Human Interest

The Premier League had a big surprise for fans this year. As the main attraction of English football for most of the year, Leicester City were given 5000-1 odds to win the league. Even those odds seemed to make light of their situation, but in spite of it all they became Premier League champions this week with an unlikely campaign led by a former blue collar worker.

His name is Jamie Vardy. He grew up in Sheffield, South Yorkshire in England, playing football. At 16, rejected by his hometown Sheffield United FC, he started working for a carbon fiber factory.

Earlier this year many of us heard the heartwarming story of Murtaza Ahmadi – a 5 year old boy from Afghanistan who admires Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. When pictures of little Murtaza in his homemade Messi “jersey,” made from a blue and white striped plastic bag, went viral Messi and his team took notice. Messi autographed an actual jersey for his young fan and had it delivered to the boy in eastern Afghanistan. A touching gesture that shows the global reach of the beautiful game.

Barcelona forward Luis Suárez surprised the world with statements he made to the European TV network Helden TV, in which he said he did not feel qualified to play for the Catalan club.

The Uruguayan is currently one of the figureheads of the FC Barcelona team. He is La Liga’s top scorer with 35 goals and joint top assistant with 14 assists, tied with his teammate Lionel Messi.

I know exactly what you were thinking when you initially read the sub-headline of this story:

“Wait, he was still around after all this time??”

Lionel Messi is a bit of an enigma. He has been painted as an anti-social genius, and as the quiet but friendly force that keeps the current Barcelona power trio of MSN in balance. It’s hard to know what to expect from him — is he abrasive or gregarious in his own quiet way? — and apparently this held true when Paul Pogba met Messi.