2016 was a year of endless football action. We witnessed Euro 2016, the Copa America Centenario, World Cup qualifiers and the Rio Olympics to go along with the usual domestic and continental club competitions.
We also saw a host of youngsters taking center stage with their respective sides due to the corresponding opportunities. With that being said, here are five youngsters poised to have a breakout year in 2017.
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.
We are delighted to announce there is a person in the world named Kevin Lasagna.
Kevin Lasagna is an Italian striker recently signed by Udinese (though he will stay on loan at his current club, Serie B side Carpi, for the rest of the season), whose name is, again, Kevin Lasagna.
Jeison Murillo scored a worldy for Inter Milan Tuesday as his side defeated Bologna in the Coppa Italia, 3-2, to advance to the quarterfinals. Jeison Murillo reminds me of Jason Derulo and then I hear that little toy flute loop from “Wiggle” in my head.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle
After an endeavor to make the Old Lady young again, Juventus FC have a new logo:
Agnelli: "This new logo is a symbol of the Juventus way of living." #2beJUVENTUS pic.twitter.com/x5B3fapqGJ
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) January 16, 2017
Francesco Totti appeared in his seven millionth Serie A match for AS Roma on Sunday, failing to add to his total of 1,306,478 goals for the club but appearing for a 25th successive calendar year — a streak that first began in 218 BC when Totti helped defend Rome from the invading Carthaginian army led by Hannibal.
Over the course of the streak, Totti has helped Rome gain dominance over the Western Mediterranean, assist Caesar in his conquest of Gaul, witness the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and win the 2008 Coppa Italia.
For anyone wondering, let’s get the essentials out of the way: Fiorentina versus Juventus is a big match. This is truer for one side than the other, however. Before Sunday’s game, Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci told the press that while the fixture was the most important date in most Florentines’ football calendar, it was just another game for the reigning champions.
The Coppa Italia round of 16 match between AC Milan and Torino was interesting but not overly so until early in the second half when Torino keeper Joe Hart got kicked in the face.
Here's the video:
Loan Watch: Joe Hart gets a scrape of the opposition's studs on his face vs AC Milan... ouch! pic.twitter.com/W2ENxWtgjV
— MCFC Info (@MCFClnfo) January 12, 2017
Last week, social media erupted amid news that Premier League side Arsenal had attempted to spend a huge amount of money on Serie A’s latest striking sensation, Andrea Belotti. Figures in the tens of millions were bandied about, converted from euros to pounds and back again until it seemed as though Arsenal’s penny-pinching ways had prevented their transfer business yet again.