Europe

Paris, London, Madrid, Rome, Venice — all are world renowned cities, but one is not like the others. 

Every major European city is also represented by an internationally famous soccer club too; that is, every city except Venice, Italy. 

But that might soon change. Just last week, Venezia FC secured promotion to Serie B, Italy’s second division. That may not sound like much, but given the club’s history, combined with its newfound ambition and financial backing, Italians are now paying attention to the team from the Venetian Lagoon.

Jersey swapping at the end of football matches is a ritual which goes back to the beginning of time (1931). It’s a sign of respect and admiration after having spent 90 minutes trying to kill each other, and it’s given us some truly historic moments after titanic clashes.

England’s group defeat to Brazil at the 1970 World Cup offered up one of the most iconic images in the sport: England captain Bobby Moore and Brazilian great Pele exchanging shirts after a fierce 1-0 match in Guadalajara.

The 14-point gap separating rivals Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga was never going to be a factor here. Even the home advantage Bayern enjoyed at the Allianz Arena in this DFB-Pokal semifinal was no reason to believe that this latest version of Der Klassiker had a clear favorite.

A horrid back-pass allowed Barcelona's Lionel Messi to sprint through on Osasuna’s goal in the 12th minute of Wednesday's La Liga encounter. As for the goal, I don’t even know. Messi’s first touch is with his head, he then juggles the ball to keep it elevated and then pops it over Salvatore Sirigu with his third touch. 

It’s absurd.

Odds are that you haven’t yet come down from the high that was Sunday’s El Clasico. A constant back and forth battle was settled by the greatest soccer player of all time (I’m Argentinian, what else can I say) with a decisive strike in the final seconds of the match. 

While the game itself was a peach to watch, its ramifications are far-reaching in terms of who will come away with the La Liga trophy. Barcelona’s win at the death allowed for “¡Hay Liga!” shouts across the world. 

Lionel Messi scored his 500th goal for Barcelona in style, catapulting Barca back into La Liga's title race at the expense of their greatest rivals, Real Madrid. His historic feat is all the more impressive considering that Gerd Muller of Bayern Munich was the last player to score 500 goals for one club. He left Bayern in 1979. 

After Lionel Messi clinched a last-second victory in El Clasico on Sunday with his 500th career goal for Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo threw a fit.

Not sure whether Ronaldo was more annoyed at losing #ElClasico or the fact that Messi took the limelight again. pic.twitter.com/ZgdJerbFpq

Nine goals. Nine. Four goals for Inter, five for Fiorentina. I think it’s fair to say that no one expected that. Elsewhere, Juventus demolished Genoa with four goals and no reply. Expected. Lazio rumbled right over Palermo, going five-nil up in thirty minutes and finishing the game six to one. Expected. Napoli drew two apiece away at Sassuolo. Not that expected, to be honest, but not that shocking. But Fiorentina five, Inter four? That’s a result that makes you sit up and take notice.

Carli Lloyd’s Champions League ambitions may soon be at an end after Alex Morgan’s Lyon defeated Manchester City 3-1 in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal. City will now need to travel to the Parc Olympique Lyonnais on April 29 to overturn the large deficit.

City and Lloyd got off to the worst possible start in the opening minutes. An attempted Lyon cross was blocked in the box by Lloyd’s elbow, and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. 

There isn’t a more exhaustive match in the world than El Clasico — it consistently provides high-stakes, supercharged emotions and scintillating football from the world’s best players. It also has the distinction of pitting two clubs that loath one another in a physical, no-holds-barred and often controversial battle between international teammates.

Spain rely so heavily on drawing players from these two club that there’s always that boiling subplot to analyze and critique, especially as we approach another World Cup year.