Mesut Ozil is the best traditional #10 in the game today. He’s not a deep-lying playmaker, he’s not an inverted winger, he’s just exceptionally good at doing what #10s are supposed to do, create chances.
This video shows plenty of Mesut Ozil creating chances, but it also shows the other parts of his game that are just as exceptional, and perhaps more spectacular (the section on first touches is a football geeks dream).
Brazil vs Ecuador finished as a nil-nil draw after an intense and controversial 90 minutes which saw an Ecuador goal incorrectly disallowed. The result sees Peru stay atop Group B as leaders.
It’s the kind of popular legend that is usually attributed to a “friend of a friend” and rooted in invention and fantasy, a cheap tale to explain the otherworldly. When professional football freestyler Billy Wingrove met Ronaldinho as part of Nike’s Joga Bonito advertising campaign, he said: “I’ve got two questions. One, is there a heaven? Two, how did he [Ronaldinho] get this good?”
Apparently when you are young, rich, and famous, you hang out with other young, rich, and famous people. That’s what this video of Neymar juggling with Justin Bieber tells me.
The USMNT face Colombia in the first match of the Copa America Centenario tonight, and they will have to put on a strong showing in order to get anything from the match. They have a potentially tough group that includes World Cup quarter-finalists Costa Rica and last year's fourth place Copa finishers, Paraguay. It is important for the U.S. to start strong in the hopes of grabbing what could be three vital points.
The Texas Derby betwen the Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas is always a thriller. Ricardo Clark was not about to let his team fall on Thursday night, as he seized his opportunity in the 51st minute to pull the Dynamo back to even. A blocked pass on the top of the 18 set up nicely for an incoming Clark who hit a screamer into the back of the net, tying the game at one's. An incredible goal to say the least. It is definitely worth a few views!
England took on Portugal today in an internatinoal friendly. The match was really more of a tune-up game for the imminent Euro 2016 tournament than anything else, and so both sides were looking to learn more about their players, try out some new things, and generally just finish off the day better than they started it.
Except for Bruno Alves. Bruno Alves almost killed Harry Kane.
Arsene Wenger is going to be retiring as the manager of Arsenal at some point. I would guess that if he wins the title this next season, it will be his last. And when he does go the game will lose one of the greatest minds, and souls, to ever grace it.
In the interview you are about to watch, Wenger talks a lot about the mind and the soul; how a great manager has to have more than just good ideas, but the courage to stand up for what he believes in as well.
Most amazing goals consist of incredible strikes from distance or a goalie scoring off of a corner kick to save the day, but this one is quite special. Thomas Luciano, a 14-year-old defender at club Gremio out of Brazil scored a goal for the ages off of a woodwork ricochet. After the ball came bounding off of the crossbar, quick thinking allowed Thomas to execute a perfectly time skorpion kick that put the ball over the keeper in a chaotic moment. This golazo is definitely worth a few good watchings!
Goals like these from the Spanish are going to make Euro 2016 very, very exciting. David Silva put his sniper specialized left foot to the test against South Korea in a warm up match for Spain. From about 30 yards out, Silva hit a firecracker that went bar down in the upper right corner, virtually giving South Korea's shot stopper no chance at ruining the beautiful moment. Spain's shot at redemption from their falter in 2014 will be tested in this upcoming month as they begin their Euro 2016 debut on June 13th.