Vintage

Why can’t America produce a Lionel Messi? Trick question, we already have

When the World Cup or November 25 comes around (the man's birthday), there's usually one thought on my mind... Clint Mathis was probably the best player of all time. I'll show you some things.

What was there that wasn’t great about Clint Mathis? He’s from a small city in Georgia. That's cool. He was the first male soccer player in eight years to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. What a dude. He was on the cover of Backyard Soccer 2004, and there’s no higher accolade than that s**t.

Watch The Greatest Goals From The Greatest Attacking Side Ever Assembled

For those with a preference for attacking football, there was no greater side than the one Brazil assembled for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. The fascinating talents of Zico, Socrates, Eder, Serginho, Falcao and even defender Junior combined to score a staggering 15 goals in five matches.

Barcelona Could’ve Crumbled, But One Man Transformed Their Fortunes

By January of 2004, Barcelona was a club in deep crisis. Since the 1999-00 season, they’d finished further and further down the LaLiga table — second in 2000, fourth in 2001, fourth in 2002 and a disastrous sixth in 2003. 

The 2003-04 season looked to be even worse yet. Club president Joan Gaspart had been forced to resign because of the decline, and his young replacement, Joan Laporta, had begun his presidency in farce after promising Barcelona supporters David Beckham only to see him land at Real Madrid.

In Memoriam: A Look Back At The Soccer Stars Who Died In 2014

2014 saw the deaths of some prominent figures in the soccer community. We here at The18 thought it would be a good idea to honor those who passed away this calendar year with mini bios on each of the departed. The soccer community already misses these individuals. 

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