As 2014 winds to a close, TSN. Khaled Holmes Jersey Black Friday .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. TSN.cas writing staff reflects on the best soccer moments from the past 12 months including Steven Gerrards infamous slip, Germany drubbing Brazil, Landon Donovans goodbye and more! Steven Gerrard lets Liverpool slip By Mike Beauvais This does not [expletive] slip now. Listen. Listen. This is gone. We go to Norwich. Exactly the same. We go again. Come on! - Steven Gerrard following a 3-2 win over Manchester City on April 13. The turnaround at Anfield under manager Brendan Rodgers was remarkable in 2013-14. In only his second year, Rodgers took a team that hadn’t qualified for the Champions League in four seasons. There was truly a sense that this would finally be Liverpool’s year after nearly a quarter-century of heartbreak. The greatest test for Rodgers’ seeming team of destiny was a clash on April 27 against Chelsea at Anfield. It was here that the football gods, like they have so many times before, revealed their cruel sense of humour. Into first-half stoppage, Mamadou Sakho attempted to find Gerrard, who mishandled the pass, allowing Chelsea striker Demba Ba to pounce upon the ball. With Ba having a clear path to goal, Gerrard slipped attempting to get back, allowing Ba to go in alone and fire Chelsea ahead 1-0. Chelsea would add another, easing to a 2-0 victory, stopping Liverpool’s winning streak and effectively killing the Reds’ title push. The following week, Liverpool would blow a 3-0 lead, settling for a 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace, a clear sign that their sense of a fated triumph had been replaced by a creeping dread. On May 11 - with word of City’s 2-0 title-clinching win over West Ham filtering into Anfield just after the Reds’ 2-1 victory against Newcastle - Liverpool stood on the pitch as runners-up, condemned to second-best by a literal slip-up by the very man who warned against it. -- Tim Howard just won’t stop By Shane McNeil Tim Howard earned a name for himself as the Americans’ savior during the 2014 World Cup with an almost-unfathomable 16 saves in the team’s quarter-final loss to Belgium. Howard broke a tournament record over his two hours on the pitch in the game that ultimately eliminated the Americans. The performance earned the 35-year-old Everton man the adulation of a nation and even a shout-out from President Barack Obama in a post-game phone call. Missed the game? Here’s a handy recap. But here’s the funny thing about that game … of all the saves Howard made, his best of the tournament was not among them. That status belongs to what should have been a back-of-the-net blunder against Portugal. Howard gets a hand to Nani’s shot from distance, but in-doing so fails to put the ball out of play, or even out of harm. Instead, it goes off the woodwork and on to the boot of Eder. The follow-up shot is actually mishit, which forces Howard past the trajectory of the ball, but Howard reaches out a palm as he’s fading away and parries the ball over the bar. Even Howard recognizes afterwards that that ball should’ve gone in. -- Germany Drops a Touchdown on Brazil By Mitchell Machtinger Brazil was tabbed by many as the team to beat in the tournament on their home soil. It seemed almost inevitable that the host nation would claim its sixth title in front of all its fans, but first they had to win their semifinal against Germany. Low-scoring matches in soccer are to be expected, especially when high quality opponents faceoff. However, 11 minutes in, Germany scored its first goal. They scored again at the 23rd minute. Then again a minute later, and two more in the next five minutes. This semifinal, which was supposed to feature two of the best teams in the world, was over before the first half whistle was blown. Germany’s five-goal explosion had deflated the entire stadium and an entire country. The Germans looked dominant, winning 7-1, while Brazil looked like they had no business being in a semifinal at all. Just how easily Germany handled Brazil was a complete shock to soccer experts and casual fans alike. The story of this game was Brazil’s loss. But it’s important not to overlook just how good this German team was. They did go on to win the World Cup, after all. -- Landon Donovan Goes Out on Top By Ken Rodney He didn’t score either goal - those were provided by Gyasi Zardes and Robbie Keane - but as he was many times for club and country, the most important person on the field for the MLS Cup Champion Los Angeles Galaxy was retiring captain Landon Donovan. After announcing earlier in the season that he would be calling it quits, the Ontario, California native was in the spotlight for Major League Soccer and he did not disappoint. Earlier in the season, before the retirement announcement, Donovan scored twice against the Philadelphia Union to become the MLS’ all-time leading scorer, a record that now sits at 144 goals. He was also famously left off the U.S. national soccer team that competed at the Word Cup in Brazil, after helping them advance to the quarter-finals in 2002 and the round of 16 in 2010. Still, none of that seemed to matter as he stood in the field of the StubHub Center with his arms raised in the air triumphantly after capturing his league record sixth MLS Cup. The MLS’ most celebrated, most decorated player and its marquee player, going out on top. Johnny Unitas Jersey Black Friday . LOUIS -- Facing trouble, Michael Wacha did his best to slow down the game. Dan Herron Jersey Black Friday . The 114th-ranked Lorenzi broke Monacos serve to go up 4-3 in the decisive set and held on to close the match in 2 hours, 34 minutes at the Ibirapuera Arena. The 32-year-old Italian squandered a match point before losing the second set, but was in control in the third to pick up the win in the ATP 250 tournament in South Americas biggest city.Ahead of Saturdays MLS Cup, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber held his annual State of the League address on Tuesday and talked in depth about many of the issues surrounding the league including expansion, scheduling and how the league can improve. Over the last year, Major League Soccer has talked of its goal to become one of the top leagues in the world in a decades time. Theres no doubt that an increase in the standard of play is the main area that needs improving for MLS to have any chance of achieving that goal and Garber feels progress is being made, not just with the arrival of big-name Designated Players but also with top young talent being developed in a league where parity is important. "2013 was arguably our most competitive on the field to date," said Garber. ""Were very focused on competitive balance amongst our clubs. We believe we have one of the most competitive soccer leagues anywhere around the world. We should be even more committed to this vision that we want to be one of the top leagues in the world by 2022. It starts with an increase in quality in MLS play. We believe we have among the best American players playing in the league today." "It starts with a firm commitment to player development. Our commitment to player development totals over $20 million a year. Players like Diego Fagundez in New England, Real Salt Lakes Luis Gill and DeAndre Yedlin in Seattle have all emerged as key players in our league at under 20 years of age. We now have 90 homegrown players who started in MLS academies and are now playing in the first team. We want to be a leader in this. Going forward, you will see even greater commitments in this." Garber outlined four key areas that MLS needs to improve if it is to meet its goal of being one of the top leagues in the world. 1. Quality of Play: "As we continue to grow the league and revenues and systems so that we have the ability to attract the best players in the world, we will be able to have a quality of play that will be dramatically different." 2. The passion of our fans: "In order for us to grow what we have, we need to have a dynamic in our stadiums that will be different to other sports leagues in this country and soccer leagues around the world." 3. The relevance of our teams: "We need to have teams that are relevant and important in their market." 4. The value of our enterprise: "We need to havve an enterprise that makes sense. Billy Winn Jersey Black Friday. It cant be about one or two teams, it has to have all clubs and markets successful." Other notable information from Garbers State of the League: • Garber says the league is "making progress" with David Beckham and his partners as they look to add Miami as an expansion franchise. He talked about the need for the right stadium deal to be in place for that to become a reality. He also made it clear that Atlanta is the other target market for team 22 or 23. That leaves a number of other cities fighting it out for the 24th and final expansion team in Major League Soccer including San Antonio, Minneapolis, Austin and St Louis. Garber said the ownership group and a downtown stadium are the two most important factors for successful expansion bids. • Garber admits the league needs to be more transparent in communicating the rules of the league and says they are "in the process of doing that," but he also admitted "as an emerging league, there are times when we are figuring out the rules as we go along and have the ability to be flexible and evolve." • Garber said if it was a horse race, he would "put money on" MLSE president Tim Leiweke fixing the problems at Toronto FC. "Id be encouraged if I was a Toronto FC fan. If anyone can figure out how to turn that team around, it is Tim Leiweke. He has never done anything other than succeed." • Garber says the league is "trying to figure out" a way to have the final round of regular season matches to be scheduled at the same time. • Major League Soccer will continue to look into the possibility of moving in line with the FIFA calendar, but that isnt something that will happen any time soon. "As a league, we have in the past looked, and continue to look, at a potential calendar shift. We went through a fairly comprehensive process this year looking at if we could manage a schedule change. It isnt just about whether to play games in cold weather markets, it is about what we would do with an extended break. We will continue to look at it. We looked at it more deeply this time than ever before, but it is not something we are going to do in the short-term." • MLS Cup will be distributed in 130 countries around the world. MLS Cup is live on TSN2 on Saturday at 4pm et/1pm pt as Sporting Kansas City take on Real Salt Lake at Sporting Park. cheap nfl jerseyscheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '
