A lot of people don’t like Neymar.
I get that — he went overboard with the theatrics at last summer’s World Cup.
But what Strasbourg's Anthony Gonçalves said after yet another Neymar injury crosses the line more than any Neymar dive. It’s dangerous territory, something that reflects a societal issue as well.
Rumors persist that Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez could yet transfer to Valencia this window — if the Spanish club is willing to pony up something like $15 million for the 30-year-old. However, with Marko Arnautovic unsettled at West Ham and Chicharito just returning from a back injury, the Mexican striker may yet have a massive role to play for Manuel Pellegrini’s side over the run-in.
SportsCenter recently handed all the power of its Instagram to Major League Soccer's biggest star, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and the man is funnier than ever. The Galaxy forward opened with the number one rule for dealing with the media.
“Just be yourself, always, whatever happens be yourself,” Ibrahimovic said. “Answer honest and what you think. Maybe you’re not always right, maybe you’re not always wrong.”
You know the case isn’t closed until Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had his say, and that’s exactly what’s happened in the war of words between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi regarding the “challenge” that the Portuguese issued to the Argentine to join him in Italian football.
As has been well-documented, the emergence of signing young international players with Targeted Allocation Money and the increased regularity of moving Homegrown Players up the ranks has made the MLS SuperDraft less meaningful than ever (not that signing a 22-year-old who’s spent the last four years playing a three-month long season was ever a recipe for success). That’s not to say that a few of the 2019 selections won’t contribute in meaningful ways, but it’s just that — a few.
The Carabao Cup is essentially a contest to determine which Premier League side has the most expansive, expensively assembled reserve team. It’s a test of squad depth that only a handful of clubs can afford to juggle while the rigors of league play take precedent, and so it comes as absolutely no surprise that Manchester City has won the competition three of the last five years and is on the cusp of making it four of six.