Christian Pulisic scored another goal for Borussia Dortmund in a friendly over the Bundesliga winter break, notching the opener in his sides 3-0 victory over Belgium’s Standard Liege.
For Pulisic, it was his second goal in two games following his strike against PSV Eindhoven last weekend.
Former Aston Villa, Watford and England manager Graham Taylor has died of a suspected heart attack. He was 72.
Taylor is best known for managing England in the 1992 Euros, in which England failed to get out of their group, and throughout qualifying for the 1994 World Cup. He also led Watford from the fourth division to the first division in just five years and made the 1984 FA Cup final.
Former Watford owner Sir Elton John paid tribute to his late friend on Instagram:
Claudio Ranieri, Leicerster City's twinkly-eyed Italian grandfather, er, manager, has been named the 2016 World Manager of the Year by FIFA. After leading the Foxes to the Premier League title, overcoming 5,000-1 odds, we'd have a hard time seeing anyone else getting the award.
Ranieri's 2016-17 Premier League season hasn't been as successful, with Leicester City mired in 15th, six points above the relegation zone. They are, however, in the Champions League knockout stage, where they have a good chance to advance past Sevilla to the quarterfinals.
When the casual soccer fan is asked who he believes are the best coaches in the world right now, the answers are usually concentrated. Names like Pep Guardiola, Diego Simeone, Joachim Low, and Jose Mourinho are mentioned. Those names come to mind because they have the most national and international exposure. These coaches are all monumental in their own way, but if you look a little deeper you’ll find there are coaches at every level of soccer setting records and cementing their place in their clubs’ histories. In this context, let me introduce you to Marcelo Gallardo.
FIFA’s Video Assistant Referee system debuted at the FIFA Club World Cup to mixed reviews, but that hasn’t stopped Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho from issuing a strong plea to move forward with the technology.
Speaking with FIFA.com ahead of The Best FIFA Football Awards, Mourinho was asked for his view on the system.
Bruce Arena's first USMNT squad probably won't tell us much. The Europe-based players are unavailable because it isn't an international break, and the USA-based players aren't in shape because the MLS doesn't start for a while. Also, the games won't be anywhere near competitive international matches.
That said, it is his first squad and therefore people will wildly speculate on what his team selection means. Maybe we'll learn something about the type of player Arena is looking for. More likely we won't.
Just when you thought Valencia’s situation couldn’t get any worse, another manager leaves the club. Last Thursday, Cesare Prandelli surprised the Valencia board and fan base by resigning just three months after taking over the team.