America’s relationship with soccer has more steps backwards and forwards than a salsa dance. Christian Pulisic bursts on to the scene in 2016. Yay! The U.S. fails to qualify for the World Cup. Yikes. The collective knowledge of the sport increases with star-studded preseason tours and the MLS’s continued growth. Woo! Famous American actor commits one of the most cringe-worthy soccer crimes possible and films it. Oh no…
It’s a commonly held belief in professional sports that visiting teams automatically have a disadvantage. They have to deal with rowdy crowds who often hate their guts, a dearth of supporters in the stadium, hotel living and sleeping, and the discomfort of planes and buses.
There are a lot of reasons as to why playing an away game is not ideal but just imagine having to play a road game that is 21,303 miles (for our non-American readers, I’ll spare you the mental math calculations and just tell you that’s a whopping 17,142km) round trip.
It’s almost time for the new Premier League season to kick off. We’ve had the World Cup to fill most of the offseason, but now it’s that boring part of the summer when clubs play friendlies against considerably weaker teams. Everton won a friendly 22-0, so that’s all you really need to know about preseason.
As he bounces back from a less-than-ideal World Cup showing and gets ready to suit up for PSG, Neymar’s been in his hometown for the 2018 edition of "Neymar Jr.’s Five." The five-a-side tournament consists of teams from more than 60 countries who battle it out in tournament qualifiers for a chance to play in the World Final at Instituto Projeto Neymar Jr. in Praia Granda, Brazil.
Last night, Bradley Wright-Phillips became the fastest player to reach 100 MLS goals after he scored what would prove to be the game-winner in just the second minute against DC United. It looks as if BWP had a feeling tonight just might be the night for his historic accomplishment. Take a look at what has to be the most brazen goal celebration in MLS history.
It looks like the Englishman took a page out of Zlatan’s book for this one. When you’ve been tearing up defenses in the way he has for five years, you deserve to pat yourself on the back like this.
If you want to watch something truly pathetic today, here’s Jose Mourinho, the manager of 20-time English champion Manchester United (squad value of just over $1 billion), acting scared shitless at the prospect of playing Brighton & Hove Albion (squad value of $183 million) in the second week of Premier League action because of the World Cup impact on club season preparations.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic made an appearance on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption with Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon on Tuesday, and the LA Galaxy forward was full of his usual bluster, saying, among other things, that he could help LeBron James lift the Los Angeles Lakers back to relevance by trying his hand at the “basket.”
Maybe you’ve heard, but France won the 2018 World Cup. Les Bleus were pretty impressive in Russia, succeeding where Napoleon had failed 200 years earlier. But John Cleese and his big furry hat don’t want France to keep the World Cup trophy.
If you’ve been keeping up with the latest transfer news, you will have heard of the Richarlison Everton deal, Watford’s Brazilian forward moving in a deal worth upwards of $65 million. That’s a lot of money for a guy who has spent one season in the Premier League, is only 21 and scored a measly five goals.
If you think $65 million is way too much for Richarlison, we’re inclined to agree. What on earth compels Everton to splash out so much money on this fella?