Chelsea stole the headlines on the winter transfer deadline day with a pair of moves that are sure to shake up the roster. The first order of business was shipping out German attacker Andre Schurrle while the second included bringing in Colombian Juan Guillermo Cuadrado.
Everyone loves to honor the individuals. But ultimately, the collective may be even more important in some cases and nowhere is this more apparent than in soccer. As part of the Best of Soccer in 2014 feature series, writers David Salazar and Edwin Molina now highlight their team of year.
Manchester City, playing without Yaya Toure, Vincent Kompany and English Premier League (EPL) leading scorer Sergio Aguero, managed to defy the odds, defeating Series A club AS Roma to advance to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. Luis Suarez helped Barcelona beat PSG with an assist to Lionel Messi -- scoring his 75th career Champions League, three ahead of Cristiano Ronald on the all-time scorers list -- and scoring his first goal with the Catalan club since his transfer from Liverpool.
Germany will compete in its record seventh World Cup final, hoping to come away with their fourth title. The team won in 1954 before taking home the prize in 1974 and 1990, all on European soil, and are looking to become the first European side to win the Cup in South America.
Germany defeated Algeria 2-1 on Monday afternoon to setup a quarterfinals matchup with France next Friday. Here are some observations regarding the matchup.
