The soap opera that is sports always rivets for what takes place on the battle field. But often times the stories that take place far away from the pitch are just as unique and special. They make for some interesting conversation and add an element to the world of sports that moves into the social, political and economic realm.
This year featured a number of off-pitch events that continued to elevate the dynamics of soccer and add new elements that are rarely discussed. As part of our Best of 2014 feature series, writer David Salazar and Edwin Molina look at two off-pitch events that really brought the soccer conversation to a new level.
After scoring a hat-trick to break Spain's La Liga all-time scoring record against Sevilla over the weekend, Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick on Wednesday against Cyrus champion APOEL FC on Tuesday to surpass Raul's all-time scorers record in UEFA Champions League history.
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.
Barcelona continued its fast start of the season with a 3-1 win Tuesday over Ajax Amsterdam in the Champions League. Barcelona is still in second place in the group, but has shown its ability to overcome adversity with this victory. Latin Post breaks down some major points from the victory.
Forty goals were scored on Tuesday, a record for an eight-game night of UEFA Champions League's action that saw Shakhtar Donetsk' Luiz Adriano tie Lionel Messi's record for most goals in a game while Messi got closer to Raul's Champions League career record.
World Cup winners Germany were upset 2-0 on Saturday by Poland in the Euro 2016 qualifiers, giving Poland their first win over their neighbors in 18 previous games. Also, LA Galaxy's Robbie Keane scored a hat-trick for the Republic of Ireland against Gibraltar in their 7-0 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
While Uruguay's Luis Suarez finally apologized for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini during their Group Stage game, the punishment does seem to fit the crime despite what Suarez's supporters - including Chiellini - may think of the nine-game and 4-month suspension of the polarizing 2013-2014 English Premier League (EPL) Player of the Year.
