This past week the other quarterfinal matches of the Champions League were played and there were by far the most entertaining games of this season. Real Madrid was playing Wolfsburg, Paris Saint Germain was playing Manchester City and Barcelona was playing their league rivals Atletico Madrid.

In the first match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, tensions were high between the two rivals as both teams played an incredibly scrappy first half. The referee had to intervene numerous times and many layers were disciplined with cards. After many minutes of a very defensive game, it was the underdogs Atletico Madrid scoring first capitalizing off of a defensive error by Barcelona. It was the long time Atletico striker Fernando Torres putting Atletico up 1-0. However, Atletico’s momentum didn’t last long. Fernando Torres, in a span of 5 minutes put in 2 dreadful tackles which earned him a red card right before halftime. This gave Barcelona the advantage heading into the second half as they had the extra man on the field. Barcelona using their extra man, put in wave after wave of pressure and eventually Suarez found room to tap on in and tie it 1-1. A few minutes later, Suarez found space again and his header put Barcelona up 2-1 and they held on to win the first match. It was an amazing comeback to watch; however, Atletico’s away goal they scored keeps them very much in the tie breaker still.

Paris Saint Germain and Manchester City both played a very sloppy defensive first game with both teams making simple mistakes throughout the game and the game ending 2-2. Manchester City held the advantage based on away goals heading into the second match. At the start of the second match, Manchester City were given the golden chance when a penalty was awarded for a late challenge by PSG’s goalie. However, Manchester City missed the penalty and blew their perfect chance. Both teams were unable to generate much offense throughout the game. However, with under 15 minutes to go, Manchester City’s star signing, Kevin de Bruyne, who had just come back from injury, found the space to put Manchester City up and into the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time in team’s history.

The other games being played were between Real Madrid and Wolfsburg. Real Madrid were considered the heavy favorites, which is why the result of the first game was a huge surprise. Wolfsburg usually lackluster offense was able to pick apart Real Madrid’s defense and Madrid was dealt a shocking loss at the hands of Wolfsburg losing 2-0. They would need to win the second game by 3 to move on. Ronaldo believed that they could do it and he certainly backed up his words. Within the first 20 minutes of the second game, Ronaldo proved why he is still one of the best by scoring twice. At this point Wolfsburg 2 goal lead was completely gone and it was anybody’s game. With 10 minutes to go, Ronaldo had the chance to win it for Madrid on a free-kick and he made no mistake. It was a performance of the ages by Ronaldo as he willed Real Madrid to an improbable comeback. If the quarterfinals were this intense, I can’t wait to see what the semi-finals bring.

This past week marked the return of club soccer instead of International play, which quite frankly is more entertaining as often the teams are much more balanced and the games actually matter. All of the domestic leagues are reaching the final weeks of each respective season and now is the time where each league leader will try to stay on top, while their contenders make a last push to claim first place.

In the Barclay’s Premier League, the surprising underdogs, Leicester City, are still sitting in first place at the top of the table and their hard fought 1-0 win kept them at the top of the table. Their main contenders, the Tottenham Hotspurs, only managed to draw, which increased Leicester City’s lead in the standings. As the weeks go on, its seeming more and more likely that they will win the Barclay’s Premier League for the first time in their team’s history, which will make this a season for them to remember.

In La Liga, Barcelona was leading the league heading into the weekend with a 9-point lead over Athletico Madrid and 10 points over their main rivals, Real Madrid. This past weekend was El Classico, the showdown between Barcelona and Real Madrid. However, the hype behind this game wasn’t as strong as it usually was. Typically, Barcelona and Real Madrid are neck and neck in the standings, and the winner of this game usually will decide who wins the title; however, Barcelona came into the game 10 points above Madrid in the standings, so regardless of who won the game, it was likely that Barcelona would win La Liga still. Both teams played a fantastic game with plenty of offense, but it was Madrid who stole a win with a late goal by Ronaldo to win it 2-1. As the game played on, it was clear that many of the Barcelona players who had played in the International Break were fatigued and couldn’t keep up while Madrid’s players who didn’t play in the break were well rested. As a result, Real Madrid were able to dominate late in the game and found a way to win. Barcelona still leads the La Liga, but now by only 6 points; however, their chances of winning are still very high.

This week also marked the return of the Champions League. There are now only 8 teams left that are competing to be named the best soccer team in all of Europe. Yesterday, two of those teams played a thrilling match. Bayern Munich was up against SL Benfica. SL Benfica were massive underdogs going up against the juggernaut Bayern Munich, and people expected it to be a blowout. It certainly seemed like that would happen as Bayern scored off a header in just 2 minutes. However, SL Benfica, proved why they have gotten so far in the tournament. They used their strong defensive formation to push back wave after wave of Bayern attack. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to create many chances on offense, although they did force great saves out of Bayern’s goalie a few times and as a result lost 1-0. There was a controversial no-call that denied Benfica a penalty, which would have changed the scope of the game entirely and put pressure on Bayern for the next game; however, it wasn’t given. The fact that they only lost by 1 in Bayern’s home stadium shows how strong of a team they are as very few have conceded just 1 in Bayern’s arena. The final score means that they still have a chance to comeback in the second fixture and I can’t wait to see how that will play out along with the rest of the games in the Champions League next week.

These last few weeks have been slightly different. Instead of competing in tournaments for their respective professional clubs, players have returned back to play for their international teams. Currently qualifying stages are being held for the World Cup which will be held in the summer of 2018. Currently the European qualifiers and the American qualifiers are being held. These games are doubling in importance as two major tournaments are being held this summer. Euro 2016 and the Copa America both occur this summer. The teams that will be competing in these respective tournaments are playing the same teams they had played last week during the World Cup Qualifiers. Therefore, they are getting a glimpse of the competition that they’ll be up against this summer, while being able to test out new tactics against their opponents in order to be successful and win the tournament. While these teams may not take the world cup qualifiers seriously, as most of the major teams have already secured a spot, these games are great indicators of what each time needs to work on before the actual tournaments.

No team looked completely dominant during the European Qualifiers aside from France. Other top countries like Germany and England were only able to come out with 1 win from both games while France was the only nation to win both. In South American Qualifiers Columbia was led to two resounding victories by their youngster and 2014 World Cup Hero, James Rodriguez. They showed that even though they were a young team, they were a legitimate threat to others. Uruguay welcomed back their star striker, Suarez, who had been banned for months due to a biting incident. He helped them get earn a draw against Brazil and played a major role in their win during the second game. Argentina led by Messi, was able to win both games and retake the number one ranking in the world for International teams. Brazil, eager to get back on track after a disastrous World Cup ending, were far from their best form and were lucky to escape with draws in both games. They’ll need to step it up in order to compete with the Copa America favorites, Argentina and Chile; however, the return of Neymar should get their attack back on track.

In the North American qualifiers, the United States national team earned a desperately needed win. Their manager, Jürgen Klinsmann, was on the hot seat, as his team had failed to win their last few games. All of these were games against fairly weaker opponents and it appeared the United States’ Team was on the decline, which was a bad sign heading into this summer’s competition and World Cup Qualifiers. It had gotten to the point where many former soccer players in the United States were calling for him to be replaced. He needed a win to answer the critics and his team played their best soccer of this year so far. From the opening whistle to the end, the United States played with an urgency that had normally been lacking. As a result, they won by a resounding margin of 4-0. It appears the United States is back on track and hopefully they can stay that way.

Yesterday’s game also had a moment of history. Christian Pulisic, at the age of 17, was the youngest player to debut for the National Team. He is from Hershey, PA and looks to have a promising career ahead of him. The round of World Cup Qualifiers ends this week and regular league play resumes this weekend. I’m looking forward to this weekends matchup between Barcelona and Real Madrid. El Classico is the greatest rivalry in soccer and should be a treat to watch.

Every soccer season is filled with many memories, both good and bad for certain teams; however, this season will be unforgettable and forever remembered by Leicester City. They have pulled of arguably the most successful underdog story in the history of soccer. Leicester City is an English soccer team that plays in the Barclays Premier League starting last season, which is the top league in England. Up until this season, they were a relatively unknown team that would usually be playing in the league right below the Premier League. For those who don’t know, if a team in a lower division finishes in the top 3, they get to play one division up the following year, and if a team finishes in the bottom 3, they are relegated to a lower division the following year. Leicester City qualified for the Premier League last year for the first time in 10 years. They had never had a winning record in their time in the Barclays Premier League and with only 8 games to go last season, they were on the brink of being a bottom 3 team and going right back down to the second tier league. That’s when everything suddenly changed. Leicester City fired their manager with 8 games to go and hired Ranieri as their new manager. Leicester City suddenly played with a purpose and fought to stay in England’s top league. During their final 8 games, they won 6, drew 1 and lost 1 and were able to get more than enough points to remain in the Barclays Premier League. This season it appears as if they have kept that same purpose and are playing the best soccer in the history of their organization. That same team that almost was relegated last season is currently sitting at the top of the Barclays Premier League with just 5 games to go. The chances of a team doing this is so rare, but that’s what makes it an amazing season. What makes this story even better is the fact that Leicester City didn’t go and buy a big name player to boost their team. Instead, 3 players stepped up for them this season and are playing the seasons of their lives. The stories behind each of them are also amazing. Their dominant striker this season, Jaime Vardy, was a substitute for a team 3 leagues below the Barclays Premier League, just 4 seasons ago. Now he has set career high’s in goals and has set the Barclays record of most consecutive games with a goal scored. Another key player, Rihad Mahrez, played for an average team in the Algerian leagues a few years ago, but is now one of the top goal scorers and the top playmakers in the Barclays Premier League. Finally, the anchor of their midfield, Konte, was a player in the league 7 divisions below the Barclays Premier League a few seasons ago, but now is leading a team towards not only their first winning season in the Premier League, but also a legitimate shot at winning the title. While the season is not over yet and there is a chance the title slips away from Leicester City, they are guaranteed a spot in the top 4 of the league and in soccer terms that is an extremely successful season. Leicester City most likely will be this year’s champions of England’s top soccer league, but regardless, this season will go down in the books as their greatest season ever.

If I haven’t mentioned it before, my favorite team in all of professional soccer is Barcelona. I’ve been a fan of them for years and simply love the way they play the game and it’s a pleasure to watch whenever they play. Instead of usually giving an update about what happened in the world of soccer, I will be focusing on just Barcelona because this season they have just been too good. Barcelona was simply on another level last year as they the three main titles along with 2 domestic cups on the side. This is a feat that very few teams have matched in all of soccer history and people all assumed this was Barcelona playing at their peak. Everyone expected to continue their dominance into the following year; however, no one expected them to raise their level of play in the following season. The team that was a nightmare for every team has become even better this year and that is simply astonishing.

Currently at the moment, Barcelona is riding a 37 game undefeated streak. This streak sets their domestic leagues record of all time of an unbeaten streak and as a result has turned a usually competitive league into one with a runaway leader. To put that in a timespan, teams will usually play 1-2 games a week, so Barcelona has not suffered a loss in the last few months. Just thinking about that is mind boggling. Barcelona’s success can most directly be attributed to their style of play as well as their prolific attacking trio of MSN (Messi, Suarez and Neymar). Barcelona is famous for using the Spanish playing style of tiki-taka. This style includes continuous passing between the entire team and simply holding on to the ball until an attacking opportunity presents itself. By doing this they can simply frustrate the other team by not giving them a chance to even get the ball and can wear them down with quick passing to expose the defense. This playing style requires very skillful passers who are very patient. Despite there being many solid midfielders out there, not all of them are able to play this way. The heart of Barcelona’s midfield is Iniesta and Busquets, both are players raised in the Barcelona youth academy and have grown up playing with this system. Neymar and Suarez have learned this system quite well in just one season and as a result can fit right into Barcelona’s playing style with the midfield and Messi. As a result, they have perfected the system and use it to completely dominate other teams.

Another key component to Barcelona’s success their wonderful attacking trio. Now many teams have 3 superstars in their offense; however, they don’t nearly ever match the quality of offense that Barcelona has. This is due to the fact that no other group of 3 plays as well together compared to Barcelona’s front three. Their unselfish play completely demolished all defenses last year and continues to do that this year. Despite Suarez missing the first 2 months of last season with a ban, those 3 combined for the most goals of any front 3 of all time. This year, despite Messi missing nearly 2 months due to injury, they have almost equaled their record breaking total from last year. They are about 15 goals short with about 15 games to go, and considering they score roughly 3 goals together a game, its clear that they’ll shatter their old record. Barcelona’s  unbeaten streak is on the line against Arsenal this week and I see them winning that game and can only wonder how long this amazing streak, with no apparent end in sight, will last. Barcelona simply are just too good.

The greatest soccer tournament featuring all of the top teams in the world continued during these past two weeks. The Champions League is a tournament which pits teams from various leagues against each other, so teams can truly see who is the best in the world. A couple of months ago, the top 32 teams played in the group stage to begin the tournament. Now only 16 teams remain and the first round of 16 games have already been played. The way the Champions League games are set up as far as who moves on is a little different than the typical tournament setting. Teams will not play just one game, but instead play each other twice. Once in each team’s home stadium. Whichever team has the highest goal total between the two games moves on. If the result is a tie, the team that scored the most goals while they were the away team will move on. If both teams have tied and scored the same amount of away goals, they will play extra time and penalty shootout if needed following the completion of the second game to determine who moves on. Of the matchups in the round of 16, only 4 games appeared that they would be competitive. In the other games, the teams that were projected to win ended up winning. Benefica played a hard fought game against Zenit and came out on top 1-0 due to a last minute header by Jonas. Wolfsburg led by emerging star Julian Draxler, jumped out to a 3-0 lead, helped by 2 stunning solo goals by him, but got confident and almost blew their lead and only came out winning 3-2. Manchester City’s potent offense fueled them to a 3-1 victory over Dyanmo Kiev. Athletico Madrid, projected to win by ease against PSV simply had trouble finishing their chances and disappointingly ended the game in a 0-0 draw. Now onto, the interesting matches. Real Madrid was pitted against the rising Italian side Roma. Real Madrid had not been playing well as of late, and there was speculation that they could be eliminated early on by Roma. Roma applied the pressure and appeared to be the better team, but an unlucky deflection and a quick counter-attack led Real Madrid to end up victorious 2-0. Roma had their chances but were unable to capitalize on them. PSG and Chelsea were playing for the second year in a row. Both teams played physical games, but late substitute, Cavani, provided the spark that PSG needed to break the deadlock win 2-1. Barcelona was playing Arsenal. Barcelona, at the time, were riding a 33 game unbeaten streak and were predicted to win. However, during the first half, it was all Arsenal and it seemed like Arsenal were going to end the streak. They should have been up, but Barcelona’s keeper had one of his best games. The second half started off in the same manner, with Giroud almost scoring a wonderful header. But Barcelona kept their composure and in one typical Messi, Suarez, Neymar counter-attack turned the tables on Arsenal and went up 1-0. This greatly demoralized Arsenal and they began to lose momentum. They went on to concede a penalty to Messi and ended up losing 2-0. The biggest game was between Bayern and Juventus. Both of these teams were in the top 4 last year, so fans were eager to see which tournament favorite would go home early. Bayern Munich fueled by the return of one of their superstars jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the second half. It appeared like it was over, but Juventus wouldn’t go down without a fight on their home ground. Their relentless pressure, aided by one costly defensive mistake, allowed them to salvage a 2-2 draw and gave them a much better chance before the next game. This sums up the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, and I can’t wait to see who moves on after the second leg.

Last week was filled with many great games in the world of soccer. I wish I could take the time to discuss all of them, but I know I would probably bore those who don’t love soccer as much as I do. In two of the leagues in Europe, the top teams all battled it out in their quest to top the tables. In La liga, Barcelona started off slow, but ended the game with one of the most memorable plays the world of soccer has ever seen. In the Barclay’s Premier League, the top two teams played each other. Leicester City are this seasons underdog heroes. Last year, they put an incredible string of games together at the end of the season to avoid relegation and stay in the Premier League. Amazing they currently sit at the top of the table in first place. Arsenal, looking to get back on track, knew they had to win against Leicester to trim the gap between them and they came out strong. Although Leicester grabbed the early lead, Arsenal fought back and scored two goals, including one in stoppage time to get the win. Although the win doesn’t put them in first, it has reduced the gap between them to just one game. The third and fourth place teams, Tottenham and Manchester City also played against each other. Once again, this game was pivotal in the title race and both desperately needed a win to stay with the top two. It was a very close game, but a late substitution by Tottenham found the breakthrough they needed to end up on top 2-1. Barcelona currently riding a record 29 game undefeated streak, was playing the team that had last beat them. Celta Vigo not only had beaten them, but had demolished the champions 4-1 during their last meeting. Barcelona wanted to avenge that defeat and keep their streak alive and came out attacking which paid off as a swerving Messi free kick put them up 1-0. However, once again, Celta Vigo’s relentless, daring play left Barcelona confused and they ended up conceding a penalty which Celta scored to tie it up 1-1 at halftime. Barcelona was losing the momentum and it appeared their streak was in jeopardy. However, after halftime the script totally changed. Barcelona came out cool and composed and went back to their continuous passing technique that has never failed them. They gave the ball to the best attacking trident in the world and fans just sat back and watched them take over. Barcelona’s offense of Messi, Neymar and Suarez are completely unstoppable once they’ve found their rhythm as the rest of the game showed. The final score was 6-1, with Barcelona erasing any evidence that they had struggled in the first half. Apart from the huge score, one play made by them will be remembered for a long time. Suarez was one goal away from a hat-trick and Messi was about to take a penalty. Instead of shooting it he simply nudged the ball to the side and Suarez burst through the penalty box and scored it. This surprise play is part of the creativity this attacking trio is constantly part of, which makes it very difficult to guard them.

You can watch the play here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLgmHCIuZ3I

Barcelona extended their lead at the top of the table and continue to show why they are the best in the world. Last but not least, the greatest tournament of soccer returns next Tuesday. The Champions League pits the top teams from each league in Europe against each other to see who is the best of the best. I look forward to seeing which teams will make it to the next round.

The last week of February is typically one of the biggest weeks in the soccer world for professional club teams. It marks the last week of the winter transfer deadline. This is the deadline where players can be changed between teams. Teams have the opportunity to try to make deals for players they need to give their team a boost for the second half of the season. What had panned out to be a major transfer window turned out to be a dud, as very few players were dealt this time. As usual many big name targets were rumored to make a move between teams; however, this time all of those rumors simply remained rumors. Real Madrid and Athletico Madrid, two of the biggest clubs in the world were recently handed transfer bans starting this summer. Both of these teams are currently behind Barcelona. People assumed that either of these two teams would try and push for a move to bolster their squads to challenge Barcelona during this winter transfer window, due to the fact that they have been banned during the next two ones. Surprisingly both teams did not make any moves. Both are appealing their bans and hope that they will be lifted, although chances are this wont happen. Compared to this last summer window, spending was down nearly 50% and it left the question as to why this happened. Almost all of the big name clubs have money to spend; however, player deals simply didn’t occur that often this time. There are a few reasons why many deals may not have happened. For starters, it’s the middle of the season and typically teams don’t want to make major changes unless they desperately need them or want to make a last minute push for the championship. It takes time for a team to play well after they introduce a new player, as the player needs time to adjust to the new system. Because of this reason, teams, as well as players, sometimes are reluctant to leave their teams midway during the season. In the French League, PSG is winning the league by a record 16 points and it is nearly impossible for other teams to catch up this season. As a result, it makes sense no other French teams pushed for any deals, because they simply wouldn’t be worth it. In the English league, the top 4 teams are in a highly competitive battle for first place and all of them are in great form. As a result, it also doesn’t make sense for any of them to go for a big move. While this big move could set their team apart from the other three and push them to the top, it also brings the risk of the player struggling to find his groove and cause the team to fall out of the race for first place. This is the reason no big name deals took place in the English League. Barcelona was the only other big name team who had the opportunity to make move for players, but they are currently winning their league and have no need to make any moves so they didn’t. One big reason that players might not have moved could be due to the new tv deals each of the leagues are getting at the end of the season. All of the teams will be flush with extra cash, which means players could get paid more at the end of the season, which makes a move then more enticing to them. Since no major deals happened this window, next window is sure to be filled with players moving to many teams. I look forward to seeing how each team will look at the start of next season. This week’s soccer games placed many top teams against each other but the results were very one sided. Leicester City took on Manchester City and instead of a close game Leicester dominated to a 3-1 win and Barcelona embarrassed rivals Valencia with a 7-0 defeat. Hopefully the games are more competitive next week. Tune in next week to see what else happened in the greatest sport in the world.

Once again it was another intense weekend filled with many great soccer games. The two major leagues that had matches played in them were once again the Barclays Premier League and La Liga. However, this time the main matches were played between rivals in La Liga throughout the week. In the Barclays Premier League, there weren’t many matches that matched the excitement of Liverpool and Stoke City. They were playing their second match to determine who would move on to the final of the cup. To determine the winner, the team with the best score between the two games moves on. Liverpool had won the first game 1-0, but Stoke came back and finished the second game also 1-0. This meant both teams were tied at 1-1 after two games. As a result, the winner would be decided between a penalty shootout. Penalty shootouts are highly entertaining to watch, but extremely nerve wracking for the players. The first few members of both teams scored and it was tied 2-2. However, the Liverpool keeper gave his team a huge break by making a save. Liverpool had a chance to go up, but their next shooter hit the post and his shot went wide. The shootout continued with both teams scoring until once again the Liverpool keeper made a great save. This time Liverpool finished it off by scoring and moving on to the final of the cup. It is the 12^th time they have qualified for the final, which set a record for the most appearances in the final. While this game was highly entertaining, the main match was between rivals Barcelona and Athletico Madrid, who at the moment are arguably two of the best teams in all of Europe. Both teams were tied for 1^st place at the top of the table, and the winner between them would take control over the league. Barcelona’s great overall teamwork, fueled by arguably the best attacking trio in the world were putting their win streak of 2016 on the line; however, they would be well matched with the best defense of the last two months. Athletico Madrid’s defense had only conceded 10 goals in its last 25 games which is an amazing achievement. Typically, teams play defensively against Barcelona to avoid being punished by their offense of Messi, Neymar and Suarez. However, Athletico Madrid started off the game on the offensive, showing Barcelona that they weren’t to be taken lightly and their strategy caught Barcelona off guard as within 10 minutes Athletico were already up 1-0. Barcelona looked completely out of place in the early stages of the match and unless they got into their rhythm the game looked like it was going to be a blowout as Athletico kept the attack up. As good teams usually do, Barcelona were able to regain their composure and started to build counterattacks and found the breakthrough they needed when Messi calmly finished off a cross to level the game late in the first half. They were back in the game and the momentum was starting to shift. Just minutes later, Barcelona’s perfect passing resulted in a Suarez goal and put them up 2-1. Poor reckless decisions by Athletico defenders resulted in red cards in the second half reduced Atletico’s chance of a comeback greatly as they were down to 9 men. The game seemed over with just a few minutes left and Barcelona controlling the game;  however Atletico’s offense seemed to come to life right at the end of the game and if it wasn’t for multiple spectacular saves by the Barcelona keeper, they would have tied the game up. Barcelona held on to win 2-1 against their rivals and now sit at the top of the league table. Tune in next week to catch up on all the great soccer action that took place.