Tag Archives: #soccer

Who Is the Greatest Footballer of All-Time: Lionel Messi

Leave a reply

International championships or not, Lionel Messi is the greatest player to ever live. There is no one better. While some will argue Cristiano Ronaldo, or argue Diego Maradona is better. They are sadly mistaken. With Messi’s hat trick today, he has 48 career hat tricks and eight total in the Champions League, which gives him one more than Ronaldo’s seven. There is only one Messi and the world may never get someone quite like him ever again.

Messi’s Accolades

Let’s start with his club awards. Since 2004, Lionel Messi has brought nine La Liga championships in 14 years. That’s a 64% winning rate for him. In the five years, he didn’t win the league, Messi and Barcelona were the runner-ups four times. In Messi’s 14-year career with Barcelona, he has come in first or second place 13 out of 14 years. Messi has also helped bring Barcelona six Copa del Rey championships, two runner-ups, seven Spanish Super Cups, four UEFA Champions Leagues, UEFA Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups. That is a total of 32 championships for club. In comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo only has 25 total championships, and he has played for four different teams over his 16-year career. All of that only makes up Messi’s club championships. For is individual honors he’s won five Ballon d’Or, been the runner-up five times and came in third once. He’s won FIFA World Player of the Year once came in second twice, Won the World Cup golden ball and the FIFA Club World Cup golden ball twice. In terms of championships, no one even comes close to what Messi has accomplished over his 14 years career.

Stats

Embed from Getty Images

Lionel Messi also has the stats to back up his accolades. Just for Barcelona, he has made 643 appearances scored 558 goals and registered 215 assists. That is only 17 goals less than Christiano Ronaldo, who has two years in hand on Messi. If you think Messi won’t score 17 goals in two years, you have never watched Lionel Messi play. Messi also has a higher goal per game average than Ronaldo with an outstanding 0.87 goals per game compared to Ronaldo’s 0.75 goals per game ratio. Now for internatonal play. Yes, Lionel Messi has never won any International competitions, but that doesn’t take away from his stats on the national team. In 128 caps he has scored 65 goals and tallied up 40 assists. Ronaldo might have better stats than Messi in some departments, but there is no doubt that Messi will eventually catch up to the majority of what Ronaldo has done. No matter where Messi plays, he dominates the field like no other athlete ever has. And that is why messi is the greatest footballer of all time

New England Stands With #SaveTheCrew

Leave a reply

Times are difficult in Columbus right now. It has been almost a year since the first reports came out that team owner Anthony Precourt intended to move the team to Austin. While the Save The Crew movement is as strong as it ever was, Columbus has been hit with some roadblocks. For people hearing about this for the first time, the Columbus Crew was MLS’s original team. They built the first Soccer dedicated Stadium in MLS and have been there for over 20 years. Team Owner Anthony Precourt doesn’t find that the team is making him enough money, so he wants to relocate the team to Austin. Now you may be wondering “how is this different from a team relocating in say the NFL?” To answer that question and find out why we should #SaveTheCrew, we have to dive in deeper.

The #SaveTheCrew Movement

Photo Credit: SB Nation

To anyone who is new to this movement, it’s not just a hashtag. It’s not a few hundred people tweeting angrily at the ownership. It’s a whole community that involves all the fans from every team. I recently spoke with David Miller, who is spokesperson for the Save The Crew movement. This is what he had to say.

“Save The Crew is a representation of the Columbus community standing up to fight for what’s right. MLS has long said that these teams are part of the community and we are fighting for that. We are showing the soccer world what the sport means for us, and we will Save The Crew.”

The idea of a team in the US relocating due to lack of profit isn’t new. Teams have been doing it for decades now. With soccer, however, this is a brand new concept. Even international football has, for the most part, avoided moving franchises. There is a reason for this. Soccer is a completely different culture than other sports because fans are the most important piece of a club’s identity. When an owner tries to put profits before the fans, it doesn’t go over well. MLS fans were quick to come forward with the statement “if they can do this to Columbus, it can happen to any of us”.

Fan Support Has Been Phenomenal

The Columbus Crew fans have made this into a full-on movement. Together they have gathered up public support, gotten the local government involved who have launched lawsuits, and they now have the entire MLS community behind them. The movement has gotten over 10,000 signatures on a pledge to buy season tickets under new ownership, have acquired 300+ business partners and allies, and most impressively have created their own new stadium rendering. Banners can be found at every stadium pledging support to the movement. There have been protests at other teams’ stadiums, such as the Patriots’ own Gillette. The message is clear- MLS fans want the Crew to survive. Because you can’t hate a team if they don’t exist.

Austin FC

Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday, August 22nd, Precourt Sports Ventures unveiled the name and logo of the pending MLS expansion side. In my own personal opinion, I found the logo and name to be rather silly. People were quick to point out similarities between the Austin logo and a Tifo that Crew fans displayed last year. It would seem as if Austin is trying it’s best to troll Crew fans, although that could never be proven. Obviously, anything that can be seen as progress in Austin isn’t good for the Crew, but Columbus officials are still optimistic about keeping the Crew in Columbus. MLS Commissioner Don Garber has said it would be more ideal to keep the Crew in Columbus, but has done very little to show that he actually means this. And by very little, I mean nothing.

 

Like I’ve said, the Crew has been here since day 1. Getting rid of them would not be good for the sport or the identity of MLS. Soccer should not be run with a business mentality, it’s not like other sports. The fans give their all for the club, and it’s up to the owner to give just as much back. If attendance is bad, the owner is not doing something right. It’s up to the owner to fix it, not pack everything up and relocate the team. With that being said, I speak for all of New England and for all of us here at BSE when I say that we stand with you Columbus. You would fight for us, so we fight for you. Together, we’ll #SaveTheCrew

Photo Credit: Doug Buchanan

Photo Credit: @cutlinejoe

Lionel Messi’s Impact On The World Is Unparalleled

Leave a reply

The Messi effect is one that has impacted people worldwide. Whether it be attracting crowds, inspiring children, or jersey sales, people can’t seem to get enough of the Argentinian phenom. There’s a reason why Lionel is very often, and rightly so, involved in the talk to be the greatest football player in the world.

Messi’s Reputation is Worldwide 

Messi has spent his entire career in Barcelona, but he is still world renown. He has led the world in jersey sales the last few years and is followed everywhere. No matter where he plays, a crowd will follow at the sound of his name. A big example of this was in 2016 at Gillette Stadium, a place that barely averages 20,000 spectators for MLS games. In 2016, Argentina played Venuzuala and sold 59,183 tickets. Being in attendance myself, the commotion every time Messi touched the ball was absurd. People rose out of their seats when he took a corner. Messi is just one player on a team, but it doesn’t take an expert to know he is the centerpiece.

There have been borderline riots over people who have been mistaken as Lionel Messi. In 2017, a 25 year old student in Pakistan was detained for disturbing the public because he looked like the star. Who could forget the 6 year old boy who gained fame after making a makeshift Argentina jersey out of a plastic bag? Lionel went on to walk out onto the pitch with the 6 year old during a friendly in Qatar.

                                                           Respect

Lionel Messi has turned himself and his team into a tourist attraction. In fact, some people claim Messi ruined the atmosphere of Barcelona games by turning Camp Nou from a football stadium into a tourist attraction.

The coversation about Messi cannot be had without mention of his undeniable rain of success. He has notched nine league championships, six Spanish cups, five Ballon d’Or, and many more championships. His claim to fame is much deserved. There’s a reason why Messi is the highest paid athlete in the world, earning $84,000,000 a year. The fact that Messi started off in Barcelona’s academy team and has been a member of the Barcelona squad his whole career is just icing on the cake.

Breaking: #NERevs trade Krisztián Németh to Sporting Kansas City

Leave a reply

It was announced at 6:16 PM on Monday night that New England had sent forward Kristian Nemeth To Sporting Kansas City in exchange for $350,000 in allocation money and a 2020 first round super draft pick. So what does this mean for the Revs going forward?

The Good

This deal does a lot of good for the New England. For one thing, they just freed up more than $1 million in salary cap, for a guy who has only made four starts this year. In those starts, Nemeth got two assists and one goal. All together Nemeth started seven times and made 21 appearances for the Revolution and has only scored one goal and registered three assists. To put it simply, Nemeth wasn’t earning his $1,007,666.67 salary. While Nemeth looked decent so far this year, he wasn’t producing results, which, as a striker, he’s paid to do.

The Bad

The Revs traded Nemeth for $250,000 in TAM and $100,000 in GAM. Back in August last year, they gave the Crew $400,000 for Nemeth last year. That’s simple math; the Revs lost money in this deal. When you don’t look at this from a money standpoint, the Revs have also lost a lot of depth. They went from having 1-2 quality strikers on the bench (Agudelo and Nemeth) to having two less than average strikers (Wright and Femi). It seems like Agudelo is becoming a regular starter so they’ve lost his ability to come on as a super-sub.

Trade Score: B+

Despite the bad, this is a good trade for the Revs. With two days left before the trade window closes, the Revs have an opportunity to sign another player. Now, they have $1,000,000 in cap freed up, and another international spot open to do it. All in exchange for a player that wasn’t even playing that much to begin with. Now we’ll find out if the Revs are using their allocation money now, or use it in the winter. In terms of money rankings, Revs are at or very close to the top in terms of allocation money availability.

#NERevs Sign English Defender Michael Mancienne

Leave a reply

It’s the moment Revs fans have been anticipating for weeks. Who will the Revs sign to make a playoff push? Rumors were coming from left and right. There was speculation they were interested in Brazilian Felipe Pires and Nigerian Godfrey Oboabona. The big one that stuck out was Bojan. Rumors came out that the Revs talked to Bojan in the offseason and that talks could still be going on. While the Revs didn’t sign Bojan, yet, they fulfilled another much-needed position in a center back.

Michael Mancienne 

While he might not be the man everybody was hoping for, Michael Mancienne is a great player coming from some great teams. Mancienne started his career in the Chelsea youth system back in 2006. The now 30-year0old defender spent 2006-2011 going out on loan to QPR and had a few spells with the Wolves. His time in Chelsea came to an end in 2011 when German team Hamburger SV paid $2.5 million for him, where he went on to make 49 league appearances. From there he went back to England in 2014, joining Nottingham Forrest, where eventually he made his way here with the Revs

With a Market value of $1.5 million, Michael Mancienne comes into the team as the highest valued player on the roster, so the pressure will be on him to live up to his value. The fact that the last few big money signings haven’t lived up to their value (Kouassi, Dielna, Angoua, and Nemeth), it’s easy for fans to be optimistic.

What’s Next for the Revs?

With this signing, Brad Friedel has hopefully fixed their problem at center back, and will hopefully get the back line to be more consistent as well. But, there are still holes to be filled with a need for a playmaker and a left back. While the Revs still have five days left to sign someone else, it likely won’t happen. Brad Freidel has said it’s possible another signing happens, but with the team out of international spots, there most likely won’t be a big name.

It’s important for the Revs to use their new signings and quickly get them into the system to try and put an end to this summer slump. It’s crunch time for New England as they enter the most crucial and most difficult part of the season. The Revs will try to stay in a playoff position and climb the standings.

The #NERevs Should Make Diego Fagundez The Captain

Leave a reply

Ok, here’s a take you probably haven’t heard before. The Revs are struggling and need to look toward their leaders. They need someone to step up as a leader in this crucial part of the season. Diego Fagundez may only be 23 years old, but he’s a club veteran. Whether you want to believe it or not, he is the longest tenured active player on the team. Claude Dielna came into the season as the captain, but it has been shuffled around since. It seems Brad Freidel has finally lost faith in him after he gave the armband to Andrew Farrell instead of Claude against the Redbulls. So why should Diego be the one to take on the role as captain?

Tenureship

(Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

While having a long tenureship alone isn’t a reason to be captain, it provides a backbone for leadership. For one thing, Diego played with Shalrie, Reis, Davies, Jones, and others, all of whom have possessed great leadership qualities. Over the years, you have to assume some of their qualities rubbed off on him. Furthermore, Diego is a constant starter on this team who continues to prove himself on and off the field.

Leadership

While Diego has only ever been given the armband once, it was one of his best games of the season. It was on June 13th against the San Jose Earthquakes and he scored a goal of the year candidate. It clearly seems that Diego gets an added confidence when he wears the armband. As he is the Number 10 for the Revs, it’s essential that he is at his best so that he can be the playmaker he needs to be for the rest of the team. We only have a small sample of how he plays with the armband. But, I think it’s worth giving another chance. So far, the Revs have given the armband to seven different players throughout the season. Claude Dielna has underperformed with it, so it’s time to find someone who plays consistently when wearing it.

Familiarity

Coming into the season, Diego had spent at least one full season with 12 of the 26 players on the revs roster. Diego, for the most part, is familiar with the Revs team and is a veteran player. While other players have a similar resume, Diego has the tenureship others do not. While he isn’t the oldest, one might assume that a lot of players in the locker room look up to him and count on him as well.

The #NERevs Tough Road Ahead

Leave a reply

The Revolutions season is now past the halfway mark and they still remain in a playoff position. However, the toughest part of their schedule has yet to come. According to Benjamin Baer of MLSsoccer.com, New England have the hardest schedule in the league for the second have of the season. Eight of their next 13 games will be on the road. While the Revs have only lost four road games this season, they have also only won one. With only five more home games in the regular season, where on the road will they be getting their points?

Source: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

 

Revs Three Point Opportunities

Orlando City: Orlando has been having a tough season. After jumping out to a great offseason, they were expected to go far this year. However, it has been quite the opposite so far. They have only managed to get 22 points through their first 19 games. Not to mention they are tied for 2nd for most home losses in the league this season with four.

 

D.C. United: D.C. may have a new stadium and may have signed Wayne Rooney, but they’re still D.C. United. Just like how the 49ers signed Garoppolo, they are still the 49ers. For the most part, this team is still weaker than New England. Along with the fact that Revs fans usually travel well to D.C., the team will most likely have the advantage going into D.C.

Toronto FC: Toronto FC is the joke of the league at the moment. They have gone from MLS Cup champions to the bottom of the table. The Revs were able to beat TFC at Gillette, even with Mark Geiger as the ref. So a win in Toronto is definitely possible.

Philadelphia Union: The Revs team is a completely different team that went down to Philly in March. This team now has an identity and a system. The Revs are ranked higher in the standings as well. A major boost the team is getting; as opposed to 72 traveling fans, they will be backed up by about 1,000 fans from around New England.

Revs One Point Opportunities

Real Salt Lake: This game will be a tough one for the Revs. As we speak, RSL has only lost one home game this season. Along with this, they have more points than the Revs, but only by two. Overall, these teams are very even and will definitely be a tough match.

LAFC: LAFC will be another difficult bout for New England, even more difficult than RSL. LAFC has yet to lose a game at home this season. So how can the Revs get a point? It’s the fact that LAFC has five home wins, yet four draws. LAFC is definitely a better team than the Revs, but those four draws are glaring.

Zero Point Outcomes

Photo by Keith Nordstrom

Atlanta United: Do I need to explain? The Revs lost 7-0 to Atlanta last year, and Atlanta is currently atop the East and Supporter shield. Not to mention the Revs couldn’t even beat Atlanta at home and could only muster a draw.

NYCFC: NYCFC are right behind Atlanta in the shield and are having a great season. At home, NYC is undefeated and have only had one draw which came at the hands of Atlanta. The Revs chances in New York don’t look good. But after all, this is MLS. And as we all know, anything can happen.

 

The Revs will look to end their three game losing streak when they play Orlando on August 4th. With the new signing of Cristhian Machado and possibly more to come, the Revs look will look to get back to their winning ways.

Revolution Seeking Road Redemption

Leave a reply

Embed from Getty Images

After a roller-coaster season that will end Sunday without playoff berth, the New England Revolution hope to close out the 2017 campaign by doing something they haven’t done all year– win on the road. The Revs, winners of a club record 12 home matches this season, found each visiting venue to be a house of horrors. With a victory on Sunday, however, the team could finally lift a weight off their shoulders heading into the 2018 season.

As it stands, the Revolution have a league worst 0-13-3 record away from Gillette Stadium. It’s an embarrassing feat for a soccer club full of pride. Never in the team’s 22-season existence have they gone without a victory on the road. They know that Sunday’s match, regardless of having zero playoff implications, is vital in sustaining momentum heading into next season.

Players Speak

Forward Teal Bunbury, fourth on the team with 7 goals this year, stressed the importance of Sunday’s clash with the Montreal Impact after yesterday’s practice. “It’s got to be huge for all of us. We pride ourselves on winning games and being professionals and we need to go on an away trip and be able to get three points. It’s something we should’ve already done.”

Chris Tierney, longest tenured member of the Revolution, also spoke following the uptempo practice. “There’s plenty to play for. You want to finish as high as you can and any time you put the jersey on, you want to put in a good performance individually and collectively for the club.”

While a full season without a road victory would be disastrous in itself, it’s the way in which the team lost away from Gillette that’s truly shocking. More often than not, the Revs found themselves outplayed, out-manned, and out-coached away from the Razor. Frustration finally boiled over during a string of three consecutive road loses in September.

September Trainwreck

On September 13, the Revs found themselves out-manned, and subsequently, man-handled by the Atlanta United FC. In a night everything went astray, the Revs were forced to play with nine players by the end of the first half. By the 38th minute,  Xavier Kouassi and Antonio Delamea had both been ejected from the contest for committing hard fouls. Atlanta would tack on five goals following the ouster of the Revs competitors to blow out New England 7-0.

Following the trainwreck in Atlanta, things didn’t improve for the Revs three days later in Kansas City. That’s not to say things started poorly. In fact, the Revs took it to KC early with Teal Bunbury scoring just 4 minutes into the affair. However, the good times would not keep on rolling. In the 11th minute of the match, the Revolution’s Krisztian Nemeth was shown the red card for violent conduct. With 10 players on the pitch and Kouassi and Delamea serving their suspensions, the Revs would surrender three consecutive goals. They’d go on to lose 3-1.

After two cringe-worthy performances on the road, the New England Revolution relieved head coach Jay Heaps of his duties. With the playoffs still a mathematical possibility, the organization hoped the switch would light a fire in the squad. The effects of the change proved unsustainable as the Revs would be obliterated in Orlando 11 days later. During the one-sided contest, New England yet again found themselves undermanned as Kouassi earned another red card and ejection. The Revolution would go on to lose by a final of 6-1.

In a span of 3 road games, opponents had outscored the Revolution by a 16-2 margin. With those back-to-back-to-back crushing blows, hope of a playoff berth went by the wayside.

The Revolution’s Road Ahead 

The Revolution will undergo many changes this offseason. Without question, the biggest decision looming over the organization than the selection of a new head coach. The Revs will interview numerous possible candidates, including the club’s current interim coach, Tom Soehn.

Following Heaps’s firing, General Manager Michael Burns affirmed the club will conduct an extensive search for a new head coach. With a fan base growing impatient, Burns knows the organization’s next pick has to be right on the money.

Embed from Getty Images

“We’re not going to make any rash decisions, but we want to begin the process now in searching for that candidate. There’s no timetable that we’ve set on hiring a candidate. We want to make sure that we do our due diligence and make a smart hire, Burns said back in September.

“It would be important for the next head coach to be able to get in here as soon as possible to be involved in player personnel decisions, roster construction and all the things that go into drafts and protected lists for expansion.”

Finding prospective candidates for the position does not seem to be an issue as Burns had previously mentioned to members of the media that “there’s a lot more interest and intrigue internationally than there was even six years ago, from a coaching standpoint and from a player standpoint.”

Ending on a High Note

While the New England Revolution’s 2017 campaign failed to live up to expectations, there’s belief across the organization and fan base that they’re on to bigger and better things. Led by stars Diego Fagundez, Lee Nguyen, and Kei Kamara, the future of the Revs certainly has potential. However, fans will want to witness the scrappy squad they’d once been accustomed to seeing each and every match.

A season-ending victory this Sunday would be a great start.