Melbourne City defeated Sydney FC in the FFA Cup final thanks to a goal from Australian demigod Tim Cahill, but the real story on the night was one of intimacy and the tenderness shown between a seagull, Sydney goalkeeper Danny Vukovic and a sideline avian masseuse — E.L. James, I hope you’re taking notes.
Beginning with the USWNT’s infamous defeat to Sweden at the quarterfinal stage of the 2016 Summer Olympics, proceeding to the Under-17’s inability to advance from the group stage of the U-17 Women’s World Cup and now ending with the U-20’s defeat to North Korea at the sem
Kim Jong-Un wants North Korea to have the most powerful national soccer team in the world, and, if he and his youth academy coach are to be believed, that will happen sooner rather than later.
They say they're creating players better than Messi. Really.
From Marca:
"We train our youngsters to become more talented players than even Lionel Messi," said Yu He, coach of the International School of Pyongyang Football.
Life is a cruel, cruel mistress. One second you’re rolling nothing but sevens and 11s at the craps table, your fellow bettors chanting your name as you bestow precious monetary gifts upon one and all. The next you’re crapping out, broke as the cellphone that you’ve just managed to drop into the toilet, and boarding your flight home from Vegas with nothing but a scant recollection of what personal pride feels like.
Andre Villas-Boas has never lasted more than two seasons at any particular club, but he’s just landed another monster paycheck out in China with Shanghai SIPG, becoming the third highest paid manager in the world.
The Chinese club will pay him almost $14 million a year for two years, and that’s following a contract with Zenit Saint Petersburg that earned him over $23 million for two years of service.
Tim Cahill can’t stop, and he won’t stop. The 36-year-old returned to his native Australia to finish his career, but it looks as if he’s only just getting started.
His storied career includes successful stints with Millwall, Everton and the New York Red Bulls, and his return to Australia with Melbourne City has been one of the major talking points of the new A-League season.
Cahill has collected 94 caps and 48 goals for Australia, including clutch 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying goals against Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
This incident took place in the UAE Gulf League, and the keeper in question is named Ali Saqr.
The thing that I don't understand here is the keeper got the ball out of bounds. He was in a bad situation and comported himself well. The opposing winger didn't score. The keeper should be happy. Instead, he is mad, very mad, and fighting like Homer Simpson.
Here's a snippet of dialogue from an episode of The Simpsons titled "Brother from the Same Planet":
This poor kid from North Korea experiences enough tragedy and woe and heartbreak in this 42-second video to fill a Russian novel. Let's trace his journey.
First, the goalie appears. Then the ball appears. The ball is nowhere near the goalie. This confuses him and he starts running for the ball. But then he hesitates. Is this really what he wants? To get the ball? Or is it already too late. No, he decides. It's not too late. Besides, Kim Jong Un will probably be mad at me if I don't try hard, he reasons. You know how Kim Jon Un gets.
In an event that’s hardly newsworthy, Barcelona’s academy is great. They’re so great that they’ve just won the Junior Soccer World Challenge. What’s newsworthy about this match isn't the talent of Barca's U12 team, it's the reaction from their kids towards their extremely distraught opponents.
You can tell what it meant to the Japanese youth side Omiya Ardija Junior to play against Barcelona. They obviously watch a lot of the Barcelona senior side, and the chance to play and defeat their U12s was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the boys.