Landon Donovan, looking to win his sixth MLS Cup before he retires, scores a hat trick against Real Salt Lake on Sunday helping the LA Galaxy advance into the Western Conference finals. In Liga MX action, eight teams -- including Ronaldinho's Querétaro club -- are vying for four spots in the 2014 Apertura Liguilla with one game left in the season.
The battle between the two best players in the world continued this past week. Both superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi had chances to test their respective mettles in two games, including a Spanish League tilt and Champions League bout. How did they manage? Would Ronaldo continue his hot streak or would Messi take the week?
Arsenal failed to take advantage of Alexis Sanchez's eighth goals for the year losing to Swansea City 2-1 while Tottenham Hotspur go down 2-1 to Stoke City after giving up two early goals in the match.
English Premier League (EPL) Chelsea added to Liverpool's woes, defeating them 2-1 on Sunday while Sergio Aguero had to play the role to eke out a draw against QPR. Meanwhile, Southampton continues their surprise running, going into the international break in second place in the EPL, four points behind Chelsea.
There are some players that carry the greatest burdens of all. The so-called wunderkinds that are expected to arrive at the pantheon of soccer greats and excel there for years. The difficulty in this level expectation is in deciding what is expected of each player and when they will have fulfilled their potential. Not everyone can score the way Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo can (in fact none have ever scored at that pace).This has been the shadow following Mario Goetze throughout his still young career. The 22-year-old German has been identified as the next Messi because of his prolific passing and vision as well as his solid scoring.But he has yet to reach that level of indispensability. Throughout last season he was still fighting for a starting position in Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich side; he finished the 2013-14 season with just 20 starts.Now he is as close to indispensable as they come. And that has resulted from his ability to deliver in the clutch. It is that level that has also garnered him his first ever nomination among the 23 finalists for the Ballon d'Or. But does he have what it takes?
England's national team head coach, Roy Hodgson, has been very critical of English Football Association (FA) for scheduling National Football League (NFL) games prior to his team's Euro 2016 qualifier games.
Over the last few years, two of the top three contenders for the Ballon d'Or have been a given. And this year looks to be no different. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are likely to be two of the three finalists. However, the big variation every year has revolved around the third contestant. And for the fourth straight year there will be another new nominee among the final three. And Angel Di Maria could be the favorite to claim that spot. Could he be a finalist? And could he pull off a win?
Barcelona picked up a vital three points by defeating Ajax Amsterdam 2-0 in its fourth Champions League match in the 2014-15 season.The game gave Barcelona nine points in the standings and kept the team one point behind Paris Saint-Germain for the top spot in the group.However, the win was arguably the least important moment of the game. That would belong to Lionel Messi, who scored twice in the game tied Raul's record for most goals in the Champions League.Here is what we learned from the 2-0 win.
A year ago, Cristiano Ronaldo broke Lionel Messi's streak of four-straight Ballon d'Or awards. It was actually a rather shocking turnaround as many expected Franck Ribery to finish first after leading Bayern Munich to the treble. Messi had a solid year but had been struggling with injury, while Ronaldo won no trophies. However, the Portuguese superstar turned things around in a hurry and put together one of the finest finishes to the end of the year. In fact, his performances forced FIFA to alter the voting deadline dates and his four goal performance against Sweden in the World Cup playoffs solidified him as the front-runner for the spot.Ronaldo finished the 2013 calendar year with a whopping 69 goals for both club and country, a full 24 ahead of his rival Messi. Has Ronaldo put enough distance from his rival to claim a second straight Ballon d'Or?
Lionel Messi made history when he scored his 70th and 71st career UEFA Champions League goals helping Barcelona beat Ajax Amsterdam 2-0, helping the Spanish club advance into the Round of 16. Barcelona will be joined by Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, Ligue 1 champs Paris Saint-Germain and Primeira Liga club Porto in the next phase of the tournament.
Real Madrid all but clinched the top spot in Group B of the Champions League by shutting down Liverpool 1-0 Tuesday at the Santiago Bernabeu. Here are some major talking points from the big game.
10 games into the 2014-15 La Liga Spanish Premier season, Real Madrid is in first place. Their rivals, FC Barcelona, trail them by just two points. Latin Post.com summarizes the teams and this season so far.
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, who is one goal away from tying Raul's record for most career in UEFA Champions League competition, failed to score on Tuesday but came away with a victory at home against English Premier League (EPL) club Liverpool while Juventus' Andrea Pirlo scored in his 100th UEFA Champions League appearance helping the Serie A champions get by Olympiakos with a 2-1 victory.
The Ballon d'Or is a rather odd award. For starters, being a forward and scoring goals is the best way to win the trophy. Defenders rarely get the award, but Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois is establishing himself as the cream of the goaltending crop around the world and was just given his first crack at the Ballon d'Or. But is he along for the ride? Or could the award be in his future?
The 2014 Major League Soccer Playoffs have started off with a bang as the New York Red Bulls upset Eastern Conference top seed, DC United, in the first leg of their Eastern Conference semifinals series. In Liga MX action, Guadalajara, who has struggled for most of the year, managed to earn a point against Club América in their "Super Clasico"
Soccer is the single most popular sport in the world, and there are hundreds of different soccer leagues on Earth that all want to be the best. Here, we list the most popular soccer leagues around the world and let you choose which is best.
It was another exciting week for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The two superstars faced off in the hotly anticipated Clasico last weekend and Ronaldo's performance in that game coupled with his big goal against Liverpool gave him a commanding 5-2 lead on the season against his greatest rival.Could he continue his dominant display? Or would Messi bounce back from a tough weekend and show the world that he was still capable of regaining his status as the world's best player.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is convinced that Raheem Sterling could be the next Cristiano Ronaldo, who is regarded by many as the best football player in the world today.
After going through a rough patch in UEFA Champions League, the Capital One Cup and English Premier League (EPL) action, defending champions Manchester City bounced back defeating crosstown rival Manchester United in the "Manchester Derby." Also, Tottenham Hotspur turned things around thanks to Harry Kane's late-game heroics to defeat Aston Villa.
