In-Depth Feature

Last night, after 120 minutes of scoreless action on the field, the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams on penalty kicks in Super Bowl LIII. Jared Goff had the opportunity to bring his team level from the spot, but he blasted his effort over the crossbar, and New England’s Rex Burkhead stepped up and calmly buried his penalty to put the game away.

Being the lowest scoring game in Super Bowl history, this is an apt metaphor. We’d just have to insert punters Ryan Allen and Johnny Hekker into the exercise as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, respectively. 

For the casual fan watching Europe, the 2019 January transfer window was by no means the most exciting in recent memory. In terms of what it meant for U.S. soccer, it was massive. 

More and more young Americans are heeding the words of one-time USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann and heading to Europe. More and more European clubs are welcoming young Americans into the fold. 

On Friday, it was confirmed that Thierry Henry had officially left his position as manager of Monaco after a disastrously short reign of just over 100 days. Henry was appointed back on Oct. 11 with the club languishing in 18th, and after two wins over the following 12 league matches, Henry was dismissed with the club now sitting 19th.

Where did it all go wrong for Henry?

Although we still have a few replays to settle, the FA Cup Third Round is pretty much done and dusted, giving us time to look at the darlings of the competition with 32 clubs remaining. 

The usual favorites are all there — Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Spurs — but we also have three clubs that standout at the opposite end of the spectrum. Barnet, playing in the fifth tier, is the lowest ranked remaining club and the only non-League side left.

When Neymar made his record-breaking transfer from Barcelona to PSG, his former Brazilian club Santos, with which he played from the age of 11, received a windfall of nearly $16 million as a solidarity payment.

We live in an age when there is growing equality among all genders and all colors of skin — perhaps the best we as a species have ever been in treating everyone equally. But one look at the Italian Super Cup — and Serie A as a whole — and it’s easy to see we still have a really fucking long way to go.

In-depth interviews with Barcelona captain Lionel Messi are a rare thing, but they continuously reveal a humble, cerebral and analytical individual who refuses to be drawn into the trappings of fame and modern society. With LaLiga entering its winter break (Barcelona last played on Dec.