Dating back to December of 2004, it’s been a miserly stretch of 13 games for Arsene Wenger against his old nemesis, Jose Mourinho. It’s not just the inability to defeat the former Chelsea manager that must irk Wenger, but the style with which Mourinho has gone about stymying his Arsenal sides.
In a little over a year, the United States has witnessed some truly awful results under the leadership of Jurgen Klinsmann, but the back-to-back defeats to Jamaica and Panama to end a poor 2015 Gold Cup, defeat to Mexico at the 2015 CONCACAF Cup and historic 2-0 loss to Guatemala in the fourth round of World Cup qualifying all pale in comparison to Tuesday night’s capitulation in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Opta Sports have revealed which Premier League players have recorded the highest speeds so far this season, and the results include some surprise inclusions.
Building off a record breaking 2015 season that saw an average attendance of 21,558, the 2016 MLS season managed to set another landmark by edging that total with an average attendance of 21,692 fans per game.
The growth of MLS is exemplified by this being the third consecutive season that the record has been broken. Leading the way for MLS is the Seattle Sounders (42,636 fans per game), Orlando City (31,324) and New York City FC (27,196).
There’s no doubting Mesut Ozil’s quality. You don’t win 81 caps and a World Cup for Germany, a La Liga title with Real Madrid and collect two FA Cup winner’s medals with Arsenal by riding on the coattails of others. However, a criticism of that nature is frequently thrown at Ozil. His languid style leads to cries of having gone AWOL during big matches — particularly during his time with Arsenal.
We know it as “The Beautiful Game”; We acclaim the footballing artists who offer us an escape from our mundane lives and jobs. With their magical skills, they dazzle and leave audiences of millions in awe.
Of the many beautiful aspects of the game, the dribble might just be the most singular of traits — one that only the truly gifted possess. People of yesteryear worshiped the likes of Maradona and Garrincha for what they could do with the ball.
You are probably familiar with fantasy sports — the competitive, addicting online gaming experience that allows sport fans to interact with other fanatics. A quick synopsis: participants gather and select individual professional players; they then assemble these players to their virtual team, living out their fantasy as head coach of a team of superstars.
A glance at the current Premier League table reveals an improvement of sorts for Chelsea. Their catastrophic title defense last season resulted in them finishing 10th, while their defense, so renowned for their frugality, shipped 53 goals — more than 15th-place Crystal Palace.
This season, Antonio Conte has been charged with returning Chelsea to their domineering displays of old. The problem for Conte is that Chelsea are nowhere near their peak personnel wise. John Terry, while still a force, will turn 36 in December.
When it comes to professional sports, there are players that can do things that leave even the most casual fans amazed. Two such examples: Cristiano Ronaldo's ability to take a penalty kick and Aroldis Chapman 's ability to throw a fastball.
Both acts are amazing to witness. Both leave opponents feeling helpless. But which is harder: stopping Ronaldo or getting a hit off Chapman?
It’s been more than two calendar years since the Chicago Fire last won an MLS road match. That’s 36 futile attempts at claiming three points dating back to their 1-0 victory over the New England Revolution on July 12th, 2014.
For a bit of perspective, Chivas USA (the defunct MLS club which folded after the 2014 season) experienced their last road win on that same date. It’s a staggering statistic that’s unbelievably damning for the club that’s won an MLS Cup (1998), MLS Supporters’ Shield (2003) and has won the US Open Cup four times — more than any other MLS club.