First things first, I’m not 100 percent certain we’ve agreed on a term for this particular skill. Is it a piece of back heel control? A rabona touch? An inverse rabona? A Nasty Neymar? From henceforth, it should be known as the Ballad of Ahmadzadeh Farshad.
The Spanish football season begins on August 12, 2018, with the Supercopa de España in Tangier, Morocco. That trophy match will be contested by La Liga winner Barcelona and Copa del Rey runner-up Sevilla, and it’ll serve as the curtain raiser for the new league season. The La Liga fixtures for 2018-19 were announced Tuesday, including opening weekend matches and the dates for this season’s El Clásicos.
After lifting the 2018 World Cup with one of the youngest squads at the tournament (average age of just 26), there’s been a growing fear that France could turn a bit tyrannical at the international level. That fear was further confirmed today when England’s U-19s were on the receiving end of a 5-0 beatdown from their French peers.
We would’ve given anything to be at PSV’s legendary De Herdgang training facility today, and not just because it’s a footballing paradise located in the woodlands of Eindhoven. Today was a massive day at the club because 22-year-old Mexican winger Hirving “Chucky” Lozano returned to training after his World Cup holiday and new U-19 manager Ruud van Nistelrooy had his first training session.
France and Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Greizmann has made his love for America’s sports culture no secret. Let us remind you of last week, when he interrupted Paul Pogba’s post-World Cup interview to exclaim his love for Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Derrick Rose. Antoine Griezmann interrupted Pogba’s interview to say: “I love Derrick Rose.”
— Footy Jokes (@Footy_JokesOG) July 17, 2018
Mesut Ozil has retired from international football at the age of 29, citing “racism and disrespect” from the German football federation (DFB). Ozil had 92 caps for Germany and helped the nation capture third place at the 2010 World Cup before lifting the trophy in 2014. The Arsenal playmaker issued a detailed statement on Twitter with the main contents concerning the fallout of his meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip before the World Cup.
Here are his statements in full, read them (click/tap) before commentating:
Napoli’s biggest worry, at the moment, is president Aurelio De Laurentiis’s claim that manager Maurizio Sarri is attempting to take all of his former players with him to Chelsea. Jorginho has absconded for $67 million, but the rest of the squad appears to be staying in Naples.
The Swiss Super League got started yesterday and then the goal of the season was scored today, just like that. Lugano’s Dragan Mihajlovic made like Sisqo and unleashed the dragon on Sion from 77 yards out.
He was very obviously just clearing the ball in the fourth minute after some dicey play at the back, but his “get rid!” sailed through the cosmos before taking a bounce over 20-year-old Sion keeper Anthony Maisonnial.
The top Polish league Ekstraklasa began play this week.
WAIT! Come back!
Before you leave in boredom, let me remind you, the Polish league isn’t actually the worst league in the world. Well, OK, it’s one of the worst in Europe, not even cracking the top 20, but the Ekstraklasa is good for something.
Awful football! Entertainingly miserable soccer that is sure to make you laugh.
UEFA’s showpiece tournament, Euro 2020, kicks off in less than two years. That’s plenty of time to gather all of your friends and to start thinking about which cities and countries you want to visit.
If you didn’t know already, Euro 2020 will be a special tournament. There will be 12 host countries, as opposed to one or two host countries.