Names in and of themselves are not all that interesting. It’s the meaning behind a name, bestowed upon a child at birth, that makes it special. When Giovanni Alejandro Reyna was born in Sunderland, England, to a pair of U.S. soccer players in 2002, the future Borussia Dortmund star was given a name that proved prophetic for his footballing prowess.
It finally happened.
After decades of battling, the U.S. Soccer Federation has agreed to pay its men’s and women’s players equally, a landmark deal and the first of its kind in the soccer world.
LONDON - Chelsea coach Emma Hayes says her relentless drive for success comes from her fear of losing after she watched her side clinch their fourth FA Cup on Sunday, the 11th major trophy under her management.
Hayes, appointed Chelsea manager in August 2012, has overseen a glittering period in the team's history, completing another domestic double with a 3-2 extra time win over Manchester City at Wembley.
The Premier League's relegation battle took another dramatic twist Sunday with Burnley's 1-0 defeat to Tottenham and Leeds United's improbable 1-1 draw against Brighton seeing Jesse Marsch's side climb to the safety of 17th while Burnley fell to 18th.
Elsewhere, Everton came undone at Goodison Park with red cards for both Jarrad Branthwaite and Salomón Rondón to finish with nine men in a 3-2 defeat to Brentford, meaning the Toffees are still right in the thick of it.
ESPN's SportsCenter doesn't usually show soccer highlights — preferring to show incessant home runs and slam-dunks that look like mirror images of every other home run and slam-dunk — but when it does, you can rest assured that it's a 40-yard banger or impossible bicycle kick from range.
On Saturday night, trailing St. Croix 2-1 in USL2 play, the Des Moines Menace's Fernando Garcia got the attention of SportsCenter with a flying golazo from nearly 15 yards out.
It came in at No. 3 in the Top 10.
What if the MetroStars still existed with their name and logo? What if the New York Red Bulls were as much a figment of our imagination as the U.S. winning a men’s World Cup? Such was the premise many members of The18 staff took and ran with, spending their most productive hours of the day creating New York/New Jersey MetroStars memes.
After trailing twice against Manchester United on Sunday, Chelsea stormed back to capture the 2021-22 WSL title behind two incredible Sam Kerr volleys. Kerr finished the season with 20 goals in 20 games, four more than Arsenal's Vivianne Miedema, to claim the Golden Boot — her seventh such individual prize in just six years.
Australia's going to be a problem at next summer's World Cup with the 28-year-old Matildas captain playing like this.
Gregg Berhalter was invited on ESPN’s flagship SportsCenter show to talk about the U.S. men’s national team 200 days before the Americans open the World Cup in Qatar. The USMNT coach talked plenty of soccer and did his best to dumb it down for the average SportsCenter viewer. As the interview concluded, host Scott Van Pelt showed the USMNT jersey Berhalter had given him. It was far too small for the 6-6 anchor and not quite sized for any of his three children, either. It was for SVP’s beloved dog Otis.
Van Pelt was nearly brought to tears.
MADRID - Rafa Nadal saved four match points to beat Belgian David Goffin 6-3 5-7 7-6(9) in an absorbing match on Thursday and move into the Madrid Open quarterfinals.
Just as his beloved Real Madrid came back from the brink to reach the Champions League soccer final on Wednesday, 35-year-old Nadal found extra energy in reserve to win a lengthy tiebreak.
The victory was the 1,050th win of his career as he moved into a Masters 1000 quarterfinal for the 99th time and he was lifted by Real's dramatic 3-1 win over Manchester City achieved with the help of two last-gasp goals.