Jon

One of the unique things about working for the Guardian: the Guardian has already written about whatever obscure soccer thing I want to write about. Many times they were there at the time. It's simultaneously lovely and deeply infuriating, lol.

👑 MLS legendary forward Kei Kamara officially announced his retirement. ⚽️ 147 regular season goals (2nd all time) 👕 12 MLS teams (most all time) 🇸🇱 45 caps with Sierra Leone 🫶 ONE Kei Kamara Congrats bro @keikamara

In the first half, Liverpool completed more passes in United’s half (173) than United completed altogether (148). United had 4x the number of touches in the penalty area (16 to 4). Basically playing two different sports.

Something I still think about a lot is this free kick from Matt Reis

What could the future look like, and why? Here’s a preview, check out the full piece that’s free to read @Backheeled ➡️ bit.ly/42z9MPk #USMNT

@fc_mossman We not counting Lewandowski? Too dynamic?

Who are the best targetmen of the past 10 to 15 years? Dzeko and Giroud pop into my head first but I know I'm missing some obvious names

Max Arfsten looked at home in a new role (new to him in Columbus) for the Crew over the last two games: right winger. Henrik Rydström continues to search for answers and he may have found one by using Arfsten as an inverted winger. Wonder if we'll see more of this.

@eyesonWHU Axel's price is going up every game too, gonna have to pay it (assuming we stay up)

Considering the club will likely have to sell this summer, cashing in on a player who used to get booed on sight wouldn't be terrible business. Especially seeing as West Ham's best centre-back pairing doesn't even include him.

CLEVELAND BROWNS

its not even the most ridiculous line in RE4 but I think a lot about Leon describing Spain as a "lonely and rural part of Europe"

Matt Crocker's job for the 2026 World Cup was essentially finished. His departure won't affect that. - But what happens after the WC? - On the men's side, 3 big issues. The next #USMNT coach, the Olympic coach, 2028 Copa involvement(?)

@TheBolivianYank Maybe he convinced Poch to sign? Got Boehly to make up the cash gap? You could also tell me JT Batson actually did those things and I'd believe you

What did this guy even really do?

Balogun joins Neymar with goals in 7 consecutive Ligue 1 matches 🔥

logging on because i need everybody to know that a player named Priscila Chinchilla scored 7 goals in a 21-0 win for the Costa Rican national team

... and in the 2nd week of the baseball season the Angels were very determined to remind us they exist

In the middle of a press conference, Botafogo manager Renato Paiva delivered a masterclass on the two types of football — real-life football and Walt Disney football, as he called it. "Nowadays, with the media and especially the Internet, there are TWO TYPES OF FOOTBALL: real-life football and Walt Disney football. In real-life football, you have to understand who you are, who you're playing against, and you can't always play the same way because sometimes you're not allowed to either because of the opponent's quality or their tactical setup. In Walt Disney football, everyone has to go all-out attacking and it's like we're playing alone. After beating PSG, in people's minds we had to DESTROY Atlético Madrid. Let me tell you a story: I ran into a fan, it's good to interact with fans, and he told me we should've played differently, that if we had approached the Atlético Madrid game another way, we would've won for sure. That we were too defensive. So I asked him, because it's his opinion and I respect it, 'Tell me something, how many times have you watched Atlético Madrid play this year?' And he said: 'I haven't seen them at all.' There you go, explained. That's a WALT DISNEY FOOTBALL comment. 'I believe it should be like this, I think it should be like that, and so everything must be done that way.' We were 'happy' and deserving against Atlético Madrid, but then five minutes before the end, we conceded a goal and NOW EVERYTHING IS WRONG. What worked against PSG? Gone. This is one of the issues we have to address: the final result tells you if it worked or didn't, whether you're great or not. People like that don't care who's on the other side."

@smFISHMAN That Charlotte/Rhea match rocked

Who remembers COVID Era #WrestleMania?

@aaronkanton Kevin Harlan!!

Ok I know Gus Johnson is annoying. But I can’t stand the vanilla of Jim Nantz or Ian Eagle in huge events. Can we all agree on Kevin Harlan? This Final Four sounds like the play by play would in NBA2K. Too generic.

Tony Pulis without a hat, shocking imagery

The FT Scouting Hype Cycle It doesn't apply to everyone, but most young players follow this kind of 'trajectory vs. perception' progression early on in their careers.