The No. 9 in soccer, traditionally the number reserved for the team's starting striker, has been the subject of various discussion points over the last few years. From arguments revolving around the importance of the position in modern tactics to the belief that the No. 9 is being phased out of the game, doubts have been cast upon the future of the role.
When Robert Lewandowski was 17, he lost his 49-year-old father, Krzysztof, to a heart attack. Shortly after, Lewandowski was told by his youth team, Legia Warsaw, that he would never reach his previous levels of fitness and form following an injury.
They subsequently released him, the culmination of a terrible year for the young Polish forward. Lewandowski had put football before everything, dedicating himself to the game and he now had nothing to show for it. Forced to grow up quickly in a difficult time, Lewandowski refused to accept Warsaw’s conclusion.
Xabi Alonso, you 34-year-old dog you. So are you resorting to only scoring goals as far out as your age? Because this 30+ yard cracking volley is pure greatness. That touch to kill the clearance, and then the approach on the bouncing ball that resulted in the back of the net. Your greatness will never be forgotten and we at The18 thank you for giving us this gem of a goal. Keep being you Xabi.
Emblazoned across the wall at one of the Manchester City training gyms is the slogan “CREATE THE FUTURE.” With their massive outlay on player transfer fees, as well as over £200m spent on the Etihad Campus, a training and academy facility, the Citizens are hell-bent on global domination.
Funded by the seemingly limitless wealth of the Abu Dhabi United Group, the Sky Blues have become a dominant force in English football, winning the Premier League title twice in the last four years.
Three weeks ago in London, Arsenal beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the Champions League. This is not a particularly inventive sentence to start an Internet post, but it should be an attention-grabber nonetheless. Bayern Munich took this personally for some reason - “oh, so, a win against us on a Tuesday night constitutes a famous win?” - and got angry and took out their anger on the poor Gunners when Arsenal visited for the return leg. They bagged three before the half. They got five in total.
After a 2-0 victory in the Emirates against Bayern Munich in the last Champions League match, you knew Pep Guardiola's lads were going come out firing against the Gunners from North London. In all honestly, a 5-1 drubbing against the leaders from the EPL wasn't really that much of a surprise considering in Bayern's last 5 home matches, they have outscored opponents 24-3. The best goal from the match was David Alaba's beautiful curler that honestly put the nail in the coffin in the 44th minute.
The agony and the ecstasy. No it’s not a soap opera, just another champions league campaign for Arsenal football club and Arsene Wenger. Defeating a giant on the back of defeats to Dynamo Zagreb and Olympiacos feels commonplace, but this result demonstrates the gunners are developing into a formidable outfit.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge turned 60 Friday. Rummenigge was Germany's National Team Captain and is currently the president of Bayern Munich.
The striker played three World Cups in a row (1978, 1982 and 1986), making it to the final in both the 18982 and 1986 cups.
Rummenigge was born in Lippstadt. At 19, Bayern Munich signed him and he became a full-time professional footballer. Previously, he shared soccer and his cashier job at a bank.
Dynamo Dresden is a club with a lot of tradition in Germany. Known for its strong backing and fan base, Dresden has had a rollercoaster run through Germany’s football divisions over the past years. Bouncing back and forth between second league relegation and third division promotion, Dynamo Dresden often faced other obstacles, too.
