The appearances of Americans in Europe’s most prestigious club competition has become a norm in the past few decades. With players like Weston McKennie who has played in five straight editions of the competition and Christian Pulisic who won the tournament in 2021 with Chelsea, the UEFA Champions League has gotten accustomed to seeing the United States’ best.
Bayern Munich suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Augsburg on Saturday, but the Bavarians nearly pulled out a late equalizer from a Manuel Neuer header. Only the goal-line save from the other keeper, Rafal Gikiewicz, kept Augsburg in front in the 95th minute.
Two German powerhouses return to the Bundesliga after being relegated last season and then bouncing straight back up from the second division. We may be familiar with who they are but let's take a look at the stories of how they got to this point and how they hope to continue their rebounds.
Before last night, casual U.S. soccer fans may not have had any idea who Haji Wright is. After last night's impressive 3-0 win against Morocco, that changed. Wright came on as a halftime substitute and immediately impressed, with a series of clever flick-on passes in build-up play and surging runs into the box that showcased his attacking threat. It was his 64th-minute penalty conversion, however, that Wright and USMNT fans alike will never forget.
There’s something about simultaneous kickoffs on the final day of the season that makes for must-watch viewing. The Bundesliga season came to a close on Saturday with all nine matches kicking off at the same time. While the title was long ago clinched by Bayern Munich (as usual), there was drama around the European places and relegation zone on the final day.
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday has brought harsh criticism from the soccer community and could have major ramifications. Russia launched the largest attack on a European country since the second World War with its attacks on Ukraine. This article will aim to cover how the Russia Ukraine conflict will affect soccer. If you want a full recap of what happened in Ukraine, you can find that here.
You had to feel a bit bad for ESPN. The Worldwide Leader shelled out a significant fee to obtain the U.S. TV rights to LaLiga, only for the league’s best player to leave soon thereafter. Fortunately, a Matthew Hoppe transfer is here to save the day.
Schalke endured a historically bad season in 2020-21, but the rot actually began far earlier. There were clear signs about midway through the previous campaign. The Royal Blues' last win of 2019-20 was a 2-0 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach on January 17, 2020. Manager David Wagner was then unable to prevent Schalke ending the season on a winless streak of 16 games.
The 2020-21 season was a banner year for Americans abroad. USMNT players have been winning trophies all over Europe, including regulars at Barcelona, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund; in a week, we’ll see an American win the Champions League for either Chelsea or Manchester City. But Saturday was not a great day for keeping U.S. internationals in Europe’s top flights, with a number of Americans relegated to lower tiers or unable to gain promotion.
El Schalke 04 jugará la próxima temporada en la categoría de plata del fútbol alemán, tras sellar una de las peores temporadas de su historia. No es primera vez, pero era algo que no le ocurría desde el ya lejano 1991.
La noticias sorprende de todos modos, debido a sus lustrosas vitrinas. Die Knappen (Los Mineros) ostentan siete antiguos campeonatos germanos, siete subcampeonatos de Bundesliga y cinco coronas en la Copa Alemania. Por su parte, en el espectro europeo, en 1997 derrotaron al Internazionale en la tanda de penales, para llevarse la Copa UEFA.