Y’all remember Terrence Boyd?
At the start of the decade, Boyd, a German-born striker with an American father, was part of the influx of German-Americans brought into the fold of the USMNT under then-coach Jürgen Klinsmann.
Ajax loves to score pretty goals. The Dutch club’s first against Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday was no different — with some American flair.
Hakim Ziyech scored about 90 seconds into the match after some wonderful team play, started by none other than recently cap-tied USMNT fullback Sergiño Dest.
Despite finishing the 2019 Apertura with three straight victories, Chivas Guadalajara missed out on the playoffs again this season, a streak of liguilla absences that dates back to when the club lifted the 2017 Clausura title.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom for the Goats. The club is through to the Round of 16 in the Copa MX, and they ended the Apertura in fine style on Saturday — the 3-1 victory over Veracruz included a brace from Alan Pulido and a goal at the death from Toño Rodriguez. Rodríguez is Guadalajara’s goalkeeper.
There’s something deeply visceral about the Premier League. When the wind’s swirling, the temperature’s dropping and a legendary old ground like Anfield or Stamford Bridge is rocking, it’s all equal parts blood and thunder in England. This sort of environment lends itself perfectly to some truly violent screamers, the likes of which we’ve witnessed over the years from famed goal scorers such as Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Thierry Henry.
We've seen some absurdly bad penalty kicks over the years, but we now have a new GOAT for worst spot kick ever.
In a goalkeeper vs. goalkeeper PK, Nuneaton Borough's Tony Breeden took a shot which missed high. Breeden did, however, shine the light on his power by absolutely drilling it.
Missed the penalty...and broke the light
At the age of 25, Paulo Dybala’s already conquered much of the footballing world — fitting for a man that celebrates his goals by donning a figurative gladiator mask. This season marks his fifth with Italian power Juventus, and every previous year has finished with a Serie A title to go along with three Coppa Italia triumphs.
The worst part about Vlatko Andonovski’s new-look USWNT is probably the absence of right back Kelley O’Hara. There’s nothing Andonovski could do to change that — O’Hara is still dealing with an ankle injury that forced her to miss a significant portion of the NWSL season.
So the Utah Royals defender is currently continuing her recovery in Washington, D.C., where her partner lives. Last we saw of O’Hara, she was chugging Budweiser in Paris…
The below video is footage of Estudiantes celebrating a return to Estadio Jorge Luis Hirschi in La Plata, where the club played between 1907 and 2005 before a 14-year stay at Estadio Único.
I can’t confirm anything, but I’m pretty sure the construction workers — much like the dwarves of Moria — dug far too deep during their renovations of the stadium and unleashed a Balrog. I have no other explanation for this demonry.
What does Joga bonito mean?
Well, we can show you what it doesn’t mean.
Joga bonito usually refers to Brazilians playing the beautiful game beautifully, as only Brazilians can. Think 1970 Brazil in full flowing force or the 2002 Canaries zipping past all comers. It’s Pelé, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.
But this clip out of Brazil on Saturday shows the complete opposite of Joga bonito, looking more like capoeira than anything else.
New USWNT manager Vlatko Andonovski begins his reign tonight with a friendly against Sweden at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, and I’ve got to say, he’s already impressed me with his training methods.
Let me show you Exhibit A and then I rest my case.