Last Sunday Brazil got a 2-0 win over Mexico. Brazil team was literally good with some monotonous overtones. But as matter of fact, the Copa America is not only winning the title. At least for the strong sides in this tournament believe this as greater competition within the region. In fact Brazil must have been fascinating to forget those 20-odd minutes of madness last July in FIFA World Cup 2014, Brazil.
It was the Selecao’s first match on home soil since beaten by Holland on July 12. Now Brazil team pretty more prepared to take on Peru this Sunday in their Copa America opener in Chile. The 1994 World Cup winning captain Dunga (current coach of Brazil National Team) is keeping faith in Neymar. He will be counting on his talisman after he reported for national duty last Monday.
Neymar Arrival boosts Brazil for Copa America:
Anyway, you cannot just allow guarantee about the 23-year-old to play any part against the Central Americans. But it was truly a happy ending for Neymar on Champions League Final against Juventus. He netted the third on that night in Berlin last weekend. Dunga believes European success can also help to lift his second continental title. As he had already won the 2007 edition following a 3-0 rout of Argentina recently.
Neymar has far shown no fatigue with 39 goals this season for Barcelona. Even he was a very regular footballer for international arena since 2011. Some say, he needs rest and for the purpose to serve, it will be wise to leave him out of Wednesday’s friendly squad.
After winning the Champions League Final on Saturday, Neymar joined the Brazil squad yesterday. With Neymar’s absence for the match, one man who could return is Santos forward Robinho. Recently the journeyman has returned to the international fold as one of the experienced heads in Brazil.
He is very much expected to be shown as the principal feeder between the freely fluctuating lines between midfield and attack for Selecao team. Elias on the other hand had an excellent performance in both goals as he battles with Casemiro for a place alongside Fernandinho.
The back line now picks itself with Jefferson behind Danilo, Miranda, David Luiz and Filipe Luis. But the Porto right-back is not confirmed for Wednesday’s game. He had recently endured an ankle problem following from Javier Guemez. May be Fabinho would be set to deputies. Again, Willian has stepped up in the absence of midfield partners Luiz Gustavo and Oscar.
This is actually a beneficial chance for Dunga to test a few broader options in Porto Alegre. Shakhtar midfielder Fred had already failed to impose himself on proceedings. While Brazil appear to be on an upward trajectory since the World Cup, last form tells a different guidelines.
Dunga needed to redesign the Brazil side after Luiz Felipe Scolari’s tenure. And probably he has forged a first XI that looks prepared enough on the eve of Copa America. Brazil reverted to two lines of four without the ball against Mexico.
Willian and Coutinho proved capable of causing problems for teams set up to utilize the man marking system. When Robinho drops back into a 4-2-3-1, it leaves Diego Tardelli to lead from the front. Hopefully the lack of definitive positioning will play to Brazil’s strengths this time.
As the tournament approaching just the corner, Dunga must have wished for fine-tuning his prime instruments. Brazil have fond memories of their last visit to Porto Alegre. They had 3-0 win over France on the eve of the Confederations Cup last time.
That was an absolute success for Brazil romped to the title.
On the eve of competition once again, Selecao team appears to be purring. Though Brazil has overwhelmed in last 10 wins from 10 matches, Dunga likes to think only about the upcoming first match for them. And no doubt, with the present focus, Neymar arrival, Brazil team is genuinely boosted for the Copa America chances.
The Copa America is one of the prestigious football tournaments in the world. It is also the oldest football tournament in the world, starting from 1916. Formerly, the competition is known as ‘South American Football Championship’. South America is the region, where the game of football flourished better than any part of the world. Football is kind of a religion in this continent. Some greatest footballers were born here and brought glory for their countries. Footballers like Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo all played their magnificent role in world football. In recent time, Messi, Neymar, Rodriguez, David Luiz are remarkable South American footballers who are shining in the world football.
Copa America 2015 is taking place in Chile from 11 June. Now, we have taken an initiative to enlist the top 10 all-time greatest records in Copa America. Let’s have a look and enjoy.
Top 10 All-time Greatest Records in Copa America:
1. Most Titles
Uruguay in Copa America ; image credit en.wikipedia.org
Uruguay National team are the most successful nation in the history of Copa America. The Uruguayans have won 15 Copa America titles. Uruguay won the competition defeating Paraguay by 3-0 in the final. Surprisingly, the runner-up Paraguay were able to reach the finals without winning a single game in the competition.
Their success in the final stage was determined by the way of penalty shoot-outs. However, Uruguay earned the right to play in 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil where they finished third.
2. Hosts
Argentina has hosted Copa America more times than any other nations in the South America. The nation arranged the tournament a record nine times with the last one in 2011. Uruguay are at second place having hosted the event seven times and Peru and Chile both share the third place for this record by hosting six tournaments each. On the other hand, Brazil have hosted only four occasions of this competition.
2015 Copa America is hosted by Chile in 9 different venues. As a matter of fact, the tournament was to be held in Brazil. But, after arranging 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2014 FIFA World Cup and preparing for the upcoming summer Olympics in 2016, they decided against hosting Copa America in 2015.
3. All-time top scorers
Zizinho ; image credit en.wikipedia.org
There are two players sharing the record for the most goals scored in the history of Copa America. They are Zizinho of Brazil and Norberto Mendez of Argentina. Both footballers have scored 17 goals in Copa America campaign. Severino Varela of Uruguay and Teodoro Fernandez are jointly placed second with scoring 15 goals each.
Norberto Mendez ; image credit en.wikipedia.org
Agentina’s Norberto Mendez played 33 games for his country and won 3 Copa America titles and 3 Primera Division titles in his career. Zizinho, the Brazilian attacking mid-fielder was great player with his incredible array of offensive skills with both feet as well as extraordinary vision. He made 53 appearances for Brazil and scored 30 goals. Truly, the record is worthy enough to be included in the list of top 10 all-time greatest records in Copa America.
The Chilean goalkeeper, Serjio Livingstone held the record of most Copa America appearances. He played 34 Copa America matches, which is more than any other player. He took part in seven South American Championships and one world cup. Livingstone was nicknamed as “El Sapo”, (the Toad) for his trademark posture between the goal-post. The goal-keeper later became a well renowned journalist.
Brazil’s Zizinho is in the second place with 33 appearances while Leonel Alvarez and Carlos Valderrama share the third place with 32 appearances in Copa America.
5. Most successful coach
Guillermo Stabile ; image credit en.wikipedia.org
The Argentine footballer and manager Guillermo Stabile is the most successful coach in the history of Copa America. He led Argentina to victory in six Copa America tournaments: 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955 and 1957. He coached the Argentine National side in 123 official matches gaining a total 83 victories, which made him one of the few coaches with more than 100 matches in charge of a national team.
As a footballer, Stabile was the top goal scorer of the first FIFA World Cup in 1930. He also played football in France and Italy.
6. Longest match
The longest match in the history of Copa America took place in 1919, in the 3rd Copa America competition, which was held in Brazil. It was a final match, where host Brazil beat Uruguay in the playoff match and claimed their first title. The match lasted a total of two and a half hours.
When the score was level after 90 minutes, it was needed an extra time, which was oddly consisted of four periods of 15 minutes each, not like two halves of 15 minutes as is still usual nowadays. It was a historic match for Brazil as they won their maiden title at home with 1-0 in the playoff against Uruguay.
7. Worst goalkeeper
The worst goalkeeper performance in the history of Copa America came in 1942, at the 17th edition of South American Championship, held in Uruguay. Ecuador goal-keeper Napoleon Medina became the most unlucky man, after conceding a record 31 goals in total. The record is still alive for the most goals ever conceded at a football tournament. Medina nearly broke his own record three years later conceding 27 goals as a goalkeeper.
Argentina’s remarkable victory came here when they beat Ecuador by 12-0. And also Uruguay can claim their most fascinating victory against Ecuador when they too crashed them by 7-0 in the 1942 Copa America competition. The record still remains in the book of Copa America.
8. Most goals in a match
Jose Manuel Monero ; image credit commons.wikimedia.org
The record for the most goals scored in a Copa America match is five. The record has been accomplished four times in the history of Copa America. Firstly came by Hector Scarone for Uruguay against Bolivia in 1926, Juan Marvezzi for Argentina against Ecuador in 1941, Jose Manuel Monero for Argentina against Ecuador in 1942 and Evaristo de Macedo for Brazil against Colombia in 1957.
9. Longest unbeaten run
Uruguay is the nation holding the record for the longest unbeaten run in Copa America, when it comes to matches in a home nation. They hold the record of unbeaten for 38 matches in Uruguay. The unbeaten matches consist of 31 home victories and 7 draws. The last match Uruguay played at their home was a 1-1 draw against Brazil in 1995.
They became runner-up six times while winning the title a record 17 times. Uruguay’s record is considered to be included in the list of top 10 all-time greatest records in Copa America.
10. Red cards
Most amazingly, the first 21 years of Copa America saw no red cards in any of the matches. Juan Emilio Piriz of Uruguay was the first player to be sent off by straight red card in a match against Chile in 1937.
The first 21 years of the Copa America saw no red cards in any of the matches. The first player to be sent off at the tournament was Juan Emilio Piriz of Uruguay when he was shown a straight red card in a match against Chile in 1937. The Uruguayans lost the game by 0-3 to Chile. So far, a total of 169 red cards have been shown in the history of Copa America.
the football heroes in 2014 fifa world cup—image via www.worldcupbrazil.net
Some of the best players in the football are preparing to take the pitch on the biggest stage in Brazil 2014 world cup. As the game is approaching rapidly, starting from 12 June, there will be a gathering of elite footballers throughout the world.
All football fans eye’s will be upon Spain, the last defending champion as well as Andres Iniesta, the playmaker for Spanish national team. As plenty of their top players returning Spanish squad is stronger than yesterday. After winning the world cup 2010 they went on to win Euro Championship in 2012 with a talented football squad. Will they repeat the history as champions once again?
Although the Spanish will have a great chance to repeat the history, the following players will certainly make the difference in 2014 FIFA World Cup. The Spaniards will have their work cut out for them.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo will perhaps be the brightest name in the 2014 FIFA World Cup starting from 12 June. He is such an international football superstar who is going to lead Portugal national team in 2014 FIFA World Cup. Although Ronaldo had fallen short with his team in the last two world cup appearances, winning FIFA Ballon d’or will make him special this time. C. Ronaldo has been playing at an elite level for his club Real Madrid. The portugese recently broke Lionel Messi’s record after scoring 15th goal in champions league. His 33 rd minute goal against Bayern Munich in the champions league semi final helped to put him in the history book. Real madrid won the game by 4-0 while 2 goals were from Cristiano. His team will face Atletico Madrid in the final on 30 April.
Cristiano Ronaldo , the Portuguese hero—image via: ro.wikipedia.org
This session in La Liga the forward scored stunnishing 30 goals for Real Madrid, putting him three goals ahead of Lionel Messi. Probably, Ronaldo is at his best now and the 29 years is eagerly waiting for the moment to touch the 2014 FIFA World Cup thophy for his national team.
Lionel Messi, Argentina:
the lion of argentina, leo messi—-image via: flikr.com
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo’s biggest rival is leading the Argentina National Team in 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the neigbouring country. Messi is regarded as a goal machine after netting over 350 goals for his club Barcelona and winning Champions League two times. The four times FIFA Ballon d’or winner, Lionel messi’s performance is not so promising in the national team. For Argentina he scored 37 goals in 83 appearances. But he is still the best player of the current world according to many. His Barcelona teammate Brazilian star Neymar said ,”
“I also agree that Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world, and I train every day with Messi. I know the way he plays and for me, he is the best of them all.”
As long as Messi is in form Argentina will be a threat for any team in 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Neymar Jr, Brazil:
Claiming Neymar is better than Messi, the Brazilian legend Pele has come to the focus. Ironically they are quite good competitors.
neymar, the next pele——- image via: en.wikipedia.org
Neymar won 2011 South American footballer of the year at the age of 19 and followed it in 2012. Neymar got nomination for FIFA Ballon d’or and stood 10th. In his appearance in Santos ( 2009-2013) he netted 54 goals in 103 matches and there after he joined Barcelona. In his 25 presences he scored 9. The Guardian ranked him sixth best footballer of the world.
Putting the iconic no 10 jersey for the Brazil team he will be threating to keep 2014 FIFA World Cup in Home.
Luis Suarez, Uruguay:
Luis Suarez, the goalmachine— image via: it.wikipedia.org
Luis Suarez has been virtually unstoppable in the English Premier League this season by scoring 30 goals so far for Liverpool. He seems to improve with his every game. On 22 March,2014 he scored his sixth premier league hat-trick. For the national team he scored four goals in 2011 Copa America and Uruguay won their record fifteenth Copa America. Suarez was named man of the tournament. With 35 national goals Suarez became Uruguay’s all time record goal scorer.
Suarez is attempting to put dominance in the national team along with Diego Forlan in 2014 FIFA World Cup.
There are some other notable players that will likely turn heads in 2014 FIFA World Cup. Players like are Wayne Rooney (England), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Robin van Persie (Netherlands) and Radamel Falcao (Colombia) will be much influential along with the above four.
Euro 2012 winner Spain -----------image credit: Wikimedia/Илья Хохлов
Euro 2016 has been scheduled to be held in France from 10 June, 2016. It is the most exciting football championship participated by the European football playing nations. The whole world is waiting eagerly to see the strongest sides competing each others in Euro 2016. For the first time, the tournament will be contested by 24 teams. The group stage of the game is consisting of six groups of four teams, which is followed by a knock-out stage of three rounds and ultimately the final. It is the third time France has been hosting UEFA European Championship. The Euro 2016 is the 15th edition of UEFA European Championship. Spain along with host France are the most successful teams in Euro, winning two Euro titles. Now, it is the high time to watch who is the strongest teams to win Euro 2016.
Our Sportyghost team have made a list of most probable winners of upcoming Euro 2016. Each of them are top contenders for the European Championship. After World Cup football, European Championship is considered as the most thrilling football competition in the world. Let’s have a look at the list of top 10 teams to win Euro 2016.
Top 10 strongest teams to win Euro 2016
10. Austria
FIFA Ranking: 10
Austrian National team——–image credit: Wikimedia/Steindy
Austria is the imminent power house of football. They have been appearing as one of the strongest competitors in Europe. They showed some astonishing performances in the qualifying rounds of Euro 2016, winning 9 of their 10 matches. Bayern Munich’s David Alaba is the Austria’s talisman in their Euro campaign. He is a true sensation and currently is considered as one of the best footballers. David Alaba is a complete player who can play at full-back, centre back or in midfield. He incredibly helped Austria to climb into the top 10 of FIFA ranking for the first time. They will be competing in Group F. The other four teams in this group are Portugal, Iceland and Hungary.
Austria in Euro: It will be their 2nd appearance in Euro. As co-host at Euro 2008, they failed to win a single game in their first tournament.
Key player: Central midfielder- David Alaba. He is a versatile player who can play in nearly 10 positions in the field.
Premier league players: Kevin Wimmer (Tottenham), Christian Fuchs (Leicester City), Marko Arnautovic (Stoke City), Sebastian Prodl (Watford)
The Manager: Former Switzerland international Marcel Koller.
Wales national team——–image credit: Wikimedia/Biser Todorov
After a 58-year wait, Wales will be playing their first major football tournament in Euro 2016. It is a true reflection of the brilliant manager Chris Coleman and some awesome players in the squad. They have some real quality in key positions blessed with Aaron Ramsey, Ashley Williams and Gareth Bale, who became the top scorer in Euro qualification with seven goals. The Wales has got an amazing team spirit and they will be certainly one of the strongest teams to win Euro 2016.
Wales in Euro: It is their first appearance in Euro.
Key player: Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale. Notably, he is currently the most expensive player in the world.
Gareth Bale——–image credit: Wikimedia/Jon Candy
Premier league players: Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal), Andy King (Leicester City), Ben Davies (Tottenham), James Chester (West Brom), Joe Allen (Liverpool), Ashley Williams (Swansea), James Collins (West Ham)
The manager: Chris Coleman, who took over the job in a tough situation after the death of Gary Speed in 2011. He is expecting to expand the contract beyond 2016.
Cristiano Ronaldo for portugal——image credit: DeviantArt/iDioxy
The Portugal side is known by one name, “Cristiano Ronaldo”. He is the only one fighting almost single handedly in the team. With Cristiano’s remarkable performance in the qualifying with five goals, Portugal won seven of their eight matches. They will be the weakest side in the pot if Cristiano sustains any injury, as he did in 2014 World Cup. Portugal have reached at-least the quarter finals in last five European Championships. So, eyes on the Portuguese side as well as Cristiano Ronaldo, who is craving for international success.
Portugal in Euro: Their most remarkable achievement was in 2004, where they became runner-up. They were beaten by Greece on their home soil. The Portuguese side also played semi-finals in 2000 and 2012.
Key player: Real Madrid forward, Cristiano Ronaldo. He is the top goal scorer for the Portugal with 56 goals. He also scored three hat-tricks in Euro. It will be his forth appearance in this tournaments.
Premier League players: Jose Fonte, Cedric Soares (Southampton), Eder (Swansea)
The Manager:Fernando Santos, 61 who has won his first seven competitive games in charge of Portugal. He has a bright history of coaching career. He led FC Porto winning five major titles.
Poland national team———image credit: Wikimedia/Piotr Drabik
Poland were the top scorers in the Euro qualification with 33 goals. The team possesses world class goal machine, Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski. He is currently the most potent center-forward in the world. He scored a stunning 13 goals in the qualification, which is no one ever did. Poland will be making a big impact in Euro 2016. If Robert Lewandowski continues to maintain his form, it will be anything possible for Poland.
Poland in Euro: It is their third consecutive appearance in UEFA European Championship. They finished at group stage in last two Euros.
Key player: Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski. He is undoubtedly the best number nine in the world. He scored 28 goals in 30 matches for his club and nation this season. He has been in a great shape of playing destructive football. Hopefully, Euro 2016 will be his place.
Premier league player: Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea)
The manager: The former Polish international, Adam Nawalka was appointed as manager in October 2013. Euro 2016 will be his first away tournament.
Italy national team———image credit: Wikimedia/Biser Todorov
The four-time World Cup champions, Italy is one of the strongest teams to win Euro 2016. They were unbeaten in the Euro qualification with seven wins and three draws in their ten games. The Azzurri’s defence is fortified with Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Cheillini and Leonardo Bonucci. They have also got a hugely talented midfield which is boasted with Andrea Pirlo and Marco Verratti. But, the main problem of Italian side is they lack strikers. Still, Granziano Pelle had shown some prospects with his three qualifying goals. Euro 2016 will be a great challenge for the Azzurri.
Italy in Euro: They won their first Euro title at home in 1968. They are also the finalist in 2000 and 2012 Euro. They failed twice to pass the group stage (1996, 2004).
Key player: the great Lev Yashin award winner, Gianluigi Buffon. He is literally a unbreakable wall between the post. Moreover, he is the most experienced player of the side. He is the most capped player in Italian football (156).
Premier league players: Matteo Darmain (Manchester United), Granziano Pelle (Southampton)
The manager: the former Juventus coach, Antonio Conte. He replaced Cesare Prandelli after Italy’s failure to pass the group stage in 2014 World cup in Brazil.
Roy Hodgson’s men were unbeaten in their Euro qualification. The England team also showed some tremendous prospects in international friendlies. They grabbed a subsequent win over an emotional France and are in a good shape. England team have plenty of individual talents. Forwards like Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane performed extraordinary. But, the persistent worries continue over the form of all-time top scorer Wayne Rooney. Roy Hodgson is planning to introduce numerous combinations at the mid-field since the last World Cup. He tried a completely new one in the match against France and it worked properly. England is a youthful team now and showing some good football. So, let’s see, what England team will bring us in upcoming Euro 2016 in France.
Wayne Rooney in action———image credit: Wikimedia/Илья Хохлов
England in Euro: England placed 3rd of the four finalist in 1968. As the host of Euro 96, the English reach semi-finals for the first time in Euro. In Euro 2012, they performed their best at the foreign soil, after being unbeaten they lost on penalties in quarter-final against Italy.
Key player: Wayne Rooney is the main key player for England. He scored seven goals in the qualification and still can do a lot for England.
The manager: the 68-year old, Roy Hodgson will the England boss. It will be his third major tournament for England. He has a glorious background of managing 14 clubs and 4 national teams.
Belgium National team——image credit: Wikimedia/Erik Drost
They are the top at FIFA ranking and studded with one of the most talented generations of players. Belgium is undoubtedly is one of the strongest teams to win Euro 2016. The team’s performance was dignified by some amazing players like Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku. It is very hard to find holes in the Belgium squad. They only lack experience for playing at the biggest stage of football. However, their last year world cup performances were overwhelming, going out in the quarterfinals 1-0 to Argentina.
Belgium in Euro: They are qualified for Euro 2016 for the first time since 2002. Belgium were the runner-up in 1980 and stood 3rd in 1972.
Key player: No, it’s not Eden Hazard anymore, it is Kevin de Bruyne, who scored five goals and made three assists in the qualification.
Kevin de Bruyne ———image via: wikipedia/Erik Drost
Premier league players: Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Tody Alderweireld, Nacer Chadli and Jan Vertonghen (all Tottenham), Kevin de Bruyne and Vincent Kompany (both Manchester City), Romelu Lukaku (Everton), Christian Benteke, Simon Mignolet and Divock Origi (all Liverpool), Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United)
The manager: Marc Wilmots, the Belgium manager will celebrate four years in charge next June. He took Belgium to the quarter-finals of 2014 world cup.
They would have been second in the list of top 10 strongest teams to win Euro 2016. But, the recent scandal in which star striker Karim Benzema being charged with blackmailing his team-mate Mathieu Valbuena, will put France at third. Benzema will possibly miss Euro 2016. That will not be very concerning for the French, because the team is studded with many other stars. Real Madrid defender Rafael Varane, Juventus mid fielder Paul Pogba, Bayern’s Kingsley Coman, Athletico’s Antoine Griezmann, all are thirsty for international success. Every player in the French team is in incredible form and they eagerly want to keep the Euro cup at home. France are always favourite in Euro with their dynamic and athletic midfield.
French superstar, Paul Pogba———-image credit: youtube.com/Ultimate Football
France in Euro: France is the last host nation to win the Euro title in 1984. They are also the winner of Euro 2000. Euro 2016 will be their seventh successive European championships.
Key player: It is Blaise Matuidi. There are many other French players to play the key role, but Matuidi is the main driving force in the French mid-field.
Premier league players: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Oliver Giroud, Mathieu Debuchy, Laurent Koscielny (all Arsenal), Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool), Morgan Schneiderlin, Anthony Martial (both Manchester Unioted), Bacary Sagna, Eliaquim Mangala (both Manchester City), Kurt Zouma (Chelsea).
The manager: Didier Deschamps led France to the world cup quarter-finals in 2014. As a player, Deschamps captained France to victory at 1998 world cup and Euro 2000. It will be a great challenge ahead of him in Euro 2016.
Euro 2012 winner Spain ———–image credit: Wikimedia/Илья Хохлов
Spain’s exit in 2014 World cup ended their long term international dominance, but there is no reason to believe that Spain is least favourite in this upcoming Euro 2016. The Spanish side won Euro 2012 by obliterating Italy in the final. The Spanish boss Vicente del Bosque has grown a huge pool of young talents, which include Dani Carvajal, Hector Bellerin, Alvaro Morata, Paco Alcacer etc. The Spanish midfield is graced with Iniesta, Koke, Cazorla, David Silva. They finished top in Group C qualification with nine wins. But the team is no longer as likely to overwhelm the best opposition as they did before. VDB mentioned his side is “practically a finished article”. So, let’s see, what new generation brings for the Spanish side.
Spain in Euro: They won Euro championship in 1964, 2008 and 2012. It will be their 10th appearance in Euro.
Key player: The 29-year-old, Manchester City playmaker, David Silva will be the key for Spain. He usually roams around the pitch to operate in pockets of space and creates numerous opportunities.
Premier league players: Davis Silva (Manchester City), Diego Coasta, Cesc Fabregas and Pedro (all Chelsea), David de Gea and Juan Mata (Manchester United), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal)
The manager: Vicente del Bosque is bigwig of Spanish team since 2008. The world cup winner marked a national record of 100th match in charge of Spain in June 2015.
1. Germany
FIFA Ranking: 4
German national team after winning 2014 FIFA World cup—–image credit: Wikimedia/Agência Brasil
The current world champions are bursting with talented players and must be considered at no. 1 in the list of top 10 strongest teams to win Euro 2016. The German team is blessed with world class players like Scweinsteiger, Ozil, Reus, Gotze and Muller. All of them have elevated football in a new level after winning 2014 world cup defeating Argentina in the final. The German mid-field with Toni Kross , Andre Schurrle and Mesut Ozil, is the most devastating in the world. Germany is the most balanced team now and they are determined to win their 4th Euro title.
Germany in Euro: Germany won European Championship three times, in 1972, 1980 and 1996. They are the semifinalist of Euro 2012, where they lost by 2-1 to a Balotelli-inspired Italy.
Key player: Thomas Muller, the “German Goal-machine” without any doubt, is the key for Germany. He scored 31 goals in his 70 appearances for Germany. Muller received the Silver Boot for being 2nd top scorer (5 goals) in 2014 world cup.
Premier league players: Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Manchester United), Emre Can (Liverpool)
The manager: Joachim Low, the mastermind of Germany’s 2014 world cup triumph is still managing Germany. He must be targeting to fulfill all major titles as a head coach.
The European Championships are in full swing and there have already been plenty of shocks and surprises. Most of the leading favorites are still very much still in the running as we near the end of the group stage. Other prominent teams have grossly underperformed, however, and a few have done shockingly well. This has wreaked havoc on punters looking to cash in on the games but has worked out marvelously well for fans.
One of the biggest surprises of the tournament so far has been the goings-on in Group F. Neither Portugal nor Austria have managed to win a game yet, and according to FIFA, the two teams are ranked eighth and 10th in the world, respectively. Meanwhile, Hungary and Iceland are punching way above their weight as the 20th and 34th ranked world teams. As of this writing, after two games played Hungary are the leaders of the group with Portugal and Iceland tied for second place. This is the first time Hungary has competed in the tournament since its fourth-place finish in 1972, and the country will surely be looking to regain some of its former glory this year.
The 8th ranked Portuguese squad has looked remarkably limp and the Telegraph noted that Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to make his usual impact on the international stage. In the match against Austria, Ronaldo posted a rare miss in a late penalty shot that careened off of the goal post. The match ultimately ended in a 0-0 draw when the team desperately needed a win. Portugal managed to reach the semifinals in the 2012 Euros and are now very much in danger of failing to even get out of their group.
Austria has never won a game in the UEFA European championship. Since the beginning of the tournament in 1960, the team has actually only qualified for the games once, in 2008. Austria’s next match will be against Iceland and given the way the latter has been playing, it will be an uphill climb for an Austrian team looking more doomed by the minute. On a brighter note, the game might present the best opportunity for the Icemen to come away with a win and a chance to escape the group stage on their first ever Euro outing.
Meanwhile, Belgium (ranked number 2 in the world) will take on Sweden as Zlatan Ibrahimovich and company look to escape Group E. For a player of his calibre, Zlata has never quite produced on the international level in the same way he has for his club and this could be his big break. Belgium has an immensely talented, but still young, squad that already lost its first match against Italy, the current group leaders. Few people expected Italy to perform as well as they have during the tournament with an aging team that has a notable lack of big-name strikers.
Somehow though, the Azzurri have managed to upset the expectations of spectators and are actually looking like one of the best teams of the tournament. Few expected Italy to walk away from Belgium with a win and even the most die-hard footie fans are having a difficult time predicting this year’s games. But if you are looking to keep up with the predictions, the exchange at Betfair has insights for every Euro 2016 match for fans looking to wrap their heads around this year’s field. With several groups still waiting to play their final games and few teams confirmed for advancement, it’s becoming clear that anything could, and probably will, happen.
Since winning the World Cup in 2006, Italy has failed to get past the group stage of the tournament, though they were runners up in the previous Euros in 2012, getting thumped by a dominant Spanish side. But both Italy and Spain are much older now with many of their star players on the wrong side of 30. Italian captain Gianluigi Buffon is a whopping 38 years old and while he’s still one of the world’s best keepers, we can’t imagine him sticking around on the world stage for too much longer. The Italian back line still finds itself relying on aging stalwarts like Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli while the midfield boasts three different players past the three decade mark. These are all world-class players on their best days, but it’ll be a tough sell to sustain a line-up this old throughout the entire tournament.
The Euros have been an absolute spectacle this year, with no one team stepping up and dominating the tournament so far. Of course, these surprises are what make the European championships one of the most exciting tournaments in football and we’re glad that this year is shaping up to be a great one.
FIFA World Cup 2014 ; image credit en.wikipedia.org
The football world glitters with an enormous variety of prizes in different tournaments all over the world. Apart from the huge popularity of domestic leagues, there are some best football tournaments taking place, each of them has a unique claim to fame. Domestic cup tournaments always engage in an invisible competition with International football tournaments for superiority worldwide. All these tournaments, domestic or International, always draw a huge people of different countries. After all it’s all about football. People go crazy to find their teams, to find their heroes at the top.
We have enlisted the top 10 best football tournaments of the world. Many can differ with the list. The list of best football tournaments was made on the basis of their global reputation and sporting challenge.
10 Best Football Tournaments of the World:
10. Copa del Rey
Copa del Rey is also known as “King’s Cup”. It is one of the most prestigious football competitions in Europe. The tournament has a very rich historical background. It is said to be the “Cup of His Majesty the king”. The tournament was founded in 1903, being the oldest football competition in Spain. The Copa del Rey winner team typically goes to the UEFA Europa League. If the winner of the Copa del Rey also qualifies for UEFA Champions League, then it’s been a chance for the losing finalist to enter the Europa League.
Barcelona are the current Copa del Rey champion, winning their 28th Copa del Rey. Barcelona are the leading champions in Copa del Rey, while Real Madrid have 19 wins in this occasion.
It is an International football competition for the national teams and held every four years by FIFA. The tournament was founded in 1992. Brazil is the most successful team in the FIFA Confederations Cup with their 4 titles. Since 2005, Confederations Cup has been held in the country that will host the FIFA World Cup in the following year. It has become a kind of rehearsal tournament for the big game.
As 2014 FIFA World Cup host nation, Brazil took the responsibility to arrange the Confederations Cup in 2013, where they defeated Spain by 3-0 in the final. FIFA Confederations Cup stays at no. 9 in the list of top 10 best football tournaments in the world.
Fa Cup 2014 Champion- Arsenal ; image credit en.wikipedia.org
FA Cup is undoubtedly the most famous domestic football competition in the world. The Football Association Challenge Cup, FA Cup in short is an annual knockout football competition in English football. FA Cup is also the oldest domestic football competition in the world. FA Cup was first held in 1871-72. The FA Cup has produced some iconic moments in English football and is responsible for Wembley’s status as “The Home of Football”. The tournament is open for all English teams. Football clubs from Premier League to amateur village teams, all have their chance to compete here in a common platform. That’s why FA Cup is best known for the possibility for “minnows” from the lower divisions to become the “giant-killers”.
Arsenal are the current FA Cup Champion, beating Aston Villa by 4-0, to win the second in a row. it was Arsenal’s 12th FA Cup title, making them the most successful team in this tournament. Manchester United is just behind Arsenal with 11 titles.
Africa Cup of Nations 2015 ; image credit en.wikipedia.org
Africa is seemingly a football-loving continent. Africa Cup of Nations is a tournament, which pits Africa’s greatest football nations against each other in a fascinating battle for supremacy. The tournament was first held in 1957. Since 1998, there are 16 teams divided into four groups are participated in this game. The top two teams of each group advance into the knock-out stage of this tournament.
Egypt is the most successful team in the Cup of Nations’ history. They have won the title a record seven times, while Ghana and Cameron have four titles each. The last Africa Cup of Nations was held by Equatorial Guinea in 2015, where Ivory Coast won their title for the second time.
6. UEFA Europa League
UEFA Europa League is regarded as the Champions League’s younger and little less glamorous sibling. Previously, known as the “UEFA Cup”, is an annual football competition organized by UEFA since 1971. European clubs participate in this competition according to their performance in the national leagues and Cup competitions. The UEFA Europa League title is widely distributed among 27 different clubs. 12 among these have won the league more than once.
Sevilla are the most successful teams with four titles in UEFA Europa League. It is one of the major football tournaments in Europe that many famous European clubs take this competition seriously. It ranks at no 6 in the list of top 10 best football tournaments in the world.
Copa Libertadores ; image credit www.flickr.com\Ver en vivo En Directo
Copa Libertadores is one of the most prestigious football tournament in South America, which is the equivalent of Europe’s Champions League. The competition is started since 1960. Currently, the competition is sponsored by Bridgestone and commonly known as the “Copa Bridgestone Libertadores”. Since its beginning, the competition has commenced in several different formats. Only the champion teams of South American leagues can take part in Copa Libertadores at first. Then in 1966, the rules changed with the runner-up teams getting the opportunity to join the tournament.
Argentine football club Independiente is the most successful club in Copa Libertadores history with 7 titles in their showcase. The reigning champion of this prestigious tournament is the Argentine club San Lorenzo, who won their maiden league title by beating Paraguay’s Nacional. It is truly one of the best football tournaments of the world.
4. Copa America
First champion Brazil ; image credit en.wikipedia.org
South American Football Championship, best known as Copa America, is the oldest continental football competition at the international level. There are twelve teams competing in Copa America at different venues over a period of one month. Mexico, Costa Rica and United states are regularly playing in Copa America since 1993.
Uruguay is the most successful team in Copa America, having won it 15 times, including the last one in 2011. Copa America 2015, will be held in Chile from 11 June-4th July. Jamaica will be the first nation to compete in Copa 2015. Millions of football lovers will be eagerly waiting to watch the tournament in full throttle. So, let’s don’t miss the game.
3. UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship ; image credit en.wikipedia.org
UEFA European Championship, simply known as “The Euros”, is a massive football competition to determine the continental champion of Europe. The tournament is organized every four years interval since 1960. After FIFA World Cup, it is the second most prestigious football tournament in the world. so far, there are 14 European Championship tournaments, which have been won by nine different European nations.
Germany and Spain are tied with three titles, while France won two. In 2012, the Euro was hosted by Poland and Ukraine, with Spain being the Champion. Spain’s 4-0 win against Italy in the final was a memorable one. The 2016 European Championship will be hosted in France. UEFA European Championship ranks at no 3 in our list of top 10 best football tournaments of the world.
UEFA Champions League ; image credit www.flickr.com\ David Flores
UEFA Champions League is the most glamorous club competition in the world. it is better known as “Champions League”. The competition is contested by top-division European clubs from all over European continent. It is the most watched annual sporting event in the world in 2013. The Champions League had run since 1955 with multiple entrants from certain countries at the group-stage. Later, another group stage was added to include the runner-up teams of nation’s top level domestic leagues. Europe’s top national leagues currently provide up to four teams for the Champions League competition. The Champions League begins in mid-July every year with three knockout qualifying rounds and a play-off round. The winner of the Champions League qualify for the FIFA Club world Cup and UEFA Super Cup.
Spanish giant Real Madrid is the most successful team in the Champions League with 12 titles. They have also won the last one in June 3 2017 against Juventus (4-1). There is hardly any club competition especially in Europe to match the UEFA Champions League.
FIFA World Cup 2014 ; image credit en.wikipedia.org
There is no greater football tournament than the FIFA World Cup. It stays at no 1 in the list of top 10 best football tournaments of the world. FIFA World Cup is a dream for every living footballer in the world. It is a massive competition, where nations from different continents gather to compete each other. The global tournament was taking place since 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, because of the 2nd World War. The current Champion of FIFA World Cup is Germany, who claimed their fourth world cup title by beating Argentina in 2014 World Cup final. Brazil is the most successful team in the world cup with 5 titles. The next 2018 FIFA World Cup will be held in Russia.
FIFA World Cup is the highest level of football competition in the world. Millions of people all over the world count days to watch the world cup. The competition even exceeds the popularity of Olympic Games in the long run. An amazing 715.1 million people watch the 2014 World Cup finals worldwide and that is obviously an incredible one.
There has been a huge payment gap between the sexes, which is still not been completely resolved as of 2017. Women are paid considerably less for the same job in almost all aspects of society but their responsibilities remain as their male co-workers. In cases of most sports, this condition applies for female athletes too. The arena of women soccer is not an exclusion. As a simple consideration, we can count David Beckham while being paid millions of dollars a year, the women in this list only earn thousands of dollars a year for the same career in soccer. And this fact is still true when considering additional money from corporate sponsorship. Famous male soccer players earn millions of dollars more than their female counterparts in soccer cleats endorsement deals.
Of course, there is something more than archetype of sexism. As a matter of fact, we all know, women’s sports aren’t watched by as many people as the male version. Some even may argue that women aren’t taught to stick up for themselves during salary negotiations.
Whatever the reasons, we are trying here to build up a short list of 10 highest paid female soccer players in 2017.
Most of the salaries are put together under the National Women’s Soccer League rules, which means players are free to play in other countries while still representing their home countries in international competitions. And most of these richest female soccer players from America. They are also considered to be the most famous players of 2017 women soccer world.
All salaries of these highest paid female soccer players have been converted to their value in United States dollars. Another point to be noted, we are ranking here on estimated yearly salaries for the top paid female soccer players in America 2016.
Let’s check out, who is the highest paid female soccer player in America 2017?
10. Hope Solo – $ 22,000
Hope Solo ; image credit en.wikipedia.org
Hope Amelia Solo is better known as Hope Solo, one of the attractive most female soccer player from Richland, Washington, United States. She is a proud part of the women’s national football team of the United States. While, the 35 year old goalkeeper is also attached with the famous Seattle Reign club and bears the number 1 on her jersey.
Hope Solo joined Seattle Reign in 2013 and has played 34 matches since then. She began playing for the United States in 2000 and already marked 159 matches in her glorious career. For her skill and performance, she has been conferred with the honors of the U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year in 2009. The other two important achievements in her career are considered to be – FIFA Women’s World Cup Golden Glove in 2011 and the FIFA Women’s World Cup Bronze ball in 2011.
Sarah Huffman is another charming and talented soccer player, who was first noticed for her soccer playing abilities while being student of University of Virginia. She is still one of the top players in at her college since she won the NSCAA All-American, Soccer America MVP, and Virginia State Player of the Year awards so far.
Sarah Huffman started her professional career in the United States with various accolades and awards. She helped lead the Pali Blues in California to an undefeated season in 2012. She was traded to the Portland Thorns in 2014. With an estimated yearly total earning of $25,000, Sarah is considered the 9th in this list of top 10 highest paid female soccer players in America 2017.
Cecilia Santiago has quickly become a star for the women’s soccer world 2016. Her career started with Club Santos Laguna in 2010. She became more famous in North America when she decided to play for the Boston Breakers in 2013. In this very short period of time currently she is one of the most paid female soccer players in Mexico 2017.
Cecilia has not forgotten about her home country and that is easily figured out considering her achievements as goalkeeper for Mexico. Her skills helped Mexico achieve their first point ever in a Women’s World Cup event when her team tied against England in 2011. She was also the youngest player at the 2008 U20 World Cup in Chile while representing Mexico only at the age of fourteen.
Adriana Leon got an athletic scholarship for the University of Notre Dame women’s soccer team at her early age. She was quickly noticed when scoring the only goal for the Fighting Irish when they defeated Stanford Cardinal during the NCAA national championship tournament. And this achievement helped lead to Adriana being transferred to the University of Florida’s women’s soccer team. Her score again helped the Gators win a Southern Conference championship in 2012.
Adriana Leon started her professional career playing for the Boston Breakers before being traded to the Chicago Red Stars in 2013. And Leon has been an integral part of the women’s Canadian soccer team as her international women soccer presence. She is considered at number seven in this list of top 10 highest paid female soccer players in the world 2017.
Rhian Wilkinson grew up in an athletically driven Canadian family. Her family very much encouraged her to sharpen her abilities in women soccer. This support system helped Rhian earn a place in the women’s soccer team at the University of Tennessee later. And she became the Offensive Player of the Year for the Lady Vols in 2002. Then she came to play the Norwegian professional league for eight seasons, signed on to the Boston Breakers in the National Women’s Soccer League since 2013.
Her greatest achievements would occur while playing for Canada, when she helped the team win a bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games. Again in 2011 another gold medal at the Pan American Games. She also contributed the Canadian women’s team win an Olympic bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympic. Such achievements undoubtedly brings her in this highest paid female soccer players list of 2017.
Sydney Leroux was originally pursued in baseball like her parents. Finally she found herself enjoying soccer more when she attended Johnston Heights Secondary School. This led to her living with host families in the United States in order to be able to compete with the United States women’s national soccer team. Sydney quickly became a crucial part of the time and her achievements for the school peaked in her senior year. And now with an estimated $60,000 salary per year she stands at number five of most paid female soccer players in America 2017.
Sydney’s professional career technically started with the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2005. She was only fifteen years old at that time. Her ability to score the game winning goal against the Santa Clarita Blue Heat in the Western Conference Final made her the 2011 W-League Rookie of the Year. She was then accepted to play for the Atlanta Beat and Seattle Sounders Women teams in 2012. And successfully joined the most renowned Boston Breakers in 2013.
On the international soccer arena, Sydney’s decision to change her allegiance from Canada to the United States drew a lot of criticism from Canadian fans. But this didn’t stop her from helping the female soccer with extraordinary talent and performance.
Heather O’Reilly majored in education at the University of North Carolina and played for their women’s soccer team for three years. During her tenure there she scored fifty important goals. Her abilities quickly became noticed by soccer aficionados. Then she played for numerous professional teams, most notable one was for the Boston Breakers for the newly formed National Women’s Soccer League.
Heather’s accomplishments for the U.S. soccer team are most notable since she helped the Americans achieve numerous medals in recent years. She also helped the U.S. earn a bronze medal in the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup and a gold medal in the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
Probably here comes the most famous name in women soccer world right at this moment in America. The ultra-popular Alex Morgan started playing soccer when she was fourteen years old. She was named an NSCAA All-American while in high school. Then she went at the University of California and be the leading scorer for the California Bears. She became the youngest player on the 2011 U.S. team in the FIFA World Cup.
Alex Morgan also played an important part for the U.S. team at the 2012 Summer Olympics by scoring the game winning goal against Canada. Fans may point out that Alex has numerous deals with big corporations such as Coca-Cola which would put her yearly income above $70,000. But again we have to re-inform that this highest paid female soccer players list is based on the annual salary from their club or international teams.
Another great and most famous female soccer player in this list, Abby Wambach quickly showed herself to be tougher than most male soccer athletes. Abby had already scored over 140 goals during her tenure as a high school soccer player and was in the top 10 of recruits for women’s soccer. This led to Abby being admitted to the University of Florida so she could play for their women’s soccer team. She won multiple MVP honors and first-team All-American awards.
She had played for numerous teams on a professional level such as the Washington Freedom and the Western New York Flash. She has really shown her abilities on the international stage while playing the U.S. women’s national soccer team. Some of the remarkable achievements are- helping her team win a gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics, a gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics and another gold medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics. All this in total keep her name at stage two of this highest paid female soccer players list 2017.
Marta Vieira is currently the most valuable female soccer player in the world 2017. She began her soccer career when she was noticed by Helena Pacheco, another famous Brazilian female soccer coach at the age of fourteen. Marta had played for numerous small clubs in order to gain experience until she finally played for Umea IK (professional Swedish team) in 2004.
Her exceptional abilities helped make her popular to Swedish audiences until she decided to play for the Los Angeles Sol in 2008. Thereafter she went for playing with the Western New York Flash in 2011. Her greatest achievements would be for her home country as she helped Brazil win a silver medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Some even call her the female version of Pele, undoubtedly this is a great consideration for the highest paid female soccer player in our list..
Women have been playing soccer since 1890’s. Women soccer had to face a long road to grow to the point. It was actually during the First World War, when many men were gone to fight, Women Soccer Team in England became massively popular. Female soccer players had started drawing huge crowds already. However, in 1921, Football Association of England banned women’s teams from playing with FA member teams on the field. They were forced to play on the rugby field. But the authority had to lift off the ban in 1971 because of massive popularity of Women soccer.
Women began to create increasing opportunities to play professionally over the 1970s and 1980s. They were thinking of a part time or full time basis and demanding for competition. Very soon the world found a huge fan base developed for women soccer.
The first formal UEFA Women’s Championship was held in 1982. And the first Women’s World Cup was held in 1991. Olympic also witnessed the Women soccer tournament in 1996. In 1999 world cup final, the United States Women Soccer Team (WNT) won against China in a penalty shootout before 90,000 fans in the Rose Bowl. Probably after that event, women soccer was cemented within the public consciousness. Later it continued to grow with the 21st century sports.
Top 10 Best Female Soccer Players of All Time:
Maximum growth of the Female Soccer has occurred during the last twenty to twenty-five years. Definitely many of the female soccer players have come through the public focus. Talking about women soccer players of all time, we get six different nations representing the list. Another notable thing is the diverse backgrounds of players, which demonstrate the extent to which the sport has grown on an international reputation.
Some of these famous female soccer players of all time are still playing with famous clubs worldwide. Irrespective of nationality or current playing status, these 10 women soccer players represent the pinnacle of athletic ability in their chosen sport. Most obviously they deserve the celebration and recognition befitting of their talents for women soccer.
Let’s find, who is the best soccer player of all time?
Teams:German National Team (captain), Portland Thorns FC
Position:Goalkeeper
Awards:FIFA World Player of the Year
Nadine Marejke Angerer is a German professional footballer. She is currently playing for Portland Thorns FC in the NWSL. Notably, Angerer is the Captain of the German Women National Team. She is the most recent FIFA Women’s Player of the Year. Interesting fact is, she is the first goalkeeper to win the Honor – male or female.
Nadine Angerer started her career in 1995. As a starter, she set the record for most consecutive minutes without allowing a goal at 540. Successfully she passed away the entire 2007 World Cup without conceding a single goal. Angerer was the starter for Germany’s two UEFA Women’s Championship victories (2009 and 2013). Another success history for Nadine Angerer is, winning the bronze medal at 2008 Olympic for Germany.
The famous female soccer player spent the bulk of her professional career in Germany. Previously she had played in Sweden and Australia, and also across five different teams. Recently she is moved to the National Women’s Soccer League in the United States for 2014-2015 season. Nadine is at number 10 in the list of top 10 famous female soccer players of all time.
Teams:United States women’s national soccer team (WNT),
Boston Breakers (Women’s Professional Soccer – WPS)
Position:Midfielder
Awards:Hermann Award for best female collegiate player
Kristine Lilli has played more international games than any other player in the history of Women Soccer. In total, she had played 352 games for the United States from 1987 to 2010.
Lilly won her first cap for the United States in 1987 while still in high school. She also got the Hermann Award for best female collegiate player in 1991. Lilly played for UNC from 1989-1992 and consecutively won the national championship in all four years. In 2007, she became the first woman soccer player to play in five World Cups. Remarkable she won two of them (1991 and 1999) and finished third in the other three tournaments. She won gold in the 1996 and 2004 Olympics and silver in 2000.
Kristine Lilly has scored a record number 128 goals in her career, which is forth in ranking. She played professionally for two Swedish teams, Tyreso FF in 1994 and KIF Orebro DFF in 2005. Lilly spent most of her professional career with the Boston Breakers in Women’s Professional Soccer from 2001-2003 and again from 2009-2011. She became an assistant coach for the Boston Breakers in 2012 after retirement. Lilly is considered as the 9th best female soccer player of all time.
Teams:China women’s national football team, Atlanta Beat (WUSA)
Position:Forward
Awards:FIFA Player of the Century, Golden Ball, Golden Boot
Sun Wen is one of the two recipients of the FIFA Player of the Century Award in 2002. Her greatest accomplishment came in the 1999 Women’s Soccer World Cup. Sun Wen led the China Women soccer team at second place finish and won both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball award. She was leading scorer of the tournament.
Wen also won a silver medal during the 1996 Olympics. In that time she scored over 100 goals for China from 1990 until her retirement. She achieved the glory of playing four Women Soccer World Cups and two Olympics.
Sun Wen led China to win the AFC Women’s Asian Cup six times as a female soccer player. She spent most of her career playing for the Atlanta Beat from 2001-2002 and the rest of her professional career with Shanghai Female Soccer Team. This all-time legend of Women Soccer history ranks at number 8 in the list of top 10 famous female soccer players.
Awards:US Soccer Athlete of the year, AP Female Athlete of the Year
Abby Wambach has scored more international goals (167) than any male or female soccer player. She started playing soccer for the University of Florida. The University had a three years women’s soccer program when she started. Wambach won a national championship over 15-time champions UNC in 1998. Wambach has played three World Cups in total. Her team finished third in 2003 and 2007, while placed second in 2011. But won gold medals in all the three Olympics she played.
Wambach played professionally alongside another all-time legend female soccer player Mia Hamm on the Washington Freedom from 2002-2003. Together they won title at the latter year before the league folded. And they returned to the team in 2009, when already been part of Women’s Professional Soccer. The team moved to Florida in 2011 and became known as the magic Jack. That time she also served as a player-coach for the team before it folded in 2012.
Abby Ambach currently plays for the Western New York Flash in the National Women’s Soccer League. She has already achieved US Soccer Athlete of the year six times and most recently has won the AP Female Athlete of the Year Award (as a first soccer player). Being one of the all-time famous female soccer players, she was recently selected as the FIFA World Player of the Year for 2012.
Birgit Prinz is well known as a three-time FIFA World Player of the year from 2003-2005. Unbelievably she is also four-time runner-up for the award from 2007-2010. No doubt that, Prinz enjoyed a sustained run as one of the very best in Women Soccer. She played more games for Germany than any non-American female soccer player for their international team in history. In total Prinz had played 214 international matches for Germany Women Football National Team.
Her winning achievement list is quite long to describe. UEFA European Championship five times in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2003 and 2007. The Women’s World Cup twice in 2003 and 2007. Notably runner-up in 1995. She and her team won three Olympic bronze medals in 2000, 2004 and 2008. Oh yes, she is also currently tied for the all-time World Cup goal-scoring lead.
Previously Prinz had spent over a decade with FFC Frankfurt from 1998-2011. There she scored 259 goals in 227 matches and won German player of the year eight consecutive years from 2001-2008. Prinz led her team to six Bundesliga titles, eight German Cup victories and three UEFA Women’s Cups. Very recently in 2011, Birgit Prinz has retired from the sport. But her well accomplished legacy undoubtedly keeps him in this list of famous women soccer players of all-time.
Teams:Japan women’s national football team, INAC Kobe Leonessa
NTV Beleza (previously Yomimuri Beleza)
Position:Midfielder
Awards:FIFA World Player of the Year
Homare Sawa is one of the greatest midfielders of all-time. Her glorious achievements are considered as captaining Japan to a 2011 Women’s World Cup victory and silver medal in Olympics 2012. She also won the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award for 2012.
Sawa won both the Golden Ball for MVP and Golden Boot as leading scorer in 2011 Women Soccer World Cup. Undoubtedly she is the most capped Japanese player in the nation’s Women Soccer history.
Mainly she spent most of her professional career in the Japanese Nadeshiko League. There she had won eight times with NTV Beleza (previously Yomimuri Beleza). Also another two with INAC Kobe Leonessa. Once she played for three different Women Soccer teams in United States. She is believed the 5th greatest and famous female footballer of all-time.
Teams:United States women’s national soccer team, Tyreso FF (Sweden)
Position:Forward / Midfielder
Awards:FIFA Medal of Merit, FIFA Female Player of the Century
Michelle Akers is the winner of the Golden Boot for most goals in the initial 1991 Women’s World Cup. She won the World Cup both that year and in 1999 with the United States Women national team. Akers started her collegiate career with Central Florida in 1985. There she won the Hermann Trophy as the best female collegiate athlete in 1988.
At the first women world cup year, Akers scored a mind-boggling 39 goals in 26 international games. Unbelievably which was at an average of a goal and a half per game. She was probably more impressive as a midfielder, rather than a forward.
This is another greatest female soccer star with unnatural lengthy winning list. She won the gold medal with the US team in Atlanta in the 1996 Olympics, received the FIFA Medal of Merit (organization’s highest possible honor), FIFA Female Player of the Century Award in 2002.
Michelle Akers spent most of her her career playing internationally. She played only three professional years with Tyreso FF in Sweden. This all-time famous female soccer player retired in 2005.
Teams:FC Gold Pride, Western New York Flash, Portland Thorns FC,
Canadian national women soccer team
Position:Forward
Awards:Canada Soccer Player of the Year, Canadian Athlete of the Year,
best NCAA female athlete, best collegiate women’s soccer player
With 148+ international goals, Sinclair stands at number three for famous female soccer players of all-time. As she is only 30 years old, may have the opportunity to catch both Mia Hamm and Wambach before retirement.
Sinclair had appeared over 200 times for Canada and won Canada Soccer Player of the Year eleven times. She also achieved the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canadian Athlete of the Year in 2012. She attained as the leading scorer and became the MVP of the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship. By scoring the winning goal, she helped Canada to win the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup. Though she got the legendary hat-trick in a 4-3 extra-time semi-finals loss to the United States, Canada finally managed to win bronze as their first Olympic medal.
Sinclair dominated in her time at the University of Portland by winning the Hermann Trophy for best collegiate women’s soccer player in 2004-05. She even won the Honda-Broderick Cup in 2005 as the best NCAA female athlete. She is arguably the third female soccer player to do so. She has also won championships with FC Gold Pride and the Western New York Flash of Women’s Professional Soccer. We can consider this legendary athlete as 3rd of our list of top 10 famous female soccer players of all time.
Marta ; image credit mulheres-incriveis.blogspot.com
Teams:Umea IK, Tyreso FF, Los Angeles Sol, FC Gold Pride,
Western New York Flash, FC Rosengård,
Brazil Women’s National Team
Position:Forward
Awards: FIFA World Player of the Year (5 times), Golden Boot, Golden Ball
Marta has won the FIFA World Player of the Year award more times (five consecutive times from 2006-2010) than any other female soccer player in history. She helped Brazil finish runner-up in the 2007 Women’s World Cup. She also won both the golden boot and golden ball that tournament. Currently she is the tied first with 14 career Women’s World Cup goals.
Marta has scored at close to a goal per game pace in her international career with Brazil. And also scored more than one goal in her professional club career with Umea IK in Sweden from 2004-2008. She has been playing for several other clubs in Brazil and United States. Some of them are Tyreso FF, Los Angeles Sol, FC Gold Pride and Western New York Flash (2009-2011).
Marta won the league’s scoring title in all three seasons and led each team to the regular season championship. Undoubtedly Marta can be considered as the second best female soccer player of all time.
Though retired in 2004, Mia Hamm still remains the face of the sport to many casual fans. She stands third all-time with 275 international caps for the United States and second all-time with 158 international goals. Hamm won the FIFA Women’s Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002 as the first two years of its existence. She also finished second in both 2003 and 2004 in voting before her retirement. She is one of just two female players to be named to the FIFA 100, commemorating the 125 greatest living soccer players. They were to celebrate FIFA’s 100th anniversary in 2004.
Mia Hamm won the Women’s World Cup twice in 1991 and 1999. Also won the Olympic gold medal twice in 1996 and 2004. She won the NCAA National Championship four times in five years from 1989-1993.
As there were no professional women’s soccer league in the US until 2001. She only played three seasons with the Washington Freedom from 2001-2003. In fact Hamm scored the league’s first ever goal and led Washington to win the league championship in 2003.
One of the most successful and decorated women soccer players, an ambassador and also an icon for the women’s game world. Mia Hamm is an obvious inclusion for any discussion for the greatest female soccer players of all time. Most obviously she occupies the number one spot in this list of top 10 famous female soccer players of all time..
Nawaf Al Abed ; image credit commons.wikimedia.org
Undoubtedly the game of soccer cab spring up a number surprises. Sometimes lower division team are found to be killing the giant premier division teams with record goals. The present day soccer is mostly dominated by the sporting milieu. And also some of the most celebrated individuals on the hallowed turf are considered to be strikers (forwards). Mostly they are known for their scoring prowess on and some of these most popular figureheads have been the ones knocking the goals into the net.
There had been big names like Alfredo di Stefano and Eusebio who recently passed away. Sir Geoff Hurst is another leading English player who is still the only player in history to have scored a hat trick in a FIFA World Cup Final.
And for a time now, there has been a battle between two of the greatest players to ever grace this planet. We soccer fans very much know these two names, Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid. The Portuguese forward has just broken the record of goals scored in a UEFA Champions League campaign. Lionel Messi had the previous record of 15 goals. They are in fact fighting in every possible aspects of football.
Top 10 fastest soccer goals of all time:
Now, when we are talking about fastest goal in soccer history, there are actually plenty to choose from. As Bryan Robson’s goal timed at 27 seconds in the 1982 World Cup. Again Theo Walcott in 20 seconds against Queens Park Rangers. Here we are attempting to count the 10 fastest soccer goals in history.
Let’s find, which one is the fastest goal in soccer history?
10. Jesus Navas
Jesus Navas ; image credit en.wikipedia.org
Team:Manchester City
Elapsed time:14 seconds
At the end of November 2013, winger Jesus Navas put his side Manchester City 1-0 up in less than 15 seconds. The versatile Spanish winger ensured French goalkeeper and Tottenham number 1 torrid afternoon. This was considered to be the fifth fastest goal in soccer history since the inauguration of the Premier League.
Lloris fluffed his clearance. The initial shot was saved from Sergio Aguero and the follow up was rifled in by Navas from the right hand edge of the box. ManCity went on to notch a 6-0 hammering of Spurs in that game. Now this goal is counted as the 10th fastest goal in soccer.
Dwight Yorke is the former Aston Villa and Manchester United striker. He took just 13 seconds to get on the score sheet. He was the part of the treble winning 1999 Manchester United side. Roy Keane and their iconic goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel also with the flamboyant Yorke struck up a wonderful partnership.
However the strike for Aston Villa against Coventry City that puts him on the list of top 10 fastest goal in soccer history. The striker is also acclaimed as one of the fastest soccer players of all time.
Mark Viduka is one of the prolific goal scorer in his own right. The former Australian international Mark Viduka made his career in the north of England. He managed to score four goals against the mighty Liverpool during his career with Leeds United.
And in 2001, it was against Charlton Athletic that he found the net in less than 11.5 seconds, which is considered as the 8th fastest goal in soccer history. This is of course a remarkable name in the fastest soccer goals list.
Alan Shearer is an absolute legend in every possible way. He was signed for Newcastle at the time for a club record fee of $25 million. But notably, he forged his own career at Southampton. The Wear star moved to Blackburn Rovers where he won the Premier League title in 1995.
Alan Shearer scored after only 10.4 seconds in a game against Manchester City which has catapulted him as one of the fastest soccer players and this goal as the 7th fastest soccer goal in history.
Of course, it is not just strikers that have the ability to hit the back of the post. The Ex-Tottenham Hotspur defender Ledley King achieved an incredibly quick goal within 10 seconds. His 10 second wonder goal was against Bradford City in 2000-2001 season. Most obviously they were in the highest echelons of soccer for an affordable time period.
Unfortunately, King’s career was plagued by injury and had no choice but to retire. But the 6th fastest goal in soccer history that he made can make him memorable in all time soccer goals list.
Dutch international Roy Makaay took again just 10 seconds to make his mark when playing for the Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. He bamboozled former Brazilian player Roberto Carlos who was caught napping in the very first minute of the particular match.
A cross came in from winger Hasan Salihamidžić which was tucked away in style by Makaay. And then go down as one of the fastest Champions League goals ever. This goal is also the 5th fastest goal in soccer history.
Tim Cahill is one of the former Everton players. He took less than 8 seconds to strike on his way to a 3-0 MLS victory against Houston Dynamo. Being one of the fastest soccer players of his time, he is officially recognized in the MLS records books as scoring the fastest goal.
Undoubtedly this is the fastest MLS goal since the league came into fruition. We consider this as the 4th fastest goal in soccer history as we still can afford three more thrilling score information.
Nawaf Al Abed ; image credit commons.wikimedia.org
Team:Al-Hilal
Elapsed time:2.4 Seconds
Saudi Arabian soccer player Al Abed lays claim to one of the fastest soccer goals on the planet in 2011. The goal is believed to be the speediest goal in soccer history, which was exactly scored in less than 2.5 seconds. His intelligence spotted the goal keeper off his goal line and took a shot direct from the center.
The result was the ball ended up in the net and Al-Hilal went on to record a 4-0 victory for that game. Here in this list this is the third fastest goal in soccer history. A matter of surprise, what kind of times are elapsed for the other two in this list.
Definitely we can figure out a heartfelt story from Marc Burrows. He was playing for the Cowes Sport club at the time and his strike against Eastleigh was recorded at an incredible 2 seconds.
Of course 2/3 seconds goal cannot be scored none other than striking from the center. His one came straight from the kick off after being set up by one of his team mates. Unfortunately the fastest soccer player passed away at the age of 30 after battling cancer in 2009. But still we remember him as producing the 2nd fastest goal in soccer history.
Technically this is the quickest goal in soccer to have ever been scored. In fact the goal was scored by a substitute in the Premier League. The Danish international Nicklas Bendtner scored for Arsenal against North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in just 1.8 seconds. Unfortunately he was fined more than $75,000 for showing advertising on his undergarments in 2012.
Nicklas headed his way into the record books after being teed up by a Cesc Fabegras corner. So, can you believe the fastest goal in soccer history came from only a second and a bit of time!!!
Neymar in Barcelona ; image credit bleacherreport.com
The full-name of Neymar is Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, more commonly he is known as Neymar Jr. Neymar is one of the greatest footballers in recent times. He is captaining the Brazil National team. As in club career, he plays for Spanish giant Barcelona. He is the most vital weapon for the Spanish club and plays as a key winger or forward. The great Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr was born on 5 February, 1992, at São Paulo, Brazil. Now, he is among the highest paid soccer player in 2015. Today, we will focus on Neymar Net Worth 2015. So, let’s start.
22-year-old Brazilian super star Neymar Jr. is considered as one of the most skillful footballers in modern football. He has become the most promising soccer player in Latin American football. Last year, in 2014 FIFA World Cup, he showed an outstanding performance and led Brazil to the semifinals. According to the famous Forbes magazine, Neymar earned $33.6 million in the last season of football. He is one of the highest paid soccer players in Forbes’s list.
Neymar Net Worth ; image credit www.forbes.com
Neymar Jr. Salary at Barcelona club is estimated a total of $17.6 million. Neymar also earns about $16 million from his endorsement deals with many globally reputed brands. Although, Neymar’s father is only one to decide about financial matter, Wagner Ribeiro is also serving as his agent.
Neymar signed his first major contract with famous Brazilian club Santos at the age of 17. The club paid him about $1.2 million per year as his salary. His salary increased to $4 million per year when he signed a contract extension with Santos. Then in 2013, Neymar Jr. flew to Spain and joined Barcelona F.C by signing a contract which worth $124 million. It was $50 million more than the originally reported one.
Neymar in Barcelona ; image credit bleacherreport.com
Over the course of next five years with Barcelona, Neymar will get $74 million as his salary. He also had an additional $13 million bonus income besides his basic salary. The money comes from his famous endorsements such as Police sunglasses, Castrol and L’Oreal. For a 22-year-old young lad like him, his yearly income is approximately $32 million and it is quite breathtaking indeed.
While talking about Neymar’s prospects, The Brazilian football legend Pele once said that he is “an excellent player“. Neymar, besides Cristiano Ronaldo, another great footballer of modern times, appeared on the covers of Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2013. Neymar Jr. was featured as a TIME magazine cover in February 2013 and became the first Brazilian ever in the history to achieve that.
Neymar on Time Magazine ; image credit news.yahoo.com
In May 2013, Neymar was named as the most marketable athlete in the world by SportsPro magazine. In that course, he had to defeat globally renowned athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Usain Bolt, Rory McIlroy to get the top.
In 2010, Santos rejected a £12 million bid offer for Neymar from EPL club West Ham United. Santos once again rejected the offer for Neymar from another English club Chelsea. The bid was widely rumored to be worth £20 million. After repeated rejection from his club, Neymar once said, “I’m focused only on Santos.” On the contrary, his agent, Wagner Ribeiro said,
“Neymar wants to be become the best player in the world. If he stays in Brazil, the chances of him doing that is absolutely zero.”
Neymar admitted that and said it was his dream to play in Europe, a year after the incident in an interview with Daily Telegraph.
In his early young life, Neymar played for the youth side of Portuguesa Santista. Then his family moved to São Vicente in 2003 where Neymar started his first football career. When his family again moved to Santos, Neymar didn’t miss the chance to join famous Brazilian football club Santos FC. His new life began at Santos, while Neymar’s family managed to buy their first property, a house next to the Vila Belmiro. It’s all because of his amazing success of his young football career and growing income. At the age of 15, Neymar net worth was 10,000 reais per month and the living standard of his family improved dramatically. At 16, Neymar net worth became 125,000 reais per month.
Neymar in Brazil ; image credit aschenbruecker.de
Then Neymar made himself signing a full professional contract with Santos FC to play in the first team. As soon as he signed the contracts with Santos, Neymar started receiving several sponsorships. All these endorsement deals have made a good contribution in Neymar net worth 2015.
Jorge Valdano, the former Real Madrid sporting director stated about Neymar,
“I like Neymar a lot. Many of his individual performances result in a goal and often it’s a move that only seems to be happening with him on the football ground.”
The Brazilian legendary footballer Pele once said,
“Neymar is a player with a body that can’t take a lot of hits. Many times he will fall because he can’t do anything else, but he was overdoing it.”
Spectacular Neymar ; image credit www.ibtimes.com
He also added,
“Even when he is fouled, he can’t make a spectacle out of it.”
His fellow teammate, Barcelona’s star Xavi stated,
“He is a great footballer, he has a very good attitude, and will go on to be the best player in the world.”
Neymar net worth in recent years are well enough to raise some charity. He reportedly tithes his income to his church and said,
“Life only makes sense when our highest ideal is to serve Christ.”
This humanitarian work proves his faith towards Christianity. At just 19, Neymar became a father of a boy in 2011 with his ex-girlfriend Carolina Dantas.
His baby boy, David Lucca by name was born in São Paulo but Neymar was broke with David’s mother Carolina. While talking about his son, Neymar said,
“I cried when I learned that I would be a father. Firstly, it was fear I felt. Then joy. It is a new responsibility for me and I am now enjoying it.”
He then overjoyed at his son’s birth as “2.8 kilograms of pure happiness.”
In March 2011, Neymar signed a contract with famous American Sportswear Company Nike. The deal was signed for 11 years. On the same month, another reputed electronics company Panasonic signed a two-year contract with Neymar, which worth $2.4 million. Eventually, Neymar so many endorsement contracts with several reputed companies like Volkswagen, Tenys Pé Baruel, Carlo, Lupo, Ambev, Unilever and Santander. His endorsement income is estimated total of €20 million on a yearly basis.
In November 2012, Neymar appointed advertising agency Loducca to create his own personal brand logo. The logo was designed especially for him featuring the N, J and R, which were derived from his name ‘Neymar Jr’. The new logo was styled to match his jersey No. 11.
Neymar Jr has created a huge sensation in popular social media by his marvelous skill and growing talent. He reached 48.6 million Facebook fans in October 2014. Neymar also spotted the fourth highest social media rank worldwide among the athletes, only behind to Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and David Beckham. In June 2014, Neymar was featured along with supermodel Gisele Bündchen as a cover photo of Vogue’ Brazilian edition to mark the FIFA World Cup organizes in Brazil.
Neymar in media ; image credit top10rate.com
In April 2013, a famous Brazilian cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa featured young Neymar Jr. as the main character in his Monica’s Gang comic book.
Neymar Jr. is well known for promoting a particular Brazilian modern pop music called ‘Música sertaneja’. The video in which Neymar dances to the tune of Michel Teló’s hit “Ai se eu te pego!” in the Santos locker room with his teammates went viral on YouTube as it got amazing number of hits in couple of days.
Neymar also appeared live in a music concert with Michel Teló. In another concert on Gusttavo Lima’s hits “Balada” and “Fazer Beber”, Neymar Jr. also appeared live with the artist. In 2012, Neymar again made a cameo appearance in the music video of super hit sertanejo song by João Lucas & amp. And again in 2013, he appeared in a rap music video by MC Guimê called “País do Futebol”.
Neymar Jr. has turned himself as a very popular footballer in the world. He has secured a place in the hearts of millions all over the world. With his amazing football skill, his dominant presence in the field and even with his unique hairstyles, Neymar is the most prolific footballer in modern times. However, it is well expected that Neymar will definitely create some greater moments in football than he already has, and will be remembered for his incredible performance.
Copa America is a South American football competition where the teams play for their greatness. The tournament is famous for producing all-action games with goals, drama and close competitions. The tournament was started way back in 1916. There are some 43 editions of Copa America have already taken place. Along the way of about 100 years, there have been some unforgettable encounters between the South American nations.
Here we will provide you with the top 10 greatest matches in Copa America. From unexpected shock to enormous goal fests, we revisit some of the closest as well as greatest encounters in the history of Copa America.
10 Greatest Matches in Copa America:
10. Chile 4-0 Brazil, 1987
Chile were heading into their group decider in a match against Brazil. For the Chileans, there was nothing less than victory would suffice if they were to advance to the semi-finals of Copa America. That was followed by the most historic performance ever produced by the Chile national team. The Brazil team, featuring Rai, Muller and Careca had dominated the first-half of the game. It was none but the Chile goal-keeper Roberto Rojas, who resisted the mighty Brazilians. Just before the break, Ivo Basay scored which nodded the underdogs ahead of the game.
Then the minors did not look back. Juan Carlos Letelier doubled the lead and then Basay headed to score from a corner in his second. After that, again Letelier put a real gloss on the score line with a delightful forth in Brazil’s net. The historic match is considered in the top 10 greatest matches in Copa America.
Brazil had a breathless opening when Edmundo and Abel Balbo scored two early goals in the match. Just before the half-time, Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta edged Argentina back in front after smashing the ball in from a tight angle. There was a controversial twist to come when, Tulio clipped home an equalizer goal following a blatant hand ball, with nine minutes remaining of the game. Brazil went on to prevail the match, when captain Dunga converting the winning penalty-kick.
8. Brazil 3-2 Mexico, 1997
With both teams having won their first game in 1997 Copa, the match was a battle for Group C supremacy in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Mexico striker Luis Hernandez had put El tri two goals ahead by a thumping header and a close range finish. The Brazilian center-back Aldair inspired his side’s fight back with a header of his own just two minutes within the second half of the game. Very soon, the equalizer came when Mexican defender, Camilo Romero diverted Romario’s goal bound effort into the roof of his own net.
The hapless Mexican defender was again proved wrong for the Brazil’s third goal, when Leonardo robbed the ball from him on the touchline and could only watch on as the left-footer surged into the box before unleashing a wonderful winning goal.
It was a quarter-final showdown match in Paraguay. The fate of that crucial match was swinging back and forth before it was finally decided by one of Chile’s great footballers of all-time. Jorge Bolano of Colombia crashed with an opener from the edge of the box early on. Pedro Reyes immediately leveled the score with an unchallenged header from a sharp corner. By the interval, the Colombians were back in the game as Victor Bonilla took advantage of some sloppy Mexican defense.
But, it was Pedro Reyes who restored the parity five minutes in the second part with another amazing header. The Chilean captain Ivan Zamorano eventually settled the contest, latching on to a long-ball expertly to take his team into the semi-finals of 1999 Copa America. The match is ranked at no 7 in our list of top 10 greatest matches in Copa America.
It was another thrilling quarter-final clash from the 1999 Copa America, where Mexico eventually squeezed past Peru on penalty shoot-out. The first half of the game was unrelenting as both teams shared a total five goals. Peru made a dream start with José Pereda and Roberto Palacios who put them two up inside a quarter mark of an hour. The Mexican striker Luis Hernandez hauled his side back on terms with a well taken double to level the score.
However, Peru got the lead as Nolberto Solano curled the ball from just outside the box. Just three minutes remaining at the clock, Gererdo Torrado’s long-ranger flew into the Peru’s net for an equalizer. Then when the penalty shoot-out took place, the Mexicans held their nerve from spot, scoring four out of four as Peru crashed out in a 2-4 defeat.
Arguably, the match was the biggest upset in the history of Copa America. The mighty Brazil stumped by the minnow Honduras in a shameful way. Although Brazil team were devoid of some star players, Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Romario, there was hardly anyone who could foresee such a result as Honduras defeated Brazil in a giant-killer show that night. After finishing a goal-less first half, Honduras bounced the Brazilian net when Juliano Belletti deflected a Saul Martinez header into his own net on 57th minutes.
Brazil found their miserable end when Martinez coolly slotted home at death to seal a 0-2 victory. Brazil’s unexpected defeat sent a shock wave throughout South American football. Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Brazil coach, commented afterwards,
“I, Big Phil, will go down in history of football as the Brazil coach who lost to Honduras. It’s a horrible night for me but Honduras played better than our boys and they deserved the victory”
4. Argentina (2) 2-2 (4) Brazil, 2004
Copa America 2004 ; image credit commons.wikimedia.org
The 2004 Copa America in Peru saw a classic climax as the rivals Argentina and Brazil squared up for the first time in a one-off final showdown in the history of Copa America. The game took the breath away in every seconds until the final whistle of the match. Argentina led the score when Kily Gonzalez scored from a penalty after a foul by Luisão. The big Brazilian defender immediately revenged with a header on the stroke of half-time.
Argentina’s Cesar Delgado looked to have won it when he fired past Julio Cesar with just three minutes remaining of the game. The fate was yet to be decided when the top scorer Adriano rifled home with a level in the injury-time of the match. At the penalty shoot-out Argentina broke their nerves in a 2-4 defeat to Brazil. The closest encounter of that match put it on the list of top 10 greatest matches in Copa America.
After losing to Brazil by 3-0 in the group stage, Chile were out for revenge in the quarter-final clash. The strategy went wrong for the Chileans as the Brazilians turned in their best performance on the way to grab their fourth titles in last five tournaments. Brazil led the score by 3-0 within the first half as Juan, Julio Baptista and Robinho scored one by another. Just after the break, Robinho striked again while Josue and Wagner Love added two more. Humberto Suazo scored from a delicate chip as a consolation when it was way too late.
The match is regarded as an unforgettable semi-final match in the history of Copa America. The match was heart throbbing in every point of view. Brazilian full-back Maicon stabbed a rebound to put Brazil ahead, but the lead was wiped out when Diego Forlan fired the ball into the net. On 40th minutes of the game, Julio Baptista bundled home an awesome free-kick.
Uruguayan striker Sebastian Abreu scored an equalizer to take the game to penalties. Brazil seized the moment in the close penalty shoot-out as Gilberto coolly netted the ball between the Uruguayan posts.
This time, Uruguay didn’t disappoint their fans in shoot-out. There may have been only two goals, but the match contained almost everything else. Uruguay’s Diego Perez opened the scoring on five minutes from a close range and then collecting himself two yellow cards before sending off the pitch. Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain had responded promptly by glancing in a Lionel Messi cross.
And then numerous chances were created from both sides with great goalkeeping performances. Ultimately, the match went down on penalty shoot-out where Carlos Tevez proved the fall guy for the Argentines, missing his side’s only effort, which allowed Martin Caceres to score the final goal in deciding the fate of that breathtaking match.
Teamphoto FC Dallas----image credit: Wikimedia/Jason Gulledge
Major League Soccer or MLS is one of the best football tournaments of the world. The soccer league represents the highest level of soccer both in United States and Canada. Major league soccer is comprised of 20 football teams, among which 17 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The MLS season starts from March to October in every year, where each MLS team play a total 34 games. The best MLS soccer teams are awarded the “Supporters’ Shield”. The best MLS teams also participate in the championship competitions against teams from other divisions as well as countries. Such soccer competitions are the Canadian Championships, the US Open and the CONCACAF Champions League.
As a part of a successful bid to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup in United States, Major League Soccer was founded in 1993. The MLS first season started in 1996 with 10 teams. Since then, soccer has earned much popularity in United States. The league is now one of the most profitable sports in America. We have enlisted the top 10 best MLS Soccer teams based on their successes in Major League Soccer. Just scroll down to find which is the best MLS team in United States.
Each MLS teams have flourished to the utmost level over the years. The teams may not be as strong as the European Football teams are, they are progressing faster than any other teams. Here are the best MLS Soccer teams with their most successes:
10. San Jose Earthquakes
Bobby Convey of San Jose Earthquakes——–image credit: Wikipedia/Ryan Knapp
San Jose Earthquakes are one of the 10 charter members of Major League Soccer, which competed in the league’s inaugural season in 1996. So far, they have participated in 17 seasons of MLS and is the No. 10 in our list of top 10 best MLS Soccer teams in the world. San Jose have played a total 532 matches in MLS, winning 209 among them. They were defeated in 207 matches, while managed to draw 116. The team netted a total 751 goals in Major league soccer till date, achieving 705 points with an average of 1.325 points per MLS match as of the current 2014-15 season.
Achievements:
● MLS Cup: 2 (2001, 2003)
● Supporters’ Shield: 2 (2005, 2012)
● MLS Western Conference: 3 ( 2003, 2005, 2012)
● Carolina Challenge Cup: 2 (2005, 2008)
● California Clásico: 5 (1997, 2001, 2005, 2010, 2012)
Joe Franchino of New England Revolution——image credit: Wikipedia/Jarrett Campbell from Cary, North Carolina, USA
New England Revolution is owned by Robert Kraft, who also owns the NFL team New England Patriots. They are currently playing their home matches at Gillette Stadium. New England Revolution were one of the ten original MLS franchises to compete in the MLS opening season in 1996. However, it took 12 years to win their first major trophy. They have competed in MLS a total 19 season since 1996. The soccer club have played a total 595 matches in MLS, winning 225 among them so far. Like any other teams, New England Revolution tasted the bitterness of defeat 255 times in MLS and draw matches 115 times till date. They team have scored a total of 829 goals in the major league soccer, while they engulfed 899. They stand at No. 9 in our list of top 10 best MLS soccer teams in the world.
Colorado Rapids vs. Columbus Crew—-image credit: Wikimedia/Corbinelliott
The Colorado Rapids are one of the best MLS teams in American professional soccer. The team is based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado. They are also one of the 10 founding MLS teams. Colorado Rapids rank at 8th place in our list of top 10 best MLS Soccer teams in the world. Since 1996, they have participated in 19 seasons in MLS. The team have played a total 594 MLS matches including the 2014-15 season. They have managed to win 224 games in MLS, while defeated in 255 matches. The Colorado Rapids soccer players have scored a total 796 goals till date. On the contrary, 883 goals were scored by the opponents so far. They have achieved a total of 761 points with an average of 1.281 point per MLS match.
Chicago Fire, March 2013—-image credit: Wikimedia/Ryan Byrne
Chicago Fire is the No. 7 in our list of top 10 best MLS soccer teams in the world. the club is based in Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois. They play their home matches at Toyota park, which can capacitate 20,000 spectators. Chicago Fire have participated in 17 MLS seasons since their first appearance in 1996. They have played a total 531 MLS matches and won 222 among them till date. Chicago Fire tasted the defeat 180 times, while drew matches 129 times in their Major league soccer portfolio. The players have scored a total of 785 goals, earning the point of 785 with an average 1.478 points per MLS match as of current season.
Achievements:
● MLS Cup: 1 (1998)
● Supports’ Shield: 1 (2003)
● Lamar Hunt US Open Cup: 4 (1998, 2000, 2003, 2006)
New York Red Bulls goal celebration—image credit: Wikimedia/betancourt
The New York Red Bulls are one of the best MLS soccer teams, which is based in Harrison, New Jersey. The team compete in the Eastern Conference of MLS since 1996. They have made their glorious participation in 19 MLS seasons till date. The New York Red Bulls is at No. 6 in our list of top 10 best MLS soccer teams in the world. the Red Bulls have played a total of 594 MLS matches and won 232 of them. They were defeated in 243 matches, while making 119 draw matches. The Red Bulls players have netted a total of 872 goals in the major league soccer and a total 894 goals were scored by their opponents. The club have achieved 793 points in MLS with an average of 1.335 points per MLS match as of the 2014-15 season of MLS. The Red Bulls Arena remains their home ground since 2010.
Teamphoto FC Dallas—-image credit: Wikimedia/Jason Gulledge
FC Dallas, formerly known as Dallas Burn, is an American professional MLS soccer team, which is based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas. FC Dallas is also one of the ten charter clubs in major league soccer, competing in the league since its inception. FC Dallas play their home matches in soccer-specific Toyota Stadium. They have participated in 19 MLS seasons since 1996 and have proven themselves as one of the best MLS soccer teams in the world. The club have played a total 594 matches in Major League Soccer and won 243 matches among them. Moreover, FC Dallas team were defeated 238 times in MLS, while they were able to draw matches 113 times. The Dallas boys have scored a total 878 goals in MLS till date, while a total of 875 goals were scored by their opponents. They have earned a total 812 points so far with an average of 1.367 points per MLS match as of the 2014-15 MLS season. FC Dallas rank at No. 5 in the list of top 10 best MLS soccer teams in the world.
Aurélien Collin of Sporting Kansas City—-image credit: Wikipedia/Ryan Knapp
Sporting Kansas City is a Major League Soccer team, which is based in Kansas City, Missouri. Their home ground is named Sporting Park. Sporting Kansas City is enlisted at No. 4 in our list of top 10 best MLS soccer teams in the world. The team have participated in 19 seasons of MLS since it first appearance in 1996. They have played a total 595 matches in MLS and have won 243 among them till date. In Major League Soccer, they were also defeated 229 matches, while drew 123 games. The Sporting Kansas City have scored a stunning 832 goals in MLS and 806 goals were scored against them. The team have achieved a total 820 points with an average of 1.378 points per MLS match as recorded.
D.C. United defender, Bryan Namoff—image credit: Wikipedia/Ben Stanfield
DC United is one of the most popular MLS Soccer teams in United States. The Club is based in Washington, DC and is playing MLS since 1996. The club is the most decorated club in Major League soccer, which have won a total 13 international and domestic titles over the years. Under the head coach Bruce Arena, DC United holds the joint MLS record for winning 4 MLS Cups, 3 US Open Championships and 4 MLS Supporters’ Shields. We rank the club at No. 3 in our list of top 10 best MLS soccer teams in the world. So far, they have participated in 19 MLS seasons and played over 594 matches. During this period, they have grabbed 249 wins, while defeated in 236 matches. The players have scored a stunning 918 goals in the major league soccer for their team till date and also engulfed 873 goals into their net. DC United have earned a point of 820 with an average of 1.380 points per MLS match as of the current 2014-15 MLS season.
DC United Trophy collection—image via: Wikipedia/Lietmotiv
2. Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew player taking free kick—image via: Flickr/Matt Boulton
Columbus Crew SC is one of the ten franchises of MLS, who have competed in the league since its inception in 1996. Their current home ground is Mapfre Stadium, which is facilitated with 19,968 seats. The Columbus Crew are standing at No. 2 spot in our list of top 10 best MLS Soccer teams in the world. The team have participated in 19 MLS seasons so far. They have played a total 594 matches in MLS, while winning 247 of them. They were defeated in 232 matches and were managed to draw 115 matches till date. The Columbus Crew have scored a total 856 goals in MLS, while a total 817 goals were scored by their opponents. They have managed to earn 830 points in MLS with an average of 1.397 per MLS match.
LA Galaxy team celebration—-image via: Wikimedia/Paul Bailey
The Los Angeles Galaxy, also known as LA Galaxy is the no. 1 in our list of top 10 best MLS Soccer teams in the world. Their HQ is located in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. From the very beginning of MLS, they have proven to be most decorated and most successful MLS team in the United States soccer history. The LA Galaxy are playing their home matches in StubHub Center, which is facilitated with 27,000 seating capacities. They have played 19 MLS seasons so far to become one of the best MLS teams. The LA Galaxy have participated in 594 matches in MLS, while winning 281 of them. The no. 1 MLS club also tasted the defeat 199 times and were capable of drawing matches 114 times. The LA Galaxy footballers netted the ball 951 times till date and their net was also crashed by the opponents 746 times. The LA Galaxy has achieved a total points of 935 with an amazing average of 1.574. Very recently, the Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has joined the club. The another former English legendary footballer David Beckham was also a key player for LA Galaxy.
