Asia

The 2017 W-League Grand Final took place Sunday afternoon with history on the line. Melbourne City were looking to become the league’s first ever repeat champions. Meanwhile, Perth Glory were seeking their first title after coming close in 2014. 

Having the higher playoff seed, Perth hosted the match at the nib Stadium in front of a crowd of 4,591. The attendance broke a W-League record which had stood since the league debuted in 2008-09. Outside of Australia, the match was streamed live in the United States on ESPN3. 

The 2016 Grand Final, the W-League Championship, is set for Sunday, when history will be made either way. The top four all finished the regular season within three points of each other, making a clear distinction between themselves and the rest of the league in 2016/17. How the finalists made it to the championship game though looked very different. 

Oscar made his competitive debut for Shanghai SIPG in the Asian Champions League and did exactly what you’d expect from a man who cost £60 million and was up against Thailand’s seventh best team.

He scored a goal, and SIPG, managed by Andre Villas-Boas and with players like Ricardo Carvalho, Hulk and Elkeson, defeated Sukhothai FC 3-0 to advance to the group stage.

The January transfer deadline window passed without the need for everyone to lose their collective minds over a deal like Karim Benzema to Burnley or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to PSG, Manchester City, Arsenal or any of the other clubs he really likes.

Tim Cahill, Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell have combined for 193 appearances for Australia and 76 goals (Cahill, 37, is still going). All three played a vital role in securing Australia’s 2006 World Cup appearance, their first since 1974, with a dramatic playoff victory over Uruguay. 

China has big plans for 2017. The Chinese Football Association gathered in Beijing to go over financial details in hopes of transforming the country into a soccer powerhouse. President Xi Jinping is the country’s number one soccer fan and intends to have China perform in future World Cups, an achievement they've only managed once. 

Ashton Surber, a footballer who was born and raised on Guam and, according to an article on FIFA.com from 2013, serves in the US Air Force, achieved the remarkable hat-trick of scoring a bicycle kick, proposing to his now fiancee and receiving a caution for removing his shirt.

According to multiple reports, Chelsea have dropped Diego Costa for Saturday’s match against Leicester City amidst an argument between the Spanish forward and the Chelsea training staff and a lucrative offer from the Chinese Super League.