History

If you had to name the current Galácticos of women's club football, the answer is pretty easy: Olympique Lyon. The French side won a record 14 consecutive Ligue 1 titles and five Champions League titles in a row before both streaks were ended by PSG this year. 

But 20 years ago, there was an unexpected forerunner in women's soccer, a team full of Galácticos that spawned at a time when the original Galácticos side at Real Madrid was still in its infancy.

The USWNT will face Concacaf rival Canada in the semifinals at the 2020 Olympics on Monday. It’s a rematch of a 2012 semifinal that may just have been the greatest Olympic soccer game of all time. As we get ready for USWNT vs Canada, let’s look back at that thriller from nine years earlier.

In 1999, the USWNT was on top of the world. Americans fell in love with the 99ers who won the Women’s World Cup on home soil, with Brandi Chastain’s shirtless celebration becoming one of the first soccer moments to transcend into mainstream culture in the U.S. 

Twenty years later, the USWNT was back on top of the world. Megan Rapinoe led the USWNT to a fourth Women’s World Cup, but the love didn’t necessarily follow. Half of the country hated the team for reasons having little to do with soccer.

The U.S. will host the men’s World Cup for a second time in 2026, which will coincide with the nation’s 250th anniversary. It won’t be the first major birthday the U.S. has celebrated with a soccer tournament, though the USMNT won’t have had fond memories from the first. Not even Pelé was able to save the U.S. at the Bicentennial Cup. 

LONDON - With Tottenham Hotspur confirming Érik Lamela joined Sevilla on Monday, the last of the signings — dubbed “the magnificent seven” — to arrive in the wake of Gareth Bale's $117.44 million sale to Real Madrid in the summer of 2013 has left the club.

What became of the seven signed in 2013?

(Appearances and goals for Premier League only)

Vlad Chiricheș (27 appearances, 1 goal | 2013-15)

The reason you won’t see some of the best men's soccer players at the Olympics is sort of peculiar. In order to preserve the status of the World Cup as the greatest international event for men’s soccer, an Olympic soccer age limit was instituted for the men's tournament.

The men's Olympic soccer tournament only features players under 23 years old, with three exceptions for each country. 

After winning his first major international trophy, Lionel Messi posted a picture with a wide smile holding the Copa América trophy and it quickly became the most-liked photo of an athlete on Instagram ever.

While it isn’t shocking to see so many people come to support one of the greatest footballers ever in his first international trophy at the age of 34, it intrigued me in wondering what other athletes can garner this amount of attention and love on social media. 

Here we take a look through the most-liked social media posts made by athletes from all around the world.