You may recall back in January when Barcelona U-10 phenom Michal Zuk signed a brand ambassador contract with adidas. It was an unprecedented show of financial support for such a young player still years away from first-team experience, but his highlights speak for themselves.
As it turns out, the rest of Zuk’s Barcelona U-10 team is every bit as talented as he is.
It was a great weekend for teenage homegrown players in Major League Soccer as two academy products — Toronto FC’s Ayo Akinola and the Philadelphia Union’s Brenden Aaronson — marked their first starts with goals.
Akinola is a 19-year-old who’s recently been called-up for the U.S. pre-U-20 World Cup training camp in Spain. The Detroit-born forward appeared in four matches as a substitute for Toronto last year, totaling only 45 minutes.
However, on Sunday he was given his first start, went 85 minutes in the 3-2 win over New England and scored his first goal.
Be sure not to blink or you might miss the fancy feet of 11-year-old Tottenham academy standout Ramell Carter. In this Instagram video, he shows off his skills while taking multi-tasking to the next level.
A number of college soccer coaches have been indicted in the massive college admissions bribery and cheating scandal that became public Tuesday.
An assistant referee and a player were taken to the hospital after a wooden light pole was knocked over by heavy winds, crashing onto the field during a high school soccer match on Saturday in Clarksville, Arkansas.
The referee sustained two broken bones in his leg while the player had superficial wounds to his head and legs, according to KFSM. Neither injury was considered life-threatening.
Last Sunday, an indoor soccer match between Rockford, Illinois-based San Jose FC and FC Wisconsin U-19 descended into madness in Brookfield, Wisconsin, when a skirmish ultimately resulted in a referee getting punched in the face.
The referee, 50-year-old Terry From, approached a boy who’d thrown a water bottle in his direction, identified as the 12-year-old son of San Jose FC’s coach, before being punched by a 17-year-old San Jose FC player, identified as the older brother of the 12-year-old.
The U-20 USMNT had one of its best showings ever at the 2007 U-20 World Cup.
Led by Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Freddy Adu, the team beat a Brazil loaded with Marcelo, David Luiz, Willian, Renato Agusto and Alexandre Pato to win Group D. The Americans then reached the quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over Uruguay, despite a goal from Luis Suarez. The U.S. eventually lost to Austria in extra time to miss out on reaching the semifinals for the second time ever, but then again the U.S. has never won more than one knockout-round match at a U-20 World Cup.
Chertanovo Moscow does things a bit differently. With an average age of 20.2, the youngest club in the Russia Football National League (second division) is currently in fourth place with a second consecutive promotion a realistic goal. The recent addition to the first team of Sergey Pinyaev highlights the club’s commitment to youth.
You know what they say, ridiculous backheel flicks usually come in threes. This past weekend, we were treated to three outlandish finishes of the tacquito sauce variety — one in Amsterdam, one in Nuevo León and one in Poland.
Let’s take a look at all three in descending order.
#3. Kasper Dolberg (Ajax vs. NAC Breda)
Goalkeeper Lewis Budinauckas made a penalty and then saved one moments later to send Rangers past AS Roma at the Al Kass International Cup, a U-17 club competition growing in prestige every year, on Friday in Doha, Qatar.
The teams were tied 1-1 through regulation, sending the match immediately to a shootout. Tied 3-3 after the first five spot kicks, both teams traded goals in the first five rounds of sudden death, including both goalkeepers converting on the 10th attempt (both teams had been reduced to 10 men through the course of the match).