It’s happened again, although the result is less disastrous this time around. Last year, despite the brilliance of Zlatan Ibrahimović and his record of 22 goals in 27 games, the LA Galaxy missed out on the playoffs after a catastrophic choke-job against an already eliminated Houston Dynamo on Decision Day.
You probably know by now, but the man in the above video is not LA Galaxy striker Zlatan Ibrahimović — it's Bayern Munich swingman Nihad Đedović. But Đedović is, without a doubt, Zlatan’s basketball-playing doppelgänger.
Đedović is one inch taller than Zlatan, but he’s got the same professional athlete physique, the same flowing lion’s mane turned man bun, the Zappa beard and the nose.
It was awfully late on a Sunday night, but hopefully you didn’t check out of last night’s LA Galaxy vs. Sporting KC match on FS1 at halftime. At that point, the score was level at 1-1. After an exchange of seven second half goals, it would finish 7-2 in favor of the Galaxy.
Zlatan Ibrahimović registered his third hat-trick for Los Angeles, and in the process, he set a new single season Galaxy record by bringing his total on the year to 26, surpassing a Carlos “El Pescadito” Ruiz record that had stood since 2002.
Barring a meeting in the 2019 MLS Playoffs — please let that happen — LAFC’s wait for a victory over El Tráfico rivals LA Galaxy will go into a third season. On Sunday night at Banc of California Stadium, the two clubs played to a frantic 3-3 draw after an early Zlatan Ibrahimović brace was answered by two from LAFC’s Latif Blessing. Cristian Pavón and Carlos Vela would also exchange goals.
Wayne Rooney has recently criticized the fact that MLS must still fly commercial flights to the majority of its destinations. Meanwhile NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB players get to enjoy the sweet luxury of not being crammed into a flight with strangers while their legs are suffocated from Foxborough to San Jose. No, they get private jets and charter flights to and from all destinations, but MLS stars are forced to fly commercially, complete with layovers and all.
As an American, it’s only natural that you’ll go through life encountering people that aren’t soccer fans. I’ve found — time after time — that the greatest bridge over that divide is Zlatan Ibrahimović. Introducing the big Swede’s personality to the uninitiated turns ambivalence into interest, and showing the Galaxy striker’s most famous goals turns interest into “holy shit, that’s incredible!”
It’s that time of year again: FIFA has announced the 10 finalists for the annual Puskás Award, the trophy given to the player, male or female, “judged to have scored the most aesthetically significant, or ‘most beautiful,’ goal of the calendar year.”
This most certainly wasn’t the case last year when Mohamed Salah scooped the award after Liverpool and Egypt supporters spammed the fan vote. The goal Salah scored against Everton back in December of 2018 hadn’t even won the Premier League’s Goal of the Month, so it was an awful joke to see it given the prestigious Puskás Award.
Another Zlatan Ibrahimović brace — giving him four goals in four days after scoring two against FC Dallas last Wednesday — wasn't enough to power the LA Galaxy beyond Western Conference rival Seattle on Saturday night. The Sounders earned a dramatic point after a comical own goal from Jørgen Skjelvik in the 82nd minute.
Football is back and so is each player’s unique fashion sense. I thought I could just provide a deeper look into the various facets of fashion and its clash with football. Fashion in football has taken on quite interesting forms over the years. More and more, fashion is coming to the forefront with its involvement in the game, the clubs and the players themselves. We now live in an odd world where a player’s style can be equally as important to their image as their stats. Like it or not, this fashion influence seems to be here to stay.
Americans love their playoffs, as much as apple pie, the Star-Spangled Banner and LaCroix. It’s why we put up with 162-game baseball seasons and the New England Patriots winning year after year.
Zlatan does not love the playoffs.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic channeled his inner Jim Mora on Thursday to trash the Major League Soccer playoff format, saying the “system is shit.”