Not long ago, the American soccer landscape was a barren wasteland devoid of talent. Americans either played for boring MLS teams or obscure European clubs, always moving laterally and rarely improving.
Kids these days have Christian Pulisic at Chelsea and Sergiño Dest at Barcelona. We had a promising central defender at Birmingham City that now works at a financial company. Man, they have it easy.
While the Premier League is ascribed to be the most talented league in the world, the EFL Championship might be as difficult, if not more so, than the English top flight.
In terms of talent, the Championship is just a small step below the Premier League and there is little disparity between the top and bottom of the table. 23rd place Birmingham has beaten second place Brentford and fifth place Reading this season, while Derby County beat Norwich then went winless for two months and dropped to the bottom of the table.
If you're looking to watch some high-scoring, fast-kicking Premier League football, then Burnley probably isn't the side for you.
Led by Sean "The Ginger Mourinho" Dyche, Burnley has averaged almost exactly a goal per game during its previous five seasons in the Premier League, scoring as few as 28 goals during their relegation campaign in 2014-15.
This season though, Burnley's disdain for attacking football is approaching record levels.
With Super Bowl Sunday approaching and the UEFA Champions League knockout stage just around the corner, it's time to make a definitive comparison of two of the most popular sporting competitions in the world.
Using advanced analysis, statistical comparison and cross-sport know-how, we will determine once and for all which competition is more difficult to win: the UEFA Champions League or the National Football League's Super Bowl.
A historic event took place in a game between Boca Juniors de Cali (not the Argentinian one) and Valledupar FC, a match played on Matchday 3 of Colombia's Primera B.
This event is about Nelson Ramos, who became the first goalkeeper in the history of professional soccer to score goals from free kicks in three consecutive matches in official competitions.
January 17, 2021: Boca Juniors 1-1 Atlético FC. Goal by Nelson Ramos. Minute 35.
The FA Cup is one of football's most prominent cup competitions due to the tournament's proclivity for surprise upsets and underdog stories. Despite the absence of fan support, this season's FA Cup has still seen its share of upsets.
Four non-league clubs reached the FA Cup Third Round, but only one progressed to the next step in the competition
Wednesday was unforgettable for America as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as the new U.S. President and Vice President. It was a hopeful day for Americans who want the divisive Trump era to be a thing of the past. It was a Hoppeful day for Americans abroad, as a 19-year-old Californian added to his impressive goal haul in 2021.
Few things in sports are as difficult as predicting results of future games. According to Chris Anderson and David Sally, authors of The Numbers Game, soccer is 50 percent luck and 50 percent skill. Add in an overwhelming number of professional leagues and players and the low-scoring nature of matches, soccer is one of the most unpredictable sports.
It's not very often that a team can have a disappointing campaign but still find themselves at the top of the table. With the competitiveness of the Premier League, a struggling season means at best mid-table misery, at worst, relegation.
Liverpool is currently even with Manchester United at the top of the Premier League table, but given the exceptional performances of last season, the club's form this year is below Jurgen Klopp's lofty standards.
Watford's promotion push gained some more vigor at the advent of the new year, as the club announced the signing of winger Philip Zinckernagel on a free transfer.