Siblings, starlets and a Colombian relic feature in FIFA.com's latest week's stats review, as well as a supersonic strike in Washington, D.C. and an icons’ assembly in the Bronx.
40years was the age at which Carlos Rodas scored to help Cortalua beat Junior in Barranquilla for the first time in almost 11 years – not bad for a player who quit football in 2002 to become a taxi driver! The Colombian top tier’s oldest outfield player rose from the bench in the 54th minute on Sunday, but 19-year-old Jarlan Barrera immediately struck the former employers of Garrincha and Carlos Valderrama ahead. Rodas responded by dispatching a gorgeous free-kick, which was his 205th career goal and 85th for the club at which he began his career in 1994. Deep into injury time, Juan Roa snatched Cortalua their first victory at Junior since September 2004, when Leonardo Mina Polo and Guillermo Rivera secured a 2-0 success. Intriguingly, the two marksmen on that occasion are both Rodas’s junior, while the two scorers on this one hadn’t even been born when he made his professional debut. The pocket-sized forward now has three goals in his last three appearances in all competitions, while Cortalua have maximum points after three rounds of the Torneo Finalizacion.
40years was the age at which Carlos Rodas scored to help Cortalua beat Junior in Barranquilla for the first time in almost 11 years – not bad for a player who quit football in 2002 to become a taxi driver! The Colombian top tier’s oldest outfield player rose from the bench in the 54th minute on Sunday, but 19-year-old Jarlan Barrera immediately struck the former employers of Garrincha and Carlos Valderrama ahead. Rodas responded by dispatching a gorgeous free-kick, which was his 205th career goal and 85th for the club at which he began his career in 1994. Deep into injury time, Juan Roa snatched Cortalua their first victory at Junior since September 2004, when Leonardo Mina Polo and Guillermo Rivera secured a 2-0 success. Intriguingly, the two marksmen on that occasion are both Rodas’s junior, while the two scorers on this one hadn’t even been born when he made his professional debut. The pocket-sized forward now has three goals in his last three appearances in all competitions, while Cortalua have maximum points after three rounds of the Torneo Finalizacion.
20 seconds is what it took C.J. Sapong to score the quickest goal in Philadelphia Union history and seventh all-time fastest in Major League Soccer – despite DC United kicking the game off. The 26-year-old Virginian began the move with a slick back-heel, and finished it by spinning his marker and firing home from 12 yards. Tim Cahill holds the record for the MLS’s speediest goal for his breathtaking volley (he’s good at them, eh!?) for New York Red Bulls at Houston Dynamo in 2013, while Dwayne De Rosario, Deshorn Brown, Javier Morales, Conor Casey and Jose Cancela the only other players to outrank Sapong. Sebastien Le Toux put Union 2-0 up after just four minutes, but DC United, the one-time runaway leaders in the race for the Supporters’ Shield, rallied to win for the first time in five outings and go seven points clear of nearest challengers Columbus Crew.
10sets of overseas-born brothers have now been Premier League players after Abedi Pele’s two most famous sons rocked up in south-west Wales and the Midlands. Andre Ayew joined Swansea City last month, while Jordan completed a move to Aston Villa on Monday. The France-born Ghana internationals follow in the footsteps of Jostein and Tore Andre Flo (Norway), Xabi and Mikel Alonso (Spain), Dickson and Kelvin Etuhu (Nigeria), Lomana and Kazenga LuaLua (Congo DR), Fabio and Rafael da Silva (Brazil), John Arne and Bjorn Riise (Norway), Kolo and Yaya Toure (Côte d'Ivoire), Martin and Marcus Olsson (Sweden), and Kevin-Prince and Jerome Boateng (Germany). Despite Shola Ameobi being born in Nigeria, his younger brother Sammy was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
6goals in four games is what the unplayable Stina Blackstenius posted to spur Sweden to UEFA Women’s U-19 Championship glory and set a remarkable scoring record. The Linkoping forward’s performance in a 3-1 victory over Spain in the final included swashbuckling runs, an assist and her third double of the tournament, which left her three clear of her nearest rivals on Israel 2015’s goal chart. “It's like playing against a team with Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi in it,” said Spain coach Jorge Vilda after a contest watched by 7,230 spectators – a record for the competition’s decider. Blackstenius consequently finished 2014/15 on 20 goals from ten UEFA Women’s U-19 Championship outings (qualifying and finals), sprinting her past the previous 17-goal record set by Russia’s Elena Danilova in 2005/06. Sweden, meanwhile, won their second crown, with their first in 2012 thanks to a final win over another Spain side coached by another Vilda – Jorge’s father Angel.
3FIFA World Cup™ winners from three different countries were on a Major League Soccer pitch together for the first time at the weekend. David Villa (Spain in 2010) and Kaka (Brazil in 2002) began the game in the respective armbands of New York City FC and Orlando City SC, while the former brought on Andrea Pirlo (Italy in 2006) shortly after the break. The 36-year-old Azzurri icon consequently became the tenth conqueror of football’s flagship competition to appear in the MLS after Lothar Matthaus, Branco, Youri Djorkaeff, Denilson, Thierry Henry, Alessandro Nesta, Kleberson, Villa and Kaka. A Villa brace helped the Yankee Stadium tenants establish a 4-2 lead, but Cyle Larin completed his treble to halve that deficit. The 20-year-old duly became the second-youngest scorer of an MLS hat-trick and only the third Canadian to bag three goals in a game. After Kaka had hit the post in injury time, though, substitute Mix Diskerud settled a thriller 5-3 in New York’s favour.
10sets of overseas-born brothers have now been Premier League players after Abedi Pele’s two most famous sons rocked up in south-west Wales and the Midlands. Andre Ayew joined Swansea City last month, while Jordan completed a move to Aston Villa on Monday. The France-born Ghana internationals follow in the footsteps of Jostein and Tore Andre Flo (Norway), Xabi and Mikel Alonso (Spain), Dickson and Kelvin Etuhu (Nigeria), Lomana and Kazenga LuaLua (Congo DR), Fabio and Rafael da Silva (Brazil), John Arne and Bjorn Riise (Norway), Kolo and Yaya Toure (Côte d'Ivoire), Martin and Marcus Olsson (Sweden), and Kevin-Prince and Jerome Boateng (Germany). Despite Shola Ameobi being born in Nigeria, his younger brother Sammy was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
6goals in four games is what the unplayable Stina Blackstenius posted to spur Sweden to UEFA Women’s U-19 Championship glory and set a remarkable scoring record. The Linkoping forward’s performance in a 3-1 victory over Spain in the final included swashbuckling runs, an assist and her third double of the tournament, which left her three clear of her nearest rivals on Israel 2015’s goal chart. “It's like playing against a team with Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi in it,” said Spain coach Jorge Vilda after a contest watched by 7,230 spectators – a record for the competition’s decider. Blackstenius consequently finished 2014/15 on 20 goals from ten UEFA Women’s U-19 Championship outings (qualifying and finals), sprinting her past the previous 17-goal record set by Russia’s Elena Danilova in 2005/06. Sweden, meanwhile, won their second crown, with their first in 2012 thanks to a final win over another Spain side coached by another Vilda – Jorge’s father Angel.
3FIFA World Cup™ winners from three different countries were on a Major League Soccer pitch together for the first time at the weekend. David Villa (Spain in 2010) and Kaka (Brazil in 2002) began the game in the respective armbands of New York City FC and Orlando City SC, while the former brought on Andrea Pirlo (Italy in 2006) shortly after the break. The 36-year-old Azzurri icon consequently became the tenth conqueror of football’s flagship competition to appear in the MLS after Lothar Matthaus, Branco, Youri Djorkaeff, Denilson, Thierry Henry, Alessandro Nesta, Kleberson, Villa and Kaka. A Villa brace helped the Yankee Stadium tenants establish a 4-2 lead, but Cyle Larin completed his treble to halve that deficit. The 20-year-old duly became the second-youngest scorer of an MLS hat-trick and only the third Canadian to bag three goals in a game. After Kaka had hit the post in injury time, though, substitute Mix Diskerud settled a thriller 5-3 in New York’s favour.