Bastian Schweinsteiger: Back with a Bang

After the arrival of manager Jose Mourinho, and after being treated very poorly at Manchester United, the football legend, Bastian Schweinsteiger, was released from the club. He made the decision to tone down the level of competition by moving to the Chicago Fire in the MLS (USA). The MLS isn’t the most intense league for professionals as quality as Bastian, but it is a good place for them to keep playing and for them to enjoy themselves.

Schweinsteiger arrived just last week, and made his debut against the Montreal Impact. In just the 17th minute, the German International hero scored his first goal for the club off of a corner kick. He then went on to finish the game with 88% passing accuracy, 4 tackles won, 4 take-ons, 3 aerial duels won, 2 chances created, and 1 goal. Schweinsteiger proves, at the age of 32, that while form is temporary, class is permanent.

 

Podolski Leaves with a Bang

Last week, just before England and Germany played each other in a World Cup Qualifier Match, German legend Lukas Podolski announced that he would be retiring from international soccer. Because of this, he was given the captains band and the start versus the long time rival team. I think that both sides wanted Poldi to score because although he is a German international player, he played for many years for Arsenal in England. 

The fans got exactly what they wanted, as Poldi scored an absolute screamer in the 69th minute to give Germany the 1-0 victory. Even the experienced English goalkeeper, Joe Hart, had to compliment the goal by saying, “It was a f***ing brilliant shot; amazing!”

Guardiola Manages a Tie vs Liverpool

Over the weekend, a very tense, back and forth game took place between Manchester City and Liverpool. 

In the 51st minute, James Milner opened the scoring for Liverpool after converting a penalty into the bottom left corner. However, shortly after, in the 69th minute, the Argentine striker, Sergio Aguero, put away a clinical finish off of a cross from his Belgian teammate Kevin De Bruyne. Unfortunately, neither team walked away with the full 3 points, but the game was exciting nonetheless. 

 

Barcelona vs PSG: A Historic Comeback

Last Wednesday, FC Barcelona made UCL history as they staged a miraculous comeback versus the French giants, Paris Saint-Germain. In the first round of playing, PSG stunned the world when they put 4 unanswered goals on the board at their home stadium. However, when they entered the Nou Camp, Barcelona had different plans.

Barcelona started the scoring when the Uruguayan international, Luis Suarez, slotted the ball into the back of the net passed the PSG keeper. Layvin Kurzawa fell victim to the second goal as he accidentally scored an own goal. Going into halftime, Barcelona were winning 2-0, however they were still losing 4-2 on aggregate. Right after the start of the second half, Lionel Messi put away a penalty to make the score 3-0 and 4-3 on aggregate. However, Edinson Cavani of PSG came through with a huge goal to make the score 3-1 and 5-3 on aggregate – with an away goal, which meant that Barcelona HAD to win on aggregate and could not take the game to overtime. Just when PSG thought they had escaped the deadly grip of FC Barcelona, Neymar Jr put on a show in the final 10 minutes when he scored 2 goals AND assisted the game winner in the final 20 seconds. Madness.

Caludio Ranieri: Sacked

Honestly, this weekend I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to write about, until I checked my phone this morning. All over social media I’m constantly reading “Breaking: Ranieri Sacked!” This is some pretty big news, and I’ll tell you why.

In case, for some strange reason, you weren’t aware of what took place in the Barclays Premier League last season, allow me to inform you. Leicester City, a team that was in the the English second league just two seasons prior, lifted the Barclays Premier League trophy for the first time in the clubs history. Not impressed yet? Well, let me give you some statistics; the actual odds of Leicester winning the league were 5000/1… the odds of Kim Kardashian to become the next US President were more likely at 2000/1. Now, back to the topic. Claudio Ranieri was the manager of the Foxes during this prolific period, but his reign has finally come to an end. After a fairytale ending to their season last year, the team has found themselves in 16th place in the standings for the league table, and the owner of the club isn’t happy about it. Therefore, he made the executive decision to fire Ranieri and find someone new to fill his shoes. It’s a sad story to see such a drastic drop-off in quality in less than a year, but at the end of the day, the decision had to be made.

Wenger Out?

Wenger out? As a soccer follower, you would most likely understand what this term means; however, if you don’t follow soccer, allow me to elaborate.

Arsène Wenger has been the Arsenal (a historic London club – and my favorite team) manager since October, 1996. When he first arrived to the scene, not many people knew who he was, but soon they would. He took control of a quality side with a ton of potential, and improved them tremendously. In his first season, he managed to bring the club to a final position of 3rd place in the Premier League – a very remarkable achievement. However, that wasn’t enough. Just the next season, he guided the Gunners to a 1st place finish, something that hadn’t been accomplished for 8 years. In the 2003-04 season, he did the unthinkable; he lead Arsenal to an UNDEFEATED season in which they would win the Premier League yet again. 26-12-0. Pretty impressive, right?

Although Wenger has been a historic, hall of fame worthy manager at this great club, his older age and inability to adapt and evolve with the beautiful game of football over time has been affecting the clubs recent success, and many people believe that it is time for change. “Wenger Out” has been a phrase circulating the media for many years, and in all honestly, I believe it is time for change. Arsène Wenger as no doubt been an ideal part of Arsenal’s success, but all good things must come to an end.

Chinese Takeover

As many people are aware, China isn’t necessarily a powerhouse in the soccer world. However, this past year, they have been gaining a significant amount of recognition.

The Chinese Super League has been turning a lot of heads recently with news of all the money they are splashing out on huge signings. They have been offering world famous players mind boggling amounts of money, and they’ve been pretty successful. Players like Gervinho, Hulk, Fredy Guarin, Carlos Tevez, Oscar, Paulinho, Jackson Martinez, Ramires, Ezequiel Lavezzi, and Didier Drogba have been lured away from their beloved clubs as a result of the ridiculous sums of cash being offered to them by this Chinese Super League. Even a player like Wayne Rooney, a Manchester United LEGEND, who has been at the club for 13 years, has been considering a shock move to China for a sum of £500,000 a week. A week. Hopefully this Chinese takeover doesn’t last much longer.

Associação Chapecoense de Futebol

If you’re not in the mood to get a little emotional, then look away now. This topic is definitely one that will strike right in the feels, and even might cause you to shed a tear or two.

The club was founded in 1973 with the goal of restoring football in the city, and won the state championship, the Campeonato Catarinense, for the first time in 1977. The club has won five state titles to date, most recently in 2016. A relatively small club, it entered Brazil’s top division, Série A, for the first time in 1978, returning to the top flight only in 2014. The club also has activities in futsal, in which it has been state champion twice. The club’s home matches are played at Arena Condá.

On 28 November 2016, a charter flight carrying the first team crashed as it approached José María Córdova International Airport near Medellín, Colombia, where the team was traveling to play the first leg of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana final against Atlético Nacional, a match that was seen as the biggest in the history of the club.All but six of the 77 passengers died; only three Chapecoense players survived their injuries. Following the crash, Atlético Nacional made a request to the governing body of the competition, CONMEBOL, that Chapecoense be awarded the trophy. CONMEBOL awarded Chapecoense the trophy on 5 December, and Atlético Nacional received the Centennial Fair Play Award for their gesture.

Although this story sounds like a great tragedy, it is important to remember that these players are all in a better place now. May they rest in peace.

The Best 2017 Awards

The Best is an award ceremony that was held in Zurich, Switzerland this year. It honors the best of the best in various categories in world soccer. Some awards that are offered are: The Best Player, The Best 11 (best player in each position), The Best Manager, The Best Goal, etc.

This year, the three players up for The Best Player were: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Antoine Griezmann. As expected, the winner was CR7, due to his incredible personal and team achievements that he accomplished this year.

The Best 11 is definitely one of the most exciting awards at the ceremony, because it recognizes the best 11 players in the world in each position. This year, the team looked as follows: GK – Manuel Neuer, LB – Marcelo, CB – Sergio Ramos, CB – Gerard Pique, RB – Dani Alves, CM – Luka Modric, CM – Toni Kroos, CM – Andres Iniesta, LW – Cristiano Ronaldo, RW – Lionel Messi, ST – Luis Suarez. 1 player is from Bayern Munich, 1 player is from Juventes in Italy, and the other 9 players are from both Real Madrid (5) and  FC Barcelona (4). Obviously, this shows the dominance of these two Spanish teams.

Ronaldo Wins Fifa Ballon d’Or Number 4

I know I’ve spoken about this man quite a few times, but it’s hard to ignore him when he is the topic of discussion between all soccer fans across the world because of his achievements. 

The three competitors for this years Ballon d’Or were Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Antoine Griezmann. While Messi and Griezmann both certainly had incredible seasons as well, they couldn’t nearly compare to the success of Ronaldo this year. In 2016, Ronaldo won the following accolades:

• UEFA Champions League (Real Madrid)
• UEFA Euro 2016 (Portugal)
• UEFA Best Player in Europe
• France Football Ballon d’Or 2016
• Fifa Club World Cup

It is impossible to deny Cristiano Ronaldo’s talent and his effect on world soccer in 2016, which is why he was awarded with the 2016 Fifa Ballon d’Or.