soccer Page 229 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Levante 1, Real Madrid 0: How Did The Team That's "Ugly, Poor, And Bad At Football" Beat La Liga's Rich Pretty Boy?
A year ago, Levante earned a draw against Real Madrid, the best, wealthiest, handomest team in all of La Liga. It was a big moment for the Levante Granotes (that means frogs): Striker Rafa Jordá likened the 0-0 decision to "chewing the face off your girlfriend." (We'll blame shaky translation for th...

EA Sports' New "Dive" Feature In <i>FIFA 12</i> Could Have Been More Subtle
When you put out a football game every year (American or European), you're faced with the difficult task of keeping it fresh. To that end, one of the most hyped additions to FIFA 12 is the heralded Player Impact Engine. It's an "advanced procedural animation system tied with accurate collision phy...

This Poor Ball Boy Wasn't Trained In The Art Of Catching A Soccer Ball Before It Hits His Face
Poor little Australian fella working the sidelines at a Queensland State game turned in a valiant attempt to catch a soccer ball rebounding off a wall behind the goal. He failed to do so....

Watch Wayne Rooney Totally Flub A Penalty Kick Against Chelsea
Oh Shrek. Poor Shrek. His plant foot slipped while he was trying to put Manchester United up 4-1 on rival Chelsea, kicked the ball into his other foot sending it wide of the net and fell down go boom. (Start at 0:32 is the silent-picture aspect of the video bothers you)....

An Italian-League Goalkeeper Got Knocked Unconscious From A Kick To The Head (Video)
AS Roma goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg was hospitalized after getting kicked in the head by Inter Milan's Lucio during a scoreless Serie A draw today....

Boise State Calls Mississippi State's Misspelling And Raises Em A Misplaced Apostrophe
Your morning roundup for Sept. 17, a day we pour one out for the late Jeffrey Jarrett. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors....

Watch A Nervous MLS Rookie Recite A Spoken-Word Love Poem To Hope Solo
C.J. Sapong is a rookie forward for Sporting Kansas City, and he is creepily heartsick for goalie-dancer Hope Solo. So with the U.S. women's national team in town for Saturday's friendly against Canada, Sapong did what any tormented soul would do: he "stayed up late" and wrote her a spoken word lo...

Jozy Altidore Scored A Nice Goal In His UEFA Europa League Match Today
UEFA's version of the NIT hoops tournament commenced today with 24 Europa League matches. Proud American striker Jozy Altidore provided the first of four goals that AZ Alkmaar would put up on Malmö FF....

Cristiano Ronaldo Thinks He Knows Why You're Heckling Him, May Be Right
"I think that because I am rich, handsome and a great player people are envious of me. I don't have any other explanation." [Guardian]...

This Evening: Let's Have A Look At Soccer's Latest Dive Of The Year Candidate
Your p.m. roundup for Sept. 14, the day we learned more than we ever wanted to know about Michael Chabon. H/T to Sportpost for the video from the Japanese K League. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors....

Alexandre Pato And Leo Messi Create Some Great Goals As AC Milan And Barcelona Kick Off The Champions League Season
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 equa...

The Russian Backwater Samuel Eto'o Now Plays Soccer In Is Too Dangerous For Samuel Eto'o To Live In
Last month, Samuel Eto'o did something very curious and very venal and signed with Anzhi, an obscure team in Russia owned by a rich oil man. Eto'o became the highest paid soccer player in the world ($30 million over three years). But he also has to lace up his boots for Anzhi, which plays in a city ...

When The Flag Is Up, You May As Well Shoot For YouTube
Heerenveen midfielder Oussama Assaidi was offside, and he knew he was offside, so why not flick it home with a little flair? No goal, but a mess of style points....

We've Found The Unluckiest Soccer Team In The World: Off The Woodwork 3 Times In 3 Seconds
"Unlucky" being one of the more generous adjectives to describe Real Betis's repeated failure to find twine late in the first half of their La Liga match against Mallorca yesterday. Don't blame Rubén Castro, who got things rolling with a shot off the far post; blame Jorge Molina, whose successive ...

Even The Great Lionel Messi Dives Sometimes
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....

Denard Robinson Took Just 21 Seconds To Lead Michigan's 80-Yard Game-Winning Drive Over Notre Dame
Your morning roundup for Sept. 11, a day to remember those we lost. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors....

Watch A Chelsea Player Take Cleats To His Back And Decide For Yourself Whether It Was Intentional
In today's EPL match between Chelsea and Sunderland, Juan Mata of the former felt some cleats drive into his back from the foot of opponent Phil Bardsley....

At Least Four Arizona State Fans Went To Last Night's Game In Blackface
Your morning roundup for Sept. 10, a day when it's apparently illegal for wannabe vampires to bite homeless men outside the neighborhood Hooters. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors....

Soccer Player Disgraces Self, Team, Descendants Forever With Awful Penalty Kick
Here's Amir Sayoud, playing for Egyptian side Al-Ahly in the Egypt Cup, doing his absolute best to make a mockery of the game with a penalty kick that never really got going. Sayoud even got a yellow card for his troubles. [BusinessInsider]...

Watch Leo Messi Dribble Past Half The Nigerian Team To Set Up This Goal
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...