20 years ago, Ronaldo “O Fenômeno” was on top of the footballing world having dominated Europe with both Barcelona and Inter Milan before scoring four goals and adding three assists to help Brazil to the final of the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Every playground footballer wanted to be Ronaldo, and purchasing the Nike Mercurial Superfly II boots was really as close as you could get to replicating a single part of his game.
Two weeks after being named the 2017 U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year, 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund attacker Christian Pulisic added another first to his individual trophy cabinet: the accolade for December’s Bundesliga Goal of the Month.
It was the eighth Bundesliga goal of Pulisic’s career, but the first to be named Goal of the Month. The composed finish against Hoffenheim from December 16 gave Dortmund all three points in the 89th minute.
Manchester City out-possessed Newcastle United 78%-22%, out-passed them 824-228 and outshot them 21-6, but Raheem Sterling’s goal off another sublime Kevin De Bruyne assist was the only difference in Wednesday night’s encounter at Saint James’ Park.
City’s winning streak hit 18 matches while the gap on second-place Manchester United grew to 15 points, but Rafa Benitez’s charges could’ve put a halt to their run in a manner which would’ve had Pep Guardiola guzzling his traditional post-match champagne.
Here's a nice holiday story: Christian Pulisic was back in the United States for a spell during the Bundesliga's winter break, and he wanted to see his dog. Unfortunately, said dog was in Hershey, Pennsylvania, 2.5 hours from Pulisic, who was staying in Washington D.C.
Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere has responded to rumors linking striker Mario Balotelli with a return to Serie A (Milan and Inter being the destinations bandied about) by saying, “Mario leaving? No, that’s impossible. You know his importance. It’s unimaginable.”
“I used to try to look at the ball and when I’m looking at that ball, I’m trying to see who is moving where and how to make sure I can plan my goal. Sometimes it’s instinct. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to lie — sometimes it’s an instinctive finish. But most of the times, you see a lot of strikers in one-on-one situations or when the ball is traveling, losing their way in what they’re trying to do because they’re thinking about it while they are doing it.
Southampton were more than obliging opponents for all good things Tottenham on Tuesday, allowing Spurs to run rampant at Wembley while securing a multitude of accolades. Harry Kane scored goals number 37, 38 and 39 of the 2017 Premier League calendar year, breaking Alan Shearer’s record from 1995. The goals also pushed Kane three above Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in the race for the 2017-18 EPL Golden Boot.
Time is a flat circle (shout out Rust Cohle).
These 18 photos will show you footballers 10 years ago in 2007 and today in 2017. Some of growth might shock you. Some might not. All we know is:
Enjoy!