9
Jun

Highlights from Real Madrid-Juventus legends game

One of our favorite parts about the dreaded summer break in soccer: nostalgic all-star games! Today, past Real Madrid and Juventus greats faced off against each other in the “Corazon Classic,” a star-studded affair that included the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Pavel Nedved, Edgar Davids, Luis Figo, Fabrizio Ravanelli, and Roberto Carlos. There was no shortage of moments that made you wish we were back in the late ’90s-early ’00s.

First there’s Luis Figo being all vintage Luis Figo:

Then Zidane decided to casually carry the ball on his head for a moment:

Sighhh. Time to break out the old Panini sticker books and soak up the nostalgia.

The end result? Real’s oldies won 2-1.

5
Jun

Michael Ballack bids farewell in star-studded retirement match

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Michael Ballack drew 45,000 fans and some of the soccer world’s biggest stars (past and present) for his ceremonial retirement match in Leipzig on Wednesday.

Ballack, Germany’s national team captain for many years including during the 2006 World Cup, scored a hat-trick in the match, which featured high-profile coaches, former teammates and opponents.

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Team “Ballack & Friends” consisted of German stars such as Miroslav Klose, Ulf Kirsten, Philipp Lahm and even Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher, while the “World XI” consisted of legends such as Lothar Mattheus, Pavel Nedved, and Ballack’s former Chelsea teammates Didier Drogba and Andriy Shevchenko.

The coaches? Oh, just his former bosses Jose Mourinho and Rudi Voller.

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With all those stars under one roof, it was Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker, of all people, who laid down the move of the night, dispossessing Drobga with this luscious spin move! What!?

23
May

Check out this cool teaser video put together by mutd.com promoting a charity match involving former Manchester United and Real Madrid legends, to be played in early June at Old Trafford. Several of United’s past stars are seen gearing up for the big fight, interestingly set to the tune of Monday Night Football.

So who’ll be showing up to this classic? For United, how about Edwin van der Sar, Bryan Robson, Lee Sharpe, Denis Irwin, Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Jaap Stam. How does that sound? Oh yeah, and Paul Scholes will be joining the party as well for one last run-out.

Real Madrid meanwhile, plan to field the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Steve McManaman, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Fernando Redondo, Fernando Hierro and Claude Makelele.

To put it lightly, this should be quite the treat!

27
Feb

Dennis Bergkamp to be immortalized with Arsenal statue

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Dennis Bergkamp is set to become the fourth Arsenal legend to receive his own statue outside Emirates Stadium. Originally a rumor, the word seems to be out now after pictures on twitter surfaced of the sculpture.

As you can see, the statue is based on the classic image of him controlling the ball in the air against Newcastle in 2003.

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Bergkamp’s statue is rumored to be unveiled outside Emirates Stadium before the start of the 2013-14 Premier League season, joining the statues of other all-time Gunners Thierry Henry, Tony Adams and Herbert Chapman.

Bergkamp scored 120 goals in 423 games for the Gunners, winning three Premier League titles and four FA Cups.

Images via @CHIPPINGVON

10
Feb

Ryan Giggs scores for 23rd straight season!


You know the token “old guy” who shows up at your pick-up basketball games and still keeps up with everyone half his age? Soccer’s “old guy” is Ryan Giggs, and he’s not just playing pick-up, he’s still competing in the top soccer league in the world!

At a shade over 39 years old, Ryan Giggs improved on his own record today by scoring his first Premier League goal of the season, marking the 23rd straight season in which he’s scored at least once. It also makes Giggs the only player to have scored at least 1 goal in every single Premier League season since its inception in 1992-93.

There’s just one word for this kind of feat: legendary.