If ever an international football team merited the tag of perennial bridesmaids, it s Chile.
The country s football federation was founded in 1895 and Chile were one of the four founding members of the South American federation CONMEBOL in 1916, but they have never won a major international honour.
Chile have appeared at 35 Copa Americas, six times as hosts, but have nothing more than four runners-up finishes to show for their efforts, while their best World Cup showing occurred when, as hosts, they reached the semi-finals in 1962.
La Roja have not graced the sport s greatest tournament since 1998, but recent developments suggest the nation s footballing fortunes may be about to change.
In June, the Chilean under-20 team won the prestigious Toulon Tourna…
Ryan Gravenberch and Mathys Tel scored their first Bayern Munich goals as Julian Nagelsmann s side cruised past Viktoria Koln 5-0 in their DFB-Pokal first-round tie.
Signed from Ajax in June, Gravenberch opened his Bayern account 10 minutes before half-time, while 17-year-old Tel – an arrival from Rennes – added a superb second.
Sadio Mane made it 3-0 shortly after the restart with a simple tap-in, before substitute Jamal Musiala added a fourth.
Leon Goretzka then marked his first appearance of the season with a goal eight minutes from full-time as Bayern swept aside their third-tier opponents with little fuss.
Levitation is just part of the 0-4
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)
Viktoria goalkeeper Ben Voll made a string o…
Lionel Messi and Barcelona are going their separate ways, and shock at the announcement was splashed across the front pages of Friday s newspapers.
The record goalscorer in LaLiga history, who has made more appearances for Barcelona than any other player in the club s history, is seemingly now on the lookout for a new team.
According to Barcelona, both they and Messi wanted to renew the Argentine forward s contract, but salary-cap limitations have apparently prevented them from doing that.
In an effort to comply with financial fair play regulations, Barcelona were left with little option but to release their captain and driving force.
The sport newspapers that have chronicled Messi s dizzying feats with the Catalan giants expressed astonishment.
Lionel Messi has revealed how a little homework has transformed his free-kick scoring rate this season.
The Barcelona star netted six goals from 41 set-piece attempts on goal last term, but Opta statistics show he has already found the back of the net four times from 12 efforts in the 2019-20 LaLiga campaign.
Much of what Messi achieves appears to be based on a unique natural talent, but a rare insight into his dead-ball striking suggests there is more than meets the eye to his remarkable scoring feats.
Goalkeepers may have had enough of Messi putting the ball beyond them, but getting the better of the men in the gloves is an eternal challenge for the Argentinian.
Recently I have been looking into it, and especially in free-kicks, to see if they move …
Lionel Messi says he did everything he could to extend his stay with Barcelona but claimed it was just not possible due to LaLiga rules.
Messi, whose contract expired at the end of last season, was set to sign a new deal at Camp Nou, reportedly agreeing to a 50 per cent wage cut with club president Joan Laporta.
However, the Catalan giants announced on Thursday that they were unable to reach an agreement with the 34-year-old due to financial and structural obstacles.
An emotional Messi addressed the world at a news conference on Sunday, in front of the media, his family, Barca team-mates and club officials.
What s clear is that I did everything possible, they couldn t do it because of LaLiga, he said.
We did everything we could because I wanted…
Toronto FC traded forward Brian McBride, a former standout for England s Fulham, to the Chicago Fire on Wednesday for forward Chad Barrett and a 2009 first-round Major League Soccer Draft pick.
The Fire hope McBride, 36, can help boost Chicago s anemic attack. The Fire, 7-5-5, has 24 goals this year, with 23-year-old Barrett the top point producer with five goals. He had seven in 2007 as the Fire reached the MLS semi-finals.
US veteran McBride spent the past 4 1/2 seasons with Fulham in the English Premiership, netting 40 goals in 150 appearances for the West London side before announcing in May he was leaving to play nearer his American home.
McBride spent several seasons with the Columbus Crew, claiming MLS All-Star honors five times befire joining Fulham i…
Germany s next generation of stars Mario Gomez and Mesut Oezil scored either side of half-time to give their side a 2-0 win over South Africa in Saturday s friendly.
With Germany facing minnows Azerbaijan in Hanover in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday, coach Joachim Loew got the dominance he had demanded in the game s build-up with his side rarely troubled by the Bafana Bafana.
Lone striker Gomez scored his 11th international goal midway through the first-half before Oezil showed great composure to score his first goal for Germany.
Loew introduced a different attacking system with Oezil and Marko Marin on the flanks as Gomez acted as the single centre-forward.
Before kick-off, Germany stalwart Bernd Schneider was honoured to mark his contribution to th…
Manchester City could be without midfielder Rodri for Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Huddersfield following the death of his grandmother.
The Spaniard has been granted compassionate leave and is currently back in Madrid.
Manager Pep Guardiola says the player has not definitely been ruled out but he seems unlikely to feature as the holders begin their defence of the trophy in the third-round tie at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola said at a press conference: “Rodri, unfortunately, his grandmother passed away yesterday and he is in Madrid. Today and tomorrow he will not be here.
“Hopefully he will come back for the game but, if he needs to stay, family issues are the most important thing.”
Guardiola has also revealed a number of his players have s…
Roberto Martinez will hope to secure an opening-day win for Everton for the second straight season when they face Norwich City on Saturday.
The Spaniard will take charge of the Merseyside club in a competitive match for the first time at Carrow Road, hoping to repeat last season s 1-0 win over Manchester United at Goodison Park.
Everton had gained a reputation as slow starters under Moyes, and before last term s opening win, they had lost the previous four games on the first day of the campaign.
However, Martinez will be encouraged that they are in a good position to start well, after seeing them win three of their seven pre-season matches.
Norwich have only suffered two defeats in the build-up to their third consecutive Premier League campaign.
Chris Hught…
Marcos Rojo s agent has revealed that Manchester United have rejected several offers for the Argentinian this transfer window.
Former Sporting CP defender Rojo arrived at Old Trafford in 2014 in a reported £14million deal, with then United manager Louis van Gaal having been impressed by his performances at the World Cup.
However, the 26-year-old, who has been linked with a switch to Valencia, is yet to feature in a Premier League game under Van Gaal s successor Jose Mourinho.
But despite Rojo seemingly being surplus to requirements, his representitive Carlos Goncalves has stated that United are not looking to let the player leave.
Manchester United rejected several offers from England and from abroad to sell the player. Manchester United want him …