It’s the age old question we’ve always wanted an answer to: yes, Bayern Munich are a great side, but can they do it on a freezing cold night the federal subject of Russia known as Yaroslavl Oblast? No is the definitive answer — FC Hollywood is soft, and now they're in crisis.
It's official: the mascot for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia will be a wolf that wears sunglasses, takes selfies and may or may not be based on Cristiano Ronaldo.
The wolf is named "Zabivaka" or "the one who scores."
In recent times, the rule changes FIFA have implemented have been with regards to self-examination; changing their own internal processes in the face of ongoing investigations and claims of corruption. On the footballing end of the spectrum, president Gianni Infantino has been trotting out his plan to kill the World Cup with a 48-team edition. Beyond the influence of Infantino, it appears as though Australian rock band AC/DC are the biggest catalyst for change in the international governing body.
Zenit St. Petersburg received a remarkable offer from Burger King to change the team's name to "Zenit Burger King".
Really.
Zenit have received a €6.8-million offer from @BurgerKing to change team's name to "Zenit Burger King".
— Artur Petrosyan (@arturpetrosyan) September 2, 2016
It’s the most difficult shooting technique in the game, the side volley. With the ball flashing across your body, you’ve got to combine balance, technique and precision in equal measure.
I used to have a youth soccer coach who’d launch cross-field passes at us and tell us to attack the ball after letting it drift across our body. We’d all be tripping and slicing attempts while he screamed “aim small, miss small!” It was traumatizing.
Dimitri Payet was on the pitch for three minutes before he scored an absolutely stunning free kick from distance in an international friendly in the 64th minute. The West Ham and French international attacking midfielder went top right corner to beat Russian keeper, Igor Akinfeev. This 30 yard free kick put the home side up 3-1. It was a lovely goal that will definitely help Payet's cause in making the Euro 2016 French squad. France would go on to win the match 4 - 2 and birthday boy, Payet provided the highlight reel goal.
Happy Birthday Dimitri!
As if there was ever a dull moment in the world of FIFA these days; issues revolving around the 2018 and 2022 World Cups continue to get worse. The laborers involved with constructing the Russian World Cup stadiums have come out saying they haven’t been paid for their work in months.
The question of whether or not Russia should host the 2018 World Cup still remains in the air after recent stories of corruption from Sepp Blatter and FIFA have risen. Should plans for the next World Cup stay the same, more issues besides corruption will come to light during the summer tournament.
FIFA released the official logo and posters of the host cities for the 2018 World Cup on their website the other day. Their are 12 venues in 11 host cities with nine new venues being built. Below are the posters along with official previews and info provided by FIFA for each host city. Enjoy the little history lesson for each of these Russian cities.
Moscow- Luzhniki Stadium (upgraded) and Spartak Stadium (New)