Everyone and their mother has probably dreamed up the scenario at some point in their lives. But few would ever have even brought the conversation up as a serious talking point if Cristiano Ronaldo had not said the following during his Ballon d'Or press conference: "It would be nice to have the three of us together on the same team. That would be a good thing!"
James Rodriguez has won the 2014 FIFA Puskas Award for his outstanding goal against Uruguay in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Lionel Messi may be the best soccer players in the world, but many believe Rodriguez is the future of soccer. Take a look at the goal that gave Rodriguez the 2014 FIFA Puskas Award.
It was another great soccer week in La Liga. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona picked up big wins, but Atletico Madrid lost. For the first time in a long, Cristiano Ronaldo was held scoreless. Latin Post.com breaks down Week 18 of the 2014-15 La Liga season.
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Manuel Neuer. In just a few days time, their fates as Ballon d'Or candidates will be determined. And then in 365 days, the world will be looking at another three candidates, possibly two of the same trio vying for that same award. Of course many have wondered whether decline is imminent for both superstars due to injury woes, overuse and in the case of Messi, a declining team. So the big question is: Will Ronaldo and Messi still be favorites to lift the Ballon d'Or in 2016?
Week 18 of the La Liga season is set to kick off with Levante and Deportivo playing each other on Friday. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona are both coming off losses last week, and will look to get back on track this week. Latin Post.com provides a full La Liga schedule for Week 18.
It is far from a happy new year for Real Madrid. The defending World and European champions have yet to win a single game in 2015 and have looked increasingly embarrassing over the last few matches. First it was a blunder in the second half against Valencia that saw the team lose its 22-game winning streak.
And then on Wednesday, the team met with its seeming Kryptonite and lost 2-0 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey knockout round. Never mind that Atletico Madrid has not lost to Los Blancos in the four games since that fateful Champions League final last May. When Real Madrid plays its crosstown rivals these days, the team simply looks lost.
So what is Atletico doing that brings out the worst in arguably the best team in the world?
A year ago, Real Madrid headed to Schalke 04 with a lot of question marks. Of the 25 games the team had played on German soil heading into this matchup, it had won one, drawn six and lost an appalling 18.
This Madrid side knew that to make a deep run it would have to break the curse and did it ever. After plundering Schalke 6-1 on the road and running away with a 9-2 aggregate win, Los Blancos would overcome Borussia Dortmund 3-2 (though losing 2-0 in Dortmund) before making the statement of all statements in a 5-0 annihilation of then reigning Champions Bayern Munich (including a 4-0 win in Bavaria).
So a year later, Los Blancos head into the tournament against a Schalke side that is arguably weaker this time around, while the reigning champions themselves look a cut above the squad that dominated last year. But is that sufficient to escape the round of 16?
The most popular soccer league in Spain, La Liga, is home to some of the best players in the world. However, some soccer fans believe that a playoff system should decide the ultimate winner rather than most wins. How do you think the Spanish Football Champion should be decided?
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi looked to get their respective 2015 campaigns off to a great start. Ronaldo finished the year with a bit of a slump as he struggled to score in the FIFA Club World Cup. Meanwhile his great rival had been finding new ways to consistently score for Barcelona. Heading into this week, Ronaldo had an 8-5 lead on his rival. Would he add to the lead? Or see Messi creep ever closer?
Last year was a major breakthrough for Cristiano Ronaldo. After four straight years as number two in the world (and in one year he was not even in the top three), the Portuguese superstar is in the running to finish up 2014 as the top player in the world for the second straight year. That would put him in an exclusive group that includes Lionel Messi, Johan Cruyff, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten as the only players to win the award in back-to-back years. Moreover, his third trophy would unite him with Cruyff, Platini, van Basten and Messi as the only players to win the award three times.
Week 17 of the La Liga season kicks off with Barcelona looking to avenge their defeat to Real Sociedad. Barcelona is presently in second place in the La Liga standings behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid. Latin Post.com provides a full preview and schedule for Week 17.
The two best soccer players in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, are both top 10 in all-time La Liga scoring. While Messi currently sits on top, Ronaldo is on a record breaking pace. Latin Post.com lists the top 10 La Liga goal scorers of all-time, and breaks down the statistics to see if Ronaldo can surpass Messi when it is all said and done.
Everyone dreams of an all-star team. What would the best soccer players in the world working alongside one another look like? Without further ado, here is a look at the starting XI of 2014. For the lineup, Latin Post has picked a 4-3-3 formation because it is arguably the most balanced lineup in the modern game:
Anytime that the idea of best player in the world is brought up the list starts and ends with two names - Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. When looking at 2014, picking the top player between Messi and Ronaldo seems like a futile and uninteresting task. So instead, Latin Post.com's David Salazar and Edwin Molina, as part of our Best of Soccer in 2014 feature series, are looking at players not named Ronaldo or Messi, who deserve some credit in 2014.
The 2014-15 La Liga season is 16 weeks complete, and multiple storylines have stood out. We've seen amazing goals, records broken and big disappointments. Latin Post.com lists the five biggest stories of the season so far.
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.
