The Champions League — formerly the European Cup — is the premier club soccer competition in the world, annually anointing a new champion to the team in Europe able to navigate a gauntlet of matches to reign supreme. The Champions League list of winners is a history of club football at its best — the teams that defined eras as much as any World Cup winner.
If there's one image that perfectly captures Liverpool's exhilarating 2021-22 campaign and its bitterly disappointing end, it's Sunday's photo of Sadio Mané caught in a thousand-yard stare while "celebrating" the club's FA Cup and EFL Cup double.
RB Leipzig won its first major trophy since the club was founded 13 years ago on Saturday after defeating SC Freiburg 1-1 (4-2 on penalties). For the second year in a row an American player wins the DFB-Pokal with Tyler Adams collecting his first major trophy. Gio Reyna and Dortmund won last year.
Saturday’s DFB-Pokal has two polar opposite clubs competing for their first triumph in the tournament. For Freiburg this was the club’s first trip to the DFB-Pokal final in 118 years of existence. This was Leipzig’s third trip in the club’s 13 years of existence.
Erling Haaland is the man. The Norwegian striker is leaving Borussia Dortmund after 2.5 seasons, heading for the riches of Manchester City this summer. But before he leaves Germany, he bought every one of his teammates and coaches wristwatches worth more than most people’s cars. The numbers behind the Haaland Rolexes gifts are staggering.
The USMNT just picked up a rising Bayern Munich star. On Thursday, Germany’s U-21 coach confirmed a Malik Tillman nationality switch that will see the attacking midfielder represent the U.S. over the country of his birth.
American defender Timothy Chandler deserves some recognition as the first USMNT player to win the Europa League with his club team. Chandler and Eintracht Frankfurt lifted the 2022 Europa League trophy after defeating Scottish outfit Rangers 5-4 on penalties.
Eintracht Frankfurt fans traveled en masse to Seville for the Europa League final on Wednesday. Their German goalkeeper ensured they’ll be partying deep into the Spanish night. An unbelievable Kevin Trapp save vs Rangers helped Frankfurt claim the Europa League crown, the club’s first European trophy in 42 years.
The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium in Seville, Spain, was awash in color and trembling with noise on Wednesday night as two of the world's most passionate fanbases delighted in a rare opportunity at continental glory in the Europa League final.
Soccer fans have known for some time that thousands of Rangers and Eintracht Frankfurt fans meeting in Seville, Spain, for the Europa League final was going to cause trouble. The two wildly passionate fanbases were on a collision course in Spain that could only end in one way: violence.
Spain’s chief of police warned on Tuesday that shit was going to go down in the city of Seville for this Europa League final.
There’s something about simultaneous kickoffs on the final day of the season that makes for must-watch viewing. The Bundesliga season came to a close on Saturday with all nine matches kicking off at the same time. While the title was long ago clinched by Bayern Munich (as usual), there was drama around the European places and relegation zone on the final day.
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