Superstition is a vital part of any sport. Wherever someone is kicking a ball, shooting one or smashing it with a bat, there’s a good chance some sort of lucky charm or foul fear is at play.
From Jason Kidd blowing kisses to the basket before shooting a free throw to Cristiano Ronaldo’s imperious stance before taking a free kick, if you look hard enough you’ll find the superstitious activity in any game.
2016 was a year of endless football action. We witnessed Euro 2016, the Copa America Centenario, World Cup qualifiers and the Rio Olympics to go along with the usual domestic and continental club competitions.
We also saw a host of youngsters taking center stage with their respective sides due to the corresponding opportunities. With that being said, here are five youngsters poised to have a breakout year in 2017.
With an emphasis on one-touch passing, instant decision making and defensive pressing, Barcelona’s rondo drill has become synonymous with the club.
Johan Cruyff introduced the practice to Barcelona from the famed academy of Ajax, and the likes of Pep Guardiola and Xavi Hernandez enforced the significance of the tradition to this day.
Life has not been easy for French defender Mamadou Sakho over the last nine months. Ever since the failed drug test debacle that kept him on the sidelines for over a month last season, the defender has failed to earn his place back in Jurgen Klopp’s team.
Klopp, who had nothing but praise for the 26-year-old center back when he first took over as Liverpool manager, has since gone as far as demoting Sakho to training with the U-23 squad.
Real Madrid’s hopes of winning the treble suffered a blow as Celta Vigo scored an improbable 2-1 victory in the Copa del Rey quarterfinal first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. Real will now look to overturn the deficit on January 25 at the Balaidos in Galicia.
Zinedine Zidane has seen his total number of losses as Real Madrid manager double in the space of three days, although that speaks more for his remarkable success at the helm than it does any sort of crisis in the Spanish capital.
There wasn't much in the way of upsets in the third round of this season's FA Cup, but there was still magic.
You might think Liverpool beating Plymouth Argyle 1-0 on Wednesday doesn't qualify as "magic". You would be wrong.
Don't adjust your telly.
Heather O'Reilly has made the move. The star midfielder, who scored 47 goals in 231 appearances for the USWNT, signed with Arsenal Ladies. Te move was officially announced by Arsenal on Wednesday.
"Having come over to Arsenal last year to train, I was very impressed with the club. The facilities are world class and they have a tradition of excellence at the club that I wanted to be a part of, I’m very happy to be here,” O’Reilly said.
You better work hard, should you ever find yourself in a position where you're playing for current Chelsea manager Antonio Conte. Otherwise, he'll kill you. Really.
It's worrying how he doesn't even smile when he says "I prefer to kill him" man is dead serious pic.twitter.com/SFoq9mm4fW
— ️ (@HazardEdition) January 16, 2017
Jeison Murillo scored a worldy for Inter Milan Tuesday as his side defeated Bologna in the Coppa Italia, 3-2, to advance to the quarterfinals. Jeison Murillo reminds me of Jason Derulo and then I hear that little toy flute loop from “Wiggle” in my head.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle
According to reports from German weekly sports magazine Sport Bild, Bayern Munich midfielder and Spanish legend Xabi Alonso is planning to retire at the end of the season. Alonso, who still plays a key role for the Bavarian club in the center of the park, is said to have informed the club of his decision to hang up his boots at the conclusion of this season.