As the world heals from the pandemic, pick-up matches are on their way back as well. Pick-up matches exemplify all the best parts of soccer: intense rivalries, healthy competition and the opportunity to sharpen your skills.
It was a foggy Saturday morning soccer match and I was defending the goal spectating the action going on the field. I had stopped a few shots earlier in the match and my confidence was quickly rising. Thoughts raced through my head, realizing that I was about to officially record my first clean sheet of the season. Then as clear as day the ball was passed to me, and as I went to stop it with my foot it slowly but surely skipped right below my outstretched foot and into the awaiting net behind me.
After Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez both suffered season-ending injuries within the span of two weeks this past fall, Liverpool's title defense appeared to be over.
Joel Matip was left as the only healthy first-team center back, but soon the Cameroonian — who himself battled his share of injuries in the first half of the campaign — succumbed to a season-ending groin injury in January.
Luis Enrique hoy dio a conocer la convocatoria de España para la Eurocopa con un par de sorpresas mayúsculas: la exclusión de Sergio Ramos y la ausencia de jugadores del Real Madrid en la lista.
Nunca antes una selección española había acudido a un torneo mayor -Mundial o Euro- sin futbolistas merengues. Su decisión, obviamente, incendió a los sectores fundamentalistas del madridismo.
¡Ayayay! es una de las reacciones inmediatas al ver la violenta entrada que Derrick Williams hizo sobre el peruano Andy Polo, en el último duelo entre Portland Timbers y LA Galaxy, en la MLS. La barrida del irlandés fue tan dura y a destiempo que el árbitro le mostró roja directa y sin un ápice de duda. Polo, en tanto, debió abandonar el campo con la pierna inmovilizada y muletas.
Williams literalmente dio vuelta a Polo con la patada. Las imágenes hablan por sí solas.
MANCHESTER, England - Manchester City's Rúben Dias was named England's Footballer of the Year on Thursday in the annual vote of the Football Writers' Association (FWA), making him the first defender to win the award since Steve Nicol in 1989.
The 24-year-old Portugal center back beat Totenham's Harry Kane and City teammate Kevin De Bruyne in the voting, with nine players from the Premier League winners receiving more than 50% of the total votes cast.
The greatest Premier League title of them all (2015-16 with Leicester City), another with Chelsea (2016-17), the FA Cup (2017-18), the World Cup (2018), the Europa League (2018-19) and now a chance at the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League crown: N'Golo Kanté is one win away from putting the finishing touch on one of the most illustrious personal trophy cabinets in football history.
Operating alongside Jorginho in what frequently looked like a Chelsea 3-4-3 against Real Madrid on Wednesday, Kanté put in a monstrous performance on both ends of the Stamford Bridge pitch.
Not long ago, Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer appeared to be entering the twilight of his career.
After missing nearly all of the 2017-18 season due to a fractured foot, Neuer returned the next season and played the worst football of his career. The German allowed 5.5 more goals than expected, ranking 32nd out of 37 qualified Bundesliga keepers.
MILAN - A rare goal from full back Matteo Darmian earned Inter Milan a 1-0 victory over Cagliari on Sunday, as Antonio Conte's side closed on their first Serie A title in 11 years.
Struggling Cagliari were proving to be a tough nut to crack in the San Siro, with debutant goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario making several fine saves to keep the league leaders at bay.