12 National Teams that would have shined in 2020

Algerian national team celebrates winning the AFCON 2019 in Egypt

Image Credits: France 24

National pride is always at stake when players kit up into their national colors during major tournaments and international friendlies. National teams that shone in 2019 made a mark in international competitions and caught our attention.

The year 2019 was a great footballing year with massive tournaments including the FIFA Women’s World Cup which impressed with its biggest audience ever and the Africa Cup of Nations. In the group of teams that made an impression, others were fan favorites in the tournaments while some teams were surprise packages in the various games played during the year. Here’s a list of 12 nation men’s and women’s teams you should be following in 2020.

Men’s Teams

Algeria

Algeria won the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 29 years, conceding no more than 3 goals during the tournament. Their best performance before 2019 was in 2010 when they finished fourth in the competition. After a 29-year hiatus from the title, the Desert Foxes finally lifted the trophy led by Manchester City forward Riyad Mahrez. They were outside favourites from the start but put together a stellar performance against Senegal to win their group. They beat Guinea in the last 16 and also dismissed Cote d’Ivoire in the knockout rounds.

The World Cup qualifiers which were drawn in January set up the groups for qualifiers in which Algeria drew Niger, Burkina Faso and Djibouti putting them in a fairly comfortable position to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The qualifiers which will be played in mini-league format with both home and away games will start in October with Algeria launching their campaign for a spot against Djibouti. Only one team in each of the ten groups announced by FIFA will reach the last qualification round for Qatar 2022.

Qatari national team celebrate winning the 2019 Asian Cup

Image Credits: Al Jazeera

Qatar

Qatar won the Asian Cup against Japan in China in an unprecedented final showcase. They stunned four-time champions Japan 3-1 in the final to lift their maiden title at the continental tournament. The Qatari National team was an expected winner of the Asian Cup. They have come up to be the best team in Asia after being underestimated as a second class team. In their campaign, they knocked out Iraq, South Korea, The UAE and Saudi Arabia in the group stages. As World Cup hosts in 2022, Qatar have automatic qualification to the global tournament but have proven that they are a team to be watched as they prepare for their debut on the world stage. From being a team that was considered lowly they have upped the ante and more can be expected from the 2022 World Cup host nation.

Kosovo

During the 2020 Euro qualifiers, not many would have paid any attention to Kosovo, the tiny Eastern European nation which only gained its independence from Serbia recently in 2008, making it one of the youngest nations in the world. Kosovo were inches away from a historic moment when they played in the Euro-2020 qualifiers but lost to England. They were undefeated in 14 games and made it to the playoffs of the tournament, a fact that many would have scoffed over against North Macedonia. Due to the international political crisis, some players like Xherdan Shaqiri opted to play for their immigrant countries despite being from the Kosovan background. Kosovo is on the verge of rewriting its story after making their mark on the footballing world and definitely grabbing the attention of fans across the world.

“Despite the armed conflict in the country, the game has continued to develop in the country and may be on the edge of reaping the rewards of their determination and perseverance. Nosour Qasioun came close to qualifying for the 2018 edition and this time around they find themselves in a better position to accomplish the task.”

— Margaret Mandeya, FirstTouch Africa

Sadio Mane celebrates scoring a goal at World Cup 2018 against Japan

Image Credits: Getty Images

Senegal

Aliou Cissé’s men finished second behind a well organized Algeria, coming close to their first ever AFCON title. Although beaten by Algeria in the second group match and winning all the subsequent games after that, they made it to the finals led by Liverpool talisman and 2019 CAF Best African Player of the Year, Sadio Mane. In a match that pulled brilliant saves from both goalies to extend the game into extra-time, they knocked out Tunisia in the semifinals to make it to the AFCON finals for only the second time. Sadly, for the West African nation, they could not overcome the Algerians. The Teranga Lions were drawn into a favorable group ahead of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers alongside Congo-Brazzaville, Namibia and Togo, the latter being a shadow of the side that qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Senegal also played to a 1-1 draw to Brazil in a friendly in October during the Brazil International tour, a testament to the formidable side they’ve developed into.

Syria

Syria are on the verge of an early ticket into the 2022 World Cup. Their qualifying campaign has seen them win consecutive games in Group A of the Asian qualifiers. They lead the group in which there is Philippines, China, Guam and Maldives. The war torn Asia country is an unlikely group leader at this point with higher ranked countries such as Iran and South Korea lagging in second and third in their respective groups. Despite the armed conflict in the country, the game has continued to develop in the country and may be on the edge of reaping the rewards of their determination and perseverance. Nosour Qasioun came close to qualifying for the 2018 edition and this time around they find themselves in a better position to accomplish the task.

Mardek Mrdkian #17 of Syrian competes the ball with Yu Yang #4 of China during the 2018 CFA Team China International Football match between Chinese national team and Syrian national team at Nanjing Olympic Sports Center on October 16, 2018 in Nanjing, China.

(Oct. 15, 2018 - Source: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images AsiaPac)

Madagascar

Madagascar was a surprise qualifier for AFCON but proved that they had more than earned their spot, causing some upsetting exits for the big teams in the tourney. The Barea which has poor sports infrastructure beat the odds to make their debut at AFCON, a proud moment for the island nation. During the group stages, Madagascar beat Nigeria 2-0 and Burundi 1-0 while drawing against Guinea 2-2 to top the group. In the Round of 16, Madagascar drew against DR Congo and went on to qualify for the quarter-finals on penalties. Based on their performance at AFCON, it is evident that there is still more to come from the Barea. 

Ukraine

Ukraine directly qualified for Euro 2020 ahead of Portugal after a historic 2-1 win in Lisbon to top the group. They won six games and drew two out of the eight they played to qualify for the tournament. Ukraine’s coach is former AC Millan and Chelsea and Ballon d’Or winner Andriy Shevchenko who has coached the team since 2016. Ukraine resembled a well organised team in the qualifiers and got a reward of their labors by managing to accomplish an enormous feat. This was only the third time that the East European country qualified for Euros having appeared twice, once as hosts in 2012, and in 2016 when they beat Slovenia in the play-offs.

Lucy Bronze of England celebrates with teammates after scoring her team's third goal during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France Quarter Final match between Norway and England at Stade Oceane on June 27, 2019 in Le Havre, France.

(June 26, 2019 - Source: Getty Images Europe)

Women’s Teams

Italy

A resurgent Italy Women’s team sparked excitement for millions of Italians as they progressed to the quarter-finals of the 2019 World Cup. La Azzure won their group ahead of Brazil and made it to the quarterfinals after being absent from the tournament for 20 years. They beat China 2-0 in the round of 16 but succumbed to eventual finalists the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. Their performance, however, inspired support from Italian fans with over 30 million tuning in to watch their game against Brazil, contributing to the changing of biased perceptions in the country against women in the sport. Italy leads group B with the most points in the qualifiers of the 2021 Euros.

England

Phillip Neville’s England put up a commendable performance during the France World Cup but were unfortunately knocked out of the semi-finals by the USWNT. England’s squad bosted a star-studded line-up that included Lyon defender and UEFA Women’s player of the year, Lucy Bronze. Despite falling short of their ambitions of bringing the title to England and finishing fourth after losing the third-place playoff to Sweden, their overall performance is something that they can be proud of. England will defend their SheBelieves title in March during the invitational tournament comprising of USWNT, Japan and Spain who will make their tournament debut.

USWNT

We cannot fail to mention the great performance by the US Women’s National Team as they embarked to defend their title. They did so in an exciting way and they will continue to be a team we will look out for this coming year. Co-captain, Megan Rapinoe won the golden boot at 2019 the FIFA World Cup in France as they expectedly sailed through the group stages, beating hosts France in the quarter-finals to progress to the semis where they dismissed England by 2-1. USWNT will likely qualify for the Olympics when they take on Costa Rica in their first match of the CONCACAF Women’s qualifying tournament where the top two teams will qualify for Tokyo. The US are four-time Olympic gold medalists and have qualified for every edition since 1966.

Sweden

Although they did not make it to the finals, Sweden had an amazing tournament, finishing third in the World Cup and booking a place at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The pioneers of women’s football will once again launch their Olympic campaign as one of the three teams from Europe to qualify. In the run up to the Olympics, Sweden will join Portugal, Norway, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Denmark and New Zealand in the 27th edition of the Algarve invitational Cup in March as they prepare for a run at the Olympics. They are definitely amongst the favorites to take home some silverware after coming in second to Germany in the 2016 Olympics.

Alex Morgan and members of the United States Women's National Soccer Team are honored at a ceremony at City Hall on July 10, 2019 in New York City. The honor followed a ticker tape parade up lower Manhattan's "Canyon of Heroes" to celebrate their gold medal victory in the 2019 Women's World Cup in France.

(July 9, 2019 - Source: BRUCE BENNETT/Getty Images North America)

Netherlands

The rise of the Netherlands over the years has consisted of impressive feats at every turn. Their latest show proved their status as a giant in the women’s game, coming in second to the USWNT in the 2019 World Cup. Despite the disappointment of not earning their first World Cup title, the Oranje have already qualified for the Olympics and will make their maiden appearance in the tournament alongside Great Britain and Sweden who have also qualified from Europe. The defending European champions are currently on their way to qualify for the Euro 2021 as they lead group A.

Special mentions

Ukraine and Korea U-20

The young Ukrainian team won the 2019 U-20 men’s World Cup after beating South Korea in the final to become the new generation of players for the country. Ukraine had never made it past the Round of 16. Both teams were undefeated in their run-up to the finals. Ukraine beat Panama, Colombia, and Italy to make it to the finals. South Korea had similar success, seeing off South Africa, Argentina, Japan, Senegal and then Ecuador en route to the final.

Women’s tournaments coming up in 2020 include the exciting Tokyo Olympics and major invitational tournaments alongside the qualifiers for the Euro 2021. The 2022 World Cup qualifiers will heat up towards the end of the year as we move closer to the biggest tournament in global football.

Women’s Tournaments this year

1.       Tokyo Olympics

2.       SheBelieves International

3.       Tournoi de France

4.       Algarve Cup

5.       U-20 and U-17 Women’s World Cups

6.       African Women’s Cup of Nations

Men’s Tournaments

1.       Tokyo Olympics

2.       Euro 2020

3.       Copa America

4.       CHAN 2020

Who were MLS’ Most Valuable Teams in 2019 and Why?

American football is the definition of sports in the USA, baseball is the national pastime and basketball lands itself a place as the nation’s third most popular professional sport. Now, this absolutely leaves our dear old soccer in a difficult position when it comes to finding its place in the American psyche. However, soccer is not the world’s number one for nothing, the legendary sport is slowly creeping into the hearts of the American audience and it just might have finally found its place in the world’s largest economy.

President and CEO of AEG Dan Beckerman looks on as team President of the Los Angeles Galaxy Chris Klein hands Zlatan Ibrahimovic #9 his jersey during a press conference at StubHub Center on March 30, 2018 in Carson, California.

(March 29, 2018 - Source: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images North America)

History of soccer in America

The world’s game graced American soils from as early as the late 1800s. However, the first professional league of note was formed in 1921 and was referred to as the American Soccer League (ASL). The league thrived for about a decade, attracting European talent and scooping third place at the 1930 World Cup. However, as of 1931, in-house fights between the league and its member teams led to the ASL’s collapse and soccer in America fell off the map for 4 decades.

The USA did manage to gain a memorable victory over England at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. However, soccer was still less prominent compared to the days of the ASL until the 1960s when the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) was formed (1967 to be exact). Sadly, the NPSL only managed to last one season.

When NPSL went up in flames, its ashes gave birth to North American Soccer League (NASL). The NASL managed to change the way people viewed soccer in the USA especially when the great Pele` joined New York Cosmos after his retirement. When the Cosmos signed Pele` who is arguably the greatest player in the history of the game, soccer was catapulted into the mainstream in the USA. Every fan wanted to touch Pele` and shake his hand and Cosmos drew large crowds to stadiums to watch their games. However, Pele` retired from the NASL in 1977 and took the league down with him, fans started to lose interest in the league and by 1984 the NASL had hit the ground.

It took 10 years to get soccer back to the scene in the USA. FIFA decided to host the 1994 World Cup in the USA and interest in the sport was awaken but most Americans were still a bit skeptical. However, efforts to convince Americans too fully like soccer continued to be made and this led to the formation of the famous Major League Soccer, simply known as MLS. Unlike the previous leagues, MLS has endured and managed to change the way soccer is viewed in the USA. MLS has led to a couple of national successes.

In 1999, the USA managed to win the Women’s World Cup and in 2002 the men’s team progressed to the quarter-finals in Brazil. Apart from those two, in 2010 the USA team made it through to the knockout stages when Landon Donovan scored a goal in the group match against Algeria. Finally, with MLS in the picture, the FIFA World Cup began to make sense to Americans. MLS has continued to make soccer a big part of the social and economic circles of America as a whole and the various teams that are part of the league have contributed to its success.

MLS’s most valuable teams 2019

Ranking MLS’s most valuable teams for 2019 can be summarized into a list of the top 9 according to revenue generated and value in dollars as below:

RANK TEAM VALUE($M) REVENUE($M)

1 Atlanta United 500 78

2 LA Galaxy 480 64

3 LA FC 475 75

4 Seattle Sounders 405 47

5 Toronto FC 395 43

6 Portland Timbers 390 47

7 New York City FC 385 45

8 Chicago Fire 335 23

9 DC United 330 41

Carlos Vela #10 of the Los Angeles Football Club dribbles down the field during action against the Portland Timbers at Banc of California Stadium on July 15, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

(July 14, 2018 - Source: Katharine Lotze/Getty Images North America)

Atlanta United

Atlanta United found itself in pole position for the second time in a row. The team was worth $500 million at the end of 2019. They also generated $78 million worth of revenue. Apart from financial value, Atlanta United has notable on-field success which include winning the 2018 MLS Cup and making the playoffs in each of its three MLS seasons. This on-field success has increased the team’s fan base and their average home-game attendance of 52,000 fans per game ranks among the top soccer teams in the world. Atlanta United is also a leader in attracting cash flow from Europe’s top leagues, the most notable example being the sale of star midfielder Miguel Almiron to Premier League’s Newcastle United for $27 million, a transfer fee that no other team has ever received before.

LA Galaxy

The team fell second to Atlanta with a value of $480 million. Galaxy has been MLS’s model of success since the league’s genesis in 1994, generating $5.5 million from local media rights. It’s the famous MLS team that never ranks outside the top 6 in average home game attendance. Among all the MLS teams, Galaxy has been the most preferred landing for international stars from the likes of David Beckham to Zlatan Ibrahimović.

LAFC

Galaxy’s rivals have completed only 2 seasons but already finds itself in Forbes’ top 3 and is valued at $475 million. LAFC is reportedly worth annual payments of $6.7 million of naming rights and $6 million of jersey sponsorship. The team has sold out every one of its home games despite having the highest ticket prices in MLS history and ranks eighth in home-game attendance. Both LAFC and Galaxy drew an audience of nearly 900,000 viewers when they faced off in the 2019 semi-final playoffs.

“A good example of that investment is the purchase of Chicago Fire by billionaire Joe Mansueto. In September, the Morningstar Founder Joe Mansueto acquired 100 % ownership of Chicago Fire at $400 million valuation, a huge amount that is worth a value of more than 4 NHL  teams.”

— Lovejoy Tabeth Munamati, FirstTouch Africa

Stefan Frei #24 of Seattle Sounders FC 2 grabs the ball in front of Josef Martinez #7 of Atlanta United and Jordy Delem #21 of Seattle Sounders FC 2 during the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on July 15, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia.

(July 14, 2018 - Source: Michael Chang/Getty Images North America)

Seattle Sounders

The league’s fourth most valuable team and the current MLS Cup champions are worth $405 million and comes second after Atlanta United in average home game attendance.

Chicago Fire

Forbes values the team at $335 million ranking it at number 8 in the list of MLS’s most valuable teams. The team has struggled to find its footing in terms of relevance and financial status for a long time, constantly being ranked in the bottom 5 in home game attendance since 2013. However, investors are looking for a possible bright future for MLS teams and USA soccer as a whole by investing large sums of money. A good example of that investment is the purchase of Chicago Fire by billionaire Joe Mansueto. In September, the Morningstar Founder Joe Mansueto acquired 100 % ownership of Chicago Fire at $400 million valuation, a huge amount that is worth a value of more than 4 NHL  teams.

The average MLS team is now worth $313 million, which is up to 30% from last year’s value. The year over year growth in MLS teams far outpaces the rising team values in NBA (13 %), the NFL (11%), MLB (8%) and the NHL (6%). MLS’ average attendance of 21,358 from 2013-2018 has been ranked number 8 in the world. In addition, Atlanta United, the MLS team which only joined MLS in 2017 has the tenth best average attendance of 51,547.

How soccer growth in the USA is impacting business decisions

Professional soccer at all levels is thriving in the USA with increased average attendance and media coverage and this is, in turn, attracting many markets to support MLS. Many businessmen are turning to MLS as a lucrative goldmine and are pouring in investments into the league. Most MLS teams are running at a loss but investors continue to pour in because they believe the future of USA soccer is getting brighter by the day.

“Expansion during the last 15 years has been enormously successful and the key driver behind the league’s continued rise, and we are pleased that some of the top business and community leaders representing great markets in North America are aggressively pursuing MLS expansion clubs,” said MLS commissioner Don Garber.

The question on people’s minds could be “is soccer powerful enough to create employment opportunities and restore the economy in the presence of NBA, NFL, and MLB? “

(L to R) DC United Managing Partner and CEO Jason Levien, Wayne Rooney #9 of DC United, and DC United General Manager Dave Kasper pose with a jersey during his introduction press conference at The Newseum on July 2, 2018 in Washington, DC.

(July 1, 2018 - Source: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images North America)

The answer to the above question is that it is indeed possible for soccer to be part of the driving force for a successful economy in the USA if serious reforms and investments are pushed towards the sport. This will guarantee the future growth of soccer in the USA to come close to the European level.

Huge investments are already being pulled into the Major League soccer for expansion teams. Joe Mansueeto’s purchase of Chicago Fire is a good example of a major investment by notable businessmen and billionaires. Regardless of the MLS team ranking eighth in the list of MLS’s most valuable teams, Mansueto purchased the team at a $400 million valuation. In July 2019, NBA star James Harden invested $15 million for a small stake in the Houston Dynamo. In August, Microsoft executive Terry Myerson led an ownership group that includes celebrities Ciara, Macklemore and Russell Wilson in buying a stake in Seattle Sounders. Another notable purchase was that of 9% of Orlando Sports Holding by Hedge fund manager Albert Friedberg.

In conclusion MLS and soccer in the USA, in general, is finally finding its place in the social and economic circles of Americans punctuated by increasing numbers of fans and investor. Soccer might just be the new goldmine for businessmen in the USA.

At this point of the ABSA Premiership Season, who are the favorites?

Kaizer Chiefs Warm-up

Image Credits: Getty Images

Mamelodi Sundowns were crowned champions of South Africa for the second consecutive year after seeing off Orlando Pirates at the top of the summit by just two points. But the main question on everyone’s mind as the 2019/20 campaign kicked off was can they make it three titles in a row,  and take home the crown for the 10th time, editing the history books in the process.

Pitso Mosimane ‘s men dramatically retained their championship after fending off fierce competition from Orlando Pirates and Bidvest Wits who were only 6 points adrift from being named champions.

There was a lot of excitement prior to the beginning of the 2019/20 season and it has provided nothing short of that. The title race was expected to be a two-horse race between Sundowns and Orlando Pirates, but halfway through the season that thought seems like a distant memory as several teams have come up to break Bafana BaStyle and the Buccaneers’ dominance at the top for the past two years. But who can really be considered as favorites at this point in the season?

“Amakhosi currently hold the best wins record in the league (74%) averaging 2.37 points per game but more importantly, their away record is currently the best in the Absa Premiership. Why is this important? ”

— Feyisayo Stephens, FirstTouch Africa

Kaizer Chiefs

Amakhosi were definitely not considered to be in the race for the title at the beginning of the season following their truly devastating 9th place finish in the 2018/19 season. However, a change of fortunes have seen them move nine points clear of second-placed Orlando Pirates having played one game less. Doubts, disappointments and a whole lot more filled the Arrowhead Stadium as the 2019/20 campaign kicked off. Fans were not entirely convinced that Ernst Midderndorp was the right man to lead them to their first title since the 2014/15 campaign. An unprosperous transfer window that saw only five new signings and about ten departures during the summer did not improve the atmosphere around the club either. Now, 19 games into the new season, that all seems like an extinct memory as Chiefs look like a title-winning side again. Amakhosi currently hold the best wins record in the league (74%) averaging 2.37 points per game but more importantly, their away record is currently the best in the Absa Premiership. Why is this important? That is the one thing all teams which have been crowned champions have in common, they always had an incredible away record and if Chiefs are able to maintain their great away form they might be on their way to the title.

Mamelodi Sundowns

It would be impossible to have this conversation without including Pitso Mosimane’s men. The Brazilians are on the verge of rewriting the history books with the 10th title in sight. This record will definitely be a motivating factor as the Brazilians are trying to make it three in three. Sundowns have taken 35 points from their first 18 games this campaign, managing a 54% win rate. This has left them ten-point adrift from the top of the summit. Pitso has openly considered Chiefs to be favorites after their 4-2 defeat at the hands of the former. The CAF Champions League played a huge role in that defeat and the title race at large, but is that really enough reason for the huge gap at the top of the table? Sundowns definitely have their work cut out for them if they wish to make it a hat-trick of titles, but if any team can recover from a 10-point deficit it would definitely be Sundowns. Their team boasts one of the best coaches to ever grace African football and a very talented squad. Besides they pulled that one on Pirates last season, that is coming from behind to win the title.

Mamelodi Sundows Celebrations

Image Credits: Getty Images

Bidvest Wits

Having pushed Orlando Pirates and Sundowns all the way last campaign, the 2016/17 champions would like to have the crown once again, and with an experienced and well-decorated coach in the person of Gavin Hunt adding talents such as the Bafana Bafana trio of Thulani Hlatshwayo, Buhle Mkhwanazi and Sifiso Hlanti in their side, makes their hunt for the title achievable. The Clever Boys are currently down in fifth place, 15 points from the title leaders Kaizer Chiefs but they have 5 games in hand. Only Kaizer Chiefs have a better win rate than Wits. Their defence which consists of the South African trio, has helped Wits to maintain the best defence in the league conceding only 12 goals and are just 3 goals away for matching Sundowns scoring form this season and still with a massive number of games in hand to do all of that. Gavin might have verbally thrown in the towel when he said, “Give the league title to Kaizer chiefs already,” earlier in December, but we all know very well that the title race is not over until it’s over.

Who’s your pick? Which side will go all the way? Let us know in the comments below

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How did Arsenal fall so far and what can they do to rebuild?

Arsenal fans show their support during Arsenal FC open training ahead of the match between Arsenal and Singapore during the 2015 Barclays Asia Trophy Tournament at the Sports Hub National Stadium on July 14, 2015 in Singapore. (July 13, 2015 - Source: Stanley Chou/Getty Images AsiaPac)

8-2

Chew gum, check. Glasses, check. Dark and heavy coat keeping the cold on lock and hiding the prestigious red tie, check! You know the rest. With Fergie on the touchline, his red troopers were fashionably running riot. They were subduing the other red, making a show of what used to be a formidable opponent. Nani, Rooney, Ashely Young, and even the soon to become a Gooner in Danny Welbeck had all gotten in on the act, embarrassing his future employers. I bet it felt like a Germany blitzkrieg for the visitors as Manchester United finished 8-2 winners on the day. That is 59 years after Arsenal had done the same to the Red Devils.

It all just started as another Premier League weekend, in need of a scoreline and 3 points up for grabs but the 8-2 loss to Manchester United wasn’t just a stain on a season record; but a scar forever etched in the hearts of the entire Arsenal community, both present, and future. It still remains until this very day.

But that’s not where it all started, all hell had broken loose a little earlier than that.

49-0

It actually didn’t start here either, but why not revisit some of the greatest footballing stories ever written. Before they were “the Inevitables”, Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal were once upon a time, “the Invincibles.” During the 2003/04 Premier League season, the Gunners finished an entire 38-games season unbeaten to clinch the coveted English title, even extending that record to 49 games until, as luck would have it, Manchester United ended that run in 2004. It was the perfect story, a young foreign manager in Arsene had been unpopularly handed the reins in 1996 at one of the most prestigious clubs in the country.

Ringing some changes around the whole managerial landscape that included diet, he took his time to really come through but eventually assembled an incredible force that literally no one could stop. Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Lauren, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg only to mention but a few were just a few of his headliners in an all-star line-up that tore up defences for fun. In a space of 9 years, the Frenchman amassed a total of 7 titles. Rain typically follows a drought, but not quite in the Arsenal world, they had it backwards. Here is where things started going south.

The cost of ambition

Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie celebrate after Arsenal won 7-1 during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers at Emirates Stadium on February 4, 2012 in London, England.

(Feb. 3, 2012 - Source: Paul Gilham/Getty Images Europe)

A dream that does not cost you, is seldom worth pursuing. Even that bit is also true for Arsenal. As more trophies clang in and ticket sales made the till ring, Arsenal’s famous hunting ground became smaller. The leadership, board, players and even fans perhaps felt it too. They were now envisioning the conquest of Europe and more world-wide influence. Replacing Highbury with a shiner and bigger Emirates seemed the right accessory to the vision. It was obviously going to cost money, but that was not all.

a. The great exodus

Without going so much into the construction project itself, the bottom line is that it demanded so much that Arsene Wenger’s player grooming skills came in handy. As the former Gunners manager once recalled, they had to sell their best players to make it work.

“People do not take a step back to look at what has happened.

"For me, the environment changed between 2006 and 2015, because we were under financial restrictions (the construction of the Emirates), at a time when a lot of money was injected into English football.

“We had less money, we had to sell our best players, whilst other teams were strengthening… sometimes with our players. But the expectations were exactly the same.

"To be completely honest, I have never worked more than during this period, between 2006 and 2015. I had signed a five-year contract because the banks required it whilst we were building a new stadium.

“We had absolutely no guarantees and I went to the end of my contract because I wanted to respect this challenge. But it was difficult. I am proud of what I have done.” – Arsene Wenger

Samir Nasri of Arsenal (L) is congratulated by manager Arsene Wenger as he scores their second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on November 8, 2008 in London, England.

(Nov. 8, 2008 - Source: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Europe)

It would have been easier if it was a typical business transaction of exchanging money for a product or service. Core players left the club for other pastures, not just any pastures but that of their bitter rivals. It was subtracting themselves and adding to a foe, or even better, selling their soul.

During this period, legendary club captains such as Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie left for Barcelona and Manchester United. The young boy who had grown to become a man and a legend at the club in Cesc Fabregas also followed Henry to the Spanish giants. In a dagger to the heart move, Togolese international in Emmanuel Adebayor switched allegiances to cross-town rivals Tottenham and even came back once to humiliate them by the most savage goal celebration of the decade. All of Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Bakary Sagna joined the blue-half of Manchester. Time will not permit us to mention the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain who departed the club for almost nothing to already strong rivals, amongst many others.

Some of these players’ contracts were left to run out and the sanctioning of their sales to rivals did little in showing the club hierarchy understood and respected the culture of the club.

b. Lots of misses and few hits

(L-R) Santi Cazorla, Mikel Arteta and Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal pose with the trophy after the FA Community Shield match between Manchester City and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on August 10, 2014 in London, England.

(Aug. 9, 2014 - Source: Clive Mason/Getty Images Europe)

To make matters worse, even when the Emirates Stadium was finally furnished, the club made some questionable acquisitions of new players. Ones which never really popped but became mere shadows of legends who had left. We are talking of the likes of Olivier Giroud who eventually reached a century of goals for the club, but his shortcomings made fans miss captain van Persie even more. Yaya Sanogo, Takuma Asano, Kim Kallstrom, Mohamed Elneny, Emmanuel Frimpong, Nicklas Bendtner, Lucas Perez are some of the names either bought in or came through the academy that never really made an impact but rather became scapegoats and constant reminders of the despicable state of the club. One of the brighter lights of that generation became Santi Cazorla, the little magician who danced through opponents and dazzled fans, not forgetting Hector Bellerin who stormed out of Hale End Academy into the first team. The latter remains an integral part of the fabric of the club to this day.

c. The ugly sisters

As the Gunners were trying to sort out their bedroom issues from around 2006-15, their rivals in the Premier League were not folding their hands. Chelsea through billionaire Roman Abramovich had begun reaching deeper into their pockets, bringing world-class managers such as Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Rafa Benitez to the club. They were also signing world-class players such as Fernando Torres and Drogba for hefty fees, all resulting in trophies. The law of replacement was in effect. The same applied for Manchester United who were still stable under Sir Alex Fergusson at least until 2013, Manchester City, Tottenham, and Liverpool who emerged as some of the big winners of the decade.

Just to put things into perspective, the mighty Gunners who had registered at least a 4th place finish and secured Champions League football for 19 consecutive seasons between 1998/99 to 2016/17, finished the decade having not achieved the same feat in the last 2 seasons of the 2010s.

d. The fighting parents

Stan Kroenke, Arsenal shareholder (R) and Chips Keswick, Arsenal chairman (L) are seen in the stands during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Burnley at Emirates Stadium on May 6, 2018 in London, England.

(May 5, 2018 - Source: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images Europe)

Perhaps the sticking point to all their struggles could be argued as the lack of a steady vision from the club hierarchy which failed to steer the club off mediocrity. Some of the images that come to mind remind us of the non-alignment of two majority shareholders in Stan Kroenke and Alisher Usmanov. The latter was believed to be more ambitious and endowed with loose pockets. Usmanov wanted to buy out Kroenke but eventually sold his stock to the former after several attempts, further charging the environment surrounding the Emirates.

e. Glass half-full or half-empty

By the book, most of Arsenal’s troubles were supposed to disappear after the construction of the shiny stadium that costed much more than money. Well, not quite. As Arsene Wenger once lamented in one of his reflections after leaving the club, “they had built a new stadium but left their soul at the old one.”

Performances oscillated over the years as the Frenchman tried to initiate a major rebuilt. During that period from the late 2000s, going into the 2010s, Arsenal endured a drought of 9 years without major silverware. That brand new shiny stadium almost seemed like an imposing figure of a curse until when they won the English FA Cup in the 2013/14 season, and then two more times after that.

“However, in a late twist of fortunes, Emery’s Red Army capitulated towards the end of the 2018/19 season. They secured just 4 points out of a possible 15 in their last 5 games and lost an elusive top 4 spot that was literally theirs to lose.”

— Dennis Takaendesa, FirstTouch Africa

A new genesis

As things charged up around the Emirates, an explosion was obviously inevitable. Stagnation became the general feeling amongst most of the Arsenal faithful. The fans had grown fairly used to more prestigious titles and codenames such as “the Invincibles,” chasing top 4 finishes and cowing under the whip of the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United with humungous scorelines such as 5-1, 6-2, 6-1 and 8-2 could not just cut it. The big dog had shelved off a few titles and pounds of pride to become the underdog. Change was inevitable.

With 21-years of service under his belt and having overseen it all, to many, the leadership of Arsene Wenger and Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis had become the symbol of failure. The two eventually left the club after initiating some changes that would form the bedrock of a hopeful future.

A fan bows to Nicolas Pepe of Arsenal after running onto the pitch the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and AFC Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium on October 06, 2019 in London, United Kingdom.

(Oct. 5, 2019 - Source: Getty Images Europe)

22-0

After going through a series of candidates with a commanding fear of repeating Manchester United’s failures in replacing a long-serving manager swirling their minds, Gazidis and the Arsenal board eventually settled on Unai Emery after months of phone calls and interviews. It was actually hard to argue with the decision given the limited resources Arsenal had, to bring in more famous names. The Spaniard had worked water into wine stuff at Valencia, seeing the La Liga club through some of its darkest periods and bankruptcy. He had also won the UEFA Europa League three-consecutive times with Sevilla and earned himself a ticket into the cash-laden French Ligue 1’s Paris St Germain.

Emery preached change, intensity, and restoration of the club’s bond with its fans. All the right things. He even became a fan favorite in his early days for tactical tweaks that saw the Gunners go through a 22 match unbeaten run. In particular, the traveling fans chanted, “we’ve got our Arsenal back,” in their all entertaining 5-1 win at Fulham in October 2018.

However, in a late twist of fortunes, Emery’s Red Army capitulated towards the end of the 2018/19 season. They secured just 4 points out of a possible 15 in their last 5 games and lost an elusive top 4 spot that was literally theirs to lose. Not only that, but they also forfeited a return to Europe’s elite club competition by fashionably capitulating in the UEFA Europa League final to lose 4-1 to Chelsea. A debut season under new management with so much promise became a typical Arsenal season in a flash.

Going into the new season, they never recovered. Poorer results eventually led to the dismissal of the Spaniard just one and a half years after his appointment. It was time to go back to the drawing board.

Positive signings

Putting aside the Emery appointment that didn’t quite work out, there are a lot of positives that fans took and can take from his spell in charge. Firstly, the new management structure which now included a Head of Recruitment, Head of Football, Head Coach, Club Lawyer, and the Chief Executive has already done major surgeries that could reap huge benefits in the future. In past times, it was typically Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis who ran everything, the club manager and Chief Executive.

Unlike the periods of the likes of the aforementioned Sanogo, Asano and Lucas Perez; Arsenal’s new hierarchy has already brought in gems of footballing talent in the likes of Matteo Guendouzi and Gabriel Martinelli. Even the Hale End Academy seems rejuvenated with talented youth players such as Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock, Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson knocking on the door of a starting berth. Most impressively and rare to the Arsenal that everybody had grown used to, they arm strangled the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Napoli and Chelsea to bring in record transfers of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe. The former is already the new captain of the club and one of the most prolific strikers in the division.

Potential, something that was arguably present in the Gunners former times of stadium construction and the exodus of players, is very much palpable right now. It also seems like they’ve found the right person to organize the squad and craft a new pathway.

Sergio Busquets of Barcelona evades .Bukayo Saka of Arsenal during the Joan Gamper Trophy pre-season friendly match between FC Barcelona and Arsenal at Nou Camp on August 04, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain.

(Aug. 3, 2019 - Source: Getty Images Europe)

Mikel Arteta, the “reincarnation” of Arsene the managerial prodigy

Just like the appointment of Wenger back in 1996, Mikel Arteta’s return to the club as the Head Coach drew several skeptics but is slowly starting to feel like the correct one. At just 37-years of age with no experience managing any club, Arteta made the switch to the Emirates from being Pep Guardiola’s Assistant and Manchester City. Just 3 years after he had hung up his boots.

Blind faith, that what it was called and looked like. Especially given the fact that proven and highly experienced gaffers such as Carlo Ancelotti were available at the time of his appointment.

Well, it’s still too early to say that the Spaniard has already changed the direction of the club. What’s more certain is that he has brought the feel-good factor back to the squad, stamped his authority and communicated his vision of a playing style. Arteta is also working on repairing the bond between the club, fans and has already worked wonders in giving new opportunities to players such as Shkodran Mustafi and Granit Xhaka whose exits were imminent, often abused and scapegoated by fans. The kind of things that a rebuilding job will take at any club.

Results were still to improve at the time of the writing of this piece but there were enough reasons for the Arsenal faithful to start believing again.

Towards the promised land

Poetic justice says that anyone associated with Arsenal football club deserves a breather. A period of growth, better results, fun, challenging for the most important titles amongst others. But as we all know, this is not a perfect world nor some script in a book, 2020-30 might and might not still be their decade.

Only time will tell, but all hope is not lost.

“The Women in Football Leadership Programme” – a much needed breakthrough

Lack of women in leadership positions is one of the major reasons why women’s soccer is less affluent than our male counterparts. In my previous article, I did mention how FIFA could do way more than invest 1 billion into the game,

“Of course we need funding to move forward and to ultimately change the game. However, to help everyone involved, be it an established player or a simple girl with nothing but passion and dreams of brighter days playing somewhere in a village, we will need more than just funds. The longstanding lack of women in positions of responsibility in the football community has led to limited voices to advocate for change”

Well, it seems like FIFA has been one step ahead, dipping their hands right into the core. FIFA together with UEFA and  IMD formed the Women in Football Leadership Programme. The aim of this program being to empower women to take up leadership positions.

Issa Johansen, FIFA and Sierra Leone Football Chief

What the hell is this Women in Football Leadership Programme?

This great initiative by the trio has already inspired some women to assume leadership positions from all over the world.

The 2019 edition of the programme brought together 24 participants in Zurich from 18th to 20th of November 2019. FIFA along with other governing bodies have been continuously working on a common aim. The aim has been to enrich the industry with different and valuable opinions as well as backgrounds and experiences. With the achievement of this aim comes the ability to make the game as inclusive as possible to women as well as embracing diversity in gender, perspective, race, religion, and social status. The most essential goal for the achievement of the prior mentioned aim is, therefore, the representation of women in football leadership.

You all know how men always say “women are complex creatures,” which applies in football as well. No man in power can fully understand the needs of women, only a woman can. Therefore, women play vital roles in the success of organizations where women are involved, especially if the aim is to be diverse and inclusive. The genesis of this program is a win-win situation for both male and female organizations. As much as the program provides a platform for women to grow and improve their decision-making skills, it also allows them to create a balance, allowing maximum sharing of ideas and progress.

The Women in Football Leadership program seeks to use a powerful leadership training week to support the careers of women who have a great influence on the today and tomorrow of football as a game and an industry. The programme allows participants to work on and discuss aspects of leadership for continual career development. At the end of the WFLP, every participant takes home leadership skills, extended networks and strong links with other women in positions of authority as well as the confidence to set and pursue career goals.

The program includes plenary discussions, role-playing, and one-on-one coaching. Teaching and professional skills development, as well as team dynamics, are also part of the package. The training week creates a good training environment, conducive for personal, professional growth and promotion of self-awareness and team spirit in a bid to enhance leadership skills.

Victoria Conteh: First female coach to manage a Sierra Leone top flight club

Credits: Cafonline

When UEFA developed the WLFP, it aimed at women working in all areas of the football landscape not just in women’s soccer. This European governing body sought to identify individuals with leadership potential and help them develop the necessary skills through this initiative. Participants of this program are drawn from all aspects of football associations around the world. Women with various roles like independent board members, directors, performance directors, presidents, and chairwomen show up as participants.

In the 2019 edition of the programme women like Sarai Bareman (FIFA ‘s chief women’s football officer), Michele Uva (UEFA vice-president and deputy chairman of the UEFA Women’s football committee) and Ana Moura (director of the Portuguese Football Association) were present. And of course, the gospel of diversity was well implemented as we saw African football making its mark with notable women like Tsoseletso Magang (a member of the Botswana football association’s executive committee) present.

Leadership and figures before and after WFLP

Before The Women in Football Leadership Program, women lacked proper motivation and guidance to occupy positions of authority. However, in 2014, UEFA launched the programme in response to the rising concern of lack of diversity in the management of the football associations. The figures started to show an increase in the number of women in positions of authority in various associations. However, in 2014 only 5% of mid-level or top management positions were held by women.

A 2016 survey carried out in the seventh annual audit of women’s experiences on the board and in leadership roles within the national governing bodies (NGBs) of sports in England and Wales showed a huge increase in the numbers. The figures showed 30% of board positions being held by women while there was a fall from 42% in 2014 to 36% in 2016 of women in senior leadership roles. These figures falling way below the 50% borderline mark show that very few women occupy positions in national associations and there’s still room for more.

Marta;Ballon d’Or winner and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador

What more should National Governing bodies do?

So with all the programs being set up to ensure an increase in women participation in leadership roles, numbers still fall below stipulated figures. Even with this great initiative by the trio (FIFA, UEFA, and IMD) we still think there is more that can be done to enhance the program and increase our figures. The question is “what can NGBs do to enhance the WFLP and increase the figures?”

The answer to this burning question is one phrase which is also part of WLFP’s aim, “gender diversity” because believe it or not, it cannot be for women and it obviously won’t work for women if there ain’t no women in it.

Megan Rapinoe receives The Best FIFA Women's Player of the Year award by FIFA President Gianni Infantino during The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019 at Teatro alla Scala on September 23, 2019 in Milan, Italy.

(Sept. 22, 2019 - Source: Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images Europe)

This aspect of gender diversity can be broken down into various concepts that explain what needs to be done to increase our numbers. First of all, is the issue of board representation. Boards should no longer wait for positions to be vacant but should try to create a more gender-diverse board. The terms of office of longer standing board members should be brought to an end and proactively recruit, making sure equal numbers of men and women are on the shortlist.

Another notable issue is that of a decrease in the number of women in upper positions, indicating fewer women being promoted than men. Are men better at the job than women? Definitely not, women are simply fighting a system rigged against them with leadership preserved for men. NGBs should thus take steps to readdress the leadership imbalances and increase the number of women at all levels of leadership. Culture is deep-rooted and it cannot be changed overnight yes, but they can at least try, one policy at a time.

For NGBs to effectively enhance their programs, they need to be high performing modern organizations themselves. Attracting and retaining a diverse team including qualified women at all levels will allow proper sustainability of the WFLP.

Another issue is the fact that a business career in sports for women still feels less attractive. Many females see limited opportunities at senior levels as people tend to stay in roles for a long time. Despite the support being shown to women, the sports world is still male-dominated so chances of a lucrative career path become very slim. If you have watched Taraji P Henson’s movie “What Men Want, “you can definitely relate well to this point. Yes, it’s just a movie, but still drives the point home.

Capping it off

In summary what every NGB should do is to examine its constitution to get serious about all aspects of diversity, remove honorary statuses and introduce fixed term limits for board members. Recruitment based on skills required not appointment by popularity or gender should be considered.

Unfortunately, there is just so much a board can do, the rest is up to the women themselves. This brings us to the issue of self-confidence. Working in a male-dominated circle sure is intimidating as hell but believe me, if you are just as confident and passionate as they are, you will shine brighter in that skirt, queen!

Change is a process and we cannot change the system overnight but our consolation is that it is the only thing that is constant. Changing governance structures of an NGB can be difficult and controversial as highlighted by one leader,

“Unfortunately these organizations will not do it unless you tell them to do it…what you are asking people to do is vote themselves off the board…they are not going to do it.”

So there you have it folks, in conclusion, NGBs can create great programs for the inclusion of women and work to enhance them but at the end of the day, they cannot change the whole system overnight. So if you are that passionate about sports, wake up every single day and fight for that change, one policy at a time!

“...it cannot be for women and it obviously won’t work for women if there ain’t no women in it...”

— Lovejoy Tabeth Munamati, FirstTouch Africa

2019; A breakthrough year for women’s soccer

A year in review; 2019 turned out to be a rewarding year for women’s football. Milestone after milestone, the year presented the women’s game with record-breaking achievements both on and off the field and an opportunity in the form of the FIFA World Cup to gain popularity with a wider audience.

The hype around women’s football in 2019 highlighted important facts; the potential that the women’s game has to grow and claim its share of football viewership, and that the quality and appreciation for women’s football is growing. The potential of women’s football is a popular narrative but the World Cup boost made a real impact and because of the buzz that was generated, the game is set to make further leaps in the next coming years.

A viewing revolution

Wendie Renard of France celebrates after scoring her team's first goal during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France group A match between Nigeria and France at Roazhon Park on June 17, 2019 in Rennes, France.

(June 16, 2019 - Source: Getty Images Europe)

The year 2019 was a turning point for women’s football in terms of global viewership of a women’s World Cup.  According to the figures, the number of viewers that tuned in to watch approached close to double the number in 2015. Yes, twice as many eyes glued to see the world’s best players in the women’s game making it the most successful instalment of the global showcase to date. The final of France 2019 where USWNT maintained their winner takes all reputation, was watched by 82.18 million live viewers. The average live audience over 52 games was 17.27 million per match, a 106% increase from 2015. The group stages viewership increased by 124%. The spike in the number of people tuning in to watch the tournament is testament that perceptions are changing and the start of something new.

It is a great representation of the capability of women’s football to develop in the future as with each tournament the bar is raised with the viewership ratings and level of competition on a global stage. The women’s World Cup has come a long way since inception from a tournament of just 12 teams in 1998. FIFA announced that the tournament will expand from the 24 team format to a 32 team tournament which will give more football associations an opportunity to qualify and boost their local football. Countries like Jamaica and South Africa’s debut appearances in France 2019 was a sign that women’s football is now a highly competitive arena, and that the growth transcends geographies.

The media attention that the FIFA Women’s World Cup received in 2019 also pushed growing sentiment and drive for players to fair compensation and be on equal footing with men’s football. FIFA answered this need with a 1 billion dollar investment in growing women’s football over the next three years from an initial $500 million dollars that it was set to invest in grassroots initiatives and efforts to increase the commercial appeal of the women’s game.

“The Premier League is also set to take over the operations of the FA run Women’s Super League, a deal that was delayed until 2022. The partnership with the Premier League is set to be a boost to the commercial value of women’s football in England. ”

— Margaret Mandeya, FirstTouch Africa

Lyon Women celebrate with the trophy during the UEFA Womens Champions League Final between VfL Wolfsburg and Olympique Lyonnais on May 24, 2018 in Kiev, Ukraine.

(May 23, 2018 - Source: David Ramos/Getty Images Europe)

Beyond the hype; 2019 was a launching year for professional football leagues

Probably the most important impact that the buzz around women’s football is having at the moment is the spillover into the professional leagues. Club football is growing, from the world’s biggest leagues to small leagues popping up across the globe, ushering a promising future and enhancing the competitive side of the game.

The best leagues in the world including England’s Women’s Super League, Primero Division in Spain, NWSL in the US, took major shifts and deals ahead of the 2020/2021 seasons. One of the most pressing obstacles for the development of the different leagues has been accessing the large financial resources within the world of football, usually poured into men’s leagues. Fortunately, investors are now looking at the women’s game as a sound destination for investments and for future gain. Visa for example put in as much as it did for the men’s World Cup into France 2019.

Moving into the women’s leagues, as the only fully professional league in Europe, the WSL has attracted some attention from major sponsors. Barclays is set to put in £10 million at the start of the season into the Women’s Super League. The Premier League is also set to take over the operations of the FA run Women’s Super League, a deal that was delayed until 2022. The partnership with the Premier League is set to be a boost to the commercial value of women’s football in England.

In the US, the World Cup attendance and the abundant support have finally captured the attention of some of the biggest names in men’s football. For the longest time, there has been a disconnect between the support given to the national team and the attention paid to the NWSL despite being the biggest league in the world where you could find the biggest names in the game. More teams are lining up to join the league and the league body looks set to expand the number of teams in the league from 9 to 12 by the 2021 season. The fact that Budweiser, one of USA’s biggest sponsors has come on indicates this radical shift. The league is one of the best in the world, has been a destination for the world’s best for many years and is finally about to get the recognition as a global leader and a league that other leagues look to for its success.

Furthermore, a new $650,000 salary cap and a raised minimum pay for players are reasons to be more hopeful. The world champions, the USNWT, majority of which play in the NSWL renewed their calls for equal pay with their male counterparts after winning the World Cup and set the tone for many such calls around the world.

Alex Morgan, Ali Krieger and Megan Rapinoe at The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team Victory Parade and City Hall Ceremony on July 10, 2019 in New York City.

(July 9, 2019 - Source: Getty Images North America)

The year 2019 also marked a historic moment when almost 90% of the players in Spain’s Primero Division threatened to strike over working conditions in the League. Their fight for fair pay and benefits made global headlines as one of the most recent scuffles and attempts by players to demand appropriate compensation for their work.

The protest is the first of its kind in Spain and an overwhelming 90% of the players from the 16 clubs represented in the Primeira Division signed up to take part in the strike. The standoff came to an end after the Association of Women's Soccer Clubs moved to reopen negotiations. The strike was in protest over the payment structure in the Primeira Division, with players demanding a salary revision, recognition as soccer professionals and better working conditions.

It was the first time in the Primeira Division that such a protest happened and made global headline showing other leagues that protest could be a viable option when it comes to claiming due wages and benefits for players. Seeing that an agreement was reached by the players and the governing body, it became positive step in making playing in the division attractive and drawing more talent into the league.

European teams will also get an expanded UEFA Champions League in 2020, an announcement that was made by the governing body as they attempt to enhance the European competition. The Women’s Champions League will feature a group stage for the last 16 from 2021-22 season onwards with three teams from the top six leagues qualifying for the group stages. The tournament being expanded to include the last-16 group stage is a step that UEFA believes will boost the quality of the game. The European governing body also added that the development is set to increase competition in the domestic leagues.

The golden generation of players

Alex Morgan attends the unveiling of the POWERADE and U.S. Soccer Foundation Power Pitch on November 05, 2019 in Gardena, California.

(Nov. 4, 2019 - Source: RICH POLK/Getty Images North America)

Every successful generation of football is embodied by the talented players of the day. The level of skill and talent we are currently witnessing is simply astonishing.

The players considered to be the best talent in the world at the moment are diverse in the leagues they play for and their nationalities. When we talk about legends in the game, we think of the Brazilian Marta who happens to hold the record for most goals at a World Cup for both men and women. Also, we can look at the young players that have emerged as global icons of the game which include Ada Hegerberg from Norway and Lyon. The recent move of Australian striker Sam Kerr from Chicago Red Stars has made a culture out of highly sought after signing for players and set a precedent for players receiving the star treatment. Kerr will earn upwards of $400,000 per annum, equaling what Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg earns at Lyon shows and could be the start of more six-figure signings. With this caliber of players on the pitch, we are experiencing a golden generation of talent on the field. Who are the women holding the mantle at the moment? Also, check out FT’s Top 5 female Ballers of 2019

The best is yet to come out of women’s football

There is an electric optimism when it comes to women’s football especially after a successful global tournament. The millions added to the viewership of the FIFA Women’s World in 2019 is the gift that will trickle to the most important places in terms of skills development and professional leagues.

There’s still a long way to go and a lot of money that needs to be invested for women’s football to bring in the crowds and revenue desired. The fact is that we are not anywhere close to that but we are getting closer to creating a clear path to that goal which includes more investment into professional leagues. Increasing investment for women’s football is a point of celebration but we need more investments and more teams to make the game sustainable.

How did Borussia Dortmund become a factory for talent?

Head Coach Jurgen Klopp of Borussia Dortmund goes up to collected his runners-up medal after losing the UEFA Champions League final match against FC Bayern Muenchen at Wembley Stadium on May 25, 2013 in London, United Kingdom.

(May 24, 2013 - Source: Alex Livesey/Getty Images Europe)

Brief history

If we focus on merely achievements and numbers, Borussia Dortmund is undoubtedly one of the most famous football clubs in the whole of Europe, and the club has a remarkable reputation of having astounding numbers during their matches.

According to the club’s website, Borussia Dortmund stands for intensity, authenticity, cohesion and ambition. The club has a special place in the hearts of the club’s fans who have remained profoundly loyal in all the good, bad and ugly times for more than a century.

The club was founded in 1909 in the German city of Dortmund in the North Rhine-Westphalia region. In football talk, the club is commonly known with the abbreviation: “BvB”, which ultimately stands for Ballspielverein Borussia or in English "Borussia club for ball games." The full name is BV Borussia 1909 EV Dortmund and is definitely one of Germany’s most decorated clubs that will always be talked about for generations to come.

The club has managed to grab eight national titles, three DFB-Porkals, a Cup Winners’ Cup and an unforgettable Champions League win in 1997. Borussia Dortmund is famous for producing world-class talents like Marco Reus, Ousmane Dembele and Christian Pulisic.

In 2003, the club fell into a financial predicament in the aftermath of excessive spending om expensive players in the transfer market. The club received financial support from arch-rivals Bayern Munich which gave them $2 million euros for paying players’ salaries. However, within a year, the club managed to repay the loan. Having gone through several challenges off and on pitch, supporters started to resent the team’s performances and were calling-out for change.

In 2008, they hired one of the most prominent managers of all times in European football named Jurgen Klopp who is the current coach of Liverpool Football Club. After making a good name for himself at Mainz, he had become the first choice for the club. Under his leadership, the first few seasons were average but eventually, Klopp, as he has come to be affectionately known, pushed the squad to incredible winning ways. He implemented a high pressing counter-attacking style which was described as heavy metal football and the club went on to take the Bundesliga title in the 2010 and the 2011 seasons.

Youssoufa Moukoko of Dortmund in action during the B Juniors Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Viktoria Koeln on August 19, 2017 in Dortmund, Germany.

(Aug. 18, 2017 - Source: Lukas Schulze/Bongarts)

Talent development

BvB takes pride in engaging youthful players and developing them to become world-class players. The end of 2019 saw the club fashionably sign a young teenager in Erling Haaland, a Norwegian who is originally from the Netherlands. In his January 2020 Bundesliga debut, the young superstar came from the bench to score a hat-trick in what has become one of Borussia Dortmund’s greatest ever comebacks in history.

The business model of recruiting raw, young talent and to nurture them into becoming superstars has become BvB’s best philosophy over the years. Since the unimpressive bankruptcy that the club experienced in 2005, in the aftermath of overspending, the executives of the club changed the strategy of recruitment. The Black and Yellow has become the best finishing school for young footballers in the entire world. In today's times, there is nowhere else in the world that a highly promising player in their late teens can go and so reliably be molded into a superstar. The smartest players, parents, and agents are aware of this notion. The youth co-ordinator for Borussia Dortmund Youth Academy explicitly stated that, “the biggest advantage at BvB is that we offer the greatest gift that young boys are looking for and it is the chance to play.” The main goal of the youth academy is to raise players that will qualify to become world-class players. The young players are kept in good shape as they are blessed with boarding facilities, healthy diets, great living conditions, and exceptional education. In the mornings, the young players go to school and later on they can carry on with proper training which does not necessarily exhaust the body’s performance.

Professionalism is a key factor at the multi-talent factory as they reach high limits in training. Their mentality is flooded with ‘winning’ it is ever so evident in the players’ performances on the pitch. For a young player, there is nothing like Dortmund City which is inundated with black and yellow colors everywhere and the training ground optimizes it. The players are graded into simple age groups namely, 12-15 years where they focus on technique, and 17-19 years where they focus on winning strategy and tactics.

The club sees training young players as a culture and the coaches are passionate to develop talent as a way of investment for the club. That is what distinguishes BVB from other clubs in Germany and in many parts of the world.

The role of Jurgen Klopp in promoting young talent

In the aftermath of bankruptcy in 2005 and not being able to pay hefty salaries of the players they had bought, performances needed a lot to be desired. In 2008, they roped in a profoundly unique coach in Klopp and under his leadership the club would revamp their youth production line, paying handsome dividends culminating in a Champions League final appearance in 2013. It was the same year in which the current Liverpool manager handed debuts to six academy products.

The German-born manager implemented an attacking football style that has its foundations in Dortmund youth, which is now being emulated by Europe’s big spenders to this day. It is said by BVB's youth coordinator that during games for the young players, their focus is not necessarily on winning though it's important, but on putting in a performance that is satisfying. At the end of each game, the young lads at the youth camp are given a sheet to fill, rate their performances and lay down their overall thoughts on how they can become better.

The youth lads are not only trained on the pitch but off the pitch with programs orchestrated to enhance their confidence in life, which inevitably plays a vital role on the pitch. There is a cultural activity done every quarter of the year that they participate in and an example is when BVB made them act out a play in English in front of 300 people. It is the kind of pressure that they have to overcome in order to play in front of 80,000 people at the Signal Iduna Park.

“A model born out of necessity and desperation has since become a hugely profitable business model for the club. In the last three years alone, Dortmund has raked in £427 million from transfers”

— Farai Maringa, FirstTouch Africa

Ousmane Dembele of Dortmund runs with the ball during the friendly match between Wuppertaler SV and Borussia Dortmund at Stadion Zoo on July 9, 2016 in Wuppertal, Germany.

(July 8, 2016 - Source: Christof Koepsel/Bongarts)

Dortmund’s successful youth products

Generally, it is obvious that of all the young players that get in the club youth camp, only a handful will make it to the top level but this is a different with BVB as they developed a reputation of being master craftsmen. The development of youthful talent has boosted the financial position of the club as they have had remarkable sales of talents over the years. One of the most incredible sales they pushed was the over €100-million sale of Ousmane Dembele to Barcelona. Dortmund have carefully put themselves in a position of attracting Europe’s elite and developing them to become renowned world-class players. Below is some of the top talents to emerge from Dortmund in recent memory.

1. Ousmane Dembele

Popularly known as the dribble king, his talents were clear to see even while he was still at a tender age at Rennes. But it was Dortmund who shrewdly signed the teenager for a mere €8 million in 2016. The Frenchman enjoyed a wonderful debut season in the Bundesliga, which attracted the attention of Barcelona, who were desperate to sign a new winger following the shock departure of Neymar for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017. Regardless of a troubled exit from Signal Iduna Park, Dembele still netted BVB a remarkable profit, with Barcelona agreeing to pay an initial €105m fee with the potential for a further €40m in add-ons.

2. Pierre- Emerick Aubameyang

The Gabonese starlet was given one of the toughest of jobs when he came to Dortmund in 2013. He played alongside Robert Lewandowski in his debut season at Signal Iduna Park and it was an incredibly rich show. However, when Robert decided to leave for arch rivals Bayern Munich, this meant the onus fell on Auba to become the center of the BVB attack, almost all on his own. Remarkably, he pulled it off, with a whopping 141 goals in 213 games making him one of Europe's elite strikers. He eventually left for the English Premier League, joining Arsenal for €62m which represented a massive return on the estimated €13m they had acquired him for from St. Etienne in 2013.

3. Ilkay Gundogan

The Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan ran the Dortmund midfield for five seasons between 2011 and 2016, having joined on a cut-price of €5.5m deal from Nurnberg when he was just 20. Manchester City was absolutely impressed with his gameplay and came to sign him in 2016. Dortmund pocketed €22.1m as profit from the sale of the striker and at his current club, he has won two English Premier League Championships, an FA Cup and two Carabao Cups.

Julian Weigl of Dortmund celebrates with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Dortmund (r) after he scored his teams sixth goal to make it 6:1 during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Moenchengladbach at Signal Iduna Park on September 23, 2017 in Dortmund, Germany.

(Sept. 22, 2017 - Source: Lars Baron/Bongarts)

4. Shinji Kagawa

Shinji was plucked from his native Japan for a mere €350,000 in 2010, with Dortmund taking advantage of a clause that allowed him to leave Cerezo Osaka on a cut-price deal should a European club come knocking. The attacking midfielder quickly became a fan favorite at Signal Iduna Park, scoring at a rate of just under a goal every two games and helped BVB to the Bundesliga title in each of his two seasons in Germany. Manchester United was delighted by his style of play and pulled out £17m from their billfold to secure his services. Dortmund were sorry to see him leave but happy with their substantial market gain. Just two years later after an unsuccessful spell at Old Trafford, Dortmund were able to re-sign Kagawa for just €8m.

5. Christian Pulisic

Christian Pulisic is one of Dortmund’s latest and arguably greatest transfer success story. The versatile American attacker was picked up at the tender age of 16 and quickly forced his way into the first teams of both his club and his country. In signing for Chelsea, Pulisic became Dortmund's second-biggest sale of all time, after Dembele. Dortmund sold him to Chelsea for £58m.

6. Mario Gotze

A product of the club's youth system, Gotze cost the club nothing and quickly became a teenage sensation. In 2013 the attacking midfielder decided to depart after Bayern Munich triggered the €37 million release clause in his contract. The lad is most famous for scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil but through a combination of form and fitness issues, he never settled at the Allianz Arena and returned to Signal Iduna Park for €22m in 2016, admitting that he regretted ever leaving.

7. Sokratis Papastathopoulos

The Greek international’s sale proved another good investment when he chose to move to Arsenal. The defender starred for five years at BVB's camp, forming a remarkable partnership with Hummels to establish himself as a top-class center-half. Arsenal decided to move for the Greek and paid BVB approximately €15.9m meaning more money for the club.

8. Henrikh Mkhitaryan

The Armenian playmaker arrived in Dortmund in the year 2013 coming from Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk. He was phenomenal in attacking midfield. Three outstanding seasons in the Bundesliga earned Mkhitaryan a €41.8m move to Manchester United, and the Black and Yellow got another healthy profit on their initial investment. He later moved to Arsenal where he played delightful football alongside a former BVB player in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang before being signed by Roma on loan.

Mario Gotze of Borussia Dortmund and Shinji Kagawa of Borussia Dortmund battle for possession during a Borussia Dortmund training session ahead of the UEFA Champions League Group H match against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium on September 12, 2017 in London, England.

(Sept. 11, 2017 - Source: Alex Pantling/Getty Images Europe)

9. Mats Hummels

In the case of Mats Hummels, Bayern Munich's loss turned out to be an infinite gain for their arch-rivals BVB. The defender was not playing extremely well as a youngster for Die Roten and was shoved off to Borussia Dortmund in 2008 for a dirt-cheap fee of just €4m. Investment in Hummels was worthwhile as he became the chief cornerstone of the Dortmund defense system. He assisted the club in acquiring two consecutive league wins, also helping them to a Champions League final in the 2012-13 season. Hummels also got his hands on the 2014 World Cup trophy with Germany before Bayern Munich came to buy him out of BVB for €35m though later returning home to Signal Iduna Park.

10. Matthias Ginter

Props go to Borussia Dortmund for the exceedingly great eye for talent. BVB discovered Matthias Ginter when he was just 20 and they got him for just €10m from Freiburg prior to the 2014-15 season. He became a master in the Dortmund defense for three years, playing more than 100 games before he was allowed to leave for Borussia Monchengladbach. BVB cleared made a healthy profit of €7m on the center-back when they released him.

Out of necessity and desperation to profound success

Jurgen Klopp the manager of Borussia Dortmund speaks with Mats Hummels of Borussia Dortmund prior to kickoff during UEFA Champions League Group D match between Galatasaray and Borussia Dortmund at Turk Telekom Arena on October 22, 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey.

(Oct. 21, 2014 - Source: Lars Baron/Getty Images Europe)

Borussia Dortmund has now built one of the most admired structures in Europe as they continue to develop young stars that grow up to become world-class players. Borussia Dortmund manages their young prodigies with familial care. They are in regular dialogue with the parents of Sancho, for instance, and with the FA about the footballing development. In the 2019/20 season, the average age of Dortmund’s team has been 25.4 - three years younger than Bayern Munich, and almost a whole year younger than any of the 20 Premier League clubs, according to Football Observatory.

Dortmund’s business model is to essentially identify the world’s best young players, nurture them and give them game-time they would have been denied elsewhere, and then sell them on for a huge profit. Wild over-spending in the past led to the club almost becoming bankrupt and it's from that unhealthy experience that encouraged the club’s executives to look at different ways and focus on talent development to avoid excessive and unnecessary costs.

Huge credit goes to Jurgen Klopp as he spearheaded the model when he arrived from a second-division side called Mainz. The Dortmund website shows that the club stopped looking at seasoned, mid-market pros and instead concentrate their efforts on identifying "young high-potentials" who are just beginning of their careers, hungry for game time, willing to learn and crucially, much less of a burden on the balance sheet. In the 2007-08 season, the average age of new recruits had been just over 27 years. Twelve months later, it was reduced to 23.5 years and it went only further down from there, hovering between 22 and 23 over the following decade.

A model born out of necessity and desperation has since become a hugely profitable business model for the club. In the last three years alone, Dortmund has raked in £427 million from transfers, including £105m for Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona), £62m for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) and £58m for Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), the latest high-profile departure.

Truth is Dortmund would rather keep their best players to become the best club in Europe but selling some great players is in acceptance of economic reality. When players start getting demand from other big clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich, they are offered profoundly higher wages and as such a decision to leave by these players will be inevitable so they can earn what they deserve.

Parting Word

All factors remaining constant, Borussia Dortmund will soon be able to pay their players enough to keep them in the long term, then win titles and make a tremendous impact in European Football. The club will need to continue developing worthy talent in the academy, scouting, signing up-and-coming stars and consistently reaching the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. Their ability to develop young talent will always be talked about for several years!

2000’s Top News Stories of the Decade

We have come to the end. Not just to the end of a transformative soccer year, 2019, but to the end of a decade. And wow, it has been something.

The 2010s brought indescribable joy and unspeakable agony, probably more of both than any decade before. Their World Cup finals brought extra-time winners, two American titles, and a hat trick for the ages. Their Champions Leagues brought historic comebacks, unforgettable bicycle kicks, and four finals decided after the 88th minute.

They brought engaging narratives and captivating feats and swan songs. But most importantly they brought us iconic moments. Euphoric moments and brutal ones, but most of all incredible memories. So many that we couldn’t resist trying to rank them.

Without any further ado…to the top 10 iconic soccer moments of the 2010s, in descending order.

(Not so random disclaimer: We only considered on-field moments – so FBI raids and presidential resignations won’t be seen on our list. And we considered them from the perspective of the evolving soccer fan so they come off a bit vague, we know. Don’t hold back in the comments, let us have it.)

2010: Iniesta’s World Cup winner

From a global perspective, an extra-time World Cup-winning goal – one full of quality, too – belongs in the top five. But for fans with no emotional connection to Spain, Iniesta’s golden moment may not hit the same.

15 years from now though, Andres Iniesta’s strike to put Spain 1-0 up on the Netherlands in the 116th minute of the 2010 World Cup final will persist. It’s the one that kids will recreate in backyards. Its impact – clinching Spain a first world title – is forever etched into the era for Spain that will be remembered as Golden. It also solidified Iniesta as a legend.

2011: Rapinoe to Wambach

The toughest thing about back to back titles is determining which championship mattered more. Thirteen months after Donovan’s moment, the U.S. women found themselves in a similar situation: Down a goal, in stoppage time, with yet another World Cup flop staring them in the face. This was epitomized in ESPN’s Ian Darke’s laboured tone. “And it will go down as the USA’s worst performance ever in a Women’s World Cup.”

But then almost out of nowhere, Ali Krieger cut out a pass, Carli Lloyd fought through fatigue and cycled the ball left to Megan Rapinoe. With the U.S. players running on empty, the seemingly impossible became possible.

Eight-plus years later, the entire play still seems so absurd. Watching Rapinoe’s cross in mid-flight, you can almost see when the opportunity shifts from hopeful to perfection.

The Americans then won on penalties. The following weekend, they fell to Japan. But this moment helped re-launch women’s soccer. It enabled explosions of interest around 2015 and 2019. Can you trace most of the USWNT’s decade-long popularity back to July 10, 2011? We think so.

2012: Zambia wins AFCON 2012

2012 was a tough year to select for, but when Zambia beat the Ivory Coast on February 12 2012, in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon, it meant redemption for a football team and a nation. It also gave football one of its greatest ever stories. For Zambia, though, there was a bittersweet joy, a sense of having done something that transcended sport.  It was a fairytale triumph for the team, who returned to Gabon 19 years after the plane crash which claimed the lives of the team's coach and 18 members of their squad.

2013: Football Says Goodbye to Sir Alex

United would get their own back on City the following season, and it would be the 13th and final Premier League title won by their legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

On 8 May 2013, Ferguson announced he would be retiring from the game at the age of 71. The Scot bowed out having won a staggering 38 trophies during his 27 years in charge at Old Trafford, more than any other manager in the history of the game.

The following day, David Moyes was appointed as Ferguson’s hand-picked successor. The less said about his 10 months in charge of United, the better. Sir Alex’s influence has only compounded in his absence as Manchester United, for all of their lore and prestige, look unrecognizable in the current hierarchy of club football. At least he still cheers them on from the crowd right?

2014: 7-1

The night of July 8, 2014, was less a moment, more a mood. It was an image that developed over two hours but has since remained in the minds of football fans. “7-1.” Even Google knows the significance of the scoreline. Go ahead, type them into the search bar. Let me know what you first result is?

The first of two World Cup semifinals that summer was humiliating and devastating for Brazil, a country who still is seen as the measuring stick of international soccer. But in one of the country’s worst moments, its world-class footballers looked paralyzed by the moment, by expectations, by the weight of a country on their shoulders. As they unravelled, on live TV with the world watching, we were left to wonder whether the team understood the unshakable grief they’d be responsible for.

You may not remember any of the seven goals. But you’ll remember where you were, the faces you saw, and the sheer disbelief in Brazil capitulating on the world stage.

2015: Carli Lloyd from midfield

In 2015 There was nothing dramatic about the USWNT’s return to the top of the women’s soccer world. They scored inside three minutes, and again inside five. By the time Carli Lloyd took a forward touch in midfield, they were 3-0 up and cruising.

But what Lloyd did next was, and forever will be, iconic. To cap a stunning 15-minute hat trick, from smack-dab in the middle of the centre circle, her strike was honestly a little disrespectful. The audacity.

Dare. To. Shine.

2016: Leicester City’s PL Title

Before the season began, bookmakers offered odds of 5,000–1 on Leicester winning the title. Once in a lifetime stuff. In the summer of 2015, Leicester City hired Claudio Ranieri to replace Nigel Pearson as their new manager and many pundits figured the Italian would struggle to keep the club in the first division.

But the Foxes made an excellent start to the season, spearheaded by striker Jamie Vardy, who scored 13 goals over 11 consecutive matches from August to November, breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Premier League record of scoring in 10 consecutive games.

Despite having been bottom of the league exactly 12 months prior, Leicester topped the table on Christmas Day in 2016 and while the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur struggled with consistency, Ranieri’s men pressed on in second half of the season.

Leicester officially became the sixth club to win the Premier League following a 2-2 draw between Chelsea and Tottenham on 2 May 2016 and the trophy was lifted at the King Power Stadium a few days later.

2017 Part 1: Messi at the Bernabeu

No end-of-decade list would be complete without the GOAT, Lionel Messi. Constantly breaking records and boggling minds, Messi has won 23 club trophies and a record 6 Ballon d’Ors to date.

But besides all of his other record-breaking moments, the one that best encapsulated Messi’s brilliance happened on April 23, 2017. Barcelona and Real Madrid were deadlocked at 2-2 after a gritty and embattled 90 minutes of Classico football. It was a must-win for Barca in order to stay in the title race. Sergi Roberto skipped past Marcelo in midfield and passed the ball left. And as everybody’s eyes went with the ball, Messi performed his favorite magic trick. The greatest footballer on the planet made himself invisible, ghosting towards the top of the box and put Madrid to the sword just when they thought they had taken points from Barca.

Arguably more iconic was what he did next. Holding the “MESSI 10” side of his jersey up to a stunned Santiago Bernabeu crowd, and entire footballing world, Messi was flexing and we were all here for it. We are still here for it. And so were the Madrid fans, who couldn’t help but applaud.

2017 Part 2: La Remontada

On February 14, 2017, the decade’s most prolific club was exposed in front of Europe and beaten 4-0 on what felt like a consequential Champions League knockout night in Paris. Turns out the rumours of Barca’s demise were greatly exaggerated. 

With three minutes plus added time remaining in the return leg back in Spain, Barca trailed PSG 5-3 on aggregate and by an away goal. And just when you thought they were even more dead than they’d been in February, Neymar dazzled. Suarez embellished, and Sergi Roberto, a Catalan boy who’d joined the club at 14, provided one of the most iconic moments in recent Camp Nou history to complete a 6-1 victory, the biggest, most breathtaking, most dramatic European comeback ever.

Since it was only the Round of 16, and Barcelona limped out of the competition in the quarters after losing to Juventus, this only ranks at number 9 for us.

2018: Gareth Bale on his bike

“Wales. Golf. Madrid. Bicycle Kicks. In that order.” Gareth Bale’s decade, a majority of which was spent at Real Madrid has been polarizing, to say the least. Observing his current standing with Coach Zidane and the Merengues, you’d almost forget that Bale has arguably been Madrid’s most decisive player of the decade after the club’s all-time goat Cristiano Ronaldo.

Especially when you consider that Bale won two Champions League finals for the competition’s perennial winners. He put crosstown rivals Atletico to the sword with a 110th-minute header in 2014. Then, in 2018, to solidify the Threepeat – and four European crowns in five years for Real – Bale scored a goal that might just be the decade’s best.

Since this goal wasn’t as dramatic as many of the other moments on our list. And because Real fans never quite treasured it properly, we have Bale’s Bike coming in at number 10.

2019: Liverpool refuse to give up against Barcelona

The most recent memory on this list, we all remember Liverpool going into the second leg of their 2019 Champions League semi-final tie with Barcelona 3-0. Down from the first leg and their chances of making it to a second successive final looked extremely unlikely to say the least.

Adding insult to literal injury, Mohamed Salah would miss the game through injury, ensuring that there was no chance for Jürgen Klopp’s side to stage a comeback. But the Reds showed that night what can happen if you refuse to give up hope.

The young club legend Divock Origi got the ball rolling when he made it 3-1 on aggregate after just seven minutes and that was how it stayed until half-time. Georginio Wijnaldum stunned Barça with a quickfire double to level the tie shortly after the interval.

Liverpool knew that it would have been quiet for them if they conceded an away goal but kept pushing. Their fairytale comeback was complete when unlikely hero Origi converted following a now-classic Trent Alexander-Arnold delivery, and boom, 4-0.

Anfield has witnessed some truly magical European nights over the years but this one was definitely top.

Liverpool went on to clinch a sixth Champions League after overcoming a Tottenham side in the final who’d pulled off a pretty stunning comeback of their own in the semi-final.

It’s a Wrap!

So that’s it. An entire decade wrapped up in a matter of minutes. What was your favorite story of the decade? Who did we miss on our list? Who should have made it? Let us know in the comments below, subscribe and join the conversation!

FirstTouch have a fireside chat with Portland Timbers' Jeremy Ebobisse

FirstTouch’s Topher Hegngi sat down with Portland Timbers’ forward, Jeremy Ebobisee to discuss everything collegiate soccer, MLS, becoming a pro, the state of US Soccer and more. Below is a rare but comprehensive transcript of their chat which definitely breaks down and helps shape America’s soccer landscape.

INTRODUCTION

The instant Jeremy Ebobisse picked up the phone, I could hear the adjusted tone in his voice, letting me know that he was still finding a spot to chat. I, sitting slumped in the passenger's seat of my brother’s car watching rain furiously pelt the windshield, immediately empathized with him. After a late evening bus ride from NYC to DC, the rainstorm had only grown in severity, so I was just happy he seemed to be able to hear me clearly. Jeremy, on the other hand, was experiencing much better weather in Chula Vista, CA, on his debut camp with the U.S. National Team, and was having a much more exciting evening.

One of the first things you notice when speaking to Jeremy is his poise, which is impressive given how his 2019 started and concluded. Selected as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft, Jeremy initially had a tough time breaking into the Portland Timbers rotation in his rookie season. After registering just eight minutes over the first 26 games of the 2018 season, the forward made the most of a surprise start against the Colorado Rapids in September, netting a goal in the Timbers’ 2-0 victory. He went on to start all six of Portland’s playoff games, bagging a goal and an assist as the Timbers made an eventual run to the MLS Cup Final. The breakout performance earned Jebo, now aged 21, his first-ever call-up to the U.S. Men’s National Team in January, which he christened with a debut start against Panama.

Now after his third season with Portland, it was one of true breakout for the French-born forward of Cameroonian and Malagasy descent. Jeremy appeared in all 34 matches for the Timbers, starting in 25 of them. Cementing his importance for the club, he’s scored a career-high 11 goals in the process. “I think the team’s gotten more confident in allowing me to express myself a little bit more on the field,” Ebobisse said in an interview with the MLS regarding whether he’s playing with more confidence now. “I think sometimes when young players come to a team, they don’t want to ruffle any feathers. They kind of want to defer to other people and I think that’s natural. I think you have to earn the respect from players around you but myself and a lot of other young guys who have come in this year have done so very quickly.”

Confidence is perhaps the next thing you notice with Jeremy, but with a foundation of humility well beyond his years. Well, maybe not if you ask anyone in his direct family, who can all attest to the type of young man he is. They’d probably bring up a 12-year-old Jeremy audaciously announcing to his family that he was going to be a professional soccer player. While that might have sounded lofty to them at the time, Jeremy was about to back up his affirmations through his exploits for the Bethesda Soccer Club, a top youth program in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

By 15, Ebobisse had developed into a rather prolific goal scorer, and soon after, he accepted an invitation to train with the academy program at English Premier League club Fulham. Remember the humility I mentioned earlier? Even though Jeremy was beginning to live the dream that so many young athletes hope to experience in their young careers, you couldn’t tell his parents that any of that mattered more than his education. Well, at least not at first. His father Alain, who met Jeremy’s mother, Lisa, at an engineering school in France, continued on to earn an MBA in Switzerland. His life became a distinguished example of how education can open doors, ultimately giving him the opportunity to join the World Bank Group and bring his family to the States.

At home, the family would spend their time together engaging over a variety of topics, from sports or food to delving deep into challenging discussions about politics and current affairs. “We were definitely an education-first family for large portions of my childhood,” Ebobisse said. “But then slowly, as I started to play in more competitive tournaments and I started to be evaluated by scouts for professional teams overseas, it began to open different doors.”

If education opens doors, then the same can be said of humility. In the esteemed words of the late T.S. Eliot, “The only wisdom we can hope to acquire is the wisdom of humility.” Alain made the trip to England to tour the Fulham facilities and watch his son play. When he saw Jeremy score against Chelsea’s academy team, he realized in that moment that his son actually had the ability to compete at the highest level. Even if visa issues eventually prevented Ebobisse from staying with Fulham, Alain was sold. Convinced. “I believe that either you do something fully or you don’t do it at all,” Alain said. “I realized that he had to decide to either pursue education studies fully or pursue soccer fully. At this level, where everyone is so good, you have to be fully there if you want to have a chance.” With the blessing and encouragement of his family, Jeremy immersed himself in the game with unrelenting confidence.

THE INTERVIEW

Topher: I know we talked about that moment when you're in high school and sort of made that realization, not only that you might have the talent to do it but more importantly it was kind of a realization of your work ethic and your drive that could give you the opportunity to make it. When did you make that kind of realization for yourself?

Jeremy: I can tell you we all have that dream, as a kid you’re watching morning soccer or whatever it might be and you envision yourself in the biggest stadium. It doesn’t become a reality until you know later on in life when we are given that opportunity you’ve been working for. In my sophomore year of high school, I had to go on trial in England. And my coach helped prepare me in a way where it took all the pressure off of me.

Topher: That is a surreal moment for a kid, isn’t it? When you’re starting to take your craft seriously.

Jeremy: You know what I mean? Anyways, my coach said I have a training opportunity for you, it will be really cool for you know to like get some training overseas and see what it's like over there and then when I get there I’m thinking you know like, whatever happens, I'm not staying. It’s not permanent. I’m not signing papers. I just needed to tell myself, “OK, take a deep breath, I'm here on trial, it’s whatever.” Approaching it like that helped calm me down and I ended up playing really well. I think I scored like 7 goals in 4 games.

Topher: Well after performances like that, there had to be interest right?

Jeremy: Yeah, immediately they really wanted to sign me and next match I scored against Chelsea coming off the bench, then scored against a couple of league one academies. They even flew my dad out, to the following trial that I went to two months later. And oh my God, it had been a really big education for this guy! He got to see the facility, the infrastructure, the outline and the goal that they set for me. And I bought into the idea that under the right circumstances, with the right tools and with the right drive that I could actually make it.

Topher: That sounds like quite a moment for both of you.

Jeremy: Probably the biggest moment for me and him. What he always preached to me was that he didn't care what I did, what field I went into, but that he wanted me to make sure that whatever I chose to do, I do it 100 percent. I think he always knew I was going to go the soccer route, and he was happy and very supportive.

Topher: What advice did they give you?

Jeremy: At the end of the day, you're going to have to work really hard in anything you do if you want to make it in life.

Topher: When in high school was this trip?

Jeremy: That was the summer after my freshman year, going into my sophomore year.

Topher: That’s pretty early. How did that end up impacting college recruitment for you?

Jeremy: My college recruiting process was a little bit more unique. I graduated a year early from high school and my whole youth career. So you know I remember getting letters and emails as early as 8th grade just because scouts would come to watch the sophomores and they would realize I was a strong athlete for my age, let me get on some radars. Even though coaches monitor high school soccer, they kind of needed to work around that. Slowly but surely, I started getting interest but it was all going through my coach because at that point they couldn’t contact me. Sophomore year, I got more interest after I started doing a few college camps as well.

Topher: Is that when Duke came into the picture?

Jeremy: Yeah, a couple of months into my sophomore year, Duke floated the idea to my club team at the time, that I graduate early from high school. I remember jumping at it because I liked the idea of having to find a new club team from my high school. So from that moment, you know word got to the college coaches that I was going to graduate early and that's when everything started to flood in and from there.

Topher: Were you considering any other schools?

Jeremy: I really only considered could Duke and Stanford and then Maryland a little bit as well, but I realized that Maryland was going to be a little bit tough for me being so close to home and maybe having a more distracting environment since I still knew so many people in the area. Between November and my sophomore high school that's when everything really got rolling.

Topher: That’s an exciting time. It’s really cool to hear how level-headed you were at just approaching that process. Like you said, graduating early would impact the decision that you're making but it's also cool to figure out how high you have the bar raised for yourself in terms of limiting the distractions. I feel like that is kind of an underrated perspective, for young players. It's so exciting and easy to kind of be attracted to where the most excitement is. But you also want to be yourself, prepare yourself up for success and not limit yourself with distractions too early you know.

Jeremy: Yeah, I mean it would have been really cool to play for Maryland, you know they’ve got 8,000 fans a game, I mean that's exciting. You know that was definitely a big draw towards the school but I was talking to one of my friends one year earlier before college and he was telling me how much harder it was to focus for him in that environment. I’ve heard the stories about people making it hard on themselves by letting the attention go to their head too early and by going out spending too much money and time on things that fill up their heads up and gives them an over-inflated sense of self.

Topher: So how did you analyze both opportunities at the time?

Jeremy: So, on one hand, mostly in Europe, you have all the tools to succeed. You have all the coaches, the fields, and equipment to get you there. You have the scouts watching you for the second you’re ready to jump into the next level but then you also have all the glamour that comes with that. And unfortunately, young players definitely diverge off the path. And that's when you know then who is going to make it and who is not. And I say that with college, because college although you don't have that immediate path to the 1st team, you have other positives.

A lot of these schools have state of the art facilities. I know Duke has an unbelievable practice field. You also have coaches and advisors that want to help you get the next level, but then it’s up to you to actually take matters into your own hands or do you fall for the regular college student life which I'll tell you I'm sure you experienced it as well. It’s attractive but at the same time can be short-sighted for someone who has the potential to at least experience a few years of the game.

Topher: It really is an opportunity to say hey, I have to maximize the time that I'm here because again you don't know how long you're going to be in school.

Jeremy: Definitely. I'm not saying to kids who want to go to college that they can’t have fun and go pro. But there’s a right place and time for that. Figure out what works for you and don't go with the flow, know what your goals are and then from there organize yourself accordingly. But there’s no reason why you can’t have fun as well.

Topher: Tell me when did you get your 1st National Team call up?

Jeremy: So I did a big ID camp when I was 14, it was like a big pool camp with 120 players, and was under a lot of pressure from my club coach and the regional U.S. national team scout at the time. I got called into a U-17 camp but ended up getting hurt 2 weeks beforehand. I didn't feel right to rush myself back into it with the back injury and ended up going to my 1st camp as a U-18 player. Slowly but surely I worked my way back into the fold.

Topher: What would you say to other younger players about what you learned from your experience being recruited and how you made your decision and I guess college soccer's overall role in the development of youth in the United States and kind of how you kept an eye on that and let it influence and impact decisions?

Jeremy: I think when I was recruited we were looking at a different landscape of the professional level in this country and the collegiate level. Unfortunately, I don't think the collegiate level is progressing as quickly as it could. So it only becomes harder. You find a USL team and takes a bet on you. Whether you to go college and try to balance the best of both worlds or take your luck in the draft which who knows where it's going to be as well in the next 4 or 5 years, the landscape isn’t the clearest right now.

Topher: Any advice to them?

Jeremy: My advice to a young player would be to honestly reflect on their own career and their trajectory and what they want as well. Do they want to be the best player that they can be? If that's the case, you have to find a professional team, be it in the second Division in Sweden or USL or somewhere in Mexico.

There are so many teams as well, if you have the right talent level you will find the right team. Now the flip side of that is do they want to just go to college, go with the flow and whatever happens, happens and by all means that's where colleges can still continue to help players. Programs that are turning out quality professional players, there’s no reason why you can completely discount college soccer, but I would admit that guys going to college tend to fall behind and I fell in that category 100 percent.

Topher: How did it make you feel watching some of your peers who chose to forego college?

Jeremy: While I was figuring how to prove myself in the next year and a half, I watched peers who signed pro at 17, and started breaking into the MLS. Their development trajectory was 2 years ahead of mine. And by that time I realized I'm 20 years old and I'm not even playing at all and so on the flip side there are 20 years-olds who by their 2nd season are full-time starters.

I don't hold any regrets because Duke taught me a lot of things and I have a lot of important relationships that I made while at Duke. I still have attained the level that I’m proud of and I can still get to where I hope to be.

I also recognize that this is potentially my 1st season as a starter, and if I win the job going forward, I'm looking at guys my age again now 3-4 years of starters. It’s important to recognize that in terms of experience around the world if I'm going to be competing in the Olympic cycle, I'm going to be behind the ball and I have to mature a lot quicker than some of the other guys out there.

Topher: You make a lot of good points. Young players are becoming more educated and empowered to understand that they have choices.

Jeremy: It was still taboo even as a young player when the people in your life are telling you to go and skip college, go overseas and play wherever you can play. That is a complicated decision and one that you have to weigh up. But I fully understand coming out of college and even spent like 4 seasons in college but you know what I mean? Again, like you said, it doesn't diminish you as a player because you still learn things and you develop, but as you said, you do look around and you're like hey even though I’m still talented, even though I trust myself and I have my dream of where I want to get to, you look around and see other players around your age and players that you played with or again who may have been outside of the system for a long year and you feel like you might be behind.

Topher: You said it perfectly! You do need to bust your butt that much more to catch up and then get ahead. It's great to hear how humble you are in that experience and the progress that you've made.

Jeremy: You look at guys around the world, a 19-year-old is starting in the Bundesliga, the Premier League and whereas here on the flip side, a 19-year-old is playing in college and naturally the guy in the Bundesliga is going to grow exponentially and the guy in college might grow linearly. When you look around in the Bundesliga, guys my age, to name a few, Justin Black, Tyler Adams, these guys have been playing since they were 16-17 in the league. And now Tyler finds himself breaking into the first team.

It's a little bit fascinating and also it just tells you that you know there is a reward and obviously for every Tyler, there's 100 kids who don't make it, if you want to be that person who takes a chance or do you want to be a person who was asking what if and we're in different ages now. You know we're in an age where a lot of these young athletes if you’re putting in the work in training, a lot of them or a handful of them will be given the opportunity to play because they recognize that they can make a profit off selling you. So you know, there's more infrastructure, there's more of a foundation for you to succeed and again Tyler was one of the 1st who signed for the Red Bull team and then in his next year signed with the 1st team and slowly but surely he’s integrating.

Again your path may be playing in an academy at 16 and then going to college. For others, USL may be better than college and you're already experiencing that as a young teenager. You know it's different for everyone and another piece of advice that I think is important is that everyone's path is different, I watched some of my best friends go pro at 14/15 and then I watched some guys and I've heard stories about guys who perhaps went D3, went D2, played NAIA and had to grind USL and NAFL and all that in order to get their shot, but they made it work too. So everyone’s path is different and you shouldn’t be ashamed of your path, that’s something important to mention.

Topher: It’s definitely important to keep in mind that at the end of the day as a pro or even an aspiring pro you do have to kind of take it with a grain of salt and focus on yourself and make sure that you're in tune with your own process.

Jeremy: I think that’s something that I hope to continue seeing change with younger players and their decision making. Whether it's pressure from parents or pressure from other people for whom the education and collegiate experience has been important, America still has the stereotype that there is one way to make it.

If you don't go to college, you don't do it this way, then people kind of make you feel like you're losing out on something, whereas I think that over the last 3-5 years in terms of self-education; many colleges and companies are accepting different certifications that are out there to empower yourself. If you're diligent and work hard enough you can still get a lot of opportunities to develop your professional career off the field. I think that will be something that continues to empower young athletes and to think, “Hey, if I have a talent, this is my window, I can go for it as hard as I want to, and as long as I have a plan later in life to kind of make up the ground and get to where you want to get to as a professional in your working career, I can still reach my goals.

Topher: Do you think this an issue specific to soccer in the U.S. or something athletes from all sports have to asses?

Jeremy: I think in a country this big and diverse in terms of sports, we’ve got to change. The soccer culture in the world is different than the NFL and NBA culture here. You know in the NBA and the NFL, the stars have to go to college but soccer players around the world don’t. So we're going to see young kids who are ambitious and who are watching the Christian Pulisic’s of the world, etc. all these young guys skip college and they're going to say I'm sorry, but I’m not saying it's going to work out for every single one of those kids, but I'm never going to shoot a kid down who has the talent and who has the drive.

I can look at a kid… I can look at a 16-year-old and tell you if he has that mentality to make it and it’s the same way I can look at an 18-year-old or a 19-year-old because I went through it.  I'm going to relive some really hard moments again; drop my career and I have some tough moments as well where I didn’t know if I was going to make it, but it's how you react to these moments that define where you’ll be in the next 6 months or a year. If a young athlete is willing to sacrifice the immediate benefits of social life, then there's no reason why you can't get to some sort of level. College will not run away from you and you don't need your body in peak physical condition to be in college. So that’s my wrap.

Topher: You’re definitely right, the culture is slowly changing That being said, it's good preparation for life because as a young driven person with a good head on your shoulders, you're proving to yourself that you can do the things that you set your mind and your heart towards. The periphery people in your life will always have their opinion.

Jeremy: There’s a lot of time off the field to figure out your life after your career. There's no reason to shut the door on the ball just because you're scared of what might happen or some else’s opinion on the matter. Like I said, there’s so many teams in this world, there’s one team that will fit you if you’ve worked hard enough from a young enough age and obviously you have some sort of talent. It's about how hard you're willing to go for it. I’ve got guys that are grinding in Slovakia. A friend of mine was working in Slovenia and now he’s moved on to Slovakia which is a solid league in Europe, even though not as glamorous as Ligue 1 or the Belgium one. But top football leagues in Europe know that Slovakia is a tough league and one that has a lot of benefits, so I’m happy for him.

When he was leaving college, he left before senior year and there were definitely people including coaches that were saying, “Why are you leaving?” That he didn’t have a guarantee there and he should be waiting and hoping to go to the MLS. For me, he's just a living example of what drive and determination can do. He tells me stories about how hard it was in Slovenia, and how he always wanted to come home. Not everyone is cut off for that, but he made it work and then he had an offer to come back and play in the USL which is closer to MLS. At the same time, he was able to land an important deal in Slovakia which is going to only further springboard his career because from Slovakia if he can play well, which I have no doubt that he will, he can bounce into Denmark or Sweden or the MLS and continue his journey to his own personal mountain top.

It doesn't mean that that's going to be a thing for everyone, everyone is different and that really excites me to see him go through that journey and then watching him grow from afar as a person and player.

Topher: What an inspiring journey. As you said, that's something that you do have to come to a realization for yourself and your personal mountain top. So I totally agree with you man. Touching on your journey from college to Portland, I feel like you've seen a lot of change in U.S. Soccer in terms of the collegiate experience and its role in developing young talent. U.S. Soccer is currently trying to find itself after a huge identity shift. With what you’ve seen, how has that impacted your experience with U.S. Soccer?

Jeremy: I mean it goes further back than that. Just watching the World Cup in the country that you live in and watching that country play, it’s something that inspires everyone. It creates a sense of bonding and appreciation for that and I'm sure that's what the players felt when France won. Slowly but surely you see the US making its own progress.

With highs like winning the Gold Cup and lows like losing to Mexico in the World Cup or even failing to qualify for the World Cup, we are seeing a rebirth and it’s exciting. There are a lot of players from the past who have inspired my generation of players to take soccer to a new heights and you see it with U-20 national team and U-17 in the last 2-3 cycles, they want to win, but they want to play, they want to run, and they want to show that we're just as talented as some of these other nations.

Topher: How is that culture being manifested in this first initial period with Berhalter?

Jeremy: We want to try and impose ourselves, I think that kind of fearlessness is going to drive us into what I'm going to say will be our most prosperous era. We have an ambitious coach who is set on changing the way that the world sees U.S. Soccer, and we have players who not only have the talent but have the mentality ready to fight hard against the hardest of situations that they could be in and then also bring joy that, quite frankly is uninspired right now. We’re taking it upon ourselves, whether it's the U-23 or the U-20 or both, to push the culture to a new level.

Building steps for the finished product there were some rough moments, but at the end of the day, you also saw some highs. From a national team standpoint, that's been exciting but even from a from a club standpoint, I've seen a lot too. I mean the rise for us, the rise in our academy system. The shifting demographic in college soccer to more homegrown findings in USL and the massive impact from our Women’s National Team has led the way. All of this is only good for soccer in this country. You know you have more options for young players to play in. You have more opportunities for local teams to get nationwide coverage. You have more money being spent on the sport and that's only going to improve and with the World Cup coming in 2026, I think that will be a unique referendum on the state of U.S. Soccer in general because we’re looking at 6-7 years from now, when we will be well into “this new era of rebirth.” And it's really exciting you know to watch as a fan but also hopefully as a player.

Topher: It's very exciting to see and I have no doubt that you will be playing an awesome part of that. Getting your most recent front-row seat being a part of Berhalter’s initial camp and initial games, what are some of the differences in playing style and identity in comparison to Klinsmann?

Jeremy: I can't speak for Klinsmann’s teams, but I can speak for Greg and his staff and they've been very clear about the identity that we want to have. They've been hammering it home every single day at that camp. We want to break lines, we want to control the game, we want to manipulate the defenders to open up certain passing patterns and crossing options for ourselves. Obviously the execution wasn't always there because it is a new system, this is a work in progress but all our laws are clear, we knew exactly what to do on the field. And that’s not a clarity I've always had in my youth and collegiate career, I didn't have that kind of clarity and that’s really refreshing.

In the camp, you really get to see what Greg is about. It's super exciting, getting my 1st cap was something surreal even if I was playing out of position. I think it spoke to the confidence the staff put in me, in an international game out of position and I just took it all in stride. It was really special and it just makes me want more. I can't harp on it enough, you get a taste of something, you get a taste of the next level and all you want to do is just continue to prove yourself, to show that you deserve to be back there and so on a personal front, I hope to be back in the senior national team when it's my time again. I understand I'm lucky because U-23 is going to be really important to US Soccer run each eligible player and for that again, we're talking about righting wrongs and inspiring the fan-base, I think this is going to be a unique opportunity.

Topher: Definitely man. I respect and appreciate your humility talking about the opportunity for yourself. Props to you and I have no doubt that you will continue to have your opportunities to show all of your talent and your work ethic in the upcoming U.S. Soccer events.

Jeremy: I mean there can be ups and downs as you know, but I think it's important to acknowledge from the get-go that it's about trying to limit the downs.

With that I can position myself in a place where you know my club coach has to play me, whether it's out wide, whether it's in the center or whether it's in a different position than I might have never played before, I just want to make sure that I'm doing everything I can to be on the field and ultimately to be a part of that national team because you know I think again there’s so many special moments to be having in the future, at the club and international level and I need to do what I can to try and be a part of all that. It's exciting, you know. It's something that professional players feel and I'm just lucky and I know that I worked hard and I fully believe I deserve everything that I've gotten following the good and the bad, but I think there's a lot to come and I need to be ready for it.

Topher: Acknowledging some of those down periods can be important for a young player. What have been some tough times that you've had along your career so far?

Jeremy: I would say my first year at Duke was one for sure. Coming in after a long season, laboring with some soft tissue problems. I was unable to take a break really and I took a week off and then I had to get in shape and then I didn’t pass the fitness test. Then they had me running 2-3 days for a few weeks which not only made my body feel worse but eventually broke my body down halfway through the year. The coaches were extremely disappointed and so was I.

The way they were treating me, they felt that they wasted a full ride. In the summer I was demoted to the second team and the assistant coach didn’t feel like I was performing to my potential. Personally, I thought I was being scapegoated and that was a really low moment in my career. I was wondering if I was even gonna make it anymore. It’s in those moments where you have some dangerous thoughts.

Topher: Was there anything you learned that allowed you to kind of pull forward and continue to build on the form and the work ethic that put you to where you even ended this most recent season?

Jeremy: Yeah I just think you take a step back and especially for this year I started meditating more. It's the little things like that, that definitely helped me stay focused. It's taking it day by day, like understanding that there’s going to struggle through your successes and not being too hypersensitive to everything that goes on.

Topher: How have figures like Giovanni or Michael helped with your development over the last few years?

Jeremy: I think they made it hard on me but in a way that benefitted me. Guys always come into the league and they feel that they're ready to start, they're ready to be the man, ready to get sold, ready to be whatever it might be and I think sometimes you know you've got coaches that have to humble you. And I'm not going to say that I was the most level headed player to come into the league, but I think I experienced that same kind of humbling under various coaches at various levels.

Topher: Some of the best coaches and developers in our youth teams today know how to do that. They know how to recognize the players that do need that and what level they kind of need to give it to those players to draw the best out of them and so it's kind of like showing it to the players.

Jeremy: Right? I’d even add that a lot of times that you have to take matters into your own hands. Again, because the coaches have to worry about the team as well, so you can't rely on the coach to be looking after you, you have to be willing to do what you have to do to get that for yourself and ready to force yourself into the conversation.

Topher: Speaking on that “conversation”, after being in the MLS for a few years, what are your thoughts on the MLS, it’s the current model of DP’s and clubs investing in older and more experienced players and how that affects the sustainability for young players?

Jeremy: I mean, being in this league as a young player, I think that you know the league is in a tricky spot where it's trying to grow a lot while still attracting the big-name players. And that's something that as a young player you have to deal with because you could go anywhere in the world and you're going to have that same issue. At the same time, you know there's a lot of complexity with that on how clubs spend money and invest in players. It gets everyone to raise their level, it makes it more attractive to the fans as well.

Topher: What are some of the players that you looked up to while you're growing up, whether that was in the U.S. or abroad?

Jeremy: I’d definitely say Karim Benzema. I grew up watching the French team a lot with my family having ties to the country.

Topher: True, definitely a top player but also an underrated one. I feel like it's taken Cristiano leaving Madrid for him to get even more space on the field and the offense is kind of centered around him a bit more.

Jeremy: His presence has been very understated. He's been there since Ronaldo was there and dealt with Ronaldo being seen as the best man in the world. Benzema has always been someone who has good chemistry, plays well with his teammates and can score goals. When I was younger, I didn't always understand that when he wasn’t always scoring. When I got older and I realized he does a lot of things. I aimed to replicate that at whatever level I played at because it makes the game a lot easier for your teammates.

Topher: Who have been your mentors in the MLS during your time with the Timbers and what are some of the most important lessons that you've learned so far?

Jeremy: You know I don't think one specific mentor in this league. I think the young guys who are Tyler Adams, and some other guys with the youth national team that I played with for a long time, you know we drive each other and we try to learn off each other's mistakes, you know we look up to each other for guidance and experience. Obviously a lot of organizing, a lot more is fully invested in that as well. We learn by taking it step by step and going through the process because it's going to be a long career hopefully for all of us and we are going to reach heights that you know might have seemed impossible as a kid or as a dream but in time with the right mindset and surrounding yourself with the right people, I think we all have the potential to be where we want to be.

Is FIFA's planned $1 billion investment enough for women's soccer?

Soccer, just like most sports has been a "male domain" for a long time. Over the years women have been working to make their mark in the sport and we have noted a remarkable rise in the recognition of women soccer. Women from all walks of life view the game as a tool for cutting across all boundaries in terms of society, race, religion, ethnicity and socio-economic circumstances.

Ashlyn Harris, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Allie Long celebrate during the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team Victory Parade and City Hall Ceremony on July 10, 2019 in New York City.

(July 9, 2019 - Source: Getty Images North America)

The introduction of the pinnacle of women soccer, FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991 and subsequently the FIFA U-20 and U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2002 and 2008 respectively was a major milestone. Investments at the grassroots level increased. The FIFA Forward program has made the genesis of new leagues and competitions possible with increased funding. The level of play has dramatically improved, media attention has increased exponentially, and the game has grown in popularity. However, there is no denying the fact that soccer is still a male-dominated sport. The question now becomes how do we make women soccer just as big?

Why women soccer is still not as big as the men's

One of the reasons why women soccer always seems less exciting lies in the media itself. Quality media coverage plays a major role in the prominence of a sport. While the common perception is that if women soccer was worthy of more coverage they would have it, what is apparent is the fact that the popularity of the game comes from the media itself. Men’s soccer is definitely going to seem more exciting since they have higher production values, higher-quality coverage, and higher-quality commentary. In contrast, there are fewer camera angles, fewer cuts to shot, fewer instant replays when we watch women’s soccer, so hell yeah, it’s going to seem to be a slower and less exciting game.

Perhaps we do look at soccer as a feminist issue, but that is because it is. Some argue that women soccer is less prominent than men's soccer because of the gap in physical strength and athleticism lying between genders. However how sure are we that it is a good enough reason to push men's soccer into prominence over their female counterparts? Is it not just us being a chauvinistic society? I am sure a lot will agree with me that one of the best soccer games that they have ever watched regardless of gender was the Canada vs USA Olympic match in 2012. Canada’s Christine Sinclair put her team on her back and almost carried them into the gold medal match, only to be thwarted by questionable officiating. Sinclair displayed great athleticism that some of her male counterparts have never been able to display. That game represented the beauty of athletic competition.

Fans of Canada before the match between Canada and Zimbabwe womens football for the summer olympics at Arena Corinthians on August 6, 2016 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

(Aug. 5, 2016 - Source: Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images South America)

However, if female fans cannot consistently support women soccer in order for the teams to remain solvent, why should men suffer a gender inequality stroke? Women themselves tend to be enemies of the game for not rendering enough support to their kind, the way males do.

Lack of proper support and funding resulting in lower salary rates and revenue obviously makes the women's game less appealing to young girls and less lucrative to investors.

The much needed intervention

Over the years, women have treated soccer as more than just a game, playing with passion (whether it's in the stadium or on village fields, with world-class gear or hand me downs). This drive to take the game to the next level has also been noted. This hasn't gone unnoticed as various sponsors began to see women's soccer clubs as lucrative investments. Consequently, media coverage increased and so did the fan base. However, the competitive and commercial success women soccer has attained over the years stands in stark contrast to the underlying challenges that face the game and its leaders when it comes to development from the grassroots – which represents the future of the game away from the spotlight.

FIFA has done a great job investing in women's soccer through various programs such as the FIFA Forward program that has made funding at the grassroots level possible. Resultantly, new leagues and competitions have been created awarding a lot of women the chance to play the game on a higher level.

Apart from financial investments, FIFA’s Women’s Football Strategy also outlines how the governing body plans to work with confederations, member associations, clubs and players, the media, fans and other stakeholders to confront and surmount the challenges faced in the game.

FIFA's recent contribution has made huge waves, at the FIFA Football Conference in Milan in September 2019, soccer’s supreme promised to invest $1 billion in the women’s game over the next four years. (2019 to 2022). “We need to be a little bit brave and a little bit bold if we want to move women’s football onto the next level – we need to stop copying what we do in the men’s game,” said Infantino (FIFA president).

South Africa line up prior to to the Women's Group E first round match against China PR on Day 1 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on August 6, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

(Aug. 5, 2016 - Source: Harry How/Getty Images South America)

Aside from the billion-dollar funding, Infantino plans to launch a Women’s Club World Cup within the next two years (2020 and 2021) and revive his idea for a Women’s World League, mimicking a Nations League on a global scale. In addition to the above, during the June annual congress of the world federation, Infantino earmarked $500 million for the women’s game in the 2019-2022 cycle. This was in response to criticism over the minimal prize money on offer at the Women’s World Cup in France. After the success of the competition, that plan was quickly revised. The tournament’s expansion to a 32-team format for the 2023 iteration got fast-tracked so as to exploit the game’s new success.

There is no denying that FIFA is indeed doing a great job in supporting the women's game. However, the two burning questions are: "who benefits from this funding?" and "is it enough"?

Who benefits from the billion-dollar deal?

Details on how the $1 billion will be funded, distributed and audited to ensure that it reaches women and girls at the grassroots and truly grows the game, remain vague. However, it is apparent that much development will be considered at the top of the pyramid, further elevating leagues that are already established and have guaranteed lucrative charts. This will indeed increase the popularity of women soccer and guarantee better salaries and benefits for players who already belong to certain leagues. This is an awesome deal, but what happens to the rest of the girls playing soccer in village fields, with great passion but zero opportunities?

"A change made to the top layer of the pyramid will always be short-lived until a change is made to the base." - Lovejoy Munamati

Is the billion-dollar funding enough?

Increasing funds in women soccer will undeniably lift the game's influence to an unimaginable level. FIFA's billion dollars will go a long way in further improving the game's influence. However, is money the ultimate solution? Will it solve the various problems that lead to the women's game being less influential than their counterparts? Will it really bring the change we are looking for?

Well the simple answer to all these questions is NO. Of course we need funding to move forward and to ultimately change the game. However, to help everyone involved, be it an established player or a simple girl with nothing but passion and dreams of brighter days playing somewhere in a village we will need more than just funds.

The long-standing lack of women in positions of responsibility in the football community has led to limited voices to advocate for change. Years of institutional neglect and a lack of investment have prevented girls and women from playing the game and from assuming roles in technical, administrative and governance functions. Honestly only a woman can understand the pains and needs of another, a man in power can try to but never pinpoint the actual problem women are facing. In 2016, the FIFA Congress made the first steps to rectify this problem by approving some landmark decisions for women’s football and the representation of women in football. Realizing that funds alone will not solve this issue, FIFA football strategy has put a plan forward to include women in administrative roles and correct historical errors.

As much as we want funds to keep pouring in, the truth is funds don't just pour into washed-out associations. To receive the maximum amount of funding, federations must meet certain criteria including investment in women’s soccer, according to FIFA’s Forward 2.0 program.

These criteria include:

a) Organizing a regular, nation-wide women’s competition that lasts over a period of six months, involving at least ten teams, and playing at least 90 matches

b) Having an active women’s national team that plays at least four official or friendly matches in one calendar year

c) Having active girls’ national teams in at least two age categories who play at least four games per calendar year.

However not every association can manage to meet the above conditions as roughly a quarter of FIFA member associations simply don’t field senior women’s teams. A good example is Pakistan’s women’s national team which last played a game in 2014, the year the national league became defunct. Pakistan is not a loner, after participating in the 2015 Women’s World Cup, Colombia barely played competitive soccer. So in essence funding alone is a good solution for well-established associations that can easily sustain their influence, of which many teams struggle to do that.

“Over the years, women have treated soccer as more than just a game, playing with passion (whether it’s in the stadium or on village fields, with world-class gear or hand me downs). This drive to take the game to the next level has also been noted. This hasn’t gone unnoticed as various sponsors began to see women’s soccer clubs as lucrative investments. ”

— Lovejoy Tabeth Munamati, FirstTouch Africa

FIFA can do much more

Apart from providing funds FIFA can do so much more for women's soccer. The FIFA women's football strategy has outlined its objectives as part of the FIFA forward 2.0. The objectives illustrate support that goes beyond funding and includes:

Megan Rapinoe receives The Best FIFA Women's Player of the Year award from FIFA President Gianni Infantino during The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019 at Teatro alla Scala on September 23, 2019 in Milan, Italy.

(Sept. 22, 2019 - Source: Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images Europe)

Growing participation

Increasing the level of female participation in football is central to the organization’s ability to reach the goals and objectives outlined in FIFA 2.0: The Vision for the Future. This will allow FIFA to reach both communities where soccer is not well established and those where women grace the pitch every day. The non-profit organization will work diligently to ensure that more women have increased access to football in regions all over the world while supporting its member associations in achieving their own women’s football objectives.

Enhance the commercial value

FIFA's effectiveness to commercialize its competitions and events determines its ability to develop the game. With tremendous opportunity to expand its development efforts by creating new revenue streams from its women’s competitions and events, the organization will optimize existing competitions in order to maximize their quality.

Build the foundations

Building upon the current foundations to effectively govern and regulate a more sophisticated women’s football ecosystem is one of FIFA Forward 2.0's goals. The organization will further develop leadership training platforms designed to attract women to the upper ranks of the football industry. With the knowledge that increasing female participation in football will play a major role in realizing the organization’s larger goals of growing the game, FIFA is pretty keen on women's soccer development.

The goals of the FIFA Forward 2.0 for women’s' soccer are to be achieved using a 5-pronged strategy. The strategy involves developing and growing the game, showcasing, communication and commercialization, governing and leading, education and empowerment.

With all the above interventions along with the billion-dollar investment, women's soccer should be good to go. However infrastructural development is another issue to contend with. Infrastructure development at both club and national team level is one sector FIFA can venture into. With state of the art infrastructure comes great passion, skills in the game. Hence FIFA's 1-billion-dollar investment might still not be enough to ultimately develop women's soccer. However, the investment will go a long way in changing women's soccer as we know it. As FIFA's president, Infantino stated while speaking about the investment:

"There will be a before, and an after, the Women’s World Cup 2019, in terms of women’s football,”

How is soccer keeping Niger girls in school?

Education and football are working hand in glove to improve the lives of girls in Niger. The West African country is among the poorest in the world with the highest rates of early childhood marriage. A startling three in four adolescent girls are married before the age of 18, as a result, many girls do not finish school.

Photo Credit: Unicef.org

After dropping out of school and marrying at a young age, they lose out on the opportunities that education provides for young women.  A football program that is funded by UNICEF is helping to change the status quo for many out-of-school girls in Niger.  This program has been supporting soccer academies for young women, such as Academie Atcha in Niger’s capital Niamey. The academy combines both academics and football which is an incentive for the girls to attend school while also playing the game, which has effectively increased the student retention rates. Through education, these young women are widening their options for their future. Over the past two years, UNICEF together with the National Football Federation has been organizing a national tournament for girls under the age of 17.

“The organization of this tournament goes beyond the question of sport. It aims above all to challenge stereotypes and gender norms. Sport can help girls to place themselves on an equal footing with boys…When girls play, when girls go to school, when girls are no longer victims of violence, when childhood is not shortcut by marriage, the world wins!”- Felicite Tchibindat, UNICEF Representative in Niger.

Breaking boundaries on and off the pitch

As a predominantly Muslim country, it is not common for girls to pursue a career in football. The young women who play the game are faced with gender stereotypes and restrictions that become obstacles for them. Niger’s senior women’s national team has also shared struggles to be excepted from the community which believes that women should never play football as a profession. Despite the opposition from communities and religious leaders who disapprove of girls playing football, the families of the footballers give their full support to the girls. Football is not only giving the girls access to education but also gives these young women the confidence and agency to make decisions and use their talents to better their lives.  In turn, the girls are changing the rules and using the game as a vehicle to pursue their dreams, break gender stereotypes and change perceptions in their communities.

“Football is not just a man’s game. Girls can play as well.  In the past, after school, I went to the playground where boys practice football, but they refused to play with me arguing that football is not a sport for girls. I was shocked, and in my neighborhood, not a single girl plays football.”- 16-year-old Cherifa

Football with a difference

It is the right of every child to get an education. Sadly, millions of girls around the world are robbed of this right. Organizations such as UNICEF which are committed to partnering with communities to transform the lives of children are playing a pivotal role in showing the positive impact that sport and education have on young women.

Photo Credit: Unicef.org

Nelson Mandela once said that “sport has the power to change the world.” Football is more than just a game but a powerful force to support children and get them into school as is the case now in Niger. It builds confidence in their abilities and should be encouraged as they tackle the obstacles on and off the field. The young girls are breaking boundaries and shattering gender stereotypes despite being told by their community that they should not play football.

FIFA’s battle to win over top clubs ahead of the revamped 2021 Club World Cup

FIFA announced in October 2019 that the first edition of the revamped 24-team Club World Cup will take place in 2021. The announcement of the expanded tournament received some push back from major clubs who are reluctant to participate in the tournament. This fact puts the success of the tournament at risk, which depends on clubs and their willingness to compete in the worldwide tournament. FIFA is under pressure to rebrand the tournament and make it a favorite among fans as well as to address the issues raised by clubs as an integral part of restructuring the competition.

Photo Credit: FIFA.com

The main issue on the table for the recently formed World Football Clubs Association (WFCA) is the FIFA Club World Cup which will require substantial coordination between the world governing body and the clubs in order to improve the scheduled world cup contest.

The New World Club Cup format

China will host the first-ever edition of what FIFA boss Gianni Infantino calls a real showcase of the world’s best teams.  The move to expand the tournament from 7 teams to 24 teams is set to be a spectacle for fans who will get to see the best teams around the globe. Eight teams will come from Europe, six from South America, 3 from Africa, Asia and North America as well as one for Oceania. The tournament is likely to close the gap on some of the inequalities that hinder the development of the game in some parts of the world. European teams have won 11 out of the past 12 Club World Cups, and South American sides reached the final eight times in the past 12 years. The move by FIFA is a step forward for the global game by offering smaller leagues an opportunity to compete against the best in the world.

“The new FIFA World Cup for clubs will be a competition which every person who loves football looks forward to. It is the first real and true world cup for the best teams and clubs in the world.”- Gianni Infantino, FIFA President

Along with dealing with the backlash from clubs, the announcement caused a storm of criticism for FIFA’s decision on choosing China amidst human rights accusations over the protests in Hong Kong and the ongoing crisis of Uighur Muslims in China after FIFA had originally set the host as Qatar. However, the deaths of migrant workers during the construction of stadiums received strong criticism from human rights organizations over the treatment of migrants in Qatar. FIFA has been accused of not paying enough attention to human rights violations, which are among the problems that Infantino is faced with in launching the revamped cup.

ECA stands by its European Agenda

Photo Credit: UEFA.com

The European clubs have disagreements with FIFA over the expansion of the Club World Cup and with none more so than Juventus and European Club Association president, Andrea Agnelli. The ECA represents 232 of the continent’s leading sides and is in charge of the UEFA Champions League. Unsurprisingly one of the fiercest critics of this move has been the Italian billionaire highlighting that the FIFA corruption scandals culminating in 2015 arrests are a reason for FIFA to focus mainly on its role as a governing body to avoid such situations. Infantino invited seven top clubs, including Manchester United and Manchester City, to hear the proposals in Zurich.  As Europe’s biggest governing body with the capacity to give FIFA fierce pushback, ECA maintains that FIFA should keep its place a governing body and play its role of just regulating the sport. Angelli’s plans for European football include making the seasons in Europe more connected and taking the European game to a whole new level. He also talks of “harmonization” of transfer windows, refereeing, and a mandatory summer month of rest for the players.

His other ambitious plans to raise up the UEFA League, will most of all come head to head with Infantino’s plans for an expanded format for a worldwide tournament. Infantino has already spoken to some teams in closed-door meetings, including big guns such as Barcelona and Real Madrid with big monies promised for participation. However, Agnelli has also raised concerns on the investment and the financial backing that FIFA has promised to put into the tournament, adding that the new structures were reminiscent of FIFA’s past dealings that led to the biggest corruption scandal in football history.

Photo Credit: FIFA.com

Can FIFA’s past be rewritten?

Infantino has tried his best to revamp FIFA and move away from the high profile corruption scandal that went down in 2015 implicating long term serving FIFA president, Sepp Blatter. A number of FIFA’s top brass received prosecutions from American and Swiss authorities over their involvement in bribery. A total of fourteen people were accused and investigated for a $150 million scheme that included bribes and kickbacks. FIFA senior vice president David Chung of Papua New Guinea was banned for 6 1/2 years and Kwesi Nyantakyi of Ghana was banned for life. Sheikh Ahmad of Kuwait withdrew his re-election candidacy when implicated in bribing voters. Reinhard Grindel of Germany resigned. Infantino was also investigated and soon cleared in 2016 by the FIFA ethics committee for his use of private jets. However, skepticism around the governing body’s dealings shadows the decisions that have to be made by FIFA. The arrests were a disaster for FIFA and it can be argued that the unscrupulous dealings of the former administration have cast a wary eye from most club presidents who are of the view that FIFA should be playing a role as the governing body and nothing else.

“Some of the fiercest criticism of the new format was that FIFA failed to consult clubs on the new calendar and how the tournament will be financed. As of late, eight clubs came together to form a club representative body called World Football Club Association which serves as a platform for constructive dialogue between the clubs and FIFA.”

— Margaret Mandeya, FirstTouch Africa

WFCA, a softer landing for FIFA

On WFCA, it is a friendlier alternative to ECA which has been opposed to FIFA’s current plans that are willing to cooperate with the governing body to make the flagship tournament successful in 2021. WFCA is currently made up of eight club representatives from Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Members include Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, TP Mazembe, River Plate, Boca Juniors, Club America, Guangzhou Evergrande, New Zealand’s Auckland City, and Italy’s AC Milan leaders as well. The association is hoping to grow into a global platform for clubs and adding new clubs to the list of its members. WFCA working with FIFA adds merit to FIFA’s bid for the revamped World Cup and its proposal. This platform serves as a conduit for clubs to discuss their issues with FIFA and make sure that a tournament does happen and is in accord with the rest of the club’s interests.

With 2021 around the corner, FIFA’s work to gunner full support from clubs and the WFCA’s efforts remain crucial in ensuring the success of the revamped 24-team Club World Cup scheduled for China.

FIFA to turn Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium into a soccer laboratory

Introduction

To think that football would be associated with science would have been a mirage a decade ago! In today’s world, anything is possible as we are gifted with an opportunity to get a glimpse into the initiative being managed by FIFA of turning Barcelona Football Club's stadium into a soccer laboratory for generations to come.

A full-scale renovation is due to begin in 2020 and be completed in 2024, bringing the iconic venue up to modern standards. The club is also eager for the stadium to be the largest sports experimentation and innovation laboratory in the world.

Photo Credit: FCBarcelona.com

FIFA & FC Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is an association governed by Swiss law founded in 1904 and based in Zurich. Its goal, enshrined in its statutes, is the constant improvement of football through organizing international tournaments and sees its role as protecting and developing the game of football for everyone around the world. In sheer effort to raise the bar for international football, FIFA intends to use FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium as a testing laboratory in the field of sports technology.

FC Barcelona is a powerhouse in the La Liga Football league based in Spain and has won numerous trophies since it was established, and is home to some of the best football players in the world namely Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. The club’s Camp Nou stadium is one of the most famous soccer arenas in the world. It has an official capacity just shy of 100,000 and has played host to some of the most dramatic moments in the sport’s history with most notably the 1999 UEFA Champions League final.

The Camp Nou stadium’s maximum height is 48 meters, and it covers a whole surface area of 55,000 square meters with 250 meters in length and 220 meters in width. In accordance with UEFA stipulations, the playing area has been downsized to 105 meters x 68 meters. With a capacity of 99,354, it is now the biggest stadium in Europe. However, the total capacity has varied over the years owing to different modifications. When it was first opened in 1957, it held 93,053 spectators, which would be increased to 120,000 in 1982 on occasion of the FIFA World Cup. However, the introduction of new regulations outlawing standing areas reduced the stadium’s capacity in the late 1990s to just fewer than 99,000.

Innovation hub origins and soccer laboratory concept

In the 1998-99 season, UEFA recognized the services and facilities at Camp Nou by awarding it a five-star status. In 2010, in line with the new UEFA regulations, this rating was replaced by the new 'Category 4' title which was bestowed to stadiums which fulfill the most demanding requirements with regards to facilities, services, and capacity such as FC Barcelona's stadium.

Photo Credit: FCBarcelona.com

This new era was chosen for the Camp Nou, to make a precision study of monitoring systems used by companies that collect variables during football matches. These tests, carried out in several sessions during the month of October 2019, have focused on indicators of positioning, speed of the players and have been supervised by a team of experts from the University of Victoria in Australia, an entity that collaborates with FIFA on this project.

The measurements were thoroughly done with the help of thirty students from the Barcelona Campus of the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC). To make them, a 30 x 30-meter quadrilateral was formed on the pitch, with ten cameras on each side, within which the students, with sensors attached to their bodies, made a physical circuit walking, jogging and sprinting, in different directions and with acceleration changes.

The monitoring systems of 13 leading international companies in the tracking sector have been subjected to these tests, including Track160, Catapult, Statsports, and Fitogether. The practical application of this study would be oriented to the analysis of the game for the coaches and the medical teams of the clubs, as well as to extend the quality of the sports broadcasts by providing more information.

The collaboration is being led by the La Liga giants’ Barcelona Innovation Hub, which was formed in 2017 to help incubate innovations that will influence soccer from both a sporting and commercial perspective in the future. It's an initiative that brings together academia, students, start-ups and investors. The aim is to advance FC Barcelona as a technology organization and to share innovations in the field of sports, health and the environment.

Photo Credit: FCBarcelona.com

Barcelona FC said the trials form part of their plans to transform the Nou Camp into a ‘sports experimentation and innovation laboratory,’ with the stadium set to undergo a strong revamp as part of the club’s Espai Barça renovation project. It was also reported in March 2019 that Barcelona FC was looking to raise €100 million to start their own investment fund with a specific focus on trialing new technologies.

FIFA already held similar sessions a few months ago at the Miniestadi. which was home of FC Barcelona’s reserve and female teams until last season. The world governing body FIFA turned the stadium into a testbed for monitoring systems that can collect data during games. Specifically, the trials focused on the positioning and speed of players.

Performing them now at the Camp Nou has allowed researchers to step forward and validate the tracking systems from much larger stands, similar to those in the most important stadiums in the world, and with more variety of spaces to test the radio frequency devices.

“The collaboration is being led by the La Liga giants’ Barcelona Innovation Hub, which was formed in 2017 to help incubate innovations that will influence soccer from both a sporting and commercial perspective in the future. It’s an initiative that brings together academia, students, start-ups and investors. The aim is to advance FC Barcelona as a technology organization and to share innovations in the field of sports, health and the environment.”

— Farai Maringa, FirstTouch Africa

In 2017, it launched the “Barcelona innovation Hub,” and the hub forms part of the “More than a club” mantra at Barcelona, which is viewed as a symbol of Catalonian identity combined with a global brand. Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu at the launch of the hub in 2017 explicitly stated that the club intends to add more value to the brand FC Barcelona which is owned by 150 000 members. “We are and we want to keep being more than a club. We had to generate a positive impact on society that goes beyond sport.”

With this new experience, the Barça Innovation Hub keeps the door open to the football and sports technology industry and consolidates the club's facilities as a testing space, with the aim of turning FC Barcelona into the largest sports experimentation and innovation laboratory in the world.

Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona celebrates scoring his team's third goal with teammates Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Deportivo Alaves at Camp Nou on December 21, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain.

(Dec. 20, 2019 - Source: Getty Images Europe)

FIFA altered its regulations in 2015 to allow for wearable technology during matches and provided all 32 nations at the last World Cup with access to a tablet-based Electronic Performance and Tracking System (EPTS). FIFA and Barcelona announced in November 2018 that they were teaming up to help clubs around the world better monitor their player data. Together they launched the Electronic Performance and Tracking Systems (EPTS), which allows clubs to exchange and compare information in a unified and standardized fashion.

EPTS delivered teams with match footage, alongside stats such as player positioning data, passing, pressing, speed and tackles, and was compatible with both camera and wearable-based systems. In the trials at the Camp Nou, the tracking systems of 12 different vendors were tested to determine their suitability.

It is hoped that more effective data tracking will help coaches with match preparation, allow for more effective player treatment, and to provide more insight to broadcasters. The initiative is noble and it will give football a better picture.

Parting word

Barcelona isn’t the only soccer club putting technology at the heart of its strategy as rumors say that Manchester City has partnered with SAP to transform its on and off-pitch operations. In the future, it is inevitable that other big clubs such as Real Madrid, Paris Saint-German and Bayern Munich are likely to join this auspicious initiative to give the game of football a major upswing in performance, preparations and the actual play for players.

FirstTouch’s Top 5 African Male Ballers of 2019

Sadio Mane of Liverpool celebrates after scoring his team's third goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and West Ham United at Anfield on August 12, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom.

(Aug. 11, 2018 - Source: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Europe)

It's that time of when we round-up the year by celebrating select African soccer players who dominated headlines off and on the pitch.

Below, are five of the best who uniquely repped Africa, all around the world

1. Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool)

The Senegalese international is a clear favorite to win his first ever CAF African Footballer of the year award. Why not, after finishing 4th behind Messi, Van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2019 Ballon d'Or voting. The 27-year-old was arguably the best player in the world of the year 2019, clinching the golden boot after scoring 22 Premier League goals and helping Liverpool to a UEFA Champions League title. In his own words, he could have traded the UCL title for the 2019 AFCON which the Teranga Lions went as far as the final, narrowly losing 0-1 to eventual champions Algeria. Don't take my word for it, 2019 Ballon d'Or winner, Lionel Messi thinks it should have been Mane and so does Arsene Wenger, Eden Hazard and Danny Blind who has labeled him the "new Cristiano Ronaldo."

2. Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool)

He didn't have the Africa Cup of Nations he would have dreamed of as the hosts, Egypt, crashed out of the round-of-16 at the hands of South Africa. Salah, however, continued his blistering goal-scoring form for the Reds, scoring 22 EPL goals just like strike partner Mane. The Egyptian king was also on song as a part of the infamous trio with Firmino and Mane that dominated Europe. The 27-year-old also scored one of the goals for Liverpool in a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the UCL final.

Both Salah and Mane haven't slowed down as they are still firing for Jurgen Klopp's men who remain undefeated in the league and skewing the 2019/20 title race in their favor.

3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Arsenal)

Just like Salah, the Gabonese captain's exploits on home soil proved not very fruitful as the Panthers failed to even make the 32 finalist list of the Egypt AFCON finals. He was, however, a clutch for the struggling Arsenal side that lost the UEFA Europa League final to Chelsea and missed out on the EPL top four by a point. The 30-year-old completed the list of the English top flight best scorers as he also had 22 goals to his name, sharing the golden boot with Liverpool's African striking duo.

He has finished the year with the responsibility of being the Gunners' captain and still loves his goals. Only Jamie Vardy had scored more than Auba in the new Premier League season at the time of writing this piece.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal scores his sides third goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal FC at London Stadium on December 09, 2019 in London, United Kingdom.

(Dec. 8, 2019 - Source: Julian Finney/Getty Images Europe)

4. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria & Manchester City)

It probably was his best year yet as far as winning is concerned. After winning a historic domestic treble with Manchester City, the 28-year-old immediately switched to his national colors and superbly led the Desert Foxes to their second-ever AFCON title. Most famously, the Algerian captain scored a sublime stoppage time free-kick goal in their 2-1 semi-final victory over the Super Eagles of Nigeria. In the new season, he has become a Champions League ace for Guardiola's men, always involved in the goals.

5. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco & Borussia Dortmund)

The 21-year-old Moroccan is the only defender on our list and there's a good reason for that. The Lions of the Atlas were shockingly dumped out of the 2019 AFCON finals by Benin in the round-of-16 after entering the tournament as favorites and winning all their group matches. It could go without notice that in every match he ever played for Morocco, the flying full-back was unplayable. He was in similar form for Dortmund who narrowly missed out on a Bundesliga title, finishing second and has since carried that form into the 2019/20. From a defensive position, Hakimi scored an astonishing 3 goals in the UCL group stages and helped Lucien Favre's men to reach the last-16 at the expense of Inter Milan.

There we go folks, let us know who else you might have wanted to see on the list, or better yet share with us how you would rank them all.

FirstTouch’s Top 5 African Female Ballers of 2019

On the 7th of January 2020 in Egypt, Africa's football governing body CAF will announce the top women's player of the year. It's an accolade that has seen all its previous winners enjoy global success as they pushed for new frontiers and held the banner of African football with pride. Out of the shortlist of 10 women chosen by technology and media professionals, here at FirstTouch, we have picked our 5 leading candidates to claim the prize. In no particular order, they are as follows:

Han Peng #18 and Liu Shanshan #2 of China try to block Ajara Nchout #3 of Cameroon during the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada Round 16 match between China and Cameroon at Commonwealth Stadium on June 20, 2015 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

(June 19, 2015 - Source: Todd Korol/Getty Images North America)

1. Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria & Barcelona)

No better place to start than with the 3-time winner of the CAF Women's Footballer of the year. The 25-year old Nigerian international has become a legend all too quickly playing for the best teams in the best leagues around the world. Not least of her former employers include Arsenal, Liverpool and Dalian Quanjian in the Chinese Women's Super League. The year 2019 was probably not her best with Barcelona as the Spanish Primera Division side missed out on the league and UEFA Champions League honors. Perhaps her biggest goals of the year included one in Barcelona's only goal in a 1-4 final loss to Lyon in Champions League and another one against South Korea that helped Nigeria reach the round-of-16 of the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time in since 1999.

2. Thembi Kgatlana (South Africa & Beijing BG Phoenix Rising)

After an unreal 2018 that left her by far the best player on the continent as she helped South Africa reach the FIFA Women's World Cup finals for the first time, Kgatlana didn't fold in 2019. The reigning CAF Best Player of the year made the move to Chinese side Beijing BG Phoenix Rising in February 2019 and has since scored 6 goals in her debut league appearance. The 23-year-old forward also scored South Africa's first and only goal of the World Cup in a group stages 1-3 loss to Spain.

3. Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi & Jiangsu Suning)

Africa keeps churning goal-scoring talents and Chawinga is the latest legend in the making. After becoming the first Malawian women's player to ply her trade in Europe, the 22-year-old has delivered performances worthy of being a pioneer. Short stints in Sweden saw her grab all the top goal scorer's awards she ever contested for and at times pipping the runner-up by a clear 14 goals. She has since made a move to China after a record transfer fee in Swedish football. The year 2019 was her second in the Chinese Women's Super League as she helped Jiangsu Suning to a treble and also bagged a treble of her own in terms of top goal-scoring accolades. Chawinga is the current top goal scorer in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers and also retained the CSWL's golden boot after scoring 12 times in 14 league appearances, 4 goals ahead of the second-best. By reason of all this, she surely is the favorite to win Africa's top prize. It just looks like her reign has only started and could make the rounds in a few more years, world-wide.

Elizabeth Addo of Ghana looks on during the women's international friendly match between Germnay and Ghana at Benteler Arena on July 22, 2016 in Paderborn, Germany.

(July 21, 2016 - Source: Lars Baron/Bongarts)

4. Ajara Nchout (Cameroon & Valerenga)

This name should be familiar to most. The Cameroonian international scored Cameroon's only 2 goals in their only victory over New Zealand at the 2019 FIFA World Cup in France. The Valerenga forward's brace was actually enough to send the Indomitable Lionesses into the round-of-16 where they eventually lost 3-0 to England under the spotlight of VAR controversies. Most excitingly, the 26-year-old was nominated for the 2019 FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of the year courtesy of her brilliant solo goal against New Zealand at the World Cup. She could be forgiven for then losing out to Lionel Messi on the accolade. The Indomitable Lionesses forward has also proven a clutch in her nation's pursuit of a 2020 Tokyo Olympics spot, scoring the decisive goal against DR Congo in the 3rd round. Cameroon are now in the playoffs finals against Zambia.

5. Elizabeth Addo (Ghana & Jiangsu Suning)

When they mention Chawinga in China, Addo's name usually comes after. The Black Queens captain is the Malawian's partner in crime at Jiangsu Suning. Elizabeth, 26, also aided the CWSL side's treble win with her 3 goals in 14 outings. She has been one of the best footballers on the continent for a while now, with club stints in Nigeria, Serbia, Hungary, Sweden, USA, and Australia. Addo also captained Ghana at the 2018 Africa Women's Cup of Nations and got listed in the tournament's best XI despite the host nation's failure to go past the group stages.

There you have it people, let us know if we missed anyone in the comment box below.

MLS Review: Could Zlatan really be the best DP player of all time?

David Beckham of the LA Galaxy in action during the Hyundai Club Challenge match between Sydney FC and the LA Galaxy at Telstra Stadium on November 27, 2007 in Sydney, Australia.

(Nov. 27, 2007 - Source: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images Sport)

MLS Review: Could Zlatan really be the best DP player of all time?

"Why are you writing about the Major League Soccer, people barely watch it," I remember this comment from a friend when I mentioned an MLS review.

Well MLS might not be as prestigious as European football leagues such as the famous Premier League of England. However, the exposure to the growing American soccer market saw various international stars plying their trade in the league. It has therefore given us legendary games to talk about and has housed some of the world's best players at the peak of their careers, making it absolutely newsworthy. This North American soccer league has been famous for its designated player rule, also known as the Beckham Rule. It allows teams to sign up to three players that are considered outside the team’s salary cap. In essence, this allows teams to compete for star players in the international market. A good example is how the LA Galaxy signed David Beckham to a five-year contract worth $6.5M per year back in 2007, making him the first DP player, hence the nickname "the Beckham rule".

The top 5!

MLS has signed some of the world's best players as DP players and a specific criterion has been used to select who makes the top five of the best DP players of all time. Attempting to define the five greatest MLS players of all-time is not easy. In order to be eligible for the list, a player has to enter the league as a DP. Sadly, that eliminates a bunch of worthy players who entered MLS on regular contracts and were later elevated to DP status. Thus great players like Landon Donovan, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey miss the list. Our major focus is also on players with more than three MLS seasons under their belts, so Zlatan Ibrahimović, Wayne Rooney, Miguel Almiron, and Carlos Vela miss the list for this reason. After considering the two prior mentioned facts we also look at goal contributions per 90 minutes and trophies won by the DP. However, measuring the impact of designated player signings goes beyond wins, losses and trophies. There have been players who secured trophies, but also made a major impact in terms of marketing and boosting the visibility of teams in certain international markets (the likes of David Beckham).

Having mentioned the criteria for selection we move on to looking at which players find their names in the top five DP players of the all-time list:

1. Robbie Keane (Ireland & LA Galaxy)

In terms of on-field production, no player could ever display a more impressive career in the MLS than Keane. The LA Galaxy star was a dominating force for most of his six seasons with the LA Galaxy. He helped the Galaxy win three MLS Cup titles, delivering an impressive 83 goals in 125 games and 45 assists. Keane also captured the league MVP award in 2014. He was the leading figure in a team that resembled the biggest dynasty in MLS history. Keane is easily the most successful international star brought in using the Designated Player (DP) rule. Many clubs have landed effective DPs, but none have delivered one as impressive as Keane in such a short period of time.

2. Sebastian Giovinco (Italy & Toronto FC)

Upon his arrival (from Juventus) into the MLS's Toronto FC which had never made the playoffs in 2015, Giovinco made a big impression from the start. The Toronto FC star took home an MVP award and the golden boot, helping TFC reach consecutive MLS Cup finals. Giovinco displayed dazzling skills that helped win back fans in Toronto and laid the groundwork for an MLS Cup-winning season in 2017. The final season didn't go as planned, but his efforts in helping TFC reach the CONCACAF Champions League final can never be forgotten. Nicknamed the Atomic Ant, Giovinco became the first player in league’s history to record 20+ goals and 10+ assists in a single season. Giovinco hoisted the MLS Cup for 2 consecutive years (2016 and 2017) alongside Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley. The Italian scored a total of 67 goals for Toronto over the course of his career — ranking him first in the franchise’s history.

Steven Smith #14 of the Portland Timbers and Thierry Henry #14 of the New York Red Bulls battle for a loose ball during a match at Red Bull Arena on August 19, 2012 in Harrison, New Jersey.

(Aug. 18, 2012 - Source: Andy Marlin/Getty Images North America)

3. Diego Valeri (Argentina & Portland Timbers)

While the Portland Timbers existed long before MLS, the MLS era is best defined by Valeri. Upon his arrival in 2013, he became a fan favorite in Portland and around the league because of his consistent excellence over the past six seasons. Diego has already tallied 62 goals in 146 matches for Portland. He led the Timbers to a 2015 MLS Cup triumph. After missing the playoffs in 2016, Valeri almost single-handedly pulled Portland into the playoffs, ultimately making his 2017 season a stand out one. He became the second player in league’s history to notch 20+ goals and 10+ assists in a single season, lagging behind Sebastian Giovinco. Diego stands third in most games played for the Timbers, first in goals, and first in assists.

"Once Valeri retires, don’t be surprised to see the club construct a statue of him outside of Providence Park." - Nathan Reynolds, Contributor, MLS Multiplex

4. David Beckham (England & LA Galaxy)

If we were talking simply on-field performance, Beckham wouldn't have cracked the top five on the best DP players of all-time. Some may argue that his performance on the field doesn’t warrant a ranking this high. However, we cannot talk about DPs without mentioning the first-ever DP to grace the MLS. Beckham's arrival in America had a huge positive impact on the league's global identity, it paved the way for future generations of designated players. Although his on-field production was low with Beckham only managing to secure MLS Cup titles for Galaxy in 2011 and 2012, he had the biggest overall impact on the league. The former Galaxy star also won 2 Supporters' Shields, served up 40 assists and scored numerous trademark free-kick goals with the Galaxy. He also claimed the MLS Comeback Player of the Year award in 2011 following a 2010 injury that held him out of the World Cup (and thus ended his international career).

5. Thierry Henry (France & New York Red Bulls)

When Henry arrived at the Red Bull Arena, they badly needed a star to help them rebuild their fan base since they had recently moved into a new stadium. He failed to pull the Red Bulls out of their MLS Cup dry season but however helped the Red bulls win their first piece of silverware (the 2013 Supporters' Shield). The former Red Bulls star concluded his five-year stay with the club as the leading assist provider in the team’s history. He generated 51 goals and 42 assists in 122 regular-season games in about 4 1/2 MLS seasons and made the playoffs every year of his Red Bulls’ tenure.

“This North American soccer league has been famous for its designated player rule, also known as the Beckham Rule. It allows teams to sign up to three players that are considered outside the team’s salary cap. In essence, this allows teams to compete for star players in the international market. ”

— Lovejoy Tabeth Munamati, FirstTouch Africa

Is the top 5 DP list justified?

So the established top five has players we believe have the most notable qualities to warrant inclusion. However, arguments could be made for some exceptional players who missed the list. Some of these players, their achievements and the reasons they miss the list are as follows:

1. David Villa (Spain & New York City FC)

Villa hasn’t been in MLS all that long and it is for that reason that he misses the top five list. However, there’s no arguing against the Spanish legend’s great impact in the MLS for that short period. Villa managed to record 18 goals and eight assists in his first season in the league before tallying 23 strikes and four assists, captaining NYCFC to the 2019 playoffs.

David Villa #7 of New York City FC dribbles down the field at Banc of California Stadium on May 13, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

(May 12, 2018 - Source: Katharine Lotze/Getty Images North America

2. Miguel Almiron (Paraguay & Atlanta United)

Atlanta United enjoyed the best return on the $8 million (£6m) transfer fee it paid to buy Almiron from Lanus, making him one of the most legendary MLS investments. Almiron earned Atlanta United an MLS Cup title in 2018 and $26 million transfer to Newcastle United, along with some of the biggest jersey sales in MLS over the past two seasons.

"Almiron is a dazzling playmaker with the speed and skill to terrorize opposing defense and the megawatt smile to win fans over. There's little doubt that he would have challenged for the top spot on this list if he had stuck around MLS longer (the reason why he misses the list), but the record-breaking fee Newcastle paid for him puts him close to the top," Ives Galarcep, Owner, SBI Soccer

3. Josef Martinez (Venezuela & Atlanta United)

No player in the MLS history has had a better two-year run than Martinez, with his unmatched 50 goals in 2 seasons. Martinez once topped the single-season goal-scoring record, after notching 31 strikes that led to Atlanta United winning the 2018 MLS Cup title. However, he misses the list because he hasn't been in the MLS for more than 3 seasons as per our criteria.

4. Landon Donovan (USMNT & Los Angeles Galaxy)

Now we are talking about the most happening MLS player, if the top five wasn't all about being a designated player, Donovan would top the charts. Donavan already topped various non DP best players of all time lists including Nathan Reynolds' top 25 best MLS players of all time. The American collected four MLS titles, two Supporters’ Shields, and one Open Cup trophy in Los Angeles. He won the Golden Boot award in 2008 and was selected to the MLS Best XI seven times. With all these achievements he had absolutely created an undisputed place for himself in MLS history. However, he did not stop there, Donovan holds the MLS all-time goal-scoring record (145) and is the all-time assist leader with 136.

In 2015, the league renamed the annual MVP award the “Landon Donovan MVP Award.” That’s a pretty good indication he’s worthy of being considered the best player in the MLS history.

"The writing is on the wall; Donavan is the undisputed champion in MLS history when it comes to on-pitch performances."-Lovejoy Munamati

5. Carlos Vela (Mexico & Los Angeles FC)

Vela joined Los Angeles FC in January 2018, winning the Supporters' Shield and the MLS Golden Boot in his second year. Apart from being voted the most valuable player, he set a new league record for most goals in a season, surpassing Martinez’s record with 34 strikes. He doesn't make it to the list because he joined the MLS just recently.

Josef Martinez (L) autograph young attendee's hat at MLS All-Star Community Day presented by Target at Anderson Park on July 30, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia.

(July 29, 2018 - Source: Paras Griffin/Getty Images North America)

6. Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden & Los Angeles Galaxy)

Zlatan joined Galaxy on a free transfer from Manchester United in January 2018. The lion has 48 goals in 51 MLS appearances as well as 14 assists. In September 2019, Zlatan secured a 7-2 win against Kansas City. The goals saw Ibrahimović make history for Galaxy, breaking the team's single-season scoring record having now scored 26 goals in 25 starts during the 2019 season. The Swede bettered, Carlos Ruiz’s record, who netted 24 times in the 2002 season. Zlatan was the highest-paid MLS player in 2019, with $7.2 million in guaranteed compensation, which is also the highest single-season guaranteed compensation of all time.

Zlatan leaves Galaxy unfulfilled

Ibrahimović scored 52 goals in 56 appearances for the Galaxy. He nearly won the Golden Boot this year and finished second in voting for the MVP Award. The former Galaxy star had a good individual success run and went viral with several spectacular goals while playing for the LA Galaxy. As he leaves the Galaxy after his 2-year stint, the team would be quite thankful for the positive impact of his presence on their team. However, he leaves the team still unfulfilled as the Galaxy didn’t win anything of significance in the two years that Ibrahimović spent in MLS. They collapsed on the final day of the season in 2018 to miss the playoffs and then had a rather underwhelming playoff appearance in the following year. This does not take anything away from him being massive for MLS, he is still one of the best MLS players ever. Now with all these achievements including the aforementioned 7-2 win and being the highest-paid MLS player, Zlatan has to be one of the best MLS players of all time but comes up short of our minimum 3 seasons criteria.

"I think I am the best ever to play in MLS. And that, without joking," said Ibrahimovic.

Could Zlatan really the best DP player of all time?

There have been only three 30-goal seasons in MLS history, all within the past 12 months: Martinez's record-setting in 2018, Vela's record-breaking 2019 and Zlatan's 2019. The Swede is unsurprisingly, 2019's highest-paid player with $7.2 million in guaranteed compensation, which is also the highest single-season guaranteed compensation of all time. Only two other players, Orlando City's Kaka and Toronto FC's Sebastian Giovinco, have banked more than $7 million in a season.

"Despite recently turning 38, Ibrahimović has banged in 52 goals and added 17 assists in only 56 games. Of all players in MLS history with 50 goals, no one scored more often than Zlatan, who managed a goal every 91.4 minutes. Martinez, at 92.8, is the only other player in that club who averages a goal every less than 128 minutes," comments a Dan Hajduck

All the above facts can indeed guarantee Zlatan being named the best MLS player of all time, yet! However, there are numerous other factors to consider other than his salary and frequency of goals.

Team President of the Los Angeles Galaxy Chris Klein hands Zlatan Ibrahimovic #9 his jersey during a press conference at StubHub Center on March 30, 2018 in Carson, California.

(March 29, 2018 - Source: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images North America)

If we were to look at Zlatan in comparison to other recent MLS players in terms of total goals scored, Carlos Vela would definitely give Zlatan a run for his money. Vela attained a total of 70 goals and assists combined while Zlatan falls second with 62. Throughout his MLS career, Ibrahimović has been the second most prolific player in the MLS history by way of goal contributions per 90 minutes, trailing only on-field rival Carlos Vela.

Looking at expected goals (cumulative number of goals that would be expected to be scored taking into account shot quality and shot volume), two players in Martinez and Vela, have delivered a higher expected goals total (xG) than Zlatan.

If we look at the overall impact on the MLS, we cannot talk about Zlatan when we have the likes of Thierry and Keane. A collection of various comments made on Zlatan's statement brought up various reasons why Zlatan can't possibly be the best MLS player of all time. I have summed the reasons into a list of 3 as follows:

1. He doesn't qualify for the esteemed 10 MLSers who have won a World Cup

2. No MVP win in the season of his proclamation

3. Zlatan is probably the best individual to play in MLS, but being the best “player” is overrating him because that takes individual skill combined with collective success.

"The Best MLS Career belongs to Landon Donovan, while Sebastian Giovinco had the highest sustained peak, Zlatan might be the most talented and Thierry is the best MLS player." - Matthew Doyle, MLSsoccer.com Senior Editor

In conclusion, Zlatan was not just bragging to be fair, he has had a huge impact on the MLS. However, he could have chosen not to use the word "best" for that is and will most likely always be debatable. An easy way to settle it is by this closing quote;

"Zlatan is ARGUABLY the best DP player of all time."-Godwin Munamati.

120 years later, Is AC Milan’s journey back to the top a wild goose chase or a possibility?

Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan celebrate scoring the second goal during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match between AC Milan and Arsenal FC at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on February 15, 2012 in Milan, Italy.

(Feb. 14, 2012 - Source: Claudio Villa/Getty Images Europe)

Good old days

They were the best team in Europe! Undisputed champions of the world! A solid whale making waves in the sea! The club won unforgettable 18 Series A championships, 7 Champions Leagues, and it’s impossible to forget the renowned players who played for the club including Ronaldinho, Kaka, Gattuso, and Maldini.

During the glorious days of the club, most players in the first eleven would qualify into the dream team of the world. Yet, the Italian giants find themselves at rock bottom with hardly any recognition in the world. Is AC Milan still recognised in the top 20 clubs in the world? Absolutely Not! The story of AC Milan can only be described as, “Riches to Rags.” The inevitable question then comes: “What really happened to AC Milan?”

AC Milan is a European club that plays in the Italian Serie A and was definitely one the most successful clubs in the world for many years particularly in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s. The club was a powerhouse before Juventus started dominating the Serie A as it has been in the past few years. The club was founded in 1899 by a group of English expatriates. At the commencement of the year 1980 going forward, AC Milan was the best club in Serie A, if not the best club in Europe. It had renowned world-class players such as Marco Van Basten, and Frank Rykuk to mention but a few and the club won 3 Championships in this period leaving a mark that cannot be erased.

The start of the millennium was just as fruitful, as they managed to win two more UEFA Champions League titles in 2003 and 2007. Their team had big guns such as Andre Shevchenko, Clarence Seedorf, Paulo Maldini, and Kaka. It was undoubtedly a team of legends! Unfortunately, that team was the last one to make such a tremendous impact to date.

How did they get here?

AC Milan has not been in the UEFA Champions League competition in the last 5 years. They have been number 6 on log standings in the Serie A for the last 2 years and 10th in 2016, which is totally embarrassing for a club of such caliber. The transition of letting veteran players go from the club and roping in new players was badly managed, as well as the club's management. The club has had 8 managers and 3 owners in the last 5 years, which is unheard for a club of such heritage, paramount value and popularity.

Franck Kessie of AC Milan gestures during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Chievo Verona at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on October 7, 2018 in Milan, Italy.

(Oct. 6, 2018 - Source: Marco Luzzani/Getty Images Europe)

Whilst the club was still at its peak in 2011, Silvio Berlusconi completely transformed the whole system and changed the philosophy that made the club great. He no longer depended on former players with relevant club-play experience and stopped buying expensive players. Worse off, he prioritized selling his top players at that time and some of them being Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic who were sold to PSG in 2012 and one shocking moment being letting Andreas Pirlo go to Juventus for free. One of the main strategies of the executive team was to depend on young players who were coming from the academy, just the way Barcelona does with La Masa Academy. Only that in this case, it was a real bummer.

The club was making these terrible decisions, simultaneously making improper decisions when purchasing new players, for instance purchasing Robinho for €20 million, and Andrea Betalachi for $23 million. In the aftermath of poor seasons, the club yanked old stars for free such as Fernando Torres to boost the squad, but unfortunately, there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Slowly but surely the club’s level of competence slid through anonymity and the club was sold to a Chinese businessman hoping the club will rise to the occasion and regain lost glory.

Silvio Berlusconi bought AC Milan when the club was down on its very knees in the late 80s and he built it until it had become a force to reckon with in European football. Following the arrival of Berlusconi, the club grew immensely right and it reached tremendous heights. Regardless of success on the pitch, Berlusconi was also involved in politics and became Italy’s prime minister but was however mired in corruption allegations. He was eventually found guilty of tax evasion and barred from the public office. Having initially struggled financially he eventually found a key buyer from China for AC Milan as a way of offloading pressure from his life that was already in jeopardy.

“Whilst the club was still at its peak in 2011, Silvio Berlusconi completely transformed the whole system and changed the philosophy that made the club great. He no longer depended on former players with relevant club-play experience and stopped buying expensive players”

— Farai Maringa, FirstTouch Africa

The businessman from China

A wealthy businessman named Li Yonghong paid a nine-figure deposit to begin negotiations in purchasing AC Milan. New York Times reported that the Chinese man was not as wealthy as he proclaimed to be and his business was not as lucrative as elucidated. Regardless of the red flags and multiple issues raised with regard to Li Yonghong’s credibility, the sale went through successfully in March 2017. Silvio Berlusconi decided to let go of the club in the aftermath of poor pitch and financial performances.

With the intense drive to take the club on an upswing just after acquiring the club, Li Yonghong decided to go on a spending spree when he purchased Bonucci and Andre Silva. The new signings did not make a significant change to the club’s results despite the named fellows making impact currently. Henceforth, the club remained in shambles. The Chinese investors upon realising little or no return for their massive investment over the years in the club, they backed out and closed their billfolds.

Paolo Maldini, Kaka and other players of AC Milan celebrate after winning the FIFA Club World Cup final against Boca Juniors and AC Milan at the International Stadium Yokohama on December 16, 2007 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.

(Dec. 16, 2007 - Source: Junko Kimura/Getty Images Sport)

Li Yonghong received a loan from Elliot Management equating to $354 million. All these issues were inadvertently affecting the players and coaches as the club that season went on to lose to Juventus, Napoli, Roma, and Inter Milan. After the horrendous losses, it was inevitable that coach Vincenzo Montella was unceremoniously sacked and the club hired a Milan luminary named Gennaro Gattuso.

AC Milan’s management continued to disappoint the club and its supporters when UEFA turned down AC Milan’s voluntary agreement to be in accordance with Financial Fair Play(FFP) Rules. The main news channel read that, “there are still uncertainties to the refinancing of the loans attached to the club to be paid back in October 2018 and the financial guarantees provided by the main shareholder.” Adding fuel to the fire, allegations were raised that Li Yonhong and some of his businesses were bankrupt, leaving an uncertain future for the club’s financial status.

The club was sold again and it’s now owned by Elliot Fund, American owners. The new owner engaged old guys like Maldini and they had a successful transfer of players when they bought Pacqueta for their midfield, and the phenomenal Piatek who is a goal-scoring machine, and evidence was getting 10 goals in 13 games. This gave absolute hope to the whole club and fans for a glorious future who were feeling absolutely discouraged for a number of years.

Celebrating 120 years and the rebuilding continues

Perhaps AC Milan has a lot to learn from Inter Milan with regards to rebuilding a club that was once famous? Perhaps AC Milan, who are now 120 years-old as of December 2019, can become one of the greatest football clubs once again to ever play in Europe?

All these questions can only be answered when the proper financials and proper managers are put in place for AC Milan. Jürgen Klopp transformed Liverpool from the miry clay and drove it onto a rock to stay, and he is the “type” of passionate coach needed to transform AC Milan club. A lot of effort, sheer commitment and determination are indispensable to make AC Milan great again. Truth be told, the team is currently far away from its peak, but there is great hope for an emphatic return to the UEFA Champions League in 10 years to come.

FirstTouch’s Top 10 Female Players of 2019

Megan Rapinoe poses backstage during the 2019 Glamour Women Of The Year Awards at Alice Tully Hall on November 11, 2019 in New York City.

(Nov. 10, 2019 - Source: Getty Images North America)

In no chronological order, they are as follows;

1. Megan Rapinoe

It takes someone special to be a major influence both on and off the pitch. Megan Rapinoe has become one such player, a major force in the world of soccer who walks the talk. They say good things come to those who wait and seemingly Pinoe has had to wait until the twilight years of her career to become a global phenomenon. The year 2019 was particularly unreal for the USWNT star who led the Stars & Stripe to a record 4th World Cup title in France, finishing as a joint top goal scorer and taking home the Golden Ball Award for the best player of the tournament. The 34-year-old was also named the 2019 FIFA Best Women's Player of the Year and even won bigger battles off the pitch as she became a banner for gender equality advocacy in football.

2. Lucy Bronze

You have to be really good to get any mention on these lists if you are a defender. Fans of the game just have an interesting bias towards prolific goal scorers. Bronze is that good and more. The England international also had a fruitful 2019 as she helped the Lionesses finish 4th at the World Cup in France. At club level, the 28-year-old was also a key member of the Lyon squad that typically won multiple trophies, including the coveted Champions League title. The flying full-back was named the 2019 UEFA Women’s Player of the Year, finished 3rd behind Rapinoe and Alex Morgan on the FIFA Best Awards and also took home the Silver Ball from the World Cup finals in France.

3. Sam Kerr

Talk about scoring goals. The Australian international did that for fun in the 2019 NWSL season as her Chicago Red Stars reached the play-off finals. The 26-year-old bagged a total of 18 goals and served up 5 assists in 21 matches during the campaign, breaking the record of goals scored in a single season previously held by herself. In that process, she also extended her record as the all-time leading goal scorer in the American top-flight league. After months of speculation, with some of the big clubs in Europe reportedly monitoring her, Kerr eventually joined Chelsea at the end of the NWSL season in the FA WSL.

4. Ada Hegerberg

The Norwegian is no stranger to this list after being the first-ever woman to win the Ballon d'Or in 2018. She may have missed out on the 2019 World Cup finals in protest against her country's football federation on the grounds of poor investment in the women's game, but her club performance was just as impressive. She scored a total of 20 goals in 20 domestic league matches for the 2018/19 season, also helped Lyon retain the Champions League and French Ligue 1 titles. In fact, she bagged a hattrick in the UEFA final as the French club sank Barcelona by a 4-1 scoreline. Most remarkably, the 24-year-old striker became the all-time leading goal scorer in the Champions League in October when she scored her 53rd goal in 50 appearances, breaking the record previously held by the German Anja Mittag.

5. Wendie Renard

Lucy Bronze of England controls the ball during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France group D match between England and Scotland at Stade de Nice on June 09, 2019 in Nice, France.

(June 8, 2019 - Source: Getty Images Europe)

The French international has a knack for scoring goals even though she is a center-back by trade. At the 2019 FIFA World Cup finals, she finished as the 5th joint top goal scorer with 4 strikes in 5 appearances for Les Bleus who were eliminated at the quarter-final stage by eventual champions, USWNT. Just like Bronze and Hegerberg, the 29-year-old Renard was a key figure in the Lyon side that won multiple trophies in 2019 and continues to prove to the world that they just might be the greatest living sports team. If men's football can boast being endowed with the immaculate Van Dijk, then women's football have the presence of Renard.

6. Vivianne Miedema

The Dutch forward could be the most talented forward in this generation and yes I am an Arsenal fan. Sue me if you may for being biased, but Miedema is almost as good as they come. At just 23-years-of age, the Gunners forward has already become the all-time leading goal scorer for both the women's and men's national teams in the Netherlands, surpassing the record previously held by her idol, Robin van Persie. In the year 2019, she helped Arsenal to a domestic treble and was awarded the PFA Women's Player of the Year, with her compatriot Van Dijk winning the men's accolade. She was also instrumental to the Oranje side who reached the 2019 World Cup finals, scoring 3 times in 7 appearances. In the ongoing Champions League campaign, Miedema is the top goal scorer with 10 in 4 matches and her club will play PSG in the last 8.

7. Alex Morgan

The 30-year-old also had a fun year being Rapinoe's "ride or die." Together they co-captained the USWNT to World Cup glory, also finishing as joint top goal scorers with 6 goals in 7 matches. She also received the FIFA Bronze Ball after being named the 3rd best player of the tournament in France and was among the three short-listed candidates for both the FIFA Best Awards and the UEFA individual prizes. Morgan didn't have as successful a club campaign with Orlando Pride in the NWSL and had to even pull out of the squad towards the end of the season to have surgery on a knee injury she had been nursing throughout the world cup.

Sari Van Veenendaal receives The Best FIFA women's goalkeeper of the year award at the Teatro alla Scala during The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019 on September 23, 2019 in Milan, Italy.

(Sept. 22, 2019 - Source: Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images Europe)

8. Lieke Martens

She is one of the quickest and most skillful women soccer players alive. Lieke Martens played through injury, helping the Netherlands reach the world cup finals in France. The winger's club form and exploits were relatively more fruitful as she was key in the Barca side that made the Champions League finals, eventually losing out to Lyon in the final. The 26-year eventually losing out to Lyon in the final. The 26-yearold just returned from the injury sustained during the world cup and like Messi, could be key in leading Barcelona to more silverware this new season.

9. Asisat Oshoala

Year after year, the Nigerian international continues to get a mention. The 25-year-old helped the Super Eagles to a historic knock-out round finish at the 2019 FIFA World Cup finals in France. Alongside South Africa's Thembi Kgatlana, they both top the list of the deadliest strikers on the African continent. With Lieke Martens, she also helped Barcelona reach the 2019 UEFA final, becoming the first African to score in the women's Champions League.

10. Sari van Veenendaal

No one had a safer pair of hands in 2019 than Atletico Madrid's van Veenendaal. The Dutch won the Golden Glove Award after being named the best goalkeeper at the 2019 World Cup finals where the Oranje finished 2nd behind the USWNT. She made a leading total of 23 saves during the world cup and earned herself a first-ever 2019 FIFA Best Women's Goalkeeper Award. Before France, the 29-year-old had also helped Arsenal to a domestic treble in the FA WSL. Now, she has been minding the goal for the Spanish champions who are in contention to win the Champions League crown after eliminating Manchester City in the round-of-16.