For those that have watched The Wire or Luther, you know the bad*ss that Idris Elba is. The talented English actor, whose parents hail from West Africa, has teamed up with Yaya Toure, Patrick Vieira and several other soccer stars in a new campaign to fight Ebola.
At The18, we have covered many stories about soccer hooliganism and match abandoments around the world - from the biggest rivalries in soccer, to the worst instances of fans rioting on the pitch, to street brawls outside stadiums (some of them very strange indeed).
Sometimes all it takes is a little glimpse into the lives of professional athletes to remind us that they are not, in fact, that different from you and me. With the advent of social media, those little glimpses have turned into recorded moments that we can watch over, and over, and over again.
Andrea Pirlo. A man whose look bleeds elegance. The Italian midfielder is loved by everyone not only for his beard, but for his pure class and majesty on the pitch. The Juventus striker never seems to be nervous or worried about anything and he acts the exact way when he's leading Serie A side Juventus.
Aging Mexican star Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored two goals in what may have been the last game of his career.
Welcome to the lower depths of English football, where the pitches are 90% mud, the players have proper jobs and attendances are in double figures. Welcome to a place where you can bring your dog to watch football and the subs’ bench is just that. Welcome, my friends, to the Football Conference.
But don’t let us fool you into thinking the Conference is some sort of footballing hovel. Lord no. As we’re about to demonstrate, the Conference is home to the man responsible for possibly the finest Rabona ever scored.
You don’t get to where Cristiano Ronaldo is by liking to lose. Just as Barcelona did, the Real Madrid first team participated in an Audi event which ended with the company gifting cars to the players.
In an attempt to promote their new movie Dumb and Dumber To, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels took a tour of Arsenal’s home stadium, the Emirates. When they were not appreciating relics of Arsenal lore, which they probably did not care for, Jim and Jeff answered a few questions concerning Arsenal, their past experiences with English football, Alexis Sanchez, and, of course, their new movie. Ever the funny guys, laughter quickly ensued.
Lionel Messi got hit in the head by a water bottle and some change after angry Valencia fans couldn’t contain themselves following the club’s 1-0 loss to the Blaugrana on Sunday.
Valencia played Barcelona tough throughout the match and actually had more opportunities then the Catalans, but they could not beat Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. Luis Suarez thought he had given Barcelona the lead when he buried a deflection in the 69th minute; however, he was wrongly called offside.
He’s back! Nat Tehran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand made news last week when he launched a pass from his own 18 yard line to 20 yards past the halfway line, which spurred a one-touch goal from 30 yards out by teammate Gholamreza Rezaei.
This time, instead of flexing his arm muscles, the Iranian keeper booted a punt from his own box all the way to the Persepolis 18 yard line, which teammate Amir Arsalan Motahari headed into the net on his first touch, giving Naft Tehran a 2-1 victory in the 92nd minute.