BARCELONA — Barcelona's women's team was officially declared champion of Spain's Liga Iberdrola on Friday after the national soccer federation's executive committee agreed to end all non-professional competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta celebrated the 11th anniversary of his famous Champions League semi-final strike against Chelsea by calling two children conceived after his tie-clinching goal.
Barcelona were two minutes from being eliminated from the Champions League in a tense second leg at Stamford Bridge on May 6, 2009, when Iniesta collected a pass from Lionel Messi and stroked the ball into the top corner from outside the box.
Spain's women's soccer season is on the verge of being cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with champions in each tier being declared based on the standings before the campaign was halted, the country's football federation (RFEF) has said.
Relegation will be scrapped this term as a result of the decision, which must be ratified by the RFEF executive committee on Friday, the governing body added in a statement on Wednesday.
If the Bundesliga ever returns, Hertha Berlin’s Salomon Kalou will have to wait even longer after the club suspended him for violating strict social distancing guidelines on Monday.
The Ivory Coast forward posted a Facebook livestream video showing him breaking numerous rules, including shaking hands, fist bumping teammates, bursting into a room while some one was apparently being tested and, overall, just being a complete moron.
U.S. women's national soccer team co-captains Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe said they were shocked after their team's claims for equal pay were dismissed by a court.
The duo, who helped the U.S. to a record fourth World Cup title last year, said they planned to appeal the decision, after a California judge on Friday threw out the players' claims that they were underpaid in comparison with the men's team.
LONDON — Women's soccer around the world is being held back due to a continuing lack of basic employment rights and standards at international competitions, a report from global players' union FIFPro has said.
The document, published on Wednesday, says that being a professional soccer player is still not a viable career option for women in many parts of the world, despite record attendances at matches over the past year.
There is nothing quite like the feeling of waking up early knowing you’re playing in a youth soccer tournament that day. It’s my favorite feeling. The night before I tediously set out each piece of my uniform next to my bed so I would be ready right away. I loathe waking up in the morning for school, but for soccer I can hardly sleep and rise before the sun does.
After piling my soccer bag and ball into the car, I am oblivious to the fact that my parents are wasting an entire tank of gas to drive to a tournament for which my coach randomly decided to sign the team up.
Most professional footballers adhere to strict regimens of training, eating, sleeping and playing. It’s a tried and true method to maintain peak fitness and focus throughout a long season.
But this season has been anything but normal, and stay-at-home orders have not gone down well for many footballers who are unable to cope with the break in routine. So of course soccer players have been doing dumb shit during quarantine.
FIFA will release operational funds for 2019 and 2020 amounting to $150 million to its member associations as the first step of a relief plan to help negate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global soccer body said on Friday.
Barcelona wasn’t always able to rebound after losing a first leg 4-0 like it did in 2017 against PSG.
Back on April 23, 2013, Bayern Munich stunned the world and dismantled Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg before securing a 3-0 win in the second leg. One of the most memorable moments of the 7-0 aggregate thrashing was Thomas Muller obliterating Jordi Alba with a pick that would be illegal even in basketball.
Muller’s pick on Alba is still one of the most savage moments in football history.
*Headphone users: Turn down your volume as the audio is quite loud*