Everyone, in lazy idleness, allows their mind to drift. You might start thinking about what a cat’s face might look like on the body of an elephant or if we had arms where our legs should be and legs for arms. The mind just wanders into strange territory.
It’s no secret that Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo is not one of the friendliest guys to go up against on the pitch. Still, his first press conference as a Palmeiras player was nothing short of shocking.
The former Galatasaray and Internazionale player started out by saying the media was to blame for his bad-boy reputation.
Christian Pulisic scored another goal for Borussia Dortmund in a friendly over the Bundesliga winter break, notching the opener in his sides 3-0 victory over Belgium’s Standard Liege.
For Pulisic, it was his second goal in two games following his strike against PSV Eindhoven last weekend.
Carli Lloyd had quite the year before adding another international award to her name. Early in 2016, Lloyd released her autobiography When Nobody Was Watching: My Hard-Fought Journey To The Top Of The Soccer World. It was a book that reflected on her family falling-out as well as the struggles and sacrifices she encountered as she rose to the top.
In a moving and heartfelt article for The Players’ Tribune entitled “Letter to My Younger Self”, Ronaldinho has recounted the remarkable stages of his globetrotting career; from the death of his father as an eight-year-old to the highs of representing the Brazilian national team and winning the Ballon d’Or with Barcelona.
FIFA’s Video Assistant Referee system debuted at the FIFA Club World Cup to mixed reviews, but that hasn’t stopped Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho from issuing a strong plea to move forward with the technology.
Speaking with FIFA.com ahead of The Best FIFA Football Awards, Mourinho was asked for his view on the system.
Catalonia, the autonomous community located in the eastern extremity of Spain with Barcelona serving as the capital and largest city, has advocated for its independence since the Spanish Civil War. With some political and cultural autonomy, as well as prevalent use of the Catalan language, it's followed suite that the region has its own national football team.
However, Catalonia is not affiliated with either FIFA or UEFA, disqualifying them from participating in the World Cup or European Championship.
Oriol Riera, in all good sense, has had a very good professional career. He’s achieved success in the lower divisions of Spain with clubs like Cultural Leonesa and Alcorcon, and he’s secured his role as a grafting, workmanlike forward in La Liga with stints at Osasuna, his current club, and Deportivo La Coruna.
However, history will always remember Riera best as the answer to an obscure piece of pub trivia, for Riera made his senior Barca debut alongside a 16-year-old who was making his own premiere, one Lionel Messi.
No goalkeeper is immune to the vast amount of criticism that will inevitably come their way. Whether being rounded on for a costly howler, unavoidable inexperience or just a perceived general lack of command, a keeper's life is an incessant trial by fire.
A 20-year-old David de Gea making consistent Premier League appearances for Manchester United during his first season in England was a “dodgy keeper” that needed “to grow into his kit”.
Given the way in which David Luiz was tackled by Sergio Aguero at the weekend and considering the short fuse on Luiz himself, many people were expecting an angry reaction from the Brazilian. As it turns out, that couldn't have been further from the truth.