Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Cleats.
A Viking Funeral
A Viking Funeral There’s a fine art in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and I’ve seen it accomplished as a player, a coach, a fan, and a parent, but please don’t try this at home, it will take a huge piece of your ego and leave you scratching your head like you have lice.
Gregory Dolan DiesPublished about a month ago in Cleats
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
The question of the last two decades: Who is the best footballer in the world? If being the best is measured by Ballon d'Ors then Messi is the best, but if it is measured by goals then Ronaldo is the best. I guess we can all agree that we may never find an answer to this question.
Kon KyprianouPublished about a month ago in Cleats
Stand and Deliver
Firsts: Stand and Deliver Playing sports as a youngster you never realize your parents are living vicariously through you, all you’re doing is playing ball, having fun and hanging with your buddies, but as you begin the matriculation process things start to change. By the time you reach high school your representing your fellow students, parents and friends as well as alumni that support the program financially and as fans.
Gregory Dolan DiesPublished about a month ago in Cleats
The special sauce of Samba football
In the summer of 2014, I took myself to Heathrow airport to start what would be one of the best experiences of my life. What was originally meant to be a lad’s holiday to the World Cup in Brazil, a footballing holy land for any football fan and a once-in-a-lifetime experience, was now a solo trip into the unknown. Normally when everyone drops out of a lad’s holiday you don’t pack a suitcase and go anyway, but like I said this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I was not about to pass it up. Since I was going to be on my own, I needed to find something to do to pass the time and as a qualified football coach, I couldn’t resist when the chance came up to volunteer to coach local kids, in one of the favelas through Travelers Worldwide. This changed a couple of things for me though, firstly what would have been a two-week trip at most was now going to be 5 weeks, giving me enough time to coach and enjoy the World Cup, and secondly, I’d have to learn Brazilian Portuguese. As an Englishman, I’m used to going most places and having people speak my language better than I can speak there’s but this wasn’t going to be the case and I had a job to do. I’d studied German at school, I wasn’t very good, I know this because I remember not knowing the answer to a painfully obvious question, so painfully obvious in fact, my German teacher couldn’t help but throw my textbook across the room and kick me out of the class to help to relieve his pain. Mind you, not before taking several energetic minutes to forewarn me of the fool I was to waste this opportunity. He apologized after, but nearly bringing a man to tears with what I didn’t know, dissuaded me of any ambition of learning another language. So, there was little hope of success with Brazilian Portuguese but my number one rule as a coach is you don’t have to be the best, just better. By the time I boarded the plane I knew I knew enough no one would scream at me and that would do. In truth by the time I left, I knew just about enough that I’d had to explain more than once that I wasn’t actually Brazilian.
DAVID BECKHAM AND HIS FREE-KICKS
If everyone could forget David Beckham, it will certainly not be the newly elect FC Barcelona president who used the former England captain fame to rise to the pinnacle of FC Barcelona affair in 2003. David Beckham might not have played for Barcelona and however played for the Catalan arch rival, Real Madrid, but his name changed the course of presidential election among Barcelona rank in 2003 and such was the fame and pedigree that the former England winger pose in the game.
Luke wrightPublished about a month ago in Cleats
Ranking the top 10 fastest football players in the world
10. Leroy Sane – 35.08 kmph Out of the many qualities that Leroy Sane possesses, his most important trait is his ability to beat his man for pace and excellent dribbling. It has made him an important member of both Schalke 04 and Manchester City. Despite his season-ending ACL injury in the last Community Shield, his new club Bayern Munich can expect to add to their already lightning-paced attack.
SHAHID MANSOORIPublished about a month ago in CleatsAll-Time Premier League: Everton
Now, our alphabetical journey takes us northwards, from the Blues of Middlesex to the Blues of Merseyside. Today, Bill Shankly’s joke about Everton being Liverpool’s second team seems to become truer every year; but it wasn’t always the case, and it certainly wasn’t true when he told it. In 1966, when Everton won the Cup and Liverpool the League, it was a joke between equals. For the last fifty years, Liverpool have been pulling further and further ahead, in public profile and in the honour roll, almost continuously; and every time Everton have threatened to emerge, the Reds have been present, on or off the pitch, to push the Blues back into their widening shadow.
Robert GregoryPublished about a month ago in Cleats
In Praise of ‘El Loco’
The stories are legion. Here’s the funny thing, though. Most of them are true! There was the time when Marcelo Bielsa, 65, took over a struggling football club in the UK’s second division and the first question through his mind was: How long does the average fan have to work to be able to pay for a ticket to watch what was then a distinctly ordinary team of under-performers? How many hours does that supporter have to put in on their job to be able to buy that ticket? Using a weird, eccentric, unscientific calculation of metrics, he came up with the answer three.
Hamish AlexanderPublished about a month ago in Cleats
MLV VS SYD dream11 prediction / A-League 2020/2021
MLV VS SYD Dream11 prediction MLV plays SYD in the matchday 5 of A-League 2020/2021 on 2021-04-04 at 09:05:00 local time in the AAMI Park.
FantasySportsPublished about a month ago in Cleats
Dear Megan Rapinoe, Thank You
“What we know is how successful women’s sports have been in the face of discrimination, in the face of a lack of investment in every level in comparison to men.” Megan Rapinoe, March 2021
Christopher DonovanPublished about a month ago in CleatsThierry Henry Religion: Is He is a Muslim Or Christian?
Born August 17th, 1977, Ex-football player and legendary striker Thierry Henry has had a successful run in his football career. The former French player is considered to be one of the best in the Premier League, and to prove how well he’s done throughout the years he’s won a lot of awards to show. Before we get to the main question, who is Thierry Henry?
Aamir KamalPublished about a month ago in Cleats
Saying ‘No’ to Racism: Talk is Cheap
Racism in English football is the controversy that just won’t go away, it seems. Even as players throughout the English Premier League take the knee before every kick-off — as they’ve been doing for months now — online abuse keeps being heaped on players-of-color, regardless of how good they are at their chosen calling, no matter how much pride they bring to their adoptive city, or how much joy they bring to followers of their home team.
Hamish AlexanderPublished 2 months ago in Cleats
