Messi must obey the same laws as everyone else in the world. He just happens to be the best in the world at pushing those laws to their very limits. He can put the ball wherever he wants, curve it however he wants, but how does he do it?
Poor Gary Neville. The former Manchester United captain took over at Valencia in December, making him the 20th British manager to try his luck in Spain. He has yet to get a win after eight games. Remember, this is a side that finished 4th in La Liga last year, and boasts some considerable talent in Paco Alcacer, Alvaro Negredo and Sofiane Feghouli. They now sit in 11th, and haven't won since the 7th of November. The pressure is definitely starting to mount for the newest addition to the British Manager Abroad Club.
On the surface, soccer seems to be strikingly different from other sports such as American football and rugby, but 19th century soccer actually shared more in common with these sports than you might think. Here are five surprising traits from the early version of the game.
1. You could catch the ball
Located on the Basque threshold, the range between the Cantabrian and Pyrenees mountains, is the historical port city of Bilbao and its corresponding club, Athletic Bilbao. An evolving service city that has experienced a massive boost in tourism thanks to the opening of the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum – a stunning museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Frank Gehry – Bilbao is a fascinating crossroads of deep-rooted history and progressive renewal.