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Barcelona holds a 4-3 aggregate edge in the second half of their return trip to Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, thanks to the illusionist Lionel Messi setting up Pedro for the initial score and then a blistering strike by Dani Alves off a free kick rebound. The goals set up a 4-1 aggregate edge that would have pretty much eliminated Los Blancos from any Copa del Rey dreams if not for two quick scores to equalize in the second half. [GOLTV/ESPN Deportes] More »
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Barcelona spanked Málaga 4-1 today in La Liga, and the world's best soccer player Lionel Messi took over as Spain's leading scorer on the season with this hat trick-finishing goal. It sent commentator Ray Hudson into an even more over-the-top frenzy than usual, from his cats-mating shriek to his extended use of Star Trek metaphors. [GOLTV] More »
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Despite Cristiano Ronaldo's opening goal, Barcelona claimed the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal against Real Madrid on a Eric Abidal goal set up by Lionel Messi—a goal that came ten minutes after Real's Pepe stomped on Messi's hand in an act that sent commentator Ray Hudson into apoplexy. [GOLTV] More »
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"The reason [Frederic] Kanoute got so worked up was that after Sevilla worked so hard to hold Barca scoreless for 90 minutes, they were awarded a very soft penalty when Andres Iniesta went down in the box. Kanoute earned his first booking when he knocked the ball off the penalty spot as Lionel Messi prepared to take the kick just before he took his attempt at mind games a little too far with the Cesc attack. It also proved completely unnecessary because Sevilla goalkeeper Javi Varas completed his performance of a lifetime by saving Messi's shot to retain a point for his side." [Dirty Tackle] More »
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Your morning roundup for Oct. 16, the day we learned that people can actually be crueler to others than we'd imagined they could. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors. More »
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It took just six seconds for Alyaksandr Pyotravich Hutar, goalkeeper extraordinaire for FC Bate Borisov, to look at his gloves after Lionel Messi scored the first of his two goals in UEFA Champions League play today. Because it was their fault, the whole perfectly bouncing the ball in front to serve one up for the greatest soccer player on earth like Baron Davis from a Kia. More »
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Technically speaking, the Nike Dri-Fit fabric is designed to "to wick sweat away and help keep you dry and comfortable." More »
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Your morning roundup for Sept. 25, the day Catwoman got real. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors. (Video H/T Casey) More »
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Understandably, FC Barcelona wants to create an entire youth generation of budding Lionel Messis. The kind of young men who dream about soccer. The kind of young men who attend the sex and alcohol parties for the video games. The kind of young men who will eat only the finest, most sought-after cuisine the universe has ever known. It's all in the interest of fútbol. More »
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Coming off a week that saw them muddle their way to a pair of draws, Barcelona defeated Osasuna 8-0 in La Liga action today. Lionel Messi had a hat trick, David Villa added a pair and Cesc Fabregas, Xavi and an Osasuna own goal rounded out the scoring. Unfair, the talent disparity in that league is. More »
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Cracker of a match yesterday between AC Milan and Barcelona. Alexandre Pato turned on some otherworldly speed to score for MIlan just 24 seconds after kickoff (above). Then it was Leo Messi's turn (below, with other highlights). How Messi gets in that centering pass to Pedro for the Barcelona equalizer is beyond me. David Villa later scored on a perfect, swerving free kick that Rob Hughes at The New York Times justly calls "a masterpiece of still art." Thiago Silva tied it up for Milan in injury time. More »
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Barcelona's Lionel Messi got a yellow card during yesterday's draw with Real Sociedad. He started the game on the bench, having just returned from India, where he'd been serving international duty for Argentina. More »
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Argentina beat Nigeria 3-1 today in a friendly in Bangladesh. As usual, Lionel Messi was the engine for Los Albicelestes. He fed Gonzalo Higuain with a beautiful one-touch chip for the first goal. But the real peach was the second goal, created by Messi's blistering midfield run (0:45 in the video). More »
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Extra time in today's Spanish Supercup second leg went like this: Barcelona was up 3-2 on Lionel Messi's wonderful second goal of the match. So, Real Madrid defender Marcelo decided it would be a good idea to take a cheap shot at just-got-into-the-match Barca noob Cesc Fabregas. That's when the benches cleared and shoving, throat grabbing and whatnot ensued. At one point, Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho seemed to aggressively pinch (or possibly deliver a wet willy to) an assistant Barcelona coach and got a head shove in return. More »
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Your morning roundup for July 7, the day we were promised the internets. More »
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Your morning roundup for July 2, the day a few Marines face time in the brig because they married solely for money. More »
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On Tuesday, Yahoo's soccer blog posted a seemingly innocuous article on Lionel Messi's loyalty to Barca. "When I eventually pass on, I will only play ghost football at Barcelona. I am happy there. No amount of spirit money will tempt me," he supposedly said. More »
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Lionel Messi has never really known a scandal in his young life, and so it is about time that the Argentinian tabloids create one for him: Libre reported this week that the 23-year-old had attended a party with "sexo, alcohol y cumbia." ESPN's Off The Ball blog has Messi's reaction to the accusations: More »
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Final score: Barcelona 3, Manchester United 1. In retrospect, the game ended the moment Lionel Messi seized the Best Player In The World chatter and made it reality. More »
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That's how easy it is to get to Wembley, according to this silly video which looks to have been made by Opel and recreates Messi's second goal against Madrid in the first leg of the Champion's League semifinal. There's also a version with crones: More »
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Your morning roundup for April 24, a day Gabrielle Giffords continues struggling to recover, but recovering she is. More »
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Lionel Messi has always been seen as the exception to the rule that to be a proper good footballer you needed to be a bit of a 'orrible git. You needed to like head-butting people (Zidane), make well-late tackles (Scholes), be outrageously arrogant (CR7), shag prozzies (Wayne), or just do loads of drugs (Maradona). Messi was simply a nice little lad who liked playing football really well. More »
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Your morning roundup for April 17, the day burglars everywhere accept the fact that trying to rob 81-year-old stroke victim/Korean vet Bobby Smith means they'll get a piping-hot frying pan filled with potatoes across the head. More »
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Big game's about to start. (GolTV's pregame show starts at 3 p.m. eastern; game itself an hour later). FC Barcelona's beaten up enough on defense to give Real Madrid a legitimate shot at avenging their 5-0 throttling from earlier in the season. More »
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Your morning roundup for March 31, the day a Bellaire, Ohio chair mourns the obese man who sat upon it for the past two years, leaving more than skin behind. More »
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Your morning roundup for March 27, the day people continue to concern themselves with Dennis W. Peterson losing his front teeth at a Hooters. More »
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There's a scene in Vision Quest in which Louden Swain's boss Elmo gets to talking about why he took the night off of work, sans pay, to watch Louden wrestle the mighty Gary Shute. He got to talking about Pele. More »
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FC Barcelona defeated Arsenal 3-1 this evening in Camp Nou. Lionel Messi scored twice — first on this pretty self-assist over the goalkeeper's head just before halftime, and second on a penalty kick in the 71st minute of play. With a 4-3 lead over Arsenal on aggregate, Barcelona will now go on to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. More »
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Technically, Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi dove a few times, in a literal sense, as he was hip-checked, tripped up and otherwise impeded by lesser talents. Problem is, Messi missed several opportunities to flail about to pad his stat sheet. He is the Best Soccer Player On Earth. More »
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Your morning roundup for Feb. 10, the day we regretted the harm our actions have caused our family, our staff, and our constituents. More »
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Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and internets to bring you everything you need to know to start your day. More »
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This post, written by Richard Anderson, is republished with permission from The Spoiler. Go there often if you like soccer stuff. More »
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Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and internets to bring you everything you need to know to start your day. More »
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Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and internets to bring you everything you need to know to start your day. More »
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The Clasico match between Barcelona and Real Madrid was absurdly lopsided. Barca netted five goals in an utter domination of Cristiano and the rest of Jose Mourinho's crew. Enjoy our compilation of the bloodletting. More »
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It's a waste of time to try and convince soccer haters of the excellence that tomorrow's el Clasico between Ronaldo's Real Madrid and Messi's Barcelona potentially offers. It's also unnecessary to remind fans of the 2:55-ish p.m. EST start. More »
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With his hilarious Monkees hair cut and preposterous skills, you'd think that everyone would adore Messi. Not so this tough guy Fonz impersonator. Ouch. More »
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It's always a sign that you've made it as a footballer when an emotional European teenager makes a Youtube compilation dedicated to your finest moments, featuring either Nickelback, a defiant Eminem number, or something thrilling and operatic as the soundtrack. More »
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Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and internets to bring you everything you need to know to start your day. More »
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