Diego Forlan scored a perfect hat trick this weekend for Penarol, reminding everyone of how brilliant of player he was (and still is apparently). He scored a goal with his right foot, his left foot, one brilliant one with his head and added two assists in a 5-1 demolition of Defensor Sporting in the Uruguayan Primera Division. Check it out (Especially the last one. Header of the year for sure).
Lisandro Lopez should be very proud of what he did near the end of Racing's 1-1 tie against Independiente in the Argentinean first division. You see, it didn't look like it would be a tie. Independiente were up 1-0 until Lopez ripped a 90th minute bicycle kick equalizer into the back of the net.
There are lots of ways to score a 90th minute equalizer. All of them are nice. Every 90th minute equalizer is its own special snowflake of a goal. It means more than a regular goal, because of the timing and effect on the match.
The stage is set for the biggest international tournament in the United States since the 1994 World Cup finals. The 2016 Copa America Centenario promises Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, James Rodriguez and another chance for both Mexico and the United States to disrupt the accepted international footballing hierarchy. This is your ultimate guide to the ultimate tournament of the Americas, the 2016 Copa America Centenario.
*All times indicated are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
When we last reported on Ronaldinho Gaucho, it was to alert you that the great Brazilian No. 10 was delaying his decision on where to play next until after Carnival.
Poor Neymar. The Barcelona striker finds himself embroiled in a battle between the Brazilian government and Barcelona over how much his transfer fee from Santos to the Catalan giants was. To make matters worse, as a result of some (read: more money than anyone reading this will see in their lives) unpaid taxes the Selecao captain has had $50 million worth of assets frozen.
This sum includes his plane. How is he supposed to fly to places now? Charter? Helicopter? Could he be reduced to flying (shudders) commercial?
A referee has died on the pitch during a game he was officiating in Argentina after apparently being shot by a player he had red-carded earlier.
Cesar Flores, 48, was officiating a match in Cordoba, Argentina, when a yet-unnamed player was sent off and reportedly returned to the field after retreiving a gun from his bag, shooting Flores and killing him.
From FOX Soccer:
Marcelo Palau went viral yesterday amongst the soccer community with his scintillating scissor kick against Ecuadorian side, Independiente de Valle. Palau, playing for Paraguayan Primera Division side, Club Guaraní raced down the middle of the pitch to latch on to a floating ball by his teammate from the right wing. From just above the penalty box, Palau elevated and hammered home the floating cross with conviction. Club Guaraní would go on to win 2 - 1 as Marcelo Palau's goal opened the scoring in the 62nd minute.
Before many fans could even sign into their cable accounts and stream the USWNT Olympic Qualifer against Costa Rica, Alex Morgan had already put the USWNT up 1 - 0. It took 12 seconds, two passes, an immediate long ball, flick on header, two touches,and a shot to give the USWNT the start they craved for. The USWNT continued to dominate play and added two more goals soon after, however Alex Morgan's goal will be remembered for years to come. This goal was the fastest in US Soccer history. Morgan's goal was symbolic for the USWNT.
Estudiantes de Caracas, a Venezuelan First Division team, wants to project an image of betting on the future, and to do that they recorded a commercial that broke the social networks. The commercial features 10 babies playin soccer — while still in the bellies of their mothers.
In the commercial, scientists created a software that was used by 10 mothers who were in the 28th week of gestation. The babies' movements became electronic impulses that were captured on a computer and displayed, simulating a soccer game.
Three of the best Colombian players have just left well known clubs from Europe and landed in the Chinese Super League, where their new teams paid a lot of money for them.
The latest to sign to play in the Far East is Jackson Martinez. Martinez failed to convince at Atletico de Madrid, the team that bought him last summer for €35 million and has now sold him for €42 million euro to Guangzhou Evergrande. Atletico made €7 million profit on Martinez.