It’s just not going well for Borussia Dortmund at the moment. BVB look almost certainties for an early Champions League exit at the hands of Tottenham and Real Madrid, and the Bundesliga gap to Bayern Munich stands at six points following a 3-1 Der Klassiker defeat on November 4.
Christian Pulisic is kind of a big deal, and not just in the United States. He’s one of the few reasons to get excited about American soccer over the next couple years, and he’s one of Borussia Dortmund’s star performers this season. Heck, he recently nutmegged Dutch star Arjen Robben.
Alex Collado, born in the city of Sabadell in Catalonia (the birthplace of Sergio Busquets), joined La Masia back in 2011 as a 12-year-old. The central midfielder has since risen through the club’s youth ranks, appearing for Barca’s Juvenil A (the premier U-19 side and the final stage of progression at La Masia) throughout the 2016-17 season as a 17-year-old.
Collado played a vital role in Barca’s run to the semifinals of last year's UEFA Youth League, which culminated in a 2-1 defeat to eventual champions Red Bull Salzburg.
U.S. Soccer has announced the squad called in to play a friendly against Portugal in Leiria on November 14, the USMNT’s first match since the disaster in Trinidad & Tobago. The squad is highlighted by five uncapped players — goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez (22), defender Cameron Carter-Vickers (19), midfielders Tyler Adams (18) and Weston McKennie (19), and forward Josh Sargent (17).
Borussia Dortmund’s sobering 3-1 home defeat to Bayern Munich on Saturday contained only two redeeming qualities according to BVB manager Peter Bosz: the support of the club’s famous Yellow Wall and the play of 19-year-old American attacker Christian Pulisic.
C.F. Monterrey are cruising at the top of the Liga MX table with the playoffs looming, and they have the league’s stingiest defense to thank for that. Los Rayados have conceded only nine goals in 14 matches, and 18-year-old defensive midfielder Jonathan Gonzalez has played a large role in accomplishing that mean feat.
It’s been two weeks since Benfica goalkeeper Mile Svilar made Champions League history by becoming the youngest goalkeeper to ever play in the competition, breaking Iker Casillas’s record at the tender age of 18 years and 52 days. What was even more memorable was Svilar’s horrendous mistake on a Marcus Rashford free kick, when the young Belgian caught the curler but dumbly brought the ball with him across his own goal line. The mistake gave Manchester United a 1-0 victory.
Some players are just destined for greatness from the moment they step on the pitch, their debuts so magnificent the entire stadium recognizes the kid on display is special. Like a 17-year-old Alan Shearer netting a hat trick against Arsenal in his debut, some introductions are seminal events that will never be forgotten.
Jesús Vallejo did not have such a debut for Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey on Thursday.
A bit of absolute tomfoolery was accomplished in the Romanian Cup on Wednesday when 14-year-old Ianis Stoica was handed his professional debut in Steaua Bucharest’s match against Sanatatea Cluj as a substitute and duly scored in the 92nd minute of his side’s 6-1 victory.
At the age of 14 years, ten months and 13 days, Stoica is now the youngest ever goalscorer in the history of the 26-time Romanian champions.
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