It was surprising to see Zinedine Zidane given the manager’s position at Real Madrid after the sacking of Rafa Benitez. His only previous experience was in charge of the reserve side, Real Madrid Castilla, for 18 months, and his record didn’t speak well for himself.
There is nothing worse from a football supporters’ perspective than not knowing how to find your side’s game on television. Perhaps it’s a sign of the times that with a click of the remote or a flick of one’s fingers on the keyboard, you’re immediately given access to a global range of football matches.
Long gone are the days of pouring through websites in Russian or staying up until the early hours of the morning to catch a game on tape delay. Soccer has truly arrived — unless of course you’re a Newcastle United supporter and want to watch the English League Championship.
On April 9, 2013, Borussia Dortmund gained the fandom of millions around the world — or maybe it was just me. Dortmund had already achieved domestic success and Champions League glory in the past, but most fans (once again, me) cared more for their FIFA video game squad chemistry than their actual real-life play.
The Dutch are the kings of street football. With the advent of YouTube in 2005, the masters of Amsterdam’s thriving street scene found a global audience in tune with the Dutch footballing subculture.
In America, the And1 basketball mixtapes had elevated street players to a new level. In Amsterdam, players like Edward van Gils, Issy “Hitman” Hamdaoui and Lenny Macnack, the Streetkings of Dutch football, enjoyed a similarly meteoric rise in their sport.
It might not be Baseball, but there is little denying numbers play a prominent role in soccer today. Sunday’s clash between Tottenham and Manchester City at White Hart Lane will be one of those matches where numbers go a long way in explaining what the outcome might be.
The Premier League-leading goal machine that is Manchester City’s attack will have to find a way to breach the wall Mauricio Pochettino set up so far in Tottenham’s defense.
Standing at 6’3’’ and built like brick s***houses, Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku both share a distinct ability to absolutely boss center-backs. Both are charged with doing as much for their club sides, Everton and Crystal Palace.
On Friday night, the two players went head to head in a match surely watched by Belgium manager Roberto Martinez and his assistant Thierry Henry. While the two strikers share some qualities, they’re incredibly different in their approach play.
The nominees for the annual Golden Boy award, selected by Italian newspaper Tuttosport and ultimately bestowed upon Europe’s best footballer aged under 21, are out. Among the boys are Tottenham’s Dele Alli, Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman, Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford.
Although Celtic is coached by ex-Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, no stranger to his Manchester City opponents, the Pep Guardiola led Citizens should have easily pulled out a win against the Scottish champions. However, yesterday's result showed that maybe the rise of Kevin De Bruyne and not the acquisition of Guardiola is the reason behind Manchester City’s place at the top of the Premier League table.
Throughout the tenure of Jurgen Klinsmann as the head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team, American soccer fans have watched the team take steps forward, as they did by advancing out of the group of death at the 2014 World Cup, only to also watch them take steps back, as they did by losing in the semifinals of the 2015 Gold Cup.
Sometimes, selling your best player is the right move. Take, for example, Manchester United shipping out Ruud van Nistlerooy in 2006. In the aftermath of losing the prolific striker, a new set of players emerged to take up the burden. The side became less reliant on one focal point and spread the workload across an emerging generation of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Carrick.