For those who follow the Chinese Super League, this will come as little surprise. The rest of the footballing world, however, will be wondering who is Wu Lei after 40 million fans tuned in to watch his LaLiga debut with Espanyol on Sunday.
As is customary, FC Barcelona walked out to "El Cant del Barça" during Wednesday's Copa del Rey semifinal first leg against Real Madrid. But due to the significance of the occasion — what with it being an El Clásico semifinal — the accompanying music was turned off and the anthem was sung a cappella.
Wednesday night's announced attendance was 92,008, so the result was staggering.
Up in Minnesota, the polar vortex came, dropped temperatures to minus-28 degrees and went. Up next was some overnight freezing rain that left everything caked in ice on Monday morning. Some people took the opportunity to play ice hockey in the streets, some went about attempting to fix the situation — I'm talking about that hero the salt truck driver.
But just as we can ask who watches the watchmen, who salts for the saltmen?
On Wednesday, FC Barcelona will host Real Madrid in a Copa del Rey semifinal first leg at the Camp Nou. This will be the 239th competitive meeting of the sides — and the 34th in the Copa — but it’s one that many feared Lionel Messi would miss. The Barça captain suffered a thigh injury during last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Valencia, and he only just returned to training today.
With the Super Bowl chalking up its lowest-scoring game in history, it’s only fitting that Sunday’s European football action was dominated by some equally adept defensive displays (apart from Manchester City’s dominant, 19-shot performance vs. Arsenal).
It’s that man again. AC Milan new boy Krzysztof Piątek scored in his first-ever Serie A start for the club during today’s 1-1 draw with Roma, this coming just days after he scored a brace during Milan’s Coppa Italia victory over Napoli.
And with those goals has come the customary celebration — the reason they call the 23-year-old Polish forward “El Pistolero.”
Pulling off a nutmeg is exhilarating. Executing back-to-back megs is the stuff of legend. Three straight is unheard of. Four? That’s too outlandish for Hollywood. M. Night Shyamalan would slap you for even thinking something so preposterous.
But over in the Israeli Premier League, it’s just been done. The mad lad that probably deserves arresting is Maccabi Netanya’s Fatos Bećiraj. The 30-year-old Montenegrin striker redefined holdup play with this five-second display of savagery.
Timothy Weah notched his third goal in five appearances for Celtic on Sunday after coming on as a late substitute against St. Johnstone and turning the game on its head. The 18-year-old American has only played a total of 142 minutes for the Scottish giants, but, on average, it’s taking him only 47 minutes per goal. The teenager has probably forced himself into Brendan Rodgers’ starting 11 after today’s display.
Tottenham Hotspur, currently third in the English Premier League, has not bought any players in more than a year. Maybe the Spurs could learn a thing or two from Turkish club Elazigspor, which just set the record for most players bought in the closing hours of a transfer window.
Stadiums are part of a club's identity. They are the embodiment of the history, past and present of any club, contribute to the atmosphere of a match and add an aesthetic value to to the game.
The stadiums of top level teams are usually the most developed and have the highest capacity. They also get the most love. Stadiums like Old Trafford, the Santiago Bernabeu and the San Siro are world renowned, because some of the best teams play there.