After signing a largely ceremonial “contract for life” with Barcelona back in 2017, it’s certainly not surprising to see Andrés Iniesta stroll up to the club’s training sessions whenever he damn well pleases. However, the timing of Monday’s visit is another awkward moment in what’s been a tumultuous five-day period for the LaLiga leaders.
Look who dropped by for today's workout!
The body of Eric Birighitti, a 21-year-old soccer player, was found Tuesday, sharks having attacked the corpse after the footballer drowned following a Jan. 2 incident.
Birighitti, an Australian who played college soccer in the U.S., slipped on some rocks on Jan. 2 and was swept out into the ocean. Despite having a life preserver thrown to him, Birighitti could not be saved, according to reports.
“When I left you I was but the learner, now I am the master,” is what Frank Lampard presumably said to José Mourinho following Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham on Sunday. After suffering four defeats in their last five Premier League games, Lampard elected to switch to a back three and relied on excellent performances from Willian, Mason Mount and Marcos Alonso to drive Mourinho’s side inside its shell at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has hit Russia with a four-year ban from international sport after a special meeting at the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Switzerland resulted in a unanimous vote to suspend the nation.
The suspension results in Russia being banned from participating at next summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, the decision from WADA doesn’t affect Russia’s participation at UEFA Euro 2020 since the tournament isn’t classified as a “major event.”
Last Thursday, the “Matchday — Inside FC Barcelona” documentary premiered in Barcelona with a variety of representatives, players and celebrities present. The series promised a “no-holds-barred view of the club” filmed throughout the 2018-19 season, which offered the high of a league title and the lows of a Copa del Rey final defeat and that cataclysmic 4-0 defeat to Liverpool in the semifinals of the Champions League.
In the 1885-86 Scottish Cup, Arbroath defeated Bon Accord 36-0. In the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the USWNT beat Thailand 13-0. In the 2019 NCAA Women's College Cup, Stanford beat Prairie View A&M 15-0. Throughout the course of history, the trend of scoring an excessive amount of goals has continued to receive backlash from all levels.
It was always going to happen eventually — it’s just that nobody could’ve predicted how insanely long it’d take for age and the grind of professional sports to somewhat catch up to Cristiano Ronaldo. The 34-year-old has played 982 matches for club and country over the last 17 years, and although he remains decisive, indomitable and a catalyst for one of the world’s best teams, he’s beginning to show signs of what Louis C.K. referred to as “incurable shitty ankle.”
One look at the Bundesliga table — with Borussia Mönchengladbach currently on top — tells you that it’s been a wild season so far in Germany. But that adjective doesn’t come close to describing the scenes that unfolded at the end of today’s match between SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt at the Schwarzwald-Stadion.
Hellas Verona defeated Mario Balotelli’s Brescia 2-1 today, but the lasting images of the match all pertain to the former Manchester City striker. In the 54th minute, Balotelli took possession near the corner flag and with the ball still in play, he responded to racist chanting by picking it up and punting it into the stands of the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi.
Hertha Berlin and Union Berlin faced off for the first time ever in the Bundesliga on Saturday. The momentous occasion will live long in the memory of Berliners, but it could have been memorable for the wrong reasons had it not been for a save made by Union keeper Rafal Gikiewicz — one made after the final whistle.