Soccer Page 320 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Every World Cup Ball In 6 Seconds
Reddit user davemcgee2 has created this GIF, featuring the the 20 balls used for every World Cup from 1930 through this summer's tournament. Since some of them, especially the older ones (leather was used through the 1982 World Cup), are damn near art, you can find the individual photos here....

Ball Boy Refuses To Give Ronaldo The Ball
This is from Sunday's match at Vicente Calderon Stadium, where Atlético Madrid hosted Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo saved what would have been a Real Madrid loss and the first Atlético sweep of the series in 63 years with a late goal to make it a 2-2 draw, but who cares. This ball boy owned him so...

With Ukrainian Soccer League Suspended, Rival Fans Play Each Other
With all the political turmoil in Ukraine, officials of their top soccer league have suspended play until things quiet down. Thus, yesterday's scheduled derby pitting rivals Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk against each other didn't happen. Well, it did happen, just not as planned....

Here's The USMNT 2014 Home Jersey
The bland, golf shirt-looking thing that leaked last month has turned out to be accurate—this is U.S. Soccer's home jersey for 2014, and will be worn at this summer's World Cup in Brazil....

The Pope Resigned Early Because Of The World Cup
Pope Emeritus Benedict resigned, somewhat shockingly, in February 2013. He did so earlier than he initially intended because he wanted his successor to be able to attend a major Roman Catholic festival in Brazil that was moved up one year to make room for the World Cup in Brazil this summer. So, bas...

Girlfriends, Boyfriends Not Welcome At L.A. Galaxy's Guys' Night Out
It's almost time for the L.A. Galaxy's players-only night out. And the guest list manages to be inclusive in its exclusiveness....

Jan Vertonghen's Europa League Flop Was Oscar-Worthy
Either Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen has a literal glass jaw or he was guilty of one of the worst flops we've ever seen, one that earned the phantom headbutter a straight red....


This Is Just A Terrible, Terrible Goal
If there is an anti-golazo, it's this. Witness, from France, one of the worst goals you'll see. On a penalty, the goalkeeper makes the initial save and as he does a sort of celebratory trot, he's bested by some downright sneaky english. ...

Arsenal Strike Again With Mesmerizing Goal
Tomas Rosicky scored Arsenal's third goal of the game against Sunderland today and it was nearly as pretty as Jack Wilshere's back in October. ...

Hundreds Of Migrant Workers Have Died Since Qatar Won The World Cup
Figures obtained by the Guardian and confirmed by the Indian embassy state that there have been 717 deaths among Indians working in Qatar since the Gulf nation was awarded the 2022 World Cup in December 2010. That's just the tip....

Jonathan Soriano's Crushing Shot Scores From Halfway Line
Listening to the bass-heavy "thoom" of this blast from today's Red Bull Salzburg-Ajax match is just as satisfying as watching the ball fly over half the field, hang just over the Ajax keeper's fingers, and nestle softly into the back of the net....

Holy Shit, Everyone Look At This Golazo From Ricardo Quaresma
Portuguese side FC Porto are playing German club Eintracht Frankfurt today in the Europa League. And that doesn't matter at all. They're playing on Thursday night in soccer's NIT, and every single player, coach, ref, and fan would rather be somewhere else, and what the fuck! ...

Could A Simple New Rule Stop Refs From Ruining Big Soccer Games?
We're only a quarter of the way through this round of the Champions League, but by far the two best ties—Barcelona vs. Manchester City and Bayern Munich vs. Arsenal—are all but technically over. And while neither result is necessarily surprising, it's unfortunate that both matches turned on the cont...

Who Are The Best Dribblers In Champions League? A Ranking, 1 To 160
Dribbling is the most visually striking aspect of soccer. The excitement in the game flows from both nearly and actually made goals, and the beauty from the intricate passing and telekinetic movement of a true team. But from a strictly visual perspective, there is no clearer demonstration of mastery...

Arsenal Keeper Red-Carded, Leaves Pitch Making Vigorous Wanking Motion
Arsenal played defending Champions League winners FC Bayern today in the tournament's round of 16. On paper, the Gunners seemed overmatched, so much so that we asked if the Premier League's second-place team were capable of even giving the Germans a game. Turns out, they were for a while!...

Can One Of The Premier League's Finest Even Give FC Bayern A Match?
Today in the Champions League round of 16, Arsenal are playing FC Bayern, who won the competition—and everything else—last year. This matters....

Former Soccer Player Sues College Over "Domination" Wrestling Drill
Former Benedictine College soccer player Zach Robertson is suing his former school for a "mandatory" wrestling drill in 2012 that cut his season short....

Zlatan Ibrahimović Scores Outrageous Champions League Goal
French champions Paris Saint-Germain were visiting German side Bayer Leverkusen today in the Champions League Round of 16. We're not going to leave you in suspense here: PSG had an easy go of it. ...

Man City Learned From Barcelona, But Can The Student Kill The Master?
We've finally arrived on the day of the Champions League's return, just a short time away from one of the most intriguing round of 16 matchups in recent memory: Barcelona vs. Manchester City....