Diplomacy Before the Opening Whistle A few hours before the Club World Cup semi-final, in which the Turin side routed Emirati club Al Ain 5–0, part of the Juventus delegation found itself not on the training ground but in the White House. The guests were accompanied by FIFA president Gianni Infant...
A Reluctant Peacemaker: The First Hours of War and Secret Flights For fourteen years the owner of Chelsea lived a familiar football routine—signing players, lifting trophies, visiting Stamford Bridge. Everything changed on the morning of 24 February 2022. Within half a day of the outbreak of hos...
During the winter transfer window, 18-year-old midfielder Baran Yıldız made a career-defining move from the Gençlerbirliği youth academy to the Premier League club Newcastle United, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract. Now, he aims not only to establish himself in the English club but also to we...
Dramatic Finale: Controversial Penalty-Area Incident With Pachuca The second-round group-stage match of the Club World Cup between Madrid’s Real and Mexico’s Pachuca was heading toward a logical conclusion—Los Blancos led 3-1 and were comfortably dictating the play. Yet in stoppage time somethin...
A Star-Crossed Story Ending in a “Double Life” When Manchester City defender Kyle Walker fell in love with model and reality-show personality Lauryn Goodman, their romance looked like yet another glossy tale of a footballer and a beauty. In 2020 she gave birth to their son Cairo, and in 2022 to...
Not Just Anyone, but the Best: The Journey From Overlooked High Schooler to NCAA Star When city high-school championships were held in Hamilton, Canada, the name of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did not appear on the shortlist of top prospects. Coaches praised his wingspan and coordination but sighed at...
Анфилд в свете прожекторов: стадион на два вечера превратился в концертную площадку В начале июня легендарная арена «Энфилд» ненадолго сменила футбольную разметку на сценические декорации: Дуа Липа дала здесь сразу два аншлаговых концерта подряд. 120 тысяч билетов разошлись мгновенно, и немалая ча...
Galatasaray's experienced player Dries Mertens marked the end of his career with the yellow-red team in the 38th and final week of the Trendyol Süper Lig, playing his last match in the RAMS Başakşehir game. Having spent many years playing for Italy's Napoli, Dries Mertens transferred to Galatasara...
A Sicilian Weekend on Jet Skis While most footballers dispersed to their national teams or took time to recover after a demanding season, 17 -year-old Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal opted for sun-drenched Sicily. Paparazzi captured the young talent cutting through sapphire waves on a jet ski alon...
The Captain's Celebration, Expected as a “Brace” of Joy A Saturday afternoon in the small town of Errum promised pure festivity: Martin Ødegaard—the creative midfield conductor of Arsenal and captain of Norway's national team—was heading to the altar. In front of the picturesque stone church gat...