Humor

The idea of helping youths develop and hone their skills in soccer is appealing to a large number of coaches. In the U.S. alone there are coaches teaching millions of young players how to play the sport.

Coaching, like most things in life, doesn’t come without drawbacks. Whether it’s a player forgetting to bring their shin guards or Karen the Super Soccer Mom complaining about her child not getting enough playing time, the task of coaching can be strenuous. Here is a short list of shortcomings for youth soccer coaches.

Not all of us have had to go under the knife for a serious surgery. But we all have seen and enjoyed the post-surgery videos that people post while the anesthesia is wearing off. 

It is comforting to know that even the best athletes in the world also feel the effects of anesthesia.

Just watch this video that Paul Pogba posted after his recent ankle surgery.

Southampton’s social media team will be hearing none of it as the club gears up for Leicester City this weekend in the Premier League. The Saints would prefer to adhere to the saying “the past is in the past.”

The last time they encountered the Foxes back in October, it was a rainy and dreary 9-0 defeat in front of their home supporters at St. Mary’s Stadium. Not only was the loss humiliating, but Southampton “earned” the title for joint-largest margin of defeat in a Premier League game alongside Ispwich Town. 

It’s been nearly 14 years since Zinedine Zidane felled Marco Materazzi with a forehead to the solar plexus, but that moment from the 2006 World Cup Final still reverberates through time.

When his side slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa in 2014, then-Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho produced one of the great memes of recent memory speaking in the mixed zone after the game. When pressed on the impact of two red cards produced by referee Chris Foy had on his side, Mourinho famously said "I prefer not to speak ... if I speak I am in big trouble, and I don't want to be in big trouble".

To coincide annually with The Guardian’s excellent list of the 100 best male footballers in the world — compiled by a panel of 239 experts from 63 different nations — we here at The18 have compiled our own list over the last few years. There are no experts involved, there’s no rhyme or reason for anything, but we do hope you’ll join us on this adventure into the bowels of the beautiful game.

Rewind about five years and you'll find a name on the USMNT that most people have forgotten about: Aron Johannsson. People were excited about his potential and what the then 24-year-old could bring to the national team after scoring 17 goals and picking up 16 assists for AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie.

Since that season, Johannsson has struggled with injuries and has barely seen the field, not only taking him off the pitch but also off the USMNT, where he scored four goals in 19 appearances.

Any self-respecting Texan can vividly recall images of running back Earl Campbell plowing through defenders, his jersey turning to tissue as opposing players try in vain to bring him to the ground.

After an incessant 19-month news cycle that began on Mar. 31, 2018, with an incredible brace against LAFC and concluded on Oct. 24, 2019, with a playoff defeat to the same team, we’ll admit that we’re already feeling pretty empty without Zlatan Ibrahimović in America.