Losing a World Cup final in extra time is brutal and tough to come back from. Losing a Copa America final on penalties the subsequent year is a kick to the teeth. Losing yet another Copa America final the following year, to the same team and in the same manner, is practically a kill shot to any footballer’s professional hopes and dreams.
You might think paying €45 million for a 16-year-old without a first-team appearance to his name is excessive. You might be correct. In the case of Vinicius Jr., though, you just might be incorrect.
Real Madrid have reportedly had a €45 million bid accepted by Vinicius's club, Flamengo, although the move cannot be finalized until Vinicius turns 18, in July of next year.
Folks associated with Brazilian club Chapecoense haven't had something to smile about in a long time. In November, more than 70 players, training staff members and journalists were killed when the plane taking the team to a Copa Sudamerica match crashed in Colombia.
On Sunday, Chapecoense won their first trophy since the dreadful accident, picking up the Santa Caratina state championship. Although it's just a preseason tournament, the trophy no doubt put smiles on faces that hadn't hosted that particular facial expression in quite some time.
This is probably a somewhat contentious decision given that Marta, the five-time FIFA World Player of the Year, has scored over 100 goals for Brazil and over 300 in her club career, but personally, I think this is Marta’s finest hour.
She's had two short stints with Santos in Sao Paulo, and Marta scored this ridiculous solo goal during her time there. It’s extravagantly Brazilian.
Ronaldo is synonymous with the number 9 in football. His speed, strength and finishing ability made him the most feared striker on the planet, and his effectiveness in the role is highlighted by his 15 World Cup goals.
As devastating as he was as an individual attacker, his myriad of unbelievable solo goals after charging through defenses has somewhat buried his incredible vision and ability to turn provider using either foot.
For those who religiously follow and catalogue all of the endless nonsense I churn out (you’re terrifying), you’ll remember that back in February (Jesus, what have I done these last two months) I got really into the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship. It was really cold and I was really sad so I turned to the carnival of sand, merriment and bangers that is beach soccer for respite. Plus it was all streamed on Facebook for free.
We are, as the great philosopher put it, standing on the shoulders of giants. In Argentina there was a time when no footballer could hold a candle to Guillermo Stabile, who scored eight goals at the 1930 World Cup. But he was followed and surpassed by Luis Artime, a forward who ended his career with a strike rate of 0.96 goals per game for Argentina.
You know that scene in various movies in which a character either fakes his or her own death or is otherwise presumed dead but actually alive, and that character watches his or her funeral from behind a tree while wearing sunglasses? Ricardo Oliveira came about as close as you can get to that experience in real life.
The decision to describe a goal as a candidate for the Puskas Award is frequently abused. There can only be 10 nominees in a given year, so you should choose your moments to describe a goal as Puskas worthy very carefully.
I’m going to go ahead and play one of my Puskas cards for the year on this unbelievable solo effort from Colombian Juan David Valencia. It’s a great goal, and it’s a great goal with many different layers and subtleties — this goal could win an Oscar.