Human Interest

In the southeastern Roman neighborhood of Quadraro, Atletico Diritti play their home matches under the shadow of the Felice Aqueduct. The aqueduct was completed in 1586 by Pope Sixtus V, bringing water back to the hills of Rome, which had been waterless and sparsely inhabited since the sixth century.

By 1589, the aqueduct was filling no less than twenty-seven public fountains. As the aqueduct provided for the people of Rome, so Atletico Diritti hopes to provide for the migrants, refugees, prisoners and former prisoners in the area. 

Alan Pulido has been found safe by Mexican authorities, Reuters reported.

Armando Pulido, the brother of Mexico and Olympiakos striker Alan Pulido, confirmed to Mediotempo that his brother was kidnapped in the city of Victoria in Tamaulipas, Mexico on Saturday. 

When Pep Guardiola moved Lionel Messi from the right wing to the middle of the park, he unleashed a monster. The fist instance of the move resulted in a 6-2 destruction of arch rivals Real Madrid. It took a bit of time for the position to become Messi’s primary one but, once it did, world-beating results followed. Have you ever heard of Lionel Messi’s 91 goal year in 2012? Yeah, that happened when he was playing striker. 

Frankfurt captain Marco Russ has had a difficult week. On Wednesday, a routine doping test found an elevated level of the growth hormone HCG in his system, and the doctors found a tumor to be the root cause of the problem.

Meet El Gothico: the game, appropriately nicknamed, that is a part of a yearly Goth get together in the town of Whitby, England. It involves a team of visiting goths facing off against locals and it’s as whimsical as you imagine.

Let’s make one thing clear: Rayo Vallecano didn’t win a lot this year. They just weren’t good enough to do so. But, g** d*** it they tried. 

In an era when most outmatched clubs sit back and park the bus, Paco Jemez’s men attacked. When they were up against Real Madrid, they attacked. When they were up against Barcelona, they attacked. When they were up against Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Granada, and Levante, they attacked.

Gianni Infantino, we knew this would happen. We just didn't know it would be this soon. Infantino reportedly is trying to roll back some of the major reforms FIFA enacted when Infantino entered office back in February. This has reportedly caused Domenico Scala, formerly FIFA's audit and compliance chief, to resign in protest.

Pablo Aimar is one of the greatest Argentine players of all time. The two time La Liga winner made his name at Valencia, Benfica, and River Plate with his brilliant dribbling and playmaking ability. Nicknamed El Payaso (the clown) he was idolized by children across Argentina, and one of those kids was Lionel Messi. 

The Premier League had a big surprise for fans this year. As the main attraction of English football for most of the year, Leicester City were given 5000-1 odds to win the league. Even those odds seemed to make light of their situation, but in spite of it all they became Premier League champions this week with an unlikely campaign led by a former blue collar worker.

His name is Jamie Vardy. He grew up in Sheffield, South Yorkshire in England, playing football. At 16, rejected by his hometown Sheffield United FC, he started working for a carbon fiber factory.

Earlier this year many of us heard the heartwarming story of Murtaza Ahmadi – a 5 year old boy from Afghanistan who admires Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. When pictures of little Murtaza in his homemade Messi “jersey,” made from a blue and white striped plastic bag, went viral Messi and his team took notice. Messi autographed an actual jersey for his young fan and had it delivered to the boy in eastern Afghanistan. A touching gesture that shows the global reach of the beautiful game.