Exclusive! MCM: Alex Clay

Photo: Alex Clay Instagram

It’s Monday night so you know what time it is! Three words: Man. Crush. Monday.

YES. Meet this week’s #MCM: Alex Clay!

Besides being a footBALLER, Alex clearly has looks on his side too. 😉 Alex is a midfielder for the New York Red Bulls II, and played soccer in college at UAB where he was named co-captain his junior year, and it’s no wonder why!

Alex earned the Conference USA Golden Boot Award after scoring seven goals in conference play (yes, we said SEVEN) and was ranked second on the team in scoring with 22 points (eight goals, six assists) on the year. Alex was also named to the All-Conference USA Second Team and NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Men’s All-Midwest Region Second Team. Dayummm.

Plus this guy’s a southern boy, born and raised- Hometown: Huntsville, AL! Shout to our Alabama readers! Check out what Alex told TCD in our questionnaire! You’ll love his guilty pleasur and will totally relate to how he answered what he does before a night out!

Enough of the talk, let’s here it from him! Meet…

ALEX CLAY!

Next Christiano? We can only hope so! Keep up the hard work and the good looks Alex, you know the TCD gals will be rooting for you! 😉

Until Next Time,

Ben Affleck, Matt Damon & Warner Bros Are Taking the FIFA Scandal to Hollywood

After the embarrassment of the FIFA scandal, Sepp Blatter’s resignation and the largest soccer drama of the summer, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Warner Brothers have acquired the rights to go Hollywood and bring the downfall of the group to the big screen.

Photo: NESN

The dynamic duo will produce the film and Gavin O’Connor will direct. Buzzfeed investigative reporter, Ken Bensinger, bases the movie off the book “Houses of Deceit.” The FIFA organization released a film of their own, “United Passions” which is now the lowest grossing film in U.S. history. Ouch.

The sleazy story that will be told will include bribery, corruption and the rise and popularity of American soccer. Chuck Blazer, a higher level FIFA executive, admitted to multiple charges of tax evasion and money laundering in 2013 and then went to work undercover for the FBI.

This great news, however, comes at a bad time for Affleck, who has just announced a day after his tenth wedding anniversary with Jennifer Garner that the two will be splitting up and getting a divorce.

“After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce,” the couple told People in a joint statement. “We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children whose privacy we ask to be respected during this difficult time. This will be our only comment on this private, family matter. Thank you for understanding.”

Sorry to hear about the split Ben and Jenn, but on another note, TCD is looking forward to this FIFA drama to hit the big screen!

– Morgan

Messi vs. Ronaldo- Who is the BEST?

Ah, the debate of all debates in soccer- Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the world’s greatest soccer players, but which one is the best?
This is a rivalry that may not be matched again! It is tough question to answer when both are scoring consecutively each game and breaking world records. So let’s compare and break it down…

Messi has scored 458 goals in his career and Ronaldo has scored 491 goals in his career. In 2014-2015, Messi has averaged a goal every 87 minutes, playing 5,060 minutes throughout all competitions.

Ronaldo has averaged a goal every 77 minutes, playing 4,689 minutes. Messi is the first soccer player ever to score consecutively against all teams in a professional league. Ronaldo is the first player to score in every minute of a game.

On the other hand, both Messi and Ronaldo are the only soccer players in the world to have scored 60+ goals in all competitions in two seasons. They have left their own individual stamp on soccer history.

In other words, if you hadn’t already noticed, they’re both beasts.

People will always have a view, however, I think Lionel Messi is the better player. There, I said it!

At 24, Messi is taking over soccer with his countless goals and untold skill. Messi has won the most coveted prize, the Ballon d’Or, on three consecutive occasions, while Ronaldo has only won it one time in 2008.

According to Football Speak, Messi has scored 50 goals from 194 shots in La Liga this season which gives him a 25% conversion rate. That’s one-in-four chances! Ronaldo has scored 45 goals from 247 shots which works out to be 18%. Plus, Messi has played in more minutes than Ronaldo has. He ranks fourth in most minutes played, while Ronaldo falls five spots lower at ninth.

Also, how can you forget the 73 goals Messi scored for Barcelona this season! Even one of Ronaldo’s teammates, Fernando Gago, agrees that Messi is the best as he states,

“For me, the best in the world is Messi because of the way he plays, moves with the ball and changes matches, Messi has incredible ability and I love the way that he plays.”

And that’s how the cookie crumbles folks…

But hey, don’t sweat it Ronaldo. If this were a debate on looks you’d be winning the gold! 😉

 

But seriously… Look at that face! 😍 (SWOON.)

-Briana

Winning Winnipeg! US Women’s Soccer Wins World Cup

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

That’s right! Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past couple days, you should know our USA women’s soccer team won the 2015 World Cup Sunday against Japan. And boy, oh boy, did we dominate! You see what I did there? It’s very clear that our women’s soccer program is much more successful than our mens soccer program. Even though their paycheck doesn’t seem to reflect that. (What’s up with that?!)

Since our guys couldn’t do it, our girls had to bear the duty of getting the World Cup Trophy and bring it home to America. Girls rule, boys drool… duh.

The game started hot and heavy when Carli Lloyd scored the first goal of the game, only three minutes into the game. This happened to be the quickest goal scored in a Women’s World Cup Final.

And she didn’t stop there. Lloyd proceeded to score two more goals: one in the fifth minute, and one in the 16th minute.

HELLO HAT-TRICK!

Damn girl, we like the way you work it.

In between Lloyd’s goals, Lauren Holiday scored a goal in the 14th minute. And just to top it off, Tobin Heath topped the game off with the final & fifth goal for the United States in the 54th minute. The women finished the final game of the World Cup with a 5-2 win over Japan.

And the post game festivities were definitely tear-worthy if you love this beautiful country as much as we do here at TCD. It could not have been better timing that our girls won the day after our Independence Day, July 4th. Alex Morgan kissing the Cup, Wambach holding the flag up behind her with pride  after playing in her last game… I just get chills thinking about it!

Talk about feeling proud to be an American. GOD BLESS THE USA! And God bless our fabulous US Women’s soccer team!

– Hailey

No, No Neymar! Suspended for Two More Games

Brazil will be without it’s most popular player (and captain) Neymar, for another two games.

Neymar was suspended for four games on June 17th following a 1-0 loss to Colombia. There were a couple things that led to his suspension.

1. Received a yellow card for a handball after a blocked attempt on goal

2. Kicked the ball at opponent Pablo Armero

3. Tried to headbutt opponent Jeison Murillo, receiving a red card

4. Supposedly verbally abused referee after the game heading into the dressing room tunnel

Well, I guess that will do it.

Neymar was originally suspended two games, until news broke about the verbal abuse. Brazil went on to play Venezuela and won 2-1. They then lost 4-3 to Paraguay thus knocking them out of the tournament.

This is important because with the loss, Neymar has only sat out two games. The other two games will carry over to the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. 

What a loss for Brazil.

However, if you need Neymar back for a game, this match up with Argentina on November 17th would be the one. Hint, Hint: Messi.

Okay Neymar… Please keep your hands, feet, head and words to yourself. We want to see you on the field in November!

– Paige

Bend it Like Rihanna- Bad Gal Spotted with Karim Benzema

Bad gal Riri has a new beau!

We’ve been over Chris Brown for a while now and even his rebound gal Karrueche is over him too.

And obviously we know our RiRi has been playing up the field since, and thank God for that! Her latest subject you ask?

Professional soccer player Karim Benzema and Rihanna were spotted at the Hooray Henry’s nightclub in West Hollywood. And who do you think they just missed? Yep, C-breezy.

The power couple has been spotted out together on several occasions from romantic dinners to a Fetty Wap performance (relationship goals) and although the relationship has not been confirmed, the pictures of them say it all.

Furthermore, things may be moving fast for the two as it seems Karim has already met Riri’s family!

Oh la la, you go Bad Gal! We all know Chris Brown has moves, but then again soccer players do too. We see you Rihanna! 😉

– Ramsay

 

There’s Little Hope for Hope… Off The Field

I have spent countless hours on a soccer field. All of the blood, sweat, and tears were absolutely worth it when we finally walked away with a state title (Yeah Bellevue Blast circa 2008!!! Shameless plug in, I am painfully embarrassing, I know.) While I have played just about every position you can on the field, being a goalie was always been the one position I refused to play. It terrified me.

Hope Solo makes it look so easy. Hope, on the field, you make it look like a piece of cake. You are a phenomenal soccer player (duh, you’re the goalie for the United States Women’s team) and an amazing goalkeeper. You rock it on the field. Girl, you are a bad ass!

But Hope, off the field, I straight up don’t like you. And don’t worry, it’s not just because you’re a Husky (although that is reason enough #gocougs). Blunt, I know. Sorry I’m not sorry.

Honestly though, have you NO respect for authority? I mean, I get being angry and upset, I do. But to throw insult after insult at officers who are merely doing their jobs and protecting the community? And to make inappropriate remarks, all while you’re in the wrong? Oh no honey, I don’t think so. As a woman I am disgusted that you would partake in such vicious actions, then claim to be a victim?! Girlfriend, you just ruined so much progress our society has made for women.

At this point, it wouldn’t be far fetched for the U.S. Soccer team (players and coaches alike) to assume Solo as simply a goalkeeper, and nothing more. That would make sense, wouldn’t it? Solo has quite the track record: in 2007 she was benched during a World Cup semifinal game for being critical of the coaching staff and her replacement (Brianna Scurry); in 2012 Solo took to Twitter to speak of her distaste that Brandy Chastain would criticize the United State’s defense; in 2014 Solo was charged with two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree domestic violence assault with her SISTER and a 17-year old; and lastly, last January Solo was suspended for 30 days after her husband was arrested on the assumption of drunk driving behind a team van.

Of course being one of, it not the, best keepers in the game, the U.S. would not want to make the mistake of losing her. But is she worth all of the hassle? They say there’s no such thing as “bad publicity”, but is all the bad publicity for the United States really worth it? Tweet me your thoughts! @alexa_bordner

– Alexa

 

10 Best Player Tattoos

Ladies and gentlemen, ’tis the season to be single and if you’re opinion is anything like mine, a tatted man is the best kind of man. There’s something beautiful and badass about a man who’s willing to have a needle stabbed into his body several times to ultimately create a work of art. No? Athletes are notorious for showcasing their art so without further a due, here are the 10 BEST Player Tattoos!

10. CC Sabathia

NY Yankees pitcher, CC Sabathia, is the next badass on this list. Although CC doesn’t have pecks like Kap, he sure is feeling himself like Nicki and Bey! Sabathia makes this list simply because of all the detail put into his back! His last name coming out of flames is actually fuego, and take a look at that San Fran backdrop underneath with a lion and unicorn framing it. Okay, we see you!

9. Jermaine Jones

Jermaine Jones is arguably one of the best midfielders in America. But nothing says I rock heavy with my country like an American flag in a star tat on the knee! Keep being dope! #Mericuh

8. Mike Scott

Please hear me out. Emojis are definitely a millennial thing: mostly overused but definitely glad we have them because sometimes they make the conversation a million times better. But for you to actually take your favorite Emojis and have them permanently tatted on your body?! You the real MVP. Atlanta Hawks forward, Mike Scott ladies and gents.

7. Matt Kemp

LA Dodgers Matt Kemp makes the list because this beautiful portrait of his grandparents on his chest. Keeping family closest to his heart. What. A. Guy. (Swoon)

6. Colin Kaepernick

San Francisco Niners QB Colin Kaepernick is next on the list. Now his tattoos may not look like much but you have to give a man props for the full chest tattoo that’s supposed to stand for “inner strength, spiritual growth, and humility” and in the mix of that says “against all odds.” Regardless if you love the tat or not, enjoy looking at his chest. 😉 #goodGAWD

5. Daniel Agger

Now I’m no soccer pro, but when I see a tattoo I love, I ride for that player. Danish footballer, Daniel Agger has this insane portrait of Vikings in a graveyard that takes up his entire back. I won’t say much about it, because all you can really do is appreciate the detail in this true work of art.

4. Monta Ellis

The Dallas Mav’s Monta Ellis has a full tree on his stomach. Stretching from his chest all the way down to his naval. Should I say more?

3. Devin Thomas

Okay so remember earlier when I said “a tatted man is the best kind of man,” well that’s true. AND if it’s paired with a guy who’s still in touch with his inner child? Count me in! TWICE! Yeah, sure, Detriot Lions’ Devin Thomas has other tattoos, but come on! Having Goku from Dragon Ball Z tatted on your back is the flyest thing since Nike Air Force Ones first drop! Play on playa! 😉

2. J.R. Smith

Cleveland Cavs guard J.R. Smith obviously makes the top 2 on this list. Of course we all know JR is super tatted but if you look closely at his neck, you’d think you’re staring at simply a Yankees symbol, but over that tattoo says “Young Money.” As in the record group that Lil’ Wayne owns. Oh yes, he did. The brave soul has a Young Money tattooed on his throat and yes, I’m here for it.

1. Tim Howard

How could I make a list about tattoos and not have Tim Howard at numero uno! This American goalie is completely covered in ink. He has a dragon, a crucifix, pictures of his mother as a young woman and his grandfather in military uniform, and a Superman logo. With all those tats, I’ll be his Lois Lane any day of the week! #comefindme

– Nicolette