Opinion

Leeds United Spying On Derby County Is Part Of What Makes The Beautiful Game Beautiful

Leeds United defeated Derby County 2-0 on Friday to extend its lead atop the English League Championship to five points over Norwich. But all anyone wants to talk about is England’s version of SpyGate, with Leeds United spying on Derby on Thursday.

Leeds coach Marcelo Bielsa admitted to having a staff member watch Derby County practice ahead of the Friday’s match, which pitted the No. 1 and No. 6 teams in England’s second division. 

The18's Do's And Don'ts Of Manager Behavior On The Touchline

The 2018-19 season has been packed full of drama, emotions and even comedy. What happens on the pitch is usually in focus — players making tackles, scoring goals, playing beautiful soccer; all of that takes the cake in media attention. But managers get that attention too. After a goal or an important moment in a match, the camera always pans to the manager, showing their jubilation, anger or their stoicness. 

Is Christian Pulisic The Most Overpriced Transfer Of All Time?

Christian Pulisic, a 20-year-old from Hershey, Pennsylvania, is the 25th most expensive player in the history of soccer. 

Really?

As much as we here at The18 love Christian Pulisic, we were a bit blown away by the fee he garnered on his transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea this week. We understand why, but the more you look at it, the more absurd it appears. 

Why The Sexist Italian Super Cup Should Be Canceled

We live in an age when there is growing equality among all genders and all colors of skin — perhaps the best we as a species have ever been in treating everyone equally. But one look at the Italian Super Cup — and Serie A as a whole — and it’s easy to see we still have a really fucking long way to go.

NBCSN Once Again Shows That It Gets It When Broadcasting Soccer In The U.S.

She said it, and viewers felt it, because NBCSN gets it.

“Best game of the season by a country mile,” Rebecca Lowe said as the NBCSN coverage of Manchester City’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool moved from the announcers in the booth at the Etihad back to the studio analysts stateside. 

The best match of the season, perhaps the most important match of the season, had all the gravitas expected of such an event on Thursday because NBCSN continues to show it is the best soccer broadcaster in America.

Except For The Final Scoreline, Man City vs. Liverpool Was Too Close To Call

Before today’s Premier League showdown between leaders Liverpool and defending champions Manchester City, a tweet from The Guardian’s German football correspondent Raphael Honigstein was shown a lot of love, and, in hindsight, for incredible reason.  

The 10 Ultimate Trends Of The Footballing World In 2018

We had a lot to be thankful for in 2018 — a World Cup, a historic Real Madrid three-peat, the remarkable seasons from Luka Modric, Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe, other things that I’m forgetting because I'm a goldfish boy. 

Here are 10 trends that I’ve managed to remember in the footballing calendar year of our Lord Gourav Mukhi 2018

Top Soccer Trends 2018

#1. Wall Tactics to the Fore 

Marcelo Brozovic's sliding stop.

100 Footballers In The World 2018 (Nos. 10-1)

To coincide with The Guardian’s excellent list of the 100 best male footballers in the world — compiled by a panel of 225 experts from 69 nations — we here at The18 have compiled our own list over the last couple years. There are no experts involved, there’s no rhyme or reason for anything, but we do hope you’ll join us on this adventure into the bowels of the beautiful game.

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