Culture

Venezia FC is not doing great on the field. With just two games left in the Serie A season, the team is dead last in the standings, and relegation is an unavoidable fate. But, off the pitch, oh boy! The club is shining and thriving because of its trendy fashion ventures. 

After finishing second in Zone B during the group stage, Boca Juniors got to host Defensa y Justicia at La Bombonera in the quarterfinals of the Copa de la Liga Profesional on Tuesday night. 

The images are worth a thousand words.     

Several European stadiums are talked up, their atmosphere and how intimidating it is but…

What if the MetroStars still existed with their name and logo? What if the New York Red Bulls were as much a figment of our imagination as the U.S. winning a men’s World Cup? Such was the premise many members of The18 staff took and ran with, spending their most productive hours of the day creating New York/New Jersey MetroStars memes.

After a nerve-wracking 4-3 victory over Tokyo Verdy, Albirex Niigata reached 29 points last weekend and became one of the three leaders in the J2 League, the Japanese second division. 

Despite there still being two-thirds of the tournament ahead, fans are already excited about a possible promotion, and players can't hide their joy either. In fact, once the game ended, the squad celebrated the victory and the chemistry created around in a sui generis way: becoming a human bowling alley and portraying a perfect strike. 

For decades, the word “FIFA” more often than not referred to the video game franchise as opposed to the eponymous soccer governing body. 

No more. FIFA and EA Sports are ending their nearly three-decade relationship, effective in 2023. 

In short: The game will change its name to EA Sports FC (I know, yuck) but not much else. As for the why: As usual, it’s greed (from both parties).