Summer is high-time for transfers and this might just be the most high-profile one yet. There's a lot to discuss in terms of the move itself — one of the biggest names in English football, John Terry, finishing out his career with Championship side Aston Villa.
However, much of the yesterday's buzz focused on the bizarre/unique/amusing way the club chose to deliver the news.
Benfica, we get it. Soccer is hard. Sometimes, you can’t rely on player skill, tactics and good old fashion work ethic.
So if these allegations are true, don’t be embarrassed that your rival Porto has outed you for using a witch to win the Portuguese Primeira Liga. Sometimes, you need a little help from beyond.
Witches, especially in America and the UK, get a bad rap.
Claudio Bravo’s heroics in net for Chile yesterday made for can’t-miss television as the reigning South American champions dumped out Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the Confederations Cup semifinals. The gravitational pull of international soccer was at the height of its attraction as evidenced by this operating room taking the time to watch the shootout.
In recent years, the top division in China has slowly become a new locus of appealing, high-octane soccer. Some of this has to do with the big name stars the league has drawn in like Carlos Tevez, Alexandre Pato, Ricardo Carvahlo and a host of others.
However, in the past couple weeks, it seems a different pattern is getting all the attention — the bizarre displays of violence and aggression that have unfolded on the field.
Here’s what happened between Bahia defender Lucas Fonseca and Flamengo striker Paolo Guerrero on Sunday night, as recreated by The Matrix. Fonseca came sprinting at Guerrero and said something like:
Fonseca proceeded to kick him, so Guerrero wasn’t pleased, and Guerrero said:
These routines are high risk, high reward. You might get yelled at by your team, the other team or your coach. You might get a booking. They could just flat out not work and you look absolutely ridiculous. Alternate reality: you’re a mastermind and an innovator whose creative genius finessed the win for your team, on-lookers are in awe as they bear witness to the unexpected and its impeccable execution, the play lands on Sportscenter Top 10!
Here are a few routines to start practicing on the training ground.
The final of Florence’s Calcio Storico goes down tomorrow between the districts of Santa Maria Novella (the Reds) and Santo Spirito (the Whites), and the road to the championship, as you might’ve guessed, has been paved with blood, guts and fisticuffs. If you haven’t heard of Calcio Storico, here’s a quick introduction to the most hardcore sport outside of Razor Scooters.
Of all the dirty tricks in soccer, Argentinian defender Federico Allende, who plays for lower division Sport Club Pacifico, might have come up with the dirtiest.
From the BBC:
Allende gave Cordoba's Vorterix Radio an interview on Tuesday in which he said "you need to play dirty" to beat big clubs like Estudiantes de La Plata.
"I kept piercing the Estudiantes strikers with a needle," said the Pacifico defender.
Are you wondering who did what to who with what and when and where? You’ve come to the right place. The18’s decidedly polarizing staff is here to run the rule over the 2016-17 European season, and you won’t believe what Sam Klomhaus has to say. Sit back and enjoy our review of the most recent season yet.