Do not read on if you, like myself, are still coping with last week’s announcement that David Silva and Gerard Pique are calling it quits with the Spanish national team. International football, it seems, may soon be suffering another casualty, though perhaps we have a couple years to prepare for this one.
As a neutral, I’m a big fan of this back and forth between Jurgen Klopp and Sergio Ramos. I hope it continues forever. After Klopp labeled Ramos “ruthless” and “brutal” a couple weeks ago during Liverpool’s preseason tour, Ramos duly responded by saying: “He will be wanting to explain not winning the final, but it’s not the first that he has lost. Some of us have been operating at a very high level for many years — I’m not sure he can say the same.”
FIFPro, the global footballers' union, released an official statement urging the need for a longer football offseason on Monday. The union’s worries concern 15 players who played in the 2018 Russia World Cup only to start their UEFA competitions two to four weeks later — urging the need for longer breaks.
Sepp Blatter’s former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke received a ban appeal rejection on Friday, July 27. The 57-year-old was ordered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to complete his 10-year suspension from all football activities. Additionally, the Frenchman is to pay an approximate fine of $100,500.
With a squad comprised largely of players that led Portugal to glory at the 2016 European U-17 Championship, Portugal has now ridden what’s quickly becoming a golden generation to more international glory, this time at the 2018 European U-19 Championship in Finland. Portugal defeated Italy 4-3 in a madcap final that saw three goals scored in quick succession during the first period of extra time.
Joao Filipe opened the scoring just before halftime for Portugal. The Benfica youngster fired in a low drive after a brilliant piece of control at the top of the box.
After lifting the 2018 World Cup with one of the youngest squads at the tournament (average age of just 26), there’s been a growing fear that France could turn a bit tyrannical at the international level. That fear was further confirmed today when England’s U-19s were on the receiving end of a 5-0 beatdown from their French peers.
On May 2, after a Champions League semifinal match between AS Roma and Liverpool, Roma owner James Pallotta blasted the referees with accusations of bias. The American billionaire called the officials embarrassing and claimed they had cost him and Roma a place to face Real Madrid in the final. Roma won 4-2, but Liverpool went to the final on a 7-6 aggregate victory.
UEFA’s showpiece tournament, Euro 2020, kicks off in less than two years. That’s plenty of time to gather all of your friends and to start thinking about which cities and countries you want to visit.
If you didn’t know already, Euro 2020 will be a special tournament. There will be 12 host countries, as opposed to one or two host countries.
When we think of the Champions League, we think of the best of the best (and well, that catchy, opera-like song that plays before every game which is now sure to be in my head the rest of the day).
You probably know that before the big guys like Juventus and Barcelona kick off their UCL campaigns, there are a series of qualifying rounds that take place in the summer months before most domestic leagues get started.
The 2018 World Cup finishes this Sunday, with the final being contested by Croatia and France. Cue the sad violin music, because no one wants this month-long festival of soccer to come to a conclusion.
But alas, all good things must eventually come to and end. This World Cup has reminded everyone about the joys of the game, and why waiting four years for each World Cup is absolutely worth it.