It’s that time of year again, when football’s biggest stars trapeze around different Spainish isles, drop anchor off the coast of Ibiza and sleep on the streets of Tenerife. One of these days, The18 staff is going to invest in some large dolphin floaties and report live from the Mediterranean Sea while sipping on Skittles vodka, but today is not that day.
No one likes a big-name signing more than Real Madrid, the home of the Galáctico. You almost get the feeling that club president Florentino Perez is a little dismayed at the recent success and stability brought by manager Zinedine Zidane.
We’re less than a year away from the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but only eight teams have assured themselves of a spot in the 32-team tournament, one of them being the host nation.
Qualifying began back in March 2015 and will continue through this November, when the final berths will be booked.
How does each confederation decide which nations will attend the World Cup? Read on.
Nations: 53
Spots: 5
Rounds: 3
Reuters reported that Brazilian police are investigating the whereabouts of the body of Garrincha, the Brazilian legend who died in 1983.
Reports claim the dribbling wizard's body has been exhumed from one of two family plots where Garrincha is said to have been buried, and cemetary officials have admitted they don't know which grave his remains are/were in.
Soccer referees do not generally get the better of their opponents during fights. This can be chalked up to referees rarely fighting, preferring to try to calm a situation down even when sucked into a violent confrontation.
This referee in Argentina, though, is a bad ass mother who don't take nothing off of nobody. He red cards a player, who takes offense and starts swinging. The referee coolly ducks then squares up and hits back.
(the fight starts just after the 5:00 mark)
Football's a game of tribes, passions and loyalties that frequently boils over. Here's a collection of some truly remarkable images featuring flashpoints between ultras and police from both outside and inside stadiums around the world.
Let’s get one thing out of the way: these cats are young. They’re like kittens in that sense — feral, attack-minded, alley kittens. It’s easy to get hyped on talent at the FIFA U-20 World Cup because the game, at this age, so heavily favors attackers. The goals are beautiful, but they’re generally scored in acres of space and triggered by a breakdown in midfield or defense.
Do you know what is better than a first division soccer team? A team of superheroes. Even if that team of superheroes is actually a fourth division soccer team dressed up like superheroes, superheroes always win.
Argentinian fourth division side Sacachispas know this, which is why they dressed as superheroes before their Copa Argentina match against first division club Arsenal de Sarandi.
Ronaldinho could’ve been sent off hundreds of times in his career for unsporting behavior. Blessed with otherworldly control and technique, the Brazilian would frequently contort the rules of the game for his own benefit. It wasn’t fair, nobody else could or can do it now, but he got away with it because he was a god. As we all know, life has two great questions: 1.) Is there a heaven? 2.) How did Ronaldinho get this good?
With four points from the opening four matches of their debut Copa Libertadores campaign, Chapecoense traveled to Argentina to face Lanus, the 2016 Primera Division champions, needing perhaps the most famous result in the club’s history to continue their improbable quest for the competition’s round of 16.
After Wellington Paulista, on loan from Fluminense, gave Chapecoense an unexpected early lead, Lanus equalized from the spot with only 10 minutes remaining. But the moment of magic arrived for Chape through Luiz Otavio, a defender who’s on loan from Luverdense.