Barcelona is reaping the rewards of La Masia once again. In their win over Real Sociedad, two of the four goals were assisted and scored by academy graduates. Dani Olmo provided two assists, while Gerard Martín and Marc Casadó netted their first-ever Barcelona goals. Instead of flashy celebrations, the team opted for a full-squad embrace — pure joy.
Kylian Mbappé has officially arrived at Real Madrid. After a sluggish start, the Frenchman silenced any doubts with ahat-trick in Madrid’s emphatic 6–3 aggregate win over Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League playoffs. Greatness calls. Elsewhere in Europe, Paulo Dybala delivered a stunning strike in Roma’s tense 3–2 Europa League win over Porto, proving class is permanent. Meanwhile, Luka Modrić reminded the world why he’s still a magician, curling in a beauty against Girona — his first goal in what feels like forever.
If the modern football fan took a time machine to the year 1980, they’d notice a few similarities but a lot more differences. Arsenal, just as they did last weekend, lost to West Ham 1–0, only in a game with higher stakes, the FA CupFinal. Nottingham Forest won their second consecutive UEFA Champions League, then known as the European Cup, against Hamburger SV –– two finalists with contrasting current situations. Forest is third in the Premier League and dreaming of returning to Europe, whilst Hamburg is first in the 2. Bundesliga, Germany’s second division.
The year was 2018, back when current Harvard Head Coach Josh Shapiro was at the helm for the Tufts. That season, program legends Ian Daly and Calvin Aroh were merely in their first and sophomore years, respectively. That was the last time the Jumbos were NESCAC regular season champions and the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC playoffs tournament. Now, a full six years later, on the backs of an undefeated regular season that saw the squad finish at 11–0–4 overall, the Jumbos will seek redemption and hope to make it beyond the tournament’s first weekend.
A collective wave of groans echoed throughout the Stadio Artemio Franchi as the referee pointed to the spot. A quick passing combination had released Christian Pulisic into space as he darted towards goal. Despite losing his balance, the American was able to swiftly direct the ball towards Tijjani Reijnders before he was fouled by Luca Ranieri — penalty to A.C Milan. Fiorentina’s early graft for a 1–0 lead now seemed pointless as Theo Hernandez steadied himself at the spot.
The Jumbos returned from a trip to Lewiston, Maine with a 3–1 win, improving their NESCAC record to 4–2–1. Tufts junior forward Elsi Aires and junior defender Lena Sugrue each scored a goal in the first half. First-year midfielder Sarah Hauck scored her second goal of the 2024 season late in the 79th minute.
A combination of neat triangle passes deep into the Dortmund half was broken by the Celtic press, as Gregor Kobel launched a long ball forward. Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy was the first to react, steadying himself before gently caressing the soccer ball towards Julian Brandt with a deft touch. With runners on each side and a scrambling Celtic backline, Brandt threaded a pass into the path of Karim Adeyemi. Signal Iduna Park roared their star on as Adeyemi buried the ball beyond veteran goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. 2–1.
Tufts women’s soccer stepped onto Jackson Field in Connecticut last weekend ready to take on Wesleyan University in their fifth NESCAC game of the season. Tufts came into the weekend with a 4–1–1 record, but, after a 2–0 win against No. 7 nationally ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday, they were feeling good about their upcoming games.
The last noteworthy Italian to grace Anfield was Mario Balotelli. Enigmatic to say the least, widely remembered for his title-winning assist to Sergio Aguero for Manchester City Football Club and a scintillating 2012 UEFA European Football Championship campaign, Balotelli was a breath of fresh air for a stale Liverpool Football Club.
Tufts men’s soccer started NESCAC play with a 1–0 win against Williams College last weekend. The teams battled for nearly 87 minutes without a goal, but the scoreless streak was eventually broken by sophomore forward Xavier Canfin. While the Jumbos had many good shots on goal throughout the game, Canfin’s shot, assisted by graduate student midfielder Liam Gerkin and junior midfielder James Gunn, was the only one that found the back of the net.
La Maracanã is bouncing in full force. Pockets of blue are roaring in a sea of yellow and red as the flickering lights from a thousand lenses capture a duel for the ages. The Round of 16 of the 2014 World Cup. A South American classic: Uruguay vs. Colombia. Twenty-eight minutes in, a wayward clearance from the Uruguayan box was headed back toward 22-year-old James Rodríguez, who in one motion gently caressed the ball from his left shoulder onto his left foot before striking it toward goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. A shot that swallowed a stadium for a few seconds, a collective gasp as the ball kissed the underside of the crossbar. The net rattled, Muslera was beaten and a star was born. If the dictionary had pictures, the word “volley” would have this image next to it. Rodríguez had just scored the goal of the tournament. He went on to win theGolden Boot as the World Cup’s top scorer with six goals, despite Colombia falling short to host Brazil in the quarterfinals. For context, he had outscored Lionel Messi, Neymar da Silva Santos Jr. and the two previous winners, Spain and Italy. Ten years after that magical Maracanã moment, James Rodríguez is one game away from lifting the Copa América.
Cheers erupted from the teams lining the sides of the field. The Files of Kicks had just scored an equalizing goal, propelling their team into contention for the final game. It was April 30, 4:30 p.m. and there was an important soccer semifinal game taking place.
As 17-year-old Endrick danced under the picturesque Wembley floodlights, the world was given a taste of Brazil’s post-Neymar era. It was an exhibition of finesse and skill as the youngster broke the deadlock against a Bellingham-inspired England side. A historic friendly in a historic venue. For much of that weekend, Brazil’s script wrote itself with the help of its young stars until it was once again deeply scarred by football’s age-old, sickening reality of racism.
“Messi mashed on Merseyside.” If Anfield had ever dreamt of hearing a sweeter line, that dream was unfolding tenfold. A corner of traveling Catalan fans were left speechless as a sea of red chanted on. Although Peter Drury is often lauded as the master of modern commentary, it was Darren Fletcher who uttered those words. And he hadn’t planned it.
From sprinting through the sprinklers at Camp Nou during the 2010 Champions League semifinals to conquering Pep Guardiola’s Messi-inspired Barcelona dynasty, José Mourinho has nearly done it all. The self-proclaimed “Special One,” who once entered his dressing room hidden in a laundry basket due to a stadium ban has come a long way from translating in press conferences and is regarded as one of the greatest managers ever.
Alejandro Garnacho might have scored the goal of the season against Everton, but the jitters from Argentina’s magical strike would soon fade on the back of a potentially season-defining draw in Turkey. Before Manchester United’s trip to Istanbul on Nov. 29, qualification for the knockout stage was in their hands.
A squad as talented as the Tufts men’s soccer team naturally sets out to win its conference at the beginning of the season, and in the NESCAC, the best way to do that is to earn a high seed heading into the postseason. By doing this, a team optimizes its hopes of reaping a home field advantage during the playoffs since quarterfinals matches are hosted by the higher seed in each game and the semifinals and finals are hosted by the highest seed remaining in the tournament.
For a rainy Homecoming 2023 celebration, the Jumbos took to Bello Field to battle it out against the Hamilton Continentals. Much like the storm clouds creeping in, the game had a slow start with the scoreboard remaining blank over 30 minutes into the game.
On Sept. 24, 2022, almost exactly a year ago, the Tufts men’s soccer team suffered what many cited as their worst loss of the 2022 season, falling 1–0 to the Hamilton Continentals in a tense game that featured two red cards. On Saturday, Tufts was given an opportunity to avenge that defeat on home turf during the university’s Homecoming weekend. The Jumbos did not throw away their shot.
A few famous pictures can sum up Marco Materrazi’s historic career: being headbutted by Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup Final, a teary embrace with Jose Mourinho after completing the treble in 2010 and lifting the World Cup alongside a legendary collection of Italian stars.One picture, however, stands out from the crowd, both in aesthetic and significance. It was taken in 2005, against the smokey red backdrop of an electric San Siro as flares lit up the capital city in a second leg of a Champions League quarter-final. The game was halted for safety reasons as security and firefighters scrambled pitchside. It was then that photographers captured a shot for the ages as Materrazi leaned on the shoulder of rival Rui Costa, together watching the chaos unfold.
