More than a few eyebrows would have been raised at the news of Lassina Traoré's move to Shakhtar Donetsk this summer. Just two years after he joined Ajax from the youth side of the Dutch giant's affiliate in Cape Town, Traoré made the $12 million move to Ukraine as one of the first signings of new manager Roberto De Zerbi, who left Sassuolo to take up the post.
Collecting cards can be one of the most intriguing hobbies on offer for hardcore sports fans. The market for soccer cards has exploded since 2020, and it's projected to rise over the coming years. With the hobby growing fast, now is a good time to start your own soccer card collection.
HONG KONG - With crucial goals in each of Japan's three group games, Takefusa Kubo is delivering on his potential, as the Olympic Games hosts step up their chase for a place on the podium for the first time in over half a century.
Just as he had done in group phase wins over South Africa and Mexico, the 20-year-old opened the scoring for Japan in Wednesday's 4-0 victory over France to set up a quarterfinal meeting with New Zealand on Saturday.
Takefusa Kubo Goal Vs. France
When Manchester United met Barcelona in the 2009 Champions League final, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson famously quipped that Barça “get you on that carousel and make you dizzy with their passing.”
This poor child knows exactly what Ferguson was talking about.
Lionel (34), Thiago (8) and Matteo (5) are all students of the rondo at Barcelona, and they demonstrated their La Masia learnings in unison during this video that Señor Messi posted on Instagram.
Come August, there are always a few clubs that capture the imagination with their audacious summer spending before inevitably collapsing by October. Usually this is Everton.
The return of a club legend, the signing of a highly touted prodigy or a loan move for a big-name player whose career has stalled (or preferably all three in one window) are the usual fixings for getting way too hyped before the start of a new campaign.
A beautifully chaotic Gold Cup quarterfinal between the USMNT and Jamaica produced a dramatic winner on Sunday night in Arlington after 20-year-old forward Matthew Hoppe earned the Americans’ passage to the semis with a header in the 83rd minute.
With an average age of 23 and average cap collection of just 12, there was a question of nerves — especially after a large crowd at AT&T Stadium had belted out "The Star-Spangled Banner" to animate the enormity of the occasion.
Ricardo Pepi became the youngest player in Major League Soccer history to score a hat-trick, leading FC Dallas to a 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday evening in Frisco, Texas.
Pepi, who is 18 years, 197 days of age, increased his season goal total to a team-high eight with his first career hat-trick. The El Paso, Texas, native is in his third season with the team.
TOKYO - France's Olympic men's soccer campaign got off to a dreadful start when they were thrashed 4-1 by Mexico while Argentina suffered a shock 2-0 loss to Australia as the group stage kicked off on Thursday.
Brazil striker Richarlison scored the first hat-trick of the men's tournament as the defending champions held off a late rally from Germany in a 4-2 win at Yokohama's International Stadium.
Trinity Rodman scored the best goal of her rookie season on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough as the Washington Spirit fell 3-2 to Gotham FC at Segra Field.
The Spirit looked doomed as early as the seventh-minute after Sam Staab was issued a straight red card for committing a foul as the last defender, but six minutes after her dismissal, Rodman shocked NJ/NY.
The 19-year-old used her pace to get on the end of a ball out wide, but with support arriving in the middle, Rodman elected to drift inside before unleashing a right-footed effort that flew inside the far post.
One day after FC Dallas phenom Tanner Tessmann signed for Venezia FC, another American youngster is linked to the newly promoted Venice club. Gianluca Busio has been on fire for Sporting KC and the USMNT and could be taking his talents to Venice. The Busio to Venice transfer rumors appear to be legit.