Youth Soccer

Gedion Zelalem could either be the next Landon Donovan, or the next Freddy Adu. Here is what fans of the USMNT have to do in order to protect this star player.

Theo Zidane, the son of Zinedine Zidane, is following in his father's footsteps in more ways than one. Theo doesn’t just play for Real Madrid like his father, he scores goals like him, too. 

Theo played for the Real Madrid U12s this past Sunday during a 3-0 win over Espanyol, and the goal he scored is easily - ok, no, down right scarily similar to one his father scored back in his day. Just take a look. Here is Theo’s goal:

Ok, so we'll admit, for the first few seconds of this video our jaws nearly hit the floor. The effects are good enough that for a moment we thought we were laying eyes on the next Messi, Neymar, Zlatan, Bale, [insert other world famous footballer here].

It then dawned on us that we'd been had by a clever, and not even new, commercial from Canon Canada that someone just re-posted to Vine. Instead of feeling had, however, we simply watched it a couple times more and enjoyed it for what it is: a great fake, kind of like the talking E-Trade baby but not nearly as creepy.

We understand that soccer is a game of passion. Fans are prone to celebrating every goal as if it were the best they’ve ever seen - and to mourning every loss as if it were a harbinger of death. With such a wide range of emotions, disagreements and fights are bound to happen. 

In preventing such brawls from occurring, it has to be said that soccer stadiums around the world are following the right protocol: keep the home and away fans seperate. It’s simple and effective. 

As children growing up, who didn't think, “Do our parents deliberately try to embarrass us?” Or, perhaps infinitely more importantly, “Is there some sort of unspoken competition between the parents of the world to see who can embarrass their children the most thoroughly?”

Well, if that damnable league does exist, we would like to introduce you to its perennial champions: Mr. and Mrs. Sisto.

China is making it compulsory for schoolchildren to play soccer.

David Beckham's sons — Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz — play in Arsenal's youth academy

More often than not, it is hard to remember that superstar athletes are people just like you and me. It is hard, of course, because they make exponentially more money, hangout with the coolest of friends, and have relationships with people that you pay money just to look at. 

So, allow The18 to take you on a trip down Memory Lane, with a slight detour down Humble Avenue, because we have uncovered some photographs that have the glorious ability to make these exceptional human beings look quintessentially average. 

Enjoy.

We at The18 understand that not everyone is meant to play soccer (or sports in general for that matter) but, for some reason, parents all over the world sign their children up for soccer year after year.

On the surface, it makes sense. Kids have a lot of energy, soccer fields are the perfect outlet; soccer is a relatively safe sport; it is a great way for kids to meet friends. 

Hachim Mastour is only 16. He was signed by AC Milan at the tender age of 14 for a sum of 500,000 Euros and a year later he dazzled everyone with his superb performance for the Primavera squad in Milan’s youth circuit. Mastour was born in Italy to Moroccan parents and has the tools to be as great as the Neymars, Messis and Ronaldos of the world.