Vintage

These 5 Worst World Cup Hosts Set The Bar For Russia And Qatar

FIFA doesn’t have a good record of awarding World Cups to the best countries, instead opting to award the world’s premier sporting event to nations with questionable backgrounds, from Mussolini’s fascist Italy to Argentina’s military junta.

Barring nuclear war, the 2018 World Cup will be hosted by Russia, a nation that has in the last decade invaded multiple countries, illegally annexed territory, led insurrections in border nations, murdered opposition journalists and denied rights of the LGBT community. Oh and that whole U.S. election thing that has yet to be sorted out. 

Before Andrea Pirlo, There Was Demetrio Albertini, The Human Embodiment Of Silk

Demetrio Albertini enjoys a legendary status amongst those who watched AC Milan and the Italian national team in the 90s, but the midfielder’s remarkable talent isn’t widely recognized outside of that sphere. As a ball-winning midfielder that orchestrated play from deep, Albertini doesn’t have a massive highlight reel with regards to goals, although he did score a number of long-range screamers and some gorgeous free kicks.

22 Incredible Changes To Soccer Rules Since 1863

Soccer is an evolving game. From the original codification in 1863 to the modern institution of video replay, football’s lawmakers are constantly tweaking the rules. 

The following is a timeline of the major changes made to the game. 

You Can Now Casually Dress Like Legendary Referee Pierluigi Collina

If you’ve ever refereed at any level of the game, you’ll know that the job’s garments ain’t no thang. The referee’s jersey is comfortably oversized, lightweight and sensible, what with its dual pockets and smart collar. Hell, you’ve probably slightly copped out and pretended to be the legendary Pierluigi Collina for Halloween. It’s fun to record peoples’ indiscretions into a little book and theatrically show them a card, all while lounging comfortably.

But outside of Halloween and off the pitch, it’s never been entirely socially acceptable to dress like a ref.

Neymar’s PSG Debut Won’t Even Come Close To Matching Jay-Jay Okocha’s

In the summer of 1998, Nigerian wizard Jay-Jay Okocha arrived at Paris Saint-Germain for an exceptionally large fee of $18 million, making him the most expensive African player at the time. World renowned for his creativity, dribbling and playmaking, PSG’s capture of Okocha was not unlike this summer’s signing of Neymar.

The Back-Pass Rule Forced Keepers To Learn To Play Soccer With Hilarious Results

The average age of players in the English Premier League is 26.8, meaning the vast majority of footballers weren’t playing 25 years ago when the most dramatic change to the game in recent times was instituted. Many weren’t even alive in 1992 when FIFA decided to prevent goalkeepers from picking up passes intentionally kicked to them by teammates. 

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