Soccer is an old game, and the years have seen interesting changes to the soccer ball. As we move into the future, the technology and appearance of the soccer ball will continue to change.
Here is a quick rundown of some of the most influential and interesting soccer balls over the course of history.
Enjoy!
Whenever a big side like Manchester United get played close by a smaller club, there's inevitably talk of the "Magic of the FA Cup", and, though that usually refers to some plucky underdog dethroning one of the elite, rich clubs, sometimes the magic of the cup is just watching Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic do something cool.
Case in point:
No 24 for Zlatan
Lovely assist from Pogba pic.twitter.com/ovQRaofihg
Diego Maradona’s expulsion from the 1994 World Cup in the United States, for what FIFA executive committee member Michel d’Hooghe described as “a cocktail of drugs”, resulted in a 15-month ban from soccer, but the verdict also prohibited Maradona from visiting the US for 22 years.
The growing concern over artificial turf fields and their possible connection with cancer has led to more significant research, including a recent study by the Washington State Department of Health and researchers at the University of Washington, but their findings have concluded that the field surface is not linked to an increased rate of cancer.
Who says you can’t go home again?
Deportivo Palestino – a club based in Santiago, Chile and founded by Palestinian expats to the city in 1920 – effectively did just that, visiting the West Bank and occupied territories this week for friendlies against the real Palestinian National Team and the Hebron-based club side Al Ahli.
It's been another great season for Sebastian Giovinco. Seventeen goals and 15 assists for the "Formica Atomica" helped lead Toronto FC to the MLS Eastern Conference final, a sumptious Canadian derby showdown against the Montreal Impact.
The diminutive Italian has been absolutely on fire once again this season, and after watching Toronto ruthlessly dismantle NYCFC, the other conference finalists will be shaking in their boots at the prospect of facing him.
Playing a sport in high school is one of the best ways to make friends and get involved. Once the season rolls around, you are filled with excitement and enthusiasm. Every student athlete is ready to reunite with his or her team and prove to competitors and classmates that they are the team to beat this season. As the season goes on, each athlete comes to realize the struggle of being an athlete as well as a student.
In honor of all the student athletes out there, we compiled a list of truths only they will understand.
A quick refresher: USWNT star Megan Rapinoe chose to join other athletes in kneeling during "The Star-Spangled Banner". We first saw Rapinoe participate in the silent protest on September 15, 2016, and that was not the last of it. Various athletes are refusing to stand during the anthem to draw attention to racial injustice in this country.
So you’re the kid on the team with a slender, 5-foot-something frame and weight that falls right in the middle of the 50th percentile for your age. You’ve heard the words “scrawny” and “toothpick” tossed around by coaches when discussing your physique. However, as a product of your natural build, you also possess pace, good foot speed and decent technical ability.
