Culture

When Alejandro Garnacho was born in Madrid in 2004, he'd already missed Cristiano Ronaldo's first season with Manchester United and his legendary performance in the FA Cup final as a 19-year-old.

However, Ronaldo would transfer to Real Madrid five years later and Garnacho — who spent his youth career in Madrid with Getafe and then Atlético — was in the city for all nine illustrious seasons of CR7 at the Santiago Bernabéu.

It's early in the race for the 2023 Ballon d'Or, but with the season now over 30 percent complete, there's no denying that Real Madrid utility man Federico Valverde has put himself in the conversation with some unbelievable contributions in the Champions League and LaLiga.

It used to be that Valverde was the unsung hero of either the midfield (deputizing effectively for Luka Modrić or Toni Kroos) or right wing (with Karim Benzema and Vini Jr in the spotlight), but this year, whether deployed on the wing or in midfield, the 24-year-old has blossomed into the star of the show.

EA Sports have always been the curators of cool, finding the vibe before it exists and getting it right every single time. Over the years, the FIFA soundtrack has become synonymous with playing the game in our youth and the immaculate vibes that came with it. 

Everyone has their favorites. A culmination of great songs and the memories we hold near and dear make them more than regular music. It's the butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling you get when “Love Me Again” by John Newman plays in the bar or when your friend queues up “Love Natural” by Crystal Fighters in the car. 

For the first time in far too long, MLS Cup is a meeting between the premier teams in the Western and Eastern Conferences. If it feels like we've been waiting a while for this sort of heavyweight clash, the anticipation is only heightened by two sides that make creating a 2022 MLS Cup prediction feel like a fool's errand.

Both teams and their respective squads have been steadily building towards this moment for years, and the pain of falling agonizingly short time after time has been eased with a first-ever MLS Cup appearance for both clubs.

Every weekend in global football ushers forth a new 30-yard screamer, mesmerizing solo dribble or acrobatic display of technical ability to feast on, but it's a rare thing indeed to see an effort of such bend and swerve that it makes Roberto Carlos weep gentle tears upon his tree trunk legs.

Bend it like Beckham? David Beckham never took a shot near the halfway line that looked destined for a throw-in on the near touchline before violently changing course and swazzing inside the far post. No, bend it like this guy on Kvk Avelgem in Belgium's fourth provisional division. 

Halloween is the one time of year when it’s OK to dress up as sexy versions of random figures from pop culture and beg for candy and/or get completely wasted. But for those of you soccer fans who are a bit unsure of what to go as this year, we’ve got some Ted Lasso Halloween costume ideas just for you.

Soccer is nothing without the fans. Traveling to games to be part of a collective; a group to support your team, whether it’s home or on the road. Fandom brings people together and breeds community, fostering relationships that may not have happened without the shared bond of sport. This is what the American Outlaws do best. 

The moment we've been waiting for finally arrived Thursday during Manchester United's Europa League match against Sheriff. With the score level at 0-0 and his marker smartly giving him room, the trademark Antony spin skill — followed directly by an overweighted pass — was unleashed.

The sequence has gotten a lot of hate (the British absolutely despise this sort of thing) but that's because the internet is a foul place where joy and individual expression go to die.