Football Ramblings

It took Lionel Messi 28 years to get around to playing a competitive game in the U.S. It was worth waiting for. After sitting out Argentina’s first game in the Copa America Centenario, Messi entered the second match, against Panama, as a second-half substitute, then scored three goals and assisted on a fourth in just 29 minutes. In less than half an hour, Messi was tied for the tournament lead in scoring and had taken his team through to the quarterfinals. Entering Monday’s games, seven of the 16 teams in the tournament hadn’t scored as much. All of which raises one big question heading into the final day of group play Tuesday: What will Messi do for an encore when Argentina, the world’s top-ranked team, plays win-less Bolivia, at No. 82 the lowest-rated team in the tournament.  If you believe Messi, there’s a lot of room to improve after he sat out two weeks with a bruised back. But Messi has a lot more to accomplish than simply getting his groove back...

Leicester had never won the Premier League. They'd never finished in the top five. Their last top-10 finish was in 1999-2000. They were bad enough to get relegated to England's second-tier league, the Football League Championship, in 2004. They were bad enough in England's second-tier league that they got relegated to England's third-tier league, League One, in 2008. To be fair, they only spent one season in England's third tier, quickly winning the League One title. But within the last 10 years, Leicester wasn't one of the top 44 teams in English soccer. They weren't good enough to be in the league for teams that aren't good enough for the Premier League. They finally made it back to the Premier League last year, and were close to getting relegated right back out. They finished in 14th, just six points clear of another trip down. Like many European soccer leagues, the Premier League is historically dominated by the same few teams. Only f...

Barcelona’s 2nd half against Celta Vigo will go down as one of the greatest halves of football ever played. It balanced calm and collected possession with fiery attack from the greatest front three of all time: Messi, Neymar, and Suarez. But the half will mostly be remembered for the penalty taken late in the game. Messi can make some goals seem amazing, but no one would have thought he can make a penalty seem amazing. When he stepped up to take the spot kick, no one would have predicted the piece of history we were about to see. Messi stepped up, and passed the ball for Luis Suarez to score! He gave up the chance to score his unparalleled 300th La Liga goal for Suarez’s hat trick. This exemplifies the compassion that is shown throughout the front three. You would expect them to get envious, but no. The are MSN, and they are Barcelona.