It’s been over eight years since David Beckham last sported the white of Real Madrid. You can forget a lot in the space of nearly a decade. Couple that time with Beckham’s constant appearances in advertisements, ambassador projects and tabloids, and it’s easy to forget that the man was one hell of a footballer back in the day.
Here at The18, we love all things Chicharito. Coming back from a successful international break where Mexico progressed to the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, he continued his Bundesliga success with his 15th goal of the season, a beautiful curling effort that put Bayer Leverkusen up 2 - 0.
Jesus "Tecatito" Corona is nicknamed after a famous Mexican beer. His play lives up to that nickname as he scored a beautiful goal that has football fans watching it on repeat. Mexico faced off against Canada at Estadio Azteca in the semi final round of CONCACAF WCQ. Mexico's professionalism and clinical skill on the pitch allowed for a high possession percentage and their attacking prowess created a penalty and Tecatito's clean finish.
"What's in a name?" That was the question Juliet asked of Romeo in Shakespeare's most enduring play. Well, if you're Max Power, apparently there's a lot.
The Wigan Athletic man refuses to have the collection of syllables and characters that tagged him at birth be an empty promise. No. Max Power by name, Max Power by profession. That's how he lives his life.
Shinji Kagawa added two goals for Japan in a 5 - 0 romp of Syria in AFC World Cup Qualifying. The match against Syria was tight until Kagawa latched on to a flick from Keisuke Honda and with his back to the goal, chested it down, spun and fired home past Syrian keeper, Ibrahim Alba. Once Kagawa scored in the 66th minute, the flood gates opened as Syria allowed 3 more goals to be scored. Kagawa added another in the 90th minute.
Dimitri Payet was on the pitch for three minutes before he scored an absolutely stunning free kick from distance in an international friendly in the 64th minute. The West Ham and French international attacking midfielder went top right corner to beat Russian keeper, Igor Akinfeev. This 30 yard free kick put the home side up 3-1. It was a lovely goal that will definitely help Payet's cause in making the Euro 2016 French squad. France would go on to win the match 4 - 2 and birthday boy, Payet provided the highlight reel goal.
Happy Birthday Dimitri!
Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the South African midfielder Hlompho Kekana. His five-year mission: to blast a soccer ball into orbit.
Houston...we're experiencing what looks like a golazo up here. Please advise. Photo: @DRogozin | Twitter
To see the goal fast forward to the 2:20 mark.
Oh the great Jamie Vardy. Not only does the lad have 19 goals and 6 assists in the Premier League, but now he is acting like the saving grace for the Three Lions. Vardy continued his coming out party to the world but this time on the international stage as he netted this clinical backheel against the defending world champions. Germany gave up a 2-0 lead to the Englishman, and one of the other goal scorers for Roy Hodgson's bunch was none other than Harry Kane.
GOALKEEPER GOAL, EVERYBODY. This one comes out of the Danish Superliga and by netminder Steffen Rasmussen of the club AGF Aarhus (real name Aarhus Gymnastikforening). Times were tough as AGF were trailing AaB Fodbold late in the match. But luckily 6 mintues of added time gave Rasmussen the opportunity to create greatness. In the 4th minute of added time, the Stenvad, Denmark native left his post in goal to particpate in a last gasp effort for AGF. And what do you know, the 33-year-old gets left completely unmarked and heads home the equalizer!