Cristiano Ronaldo has, without a doubt, matured over his years as a global soccer superstar. But there’s still no doubt he wants to be the hero, he wants to be the one scoring goals and he wants to be at the center of everyone’s attention.
That doesn’t mean Ronaldo isn’t capable of humility and knowing where his bread is buttered.
Tuttosport officially narrowed its Golden Boy (best young player under 21) shortlist to 40 candidates, and before the list gets any smaller I thought it’d be fun to rank the candidates who I believe will end up in the top 10.
A lot of the pregame hype for Juventus vs. Atlético Madrid surrounded the matchup between Portugal’s past-and-current king, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Portugal’s future king, João Félix.
But the match was decided by the matchup between Mexico’s Héctor Herrera and former Arsenal man Aaron Ramsey, two second-half substitutes.
A video of Juventus’ training session Tuesday has taken social media by storm. The clip features a frustrated Gonzalo Higuain lashing out during a game of rondo (monkey in the middle).
Higuain lost it in training today pic.twitter.com/k6BaXEyS6c
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 17, 2019
108 days after Liverpool lifted the Champions League trophy in Madrid, we’re set to do it all over again with a competition that’ll reach its conclusion on May 30 in Istanbul. Matchday one begins tomorrow (Tuesday, Sept. 17) with a couple massive group stage encounters before carrying through to Wednesday with a couple more.
Below, we’ll highlight those four games while also breaking down the Champions League TV schedule on TNT.
Tuesday, September 17
AC Milan warmed the heart of the Twitter-sphere this week, posting a video of Ines, a 100-year-old Milan fan who recieved a customized jersey signed by the entire team for her birthday.
We're not crying, you are
Check out the surprise we made to 100-year-old Ines, who has been supporting us for more than 80 years
Hirving Lozano scored on his debut with Napoli on Saturday, netting the second in an ill-fated three-goal comeback against reigning Serie A champion Juventus. It was a remarkable start to Lozano’s career in Italy, becoming the first Mexican to score in Serie A, even if it came in a heartbreaking, last-minute loss.
Perhaps beginning with AC Milan’s historic Centro Sportivo Milanello and continuing to this day in previously undreamt of places like Atlanta and Utah, training facilities for the world’s most prestigious clubs have grown in importance as the most ambitious of organizations attempt to align the best in first-team training, sports science and academy development with a physical representation of an overarching ideology.
Cristiano Ronaldo continued to make history earlier this week, being named Portuguese Player of the Year for the 10th time in his career.
Cristiano Ronaldo has won Portuguese Player Of The Year for a record 10th time! pic.twitter.com/dxldOfDDu0
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 3, 2019
Chucky Lozano didn’t take long to make an impact with new club Napoli. Unfortunately for Gli Azzurri, a shocking own goal wiped out an epic three-goal comeback against Juventus.
Lozano scored in his debut in Serie A, helping inspire Napoli back from a three-goal deficit in what appeared to be a storybook first appearance with the Mexican winger’s new club.
But Kalidou Koulibaly accidentally turned the ball into his own net in the 92nd minute to allow Juventus to escape with a 4-3 victory on Saturday in Turin.