Central & South America

Imagine playing a game of soccer and all of the sudden thinking to yourself, “I think the referee is having more fun than me.” Would this be a question that challenged your perception of life? Would you all of the sudden wonder, maybe I should have taken that dance class is high school? Would you declare that yes, you can wear that pink blazer that you’ve always been to afraid to wear? It is certainly a thought that has never passed through my mind, but then again, I have never played in a game officiated by Clésio Moreira dos Santos, a.k.a. Margarida.

Brazilian legend Ronaldinho, club-less since leaving Fluminense in September, has found a new club, Racing de Montevideo in Uruguay. Or has he?

Ronaldinho

¡Bienvenido Ronaldinho! El jugador formará parte del cervecero durante el próximo torneo Clausura. pic.twitter.com/zwqNrbLPdX

— Racing Club de Mdeo (@RacingClubUru) December 28, 2015

The past was always better. That seems to sum up Pelé’s vision of modern soccer. He said that nowadays he would be a much better player than he was in his day because there is more preparation and care for footballers.

Neymar is simply stunning to watch play. He is everything that we hope a Brazilian superstar would be: creative, unpredictable, lightning on the pitch. He was just ranked as the third-best footballer in the world by The Guardian because he marries these qualities with effectiveness. It’s ironic then, that arguably Neymar’s best play of the year wound up ineffective. 

Ronaldinho, one of the most enjoyable footballers in recent times, has been without a club ever since he and Fluminense mutually agreed to terminate his contract a few months ago.

But he and Fluminense are teaming up for one last ride, traveling to the United States for a friendly tournament in Florida called, appropriately, the Florida Cup.

"We are going to Orlando for the Florida Cup,  and as a matter of marketing and brand expansion, Ronaldinho will play for us," Fluminense president Peter Siemsen said on Radio Tupi.

It’s been fascinating to see Neymar grow as a player. Once a teenager in Brazil that was capable of pulling off ridiculous goals against subpar competition, he is now a young man in Spain playing for Barcelona, pulling off even more ridiculous goals against world-class defenders. But for all of the success he has on the pitch, he is still humble, and that is what Neymar’s new tattoo reinforces. 

He started out as one of the most promising strikers of his generation. Fans raved about him and managers wanted to coach him, but he hit a wall of injuries all of a sudden and his career went crashing down. Regarded by Mexico's manager Juan Carlos Osorio as one of the best wingers in world soccer today, this player is nicknamed after a bird. And like the legend of another famous bird, he is rising from the ashes of his crumbled career. Yes, I’m talking about Alexandre Pato. 

Face planting is literally one of the most simultaneously hilarious and embarrassing things for a human to do. It’s universal. Our faces allow us to interact and empathize like nothing else in the known universe, and when thenyend up flat against the ground with our feet 3 feet above and behind, you have no choice but to laugh or cringe. Case in point, this soccer player face plant.

Santos was playing in the first led of the final of the Copa do Brasil when Nilson found himself with a golden opportunity to score on an open net against Palmeiras. 

Copa Sudamericana is an international football tournament organized by the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol), which brings together more than 50 football clubs in South America. It is the second international competition developed in South American territory after most prestigious Copa Libertadores. It is held in the second half of each year.

The Copa Sudamericana Finals 2015, as in they did in 2014, face off one  team from Argentina against another from Colombia. This year features Huracán against Santa Fe.

He is a finalist for the 2015 FIFA Puskas Award, but the year wasn’t all roses for Wendell Lira. The 26-year-old was unemployed when he heard the news that his masterpiece would be running for goal of the year. 

After scoring this beauty for Goianesia in the Goias State Championship, Lira transferred to Brazilian Third Division side Tombense, but his spell there didn’t last long.