Winter has arrived. The traditional Serie A winter break has been pushed back a few weeks to accommodate an “English-style” festive period. Now, with January in full fling, the clubs are taking a bit of time off to recover. So, naturally, it’s time to think about Serie A transfers.
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are like siblings. Guardiola is the studious, artsy older brother. He likes Legos. He builds entire carefully-constructed cities on the living room floor. They are intricate and delicate. Klopp is the younger brother. He is a toddler. He is wearing a cape and a saucepan on his head for a helmet. He wants some Cheez-Its.To get his Cheez-Its, Klopp runs through the middle of the living room and tramples Guardiola's Lego City. At least, that's what happened on Sunday.
You might’ve forgotten about Ousmane Dembele following his 20-game layoff due to a thigh muscle rupture, and that’s OK. Really, missing that many games accounts for roughly 20 percent of the kid's career so far.
The fallout to the Jonathan Gonzalez switch from the U.S. to Mexico has been immense. We’ve covered it here and here. Simply put: The U.S. appears to be failing in its pursuit of identifying and recruiting Mexican-Americans to compete for the national team. But the possibility of a Timothy Tillman switch is proof U.S.
Philippe Coutinho was in the stands, but the only two players Barcelona needed against Celta Vigo Thursday were Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba. Meet me once Barcelona go up 3-0.
Messi’s first of the day: A wicked left-footed volley (via @beINSPORTSUSA) pic.twitter.com/cbzse7Y8bV
FC Porto defeated Moreirense 2-1 in the Taca de Portugal (the country’s premier knockout competition) with Mexico internationals Hector Herrera and Miguel Layun providing the goals. Porto haven’t won the Cup since 2011, but they’ll now play fierce rivals Sporting CP in a Dragões vs Leões semifinal.
Herrera scored the game’s opening goal in the eighth minute after a fine run from Tiquinho. The midfielder applied the finish with a lovely dink over the keeper.
According to the latest reports, Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune and FC Barcelona have finally agreed to terms on the transfer of 33-year-old Argentinian defender Javier Mascherano, bringing a close to seven-and-a-half illustrious seasons at the Camp Nou.
USMNT and Borussia Dortmund star Christian Pulisic recently sat down for an exclusive interview with ESPN FC from Dortmund’s winter training camp in southern Spain, taking time to answer questions from Raphael Honigstein ranging from the USA’s World Cup failure to how he deals with the burden of expectation as a 19-year-o
Sometimes I think about Michael Owen. It’s a certain thought experiment pertaining to Owen joining Manchester United in 2009 as a 29-year-old on a two-year deal and playing very, very little. With most expecting him to find a new club in 2011 after starting only six Premier League matches in two seasons, he instead signed a one-year extension while explaining his decision thus:
Valencia eased into the Copa del Rey quarterfinals with a 4-0 victory over Las Palmas at the Mestalla on Tuesday, the Cup match playing out entirely like La Liga’s third-place side going up against the club in 20th. Valencia’s Luciano Vietto, who’s on loan at Los Che from Atletico Madrid, scored an amazing hat-trick of ever-increasing quality to lead the way.
The 24-year-old Argentinian gave Valencia a 1-0 advantage (2-1 on aggregate) in the 30th minute with a side-footed finish on the rebound after Simone Zaza’s header was miraculously saved by Raul Lizoain.