Amazing

It’s obviously far too early to say that Kylian Mbappé vs. Erling Haaland is the next generation’s version of Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi — and you can absolutely make fun of me for even bringing it up — but these two kids are not normal. 

The 21-year-old Mbappé has already proven that he has no level. With a World Cup winner’s medal to his name and a Champions League strike rate of 19 goals in 30 appearances (to go along with 11 assists), there’s no doubt that Mbappé’s Ligue 1 domination would translate across all European leagues. He’s a phenomenon.

For keen followers of the world’s game, Feb. 5 is something of a holiday. A startling number of legendary players were born on that day, from Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez to Gheorghe Hagi and the inimitable Neymar.

But this year, Feb. 5 will come with a bit less fanfare, a bit less pomp and revelry. 

This year, Neymar won’t be having an exorbitantly extravagant party to celebrate his 28th birthday. 

As we grow older, we find less and less time to play the sport we grew up loving so dearly. No longer do we play soccer five to seven days a week as we did in our youth. Hell, finding time to play once a month is hard enough. 

But still we reminisce about the days of yore, when weeknights were filled with going to practice or playing pick-up games at the park and weekends were loaded with games and tournaments. 

What a start to the 2020 Clausura season for Atlético San Luis. After battling to a 0-0 draw with perennial power Tigres at Estadio Universitario on opening day, Atlético San Luis defeated Cruz Azul 2-1 last Friday to place itself at the top of the table alongside Chivas and Pumas. 

What’s more, Atlético San Luis used the victory to scout a potential new signing. In the 27th minute, Tunita made her appearance in front of an announced crowd of 21,670. They were all enthralled with what they saw.

Parody in European football is a rarity. Typically, in domestic leagues there are several clubs that dominate the table and even fewer that are traditionally crowned champions. As of right now, Europe’s top five leagues consist of 98 teams. In the past decade those leagues have crowned 15 different champions. No one league has had more than four unique champions.

However, Turkish Super Lig club Sivasspor is on a historic run for its first-ever league title.

“Variety is the spice of life,” someone once said before doing something obviously stupid and dangerous. But with danger and stupidity comes ingenuity and joy, and that’s the common thread that connects the majority of these bastardized forms of soccer. Here are 10 variants of the beautiful game that are strangely captivating.  

10 Soccer Variations You Should Try Before Death Comes For You

#1. Eisfussball

The 1958 World Cup Final remains an iconic match due to the fact that a 17-year-old Pelé spearheaded Brazil’s 5-2 beatdown of host nation Sweden with two fantastic goals. But rather than turn the page there, why not take a closer look at the Seleção’s first-ever world title?

Having just watched the entire 90 minutes for the first time myself, I’m happy to report that the showpiece event of the sixth World Cup definitely didn’t disappoint. It was a different era — one full of strange skills, uplifting sportsmanship and a certain nostalgic sense of the human collective.

Wildfires are raging so hot in Australia right now they dwarf those seen recently in California and Brazil. Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Mathew Ryan wants to help, even as politicians in Australia and around the world ignore the obvious effects of climate change. 

There’s no more compelling story than when a player like Jamie Vardy goes from being released by his club at the age of 16 to suddenly tearing up the Premier League at the age of 28, but the Leicester City striker’s path is a fit-for-Hollywood tale rather than the norm. The truth is that football is now a mega-industry and the reach of its tentacles knows no bounds — in the search for the world’s next great talent, no rock is left unturned and no YouTube highlight video is left unproduced.