Soccer fans will occasionally look back at the early years of Major League Soccer and chuckle at how Americans tried to make the sport different. While people poke fun at MLS weirdness, the Chile Long Penalty from 1990 is an alteration to the rules that no one seems to remember or talk about. This rule was far more bizarre than the old MLS penalty kicks.
First let’s take a look back at what MLS did in the 90s.
We are still 200+ days from the World Cup, but the smell is in the air. We already know the groups, we know the calendar and now we also know the name of some of the national teams that will face Mexico in preparation for the tournament.
An olimpico goal — one scored directly from a corner kick — is always a sight to behold. Damián “Kitu” Díaz of Ecuador’s Barcelona SC scored one of the most unique olimpicos ever seen on Thursday in the Copa Sudamericana when he caught the Montevideo Wanderers’ goalkeeper out of his goal during the corner kick.
Díaz spotted the goalkeeper standing six yards away from his goal and had the audacity to curl the ball into the goal while the goalkeeper wasn’t looking. Brilliant.
Brazilian fans are pretty confident about winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The team practically walked the CONMEBOL qualifiers without losing a single game, and supporters feel the squad is strong enough to grab its sixth trophy in the history of the competition. If you go to Brazil, you will probably smell the Hexa in every corner of the country.
The question is, what's going to happen after coach Tite leaves his post? And well, Pep Guardiola may happen. Or at least that's what Diario Marca is saying.
Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana started this week, giving us the healthy extra dose of soccer we all need. Tuesday night, there were 11 games across both competitions, with fabulous stories in each of them, like the fantastic 2-0 victory of Bolivian club Always Ready over Corinthians.
My favorite moment, though? The magnificent goal that allowed Banfield to beat Santos in Copa Sudamericana, a sweet volley from 21-year-old Agustín Urzi.
I have a serious bone to pick with the Concacaf Nations League after Monday’s draw revealed the two nations in the USMNT’s group: El Salvador and Grenada.
The issue isn’t the league itself — I think it creates great opportunities for the lower teams in Concacaf — my problem is that in one of the final two international breaks before the World Cup the USMNT will be forced to play against El Salvador and Grenada.
When it comes to the most underrated players in the English-speaking world, you could certainly make a case for Brazil's Rivellino — a fantasy footballer with pioneering dribbling skills, an outrageous free kick arsenal and a left foot like a field howitzer. Rivellino was hugely admired by Pelé and inspired both Diego Maradona and Ronaldinho, but these names have largely superseded Rivellino's own in football lore.
I've nutmegged rivals, I've been nutmegged and I've watched a fair amount of nutmegs through my life. I've seen nutmegs that were only a display of skills, other ones that were the only option available to maintain the control of the ball and a few others that were just by chance. But, until now, I have never seen a self-nutmeg. Until Thursday night.
It happened during a game in the Chilean First Division between Colo Colo, the most popular team in the country, and Unión La Calera.
With a 2-0 victory over Paraguay in Lima on Tuesday night, Peru clinched fifth place in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying and a spot in the inter-confederation playoffs, knocking out sixth-place Colombia and seventh-place Chile in the process. This marks the end of the road for a couple memorable generations of players for Los Cafeteros and La Roja.
No shaky legs, no big mistakes to regret. Perú beat Paraguay 2-0 and secured fifth place in CONMBEBOL qualifiers on Tuesday night, earning the ticket for an intercontinental World Cup playoff against Australia or the United Arab Emirates.
Perú just needed five minutes to take away the pressure thanks to Italian-born Gianluca Lapadula. El Bambino finished gracefully an exquisite assist from Christian Cueva and started the celebrations accross the whole nation.