When 18-year-old Gerónimo Spina joined Spanish side Atlético Madrid, it looked like a normal transfer. Yes, Spina was one of Estudiantes’ top prospects, and he was leaving for free, but that’s not unusual in today’s game. The rules of FIFA allow overseas transfers when players turn 18, and increasingly players chose to head to European […]
One month ago, I made my predictions for the Champions League Round of 16 first leg. Some of these predictions were close, others were not. Liverpool came tantalizingly close to the 1-0 victory I had predicted, winning 2-0 over Leipzig. Dortmund’s talent up front showed as well as inconsistency in the back, where they won
This season’s Champions League group stages had several surprises in store for us. In Group B, Real Madrid lost two games to Shakhtar Donetsk but still advanced at the cost of Inter Milan. In Group C, defending Portuguese champions FC Porto finished second in the group, surprising Marseille and Olympiacos. In-form Manchester United were unable
Typically in the world of soccer, when a player has one or two poor seasons, they move on. Philippe Coutinho struggled in two seasons for Barcelona and was loaned out to Bayern Munich. Zlatan Ibrahimovic had one poor season for Barcelona before he was sold to AC Milan. Alvaro Morata spent just one season with
As I have mentioned in previous articles, more fans, players and teams are starting to focus on the Champions League’s return in August. This version of the tournament is unlike any other previous edition as the tournament will be shortened from two legs to one, with the exception of the Round-of-16 ties already underway. Teams
Lionel Messi stepped up and converted a penalty kick goal for Barcelona in a 2-2 draw against Atletico Madrid, taking his all time goal tally to seven hundred. Seventy of those have come for the Argentinian National Team, and six hundred and thirty for FC Barcelona. Messi has been consistent his entire career, despite this