It’s a tactic that’s frequently implemented during elementary school recess, but its application at the professional level is far less pronounced: After a quick throw-in during a match in Romania between Makedonija Gjorce Petrov and Akademija Pandev, a defender chased after play with a spare ball in his hands before throwing it at the feet of the attacking player and knocking the live ball away.
Goalkeepers make mistakes. It’s going to happen from time to time — more often if you’re a Kepa, less often if you’re an Oblak — and it’s going to be costly.
For David Raya, a Spanish keeper playing for EFL Championship side Brentford, his time came in the first half of a match against Hull City at the KCOM Stadium on Saturday. In a match Brentford was dominating, Raya inexplicably allowed a long ball send forward by Hull defender Ryan Tafazolli to skip under his feet and into the back of the net.
We don’t know who this goalie is, but we want him on our team. We here at The18 are all for these types of goalkeeper mind games.
This keeper takes shithousery to a new level. He doesn’t give a fuck about decorum. He just wants to get in your head.
And it worked.
Facing a penalty kick, this keeper just hoofs the ball away before the opponent can take his kick.
Sure, he got a yellow card for his efforts — a slice of cheese per the Aussie lingo. But when the Mix Diskerud-wannabe finally took his spot kick, it was a tame attempt, easily saved by the keeper.
After all the acclaim and praise that Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde received for his tactical red card in the Spanish Super Cup final, it’s only right that we highlight this draw-preserving bit of the dark arts from Garforth Town’s Alex Low.
Matthew McConaughey, famed for his portrayal of Vilmer Slaughter in the 1995 American slasher film Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, took on a different role Wednesday as he appeared on The Men in Blazers show to discuss soccer and his work as co-owner of Austin FC.
At the office of The18, we take our foosball pretty seriously. Although the incessant banging of ball against High Pressure Laminate walls isn’t conducive to maintaining a train of thought (don’t blame me for all the nonsense I write), the call of the 2-5-3 formation is too strong to ignore. For some, that call has turned into an obsession — these are the professional foosballers among us.
It’s not been the best week for Neymar. On Monday, the Brazilian missed out on the 30-player shortlist for the 2019 Ballon d’Or award. On Tuesday, he missed PSG’s 5-0 beatdown of Club Brugge due to a hamstring injury he picked up on international duty.
Hailed as one of the best defenders in the world right now, Virgil van Dijk is also one of the more likable figures in world soccer. Just don’t tell that to the poor 8-year-old Everton fan he teased in a recent sit-down with some Liverpool U-8 players.
LFC’s stellar social media department released a YouTube video of VVD taking questions from Liverpool youth players in a mostly adorable segment.
Van Dijk answered questions like “Do you pick your nose?” and “Who smells the most in the team?” in a delightful 6:46 video (embedded above).