If you put your ear close enough to your device’s audio speaker, you can hear this shot whistle. I s**t you not, whether you're at the office, on the bus or in a public library, play the video again but put your ear right next the speaker like its a seashell and turn it way, way up.
That’s the rushing sound of Ziri Hammar just lacing a shot for Algerian club USM Alger against Zimbabwe’s CAPS United in the CAF Champions League group stage.
21-year-old RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner has gone from strength to strength over the past year after arriving at Germany’s most controversial club from VfB Stuttgart as a highly-rated but yet unproven talent for €10 million.
According to Transfermarkt.com, his approximate value is certainly now in excess of €25m.
No disrespect to Carlos Bacca, but the Colombian forward's status as AC Milan’s premier forward has somewhat come to symbolize the seven-time European champion's fall from grace. More industrious than stardust, Bacca simply isn’t cut from the same cloth of Andriy Shevhenko, Filippo Inzaghi or Marco van Basten.
“David Trezeguet is hands down the best finisher I’ve ever seen, and you know how much I love Dennis Bergkamp. That goal to win the Euros, people don’t understand how tough that was to finish.” -Thierry Henry
Portugal defeated Latvia 3-0 in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a brace for the reigning European champions. 21-year-old Porto striker Andre Silva, whose name will become synonymous with transfer speculation this summer, added Portugal’s third with Ronaldo laying on the assist.
Ronaldo’s brace made it a staggering 18 goals in his last 11 matches for club and country. For the season, it’s 53 goals in 51 games. Those kinds of numbers stopped making sense a long time ago.
Week eight in the NWSL saw the North Carolina Courage continue their run at the top of the table with a 2-0 victory over FC Kansas City. The Washington Spirit won the table’s toilet bowl against Houston 2-0, lifting them into ninth place. On Sunday, the Seattle Reign couldn’t break down the Chicago Red Stars, who held on for a 1-0 victory and their third straight win.
The UEFA Champions League, and its predecessor the European Cup, is the most prestigious competition in all of club football. It’s where players and managers make their names, and it’s where clubs and teams become immortalized through history.
Here are some of the greatest all-time records in the Champions League as recorded by either players, managers, clubs or in single matches.
Goalkeeper with the most clean sheets: Iker Casillas (57)
Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande, the side that spent a fortune on Colombian striker Jackson Martinez and Brazilian midfielder Paulinho, are through to the AFC Champions League quarterfinals after defeating Japan’s Kashima Antlers on away goals.
Tuesday’s second leg round of 16 match was a decidedly Brazilian-heavy affair, with Guangzhou being managed by Luiz Felipe Scolari and featuring Paulinho, Ricardo Goulart and Alan Carvalho. Kashima featured two Brazilians of their own: Leandro and Pedro Junior.