By Simone Poliandri
This week we pay homage to amateur youth football, showcasing a gem by Farai Mutatu, a Zimbabwean player of TNT Dynamite Soccer U13 Boys Red team of Lansing, Michigan. In the 29th minute of the first game of the season against team SCOR, Farai scored the game winning goal by bicycle kicking a deflected ball into the opponent net. A feat of readiness and great coordination. The final score of the match, played on April 16, was 3-2.
Category: Video
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Goal of the Week: Ladies’ magic
By Simone Poliandri
This week we celebrate women’s football with a spectacular goal by one of the best players in the world, Brazilian striker Marta Vieira Da Silva. Voted FIFA player of the year for five consecutive years (2006-2010), Marta, who just signed a two-year contract with the Swedish first-division team Tyresö FF, gave proof of her exceptional talent in a recent game that her team won 7-0 against KIF Örebro. In the 55th minute, Marta controlled a loose ball in the box with her right foot and back-heeled it with her left to make the score 5-0. As Marta played her first game for Tyreso in March 2012, this is the beginning of a season of extra work (and headaches) for opposing defenders and goalkeepers.
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Goal of the Week: Rewind to…1988 volley!
By Simone Poliandri
The opening goal in Real Madrid’s 5-1 away victory against Osasuna in matchday 31 of the Spanish Liga brings all long-term football aficionados back to memories of past champions. On March 31, Madrid striker Karim Benzema volleyed a surgically accurate cross by Cristiano Ronaldo into the opposite top corner of Osasuna’s net. This marvel of coordination and accuracy resembles closely Dutch phenom Marco van Basten’s splendid goal against USSR in the 1988 European Cup final.
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Fair Play: The way to play the game
By Simone Poliandri
It is always a surprising pleasure to witness episodes of fair play on the football pitch. What should be the norm rather than the exception entails placing a higher value on honesty than on winning a game or scoring a goal. This is exactly what midfielder Vittorio Esposito of Termoli Calcio did in the Italian National Amateur Cup quarterfinal return match against Torres. After being unjustly awarded a penalty kick, Esposito missed it intentionally, thus earning the opponents’ respectful cheers as well as those of all footballers and lovers of the sport. For the record, Termoli won the game 1-0 and advanced to the semifinals on a 3-2 aggregate.
As we still witness countless unsportsmanlike episodes like diving and faking injuries among professionals in all leagues and international competitions, Esposito’s gesture represents both a breath of fresh air and an example that many of his more famous and better paid colleagues ought to emulate. Way to go Vittorio!
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Goal of the Week: Tandem bicycle!
By Simone Poliandri
The recent matchday of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, played on March 6-7, saw the Korean side Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma host the Japanese team Nagoya Grampus in an exciting game that ended 2-2. Trailing until the very last second of stoppage time, the home team tied the game in the 93rd minute with a spectacular double-bicycle-kick play in which Brazilian forward Everton Santos assisted Brazilian midfielder Héverton Durães Coutinho for the goal that sent the home fans nuts and the Japanese ones into silent desperation.
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Goal of the Week: South African bicycle
By Simone Poliandri
Orlando Pirates striker Benni McCarthy scored the winning goal against Maritzburg United with a spectacular bicycle kick in the 75th minute. The game, played at Orlando Stadium on Sunday, February 25, saw Pirates prevail 1-0. The win placed Pirates level with second-placed Kaizer Chiefs on 33 points, just three behind leaders Sundowns in the Premier Soccer League of South Africa. McCarthy dedicated his fabulous goal to ailing former president Nelson Mandela.
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Goal of the Week: Heel
By Simone Poliandri
Uruguayan striker Gaston Ramirez scores the second goal in Bologna’s 2-0 victory against Fiorentina in a Serie A match on February 21. Ramirez finishes the cross from teammate Marco Di Vaio with a heel strike that leaves no chance to the “viola” goalkeeper, capping a classic, well-executed fastbreak.