Amazing

Anyone who came of age in the 80s and 90s knows the name: Gheorghe Hagi. Nicknamed “Maradona of the Carpathians,” the Romanian icon was good enough to play for both Real Madrid and Barcelona while retiring as his country’s all-time leading goal scorer. His son has been on the soccer radar since joining Fiorentina at the age of 17, and on Friday the Ianis Hagi goal vs Germany showed this youngster has a touch of his father’s abilities in him.

More famous than our smartest minds, richer than our most corrupt politicians, footballers are the pinnacle of cultural relevance in today’s society, especially in Europe. All the best footballers have, at one time or another, been paid to appear in an advertisement to promote a product. So what is the best soccer commercial of all time? I submit for your viewing pleasure, Peter Schmeichel’s bacon promo.

With the USMNT’s back very much up against the Olimpico Metropolitano Stadium walls on Sept. 8, something needed to change, quickly. The Gregg Berhalter halftime speech vs. Honduras was just what the squad needed, combining tactical tweaks with positive motivation. 

The result? A 4-1 come-from-behind victory over Honduras to save the U.S. from a dismal start to World Cup qualifying and potentially save Berhalter’s job.

In this edition of The18 Untold, we examine the USMNT’s performance at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St Louis. The tournament remains the United States’ crowning achievement as the only time it medalled, but the U.S. actually managed to take home both the silver and bronze.

Watch the video above for the story.

So it’s over then? It’s really over? Lionel Messi, the Greatest Of All Time, is leaving Barcelona after the agreement of a new contract deteriorated in the face of “financial and structural obstacles (Spanish Liga regulations).” 

That was one helluva tribute for Zizinho. 

Rayan Raveloson hit a spectacular overhead kick to open the scoring in the LA Galaxy’s 4-1 win over Portland on Friday, but even better than his goal was the team’s celebration of it. Raveloson and his teammates immediately ran to the bench to grab a jersey of a player who had never played a game for the club.