20
Mar

As if we needed another reason to love Ronaldinho even more, the Brazilian superstar took some time after his training regimen to practice his freestyle skills with a lucky young fan.

As the video proves, ‘Dinho still possesses the skills that made him a former Ballon d’Or winner and the most feared footballer on the planet (just ask Real Madrid circa 2005-06).

The young kid held his ground against the ex-Barcelona star, executing a fine bicycle kick during the 0:45 mark. 

11
Jan

Adidas sees Nike’s special CR7 cleats and raises with these Messi boots

Well you knew this was coming.

Just one week after Nike released these special edition bad boys to commemorate Cristiano Ronaldo’s stellar 2012 season, Adidas comes out with these awesome Messi Ballon d’Or boots:

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The special F50s display just four numbers, for each year Messi won the Ballon d’Or. Each is engulfed in its own “Sun of May,” the symbol found in Argentina’s national flag.

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If shoes could slap each other in the face, that’s what just would’ve went down.

9
Jan

Golden Messi

Lionel Messi is a pretty humble guy — especially compared to his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo — and he doesn’t frequently brag about his incredible achievements.

On Facebook today, we saw one of those rare occasions where the now four-time Ballon d’Or winner boasted just a little bit. Check out his jaw-dropping trophy case.

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Not too shabby. But even in this clear show of his impressive achievements, the little genius still displayed his constant sense of modesty.

“Thanks to everyone for being by my side in this beautiful moment of my career!”


7
Jan

Leo Messi beats Ronaldo, wins 4th straight Ballon d’Or

Surprise!!! Lionel Messi is still the world’s best player!

Messi as expected beat out Cristiano Ronaldo and teammate Andres Iniesta to win his fourth consecutive Ballon d’Or, thus simultaneously becoming the first to win FIFA Player of the Year honors more than three times and cementing his claim in the G.O.A.T conversation.


Cristiano, meanwhile, was not amused:

7
Jan

Former US Women’s National Team coach Pia Sundhage was awarded the Women’s Coach of the Year award at Monday’s Ballon d’Or gala, and to the surprise of everyone there, promptly broke out into song!

After first thanking her staff, Sundhage turned to her two star players in the audience and said: “I look at Alex [Morgan] and Abby [Wambach] and all your teammates I have only one thing to say…” She then belted out an acapella version of Bob Dylan’s “If Not for You.”

Hats off to her for a job well done, and a bold acceptance speech. And she didn’t even blush!!

4
Jan

CR7’s new boots commemorate his 2012 season

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Athletes putting numbers or certain statements on their footwear is nothing new. Just watch any NBA game. Most of the time, though, they are meant to be in dedication of somebody or something else.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s new boots, meanwhile, are clearly dedicated to himself. The limited edition Nike CR Mercurial IXs contain a series of seven numbers, each pertaining to a statistic of his from the 2012 season.The meaning of them is outlined below:

1st Spanish league title
9 goals scored for Portugal
14 games played for the national team
19 first player to score against all 19 rival teams competing in La Liga in a season
27 years old in 2012
55 matches played in all competitions for club
60 goals scored in all competitions for club


Ronaldo will sport these bad boys in his next La Liga match against Real Sociedad on Sunday, just a day before the Ballon D’Or award ceremony. However, the self-promoting shoes are not expected to cause a sway in the voting. 

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Images via The Beautiful Gear