The offside rule is one which causes a lot of controversy in soccer: was he or wasn’t he onside? For players and refs alike, the line is blurred. This same sort of grey area and sense of uncertainty presents itself in analyzing the semantics of the word itself: is it “offside” or “offsides”?
Drum roll, please.
Without a goal or an assist in Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 win over Hertha Berlin on Saturday, Christian Pulisic mania wasn’t allowed to grip the nation. But a “quiet” week from the 18-year-old also allows us to dissect his performance in a more serious manner.
What the analysis reveals should obviously already be clear, but let’s just belabor the point: Pulisic isn’t a gimmick. He’s not the fevered creation of a nation starved of a world-class talent. He’s actually just really, really good.
Orlando Pride forward Alex Morgan is on fire right now. Last week she scored both goals in a 2-1 win over Boston and she picked up right where she left off this past Saturday against FC Kansas City. With the score tied 1-1 in the dying minutes of the game, Morgan got on the end of a free kick from teammate Marta and scored the go-ahead and ultimately game-winning goal for the Pride.
This cheeky flick will be no doubt be a goal of the week contender and shows that Alex Morgan is back to her best.
Hey everybody, hop on the hype train, there’s plenty of room. Gianluca Busio is going to be the American Pelé and nothing is going to stop him. He definitely won’t flame out and play for a dozen clubs in a disappointing, prematurely ending career. He won’t, because we’ll force him, Robot Chicken style, to watch Freddy Adu highlights one after another.
New York City FC striker David Villa has earned a recall to the Spanish national team for crunch World Cup qualifiers against Italy (Sept. 2) and Liechtenstein (Sept. 5). Villa last played for La Furia Roja at the 2014 World Cup, but he retired after the nation’s group stage exit.
Guys, I think the Christian Pulisic secret is out. America's Great Hope scored a goal and collected an assist this weekend in Borussia Dortmund's 3-0 win over Wolfsburg, which was good enough to earn the 18-year-old Man of the Matchday honors for matchday one in the Bundesliga.
Pulisic is going to be hard for the rest of the world to ignore after scoring this:
Christian Pulisic may be The Truth, but someone needs to tell him the truth about his goal celebration. We can’t figure out what the hell he’s doing. Maybe someone else can, but we can't.
Before you get bent out of shape and start screaming at us, accusing us of being un-American, hold your horses. We know Christian Pulisic is great. We're with you. He's certainly one of the top American soccer players of all time. There's a chance he's the best American ever. Like, better than Abe Lincoln. Seriously, we feel you, @FearTheWall.
Thanks for playing, Los Angeles Galaxy.
One year before LAFC comes to town, the Galaxy have seemingly given up on the 2017 season with nearly a third of their fixtures remaining. The club announced captain and stalwart defender Jelle Van Damme was sold to Antwerp F.C. for $235,000 on Friday.
For many, there can only be one winner in the race for the FIFA women’s player of the year award in 2017, and that’s Australia’s Sam Kerr. The 23-year-old attacker led Perth Glory to the final of Australia’s W-League while finishing second in goals, she finished top scorer at the Tournament of Nations as Australia defeated hosts United States and she’s scored 11 goals for Sky Blue FC in NWSL play.
For those of you wondering whether or not Christian Pulisic is rational and capable of completing basic mental exercises, an unnamed ESPN FC source has confirmed that in about 365 days, Pulisic will have been provided with an additional 365 days of experience from which to reminisce and reflect on, and he will do that.