The18 loves to bring the most exciting players on the planet to our audience, and Paul Pogba is nothing if not one of them. We have been following him for quite some time, as he transitions from a young player looking to establish himself to one of the best XI players in the world. Check out our little homage, 18 Seconds of Pogba:
The second black player to represent England at any level and the first British player to transfer to Real Madrid, Laurie Cunningham was a footballing pioneer and a legend of his own time. His premature death at 33 years of age cut short the career of a player who “was as good as Cristiano Ronaldo” according to Spanish manager, and former Real teammate, Vincente del Bosque.
Sometimes we see freak cases where goalkeepers score goals, whether it be from a kick within the box that ends up in the opposite net or a last minute set piece. Rarely do you see a goalkeeper taking a free kick or a penalty kick. Even rarer do you see a keeper with over 100 goals. Because there’s only one. The man, the myth, the legend, Rogerio Ceni.
At 24, Nir Bitton already stars for Glasgow giants Celtic in Scotland and for the Israeli national team. But his best is most certainly ahead of him. Despite recently signing a five-year contract extension to remain with Celtic through 2020, Bitton is reportedly drawing interest from a number of English Premier League clubs, including Sunderland. They will have to pay big for his services: Celtic have reportedly priced him at £10 million.
Andrés Guardado simply will not stop. He’s the epitome of hard work, strength of character and desire for all of the Americas.
A born fighter, Guardado does not keep his battles solely on the field. He inspires others to work towards the betterment of themselves and the world around them.
He tackles the battle against breast cancer, pushing for global awareness and activisim, in the same way he'd fly into a tackle for El Tri.
July 14, 2012 marked the first-team debut of a 13-year-old kid from Drammen, Norway. Since then, the world has been witness to the record-breaking career of one of soccer’s fastest rising stars: Martin Ødegaard.
As the sun sets on New York’s Hofstra Stadium, 11,000 fans will bear witness to a testimonial that deserves a global audience. Raúl González Blanco, after a career approaching 1,0000 professional appearances and 400 goals, will solemnly say goodbye to the game he left an indelible mark upon.
The last remnants of sunlight streaking across the FieldTurf, Raúl will bid adieu from Long Island, somehow fading away into one of the most densely populated regions in the United States.
Christian "Chucho" Benitez left us too soon. On July 13, 2013 he entered a hospital in Doha, Qatar with abdominal pains. He never left.
We will probably never know what happened in that hospital, and his cause of death has been disputed.
What is not in dispute is that Chucho Benitez was a great player. He played the game with a joy that is rarely seen, exuding an infectious energy all around the pitch.
Sometimes things just start with a friend.
“My really good friend in school when I was about 7 started playing soccer, so I signed up, just to take part and really soon after just started to enjoy it.”
It’s a little frustrating to hear that a professional soccer player started playing the game so, well, randomly. Here is someone ostensibly living a dream, and it all started off with an “I guess I’ll do that.”
“If it had, by default, been an instrument or a different sport I think I kind of just would have gone with it.”
Good news Bundesliga fans, the season opener between Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV is only one day away and the entire year is accessible to watch in America for the first time on FOX. We have compiled the top five reasons of why this 2015/16 Bundesliga season will be one of the most thrilling, exciting years filled with highs and lows, and plenty of glory.
1. Bayern Munich’s World-Class Signings