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.
Every season brings a new sense of hope and fear for fans across the world. For some supporters and teams, the quest to be promoted to the top flight of football is the main goal. For others, the fear of getting relegated to a lesser league looms.
It hasn’t exactly been rosy times for Valencia CF and their fans of late. Since qualifying for the Champions League in 2015, the club has completely gone downhill. In the last two seasons, they’ve finished mid-table in La Liga, flirted dangerously with relegation, sold their best players and have had a total of five managers: Nuno, Gary Neville, Pako Ayestaran, Cesare Prandelli and Voro. However, things may finally be changing at Valencia after three important announcements were recently made by the club.
Relegation is a blessing and a curse in itself. For the clubs, it means a substantial loss of television revenue and can hinder growth for years to come. For the best players on relegated teams, it acts as a restart. Premier League clubs sign the players who are eager to stay at the top level. We should expect to see the following players in the Premier League next season:
Hull City: Andrew Robertson, Harry Maguire, Sam Clucas
MLS has come under fire in the past for the gap between its stated goal of becoming an elite league and its current reality. Just last week, Chicago Fire midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger noted the stark difference between the quality of play in MLS and European leagues.
If you were to ask any football fan who the best penalty stopper in the world is, their answer would probably be pretty cliche: Manuel Neuer, David De Gea, Thibaut Courtois, Hugo Lloris, etc.
The true answer might surprise everyone. It’s Valencia’s Brazilian goalkeeper Diego Alves.
Last Saturday, Alves’ penalty save on Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo was his 25th such feat since arriving in La Liga in 2007. Interesting enough, Alves has stopped three of four penalties from Ronaldo.
For the last five years, every battle between Lazio and Roma has had the same repeated sub-plot: could this be the last Derby della Capitale for Francesco Totti? Eventually, this will be true. Eventually, there will be a time when Rome’s favourite son will no longer be able to enter the fray. Already, he has been relegated to a bit part player in the derby. But, as ever with Totti, he has managed to make starting from the subs’ bench a vital part of the action.
Every club that’s had an extended run in the Premier League is a perfect example for the transitive property (If a=b and b=c, then a=c) that affects modern football:
With the news of Mexico, Canada and the United States officially announcing a joint bid to host the 2026 World Cup, it seems likely that other countries will follow suit. The 48-team field will require an additional 16 games, bringing the tournament’s total to 80. Here’s a list of some countries that might look to share the responsibilities of hosting additional players, media members and fans.
#1. Uruguay and Argentina
It seems like every week, we talk about Napoli. Despite them being only third in the table, they’re generating a huge amount of column inches at the moment. As fate would have it, Napoli’s fixture list has thrown up a string of vital matches, back to back to back. There was the Real Madrid tie, the double header against Juventus, and a perpetual chase to stay in the top three and secure Champions League football for another year.