U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe
© Romain Biard, Shutterstock

June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning pioneers in a variety of areas.

The professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe is a champion both on and off the field. As a midfielder for the U.S. Women’s National Team, Rapinoe is known for her dynamic skills as a scorer and playmaker. In soccer, a playmaker controls a team’s offense, often coordinating scoring chances through precise passing. Off the field, Rapinoe—along with her soccer-playing twin sister, Rachael—runs soccer training clinics. She has also worked with a number of human rights organizations, including groups devoted to LGBTQ+ rights.

Rapinoe helped the U.S. Women’s National Team to win a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. In 2015 and again in 2019, she helped lead the United States to FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament championships. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). FIFA is the governing body for soccer, which is called football in many parts of the world. In 2019, Rapinoe was awarded the Golden Ball as the World Cup tournament’s best player. Rapinoe also played on the U.S. World Cup team in 2011 and the U.S. Olympic team in 2016. In 2019, Rapinoe earned the Best FIFA Women’s Player award as soccer’s best female player. The award replaced the Ballon d’Or in 2016.

Megan Anna Rapinoe was born on July 5, 1985, in Redding, California. She began playing soccer when she was young. In high school, Rapinoe played for Elk Grove Pride United, a team for players under age 19, and the Elk Grove Pride of the Women’s Premier Soccer League, a semiprofessional league in the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States. Rapinoe then played soccer at the University of Portland in Oregon, where she helped the team win a college national championship in 2005. She also played on U.S. national youth teams before debuting for the U.S. Women’s National Team in 2006. Injuries caused her to miss international tournaments in 2007 and 2008.

From 2009 through 2012, Rapinoe played in the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league and the United Soccer League’s W-League. Rapinoe also played for Olympique Lyonnais in France’s top women’s league. Since 2013, Rapinoe has played for the Seattle Reign FC (now OL Reign) of the National Women’s Soccer League, the top tier of women’s soccer in the United States.

April 8, 2020

Today, April 8, Behind the Headlines was originally scheduled to cover this year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball championships in the United States. However, the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments were canceled in March because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The tournaments were not alone: nearly all sports leagues and sporting events have been suspended or canceled because of COVID-19, putting sports on hold in all corners of the globe. COVID-19 is a pneumonia-like disease caused by a coronavirus, a type of virus that also causes the common cold and other diseases of the upper respiratory system. To date, COVID-19 has killed more than 80,000 people among nearly 1.5 million confirmed cases.

Dodger Stadium sits empty in Los Angeles, California. Baseball stadiums, usually teeming with people at this time of year, are going unused throughout the world as leagues have been suspended or canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: John McCoy/Getty Images

All collegiate and high schools sports in the United States were suspended or canceled because of COVID-19 (the schools were then closed), and Little League Baseball, too, had to put off the start of its season. In professional sports, Major League Baseball, which had begun its annual spring training, canceled all exhibition games on March 12 and indefinitely delayed the start of the regular season. Minor League Baseball shut down, as did baseball leagues in Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and other countries. The National Basketball Association suspended its season on March 11, and basketball leagues in other countries were also shut down. The recently launched XFL football league suspended its first season on March 12, and the fledgling Basketball Africa League also lost its inaugural season, which had been scheduled to start on March 13.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo until 2021. Credit: Pakpoom Phummee/Shutterstock

Major League Soccer and the National Hockey League suspended their seasons in March, and other hockey and soccer leagues around the world were forced to do the same. Rugby and cricket leagues and tournaments were suspended, as were the upcoming Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and British Open golf competitions. In tennis, Wimbledon was canceled for the first time since World War II (1939-1945), and the French Open was postponed. The Kentucky Derby horse race and the Indianapolis 500 auto race were postponed, and the Monaco Gran Prix auto race was canceled. (All three races are usually run in May.) Marathons around the world have been canceled or postponed, and athletes of all types will have to wait for the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, which were postponed a year until July 2021.

This illustration of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) shows the spikes on the outer surface of the virus that appear as a corona, giving the virus its name. Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of sports continued to be played without fans in attendance, but fears for the safety of athletes quickly led to the canceling of the competitions themselves. Suspended and postponed sports leagues and events have issued optimistic timelines about when they will resume or take place. All timelines, however, depend on the containment or continued spread of COVID-19.

The sports cancellations are part of social distancing, also known as physical distancing, an effort to slow or stop the spread of a contagious disease by limiting contact between people. Social distancing is most effective against illnesses that can be transmitted by coughing or sneezing, direct or indirect physical contact, or through the air. Typical social distancing measures call for the closing of such public places as sports arenas, schools, restaurants, museums, and many offices and stores. They may also call for people to maintain a distance of around 6 feet (2 meters) between them in public places.

November 13, 2019

On Sunday, November 10, the Seattle Sounders FC (Football Club) defeated Toronto FC 3-1 to win the MLS (Major League Soccer) Cup final at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington. The 2019 MLS title was the second for the Sounders, who had previously faced Toronto in the MLS Cup final in 2016 (a win) and 2017 (a loss). After a scoreless first half, Seattle thrilled the hometown crowd of 69,724 fans with goals from Kelvin Leerdam, Víctor Rodríguez, and Raúl Ruidíaz. Rodríguez, who entered the game as a substitute in the 61st minute, was named the MLS Cup Most Valuable Player (MVP).

On Nov. 10, 2019, members of the Seattle Sounders celebrate the go-ahead goal scored by Kelvin Leerdam (in the center of the group hug) in the 57th minute of the MLS Cup final at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington. Seattle beat Toronto FC 3-1 to win the MLS title. Credit: © Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Toronto—their bright red kits contrasting sharply against Seattle’s “rave green” uniforms—controlled the tempo in the first half and appeared the stronger of the two clubs. Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei proved stingy in the net, however, ruining Toronto’s best scoring opportunities, including a strong hand save in the 36th minute. Seattle missed out on early scoring chances too, but the team finally broke through in the 57th minute when Leerdam’s shot ricocheted off two Toronto defenders and into the net. Rodríguez then entered the game, scoring in the 76th minute. Ruidíaz iced the game with a third Sounders goal before the clock ticked 90:00. Forward Jozy Altidore headed in a late consolation goal for Toronto in stoppage time.

Seattle’s MLS Cup victory capped an exciting season in which the team finished second to Los Angeles FC (LAFC) in the Western Conference. In the playoffs, the Sounders knocked off FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake before shocking LAFC in the conference final, 3-1. Los Angeles had won the Supporters’ Shield as the MLS team with the best regular season record (an outstanding 21-4-9). Toronto finished fourth in the bruising Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, the club beat D.C. United, top-seeded New York City FC, and the defending champion Atlanta United FC in the conference final.

July 10, 2019

On Sunday, July 7, at the Stade de Lyon in Décines-Charpieu, France, the United States Women’s National Team defeated the Netherlands 2-0 to win the FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer championship. It was the fourth world title for the U.S. women, who first won the tournament in 1991, the year it was first held. For the Netherlands, it was the team’s first trip to the World Cup final. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). Soccer is called football or association football in much of the world. FIFA is soccer’s world governing body. Held every four years, the Women’s World Cup is the world’s most important and prestigious women’s soccer tournament.

Members of the United States Women’s National Team celebrate winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup on July 7, 2019, at the Stade de Lyon in France. Credit: © Philippe Desmazes, AFP/Getty Images

The United States, the defending champions, entered the 2019 World Cup as heavy favorites. The team thumped Thailand to open the group stage, 13-0—the largest winning margin in World Cup history (men or women). They then took down Chile, Sweden, and Spain on their way to the quarterfinals, where the U.S. women eliminated host France, 2-1. A tough 2-1 semifinal victory over England sent the Americans to the title match against the Netherlands. The Dutch women, playing in the team’s second World Cup, also rolled through the tournament undefeated. The Oranje (Orange) allowed just three total goals in their wins over New Zealand, Cameroon, Canada, Japan, Italy, and Sweden before reaching La Grande Finale in suburban Lyon.

Before 57,900 fans crammed into the Stade de Lyon, the Dutch did what no other team had yet accomplished: they held the vaunted U.S. offense scoreless in the first half (45 minutes of play). A penalty in the 58th minute, however, gave U.S. star Megan Rapinoe the opportunity to break a 0-0 tie. Sporting a pinkish-purple mop of normally blonde hair, the veteran midfielder calmly stuck home a penalty kick to give the Americans a 1-0 advantage at the 61-minute mark. Eight minutes later, U.S. midfielder Rose Lavelle drilled a left-footed strike into the net for what turned out to be an insurmountable 2-0 lead. Emotions built on the U.S. sideline as the clock steadily counted toward 90, and after the final whistle blew, the U.S. women rushed the field for a joyous celebration.

The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup was played in nine stadiums in various French cities. The 24 entrants included 4 teams making their Women’s World Cup debuts: Chile, Jamaica, Scotland, and South Africa. The opening group stage of the World Cup divided the entrants into six groups of four. The top two teams of each group advanced after playing the other three teams in their group, as did the four best third-place teams. The round of 16 then trimmed the field to 8, and the quarterfinals reduced the tournament to a final 4. The United States downed England in the semifinals, and the Netherlands beat Sweden. The day before the United States took the final, Sweden beat England 2-1 in the anticlimactic battle for third place. All four semifinalists received automatic bids to the women’s soccer tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Japan.

U.S. manager Jill Ellis, who also led the 2015 championship squad, became the first head coach to win two Women’s World Cup titles. The U.S. team set a record by scoring 26 goals during the tournament. Rapinoe earned the Golden Boot Award as the leading goal scorer (6), and she was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Sari van Veenendaal of the Netherlands earned the Golden Glove Award as the World Cup’s top goalkeeper. The U.S. Women’s National Team returned home to cheers and numerous honors, including a ticker tape parade down a section of Broadway in New York City known as the “Canyon of Heroes.”

Sunday, July 7, was a busy soccer day elsewhere in the world, too. Shortly after the end of the Women’s World Cup, the Brazilian national men’s team defeated Peru 3-1 to win the Copa América, the championship of South American soccer, at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. That night, at Soldier Field in Chicago, the Mexican national men’s team beat the United States 1-0 to win the Gold Cup, the championship of Caribbean, Central American, and North American soccer.

December 12, 2018

Last Saturday, on December 8, Atlanta United FC defeated the Portland Timbers 2-0 to win the MLS (Major League Soccer) Cup championship. It was the first title for Atlanta, which was playing just its second MLS season since entering the league in 2017. Striker Josef Martínez put Atlanta up 1-0 with a goal in the game’s 39th minute, and defender Franco Escobar added a second goal early in the second half to elate the MLS record crowd of 73,019 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Martínez, who also assisted on Escobar’s goal, was named the MLS Cup Most Valuable Player (MVP).

Atlanta’s Josef Martínez eludes Portland goalkeeper Jeff Attinella to score the first goal of the MLS Cup final at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Dec. 8, 2018. Credit: © Ira L. Black, Getty Images

In the first half, Portland goalkeeper Jeff Attinella made a great save on a chopping shot by Atlanta midfielder Miguel Almirón, but Martínez found the net shortly thereafter. Four minutes after Martínez’s goal, Atlanta veteran goalkeeper Brad Guzan prevented the equalizer, diving to stop a sharp header by Portland forward Jeremy Ebobisse. Portland found few chances to score as the game wore on, and their best shots missed high or wide. Tight midfield defense was the story of the match for both sides, who together totaled just 17 shots and only 7 on target.

The massive and boisterous crowd chanted “United! United!” after Atlanta went up 2-0, and the fans erupted in cheers at the game’s conclusion as the home team met in a jubilant group hug on the pitch. Atlanta team captain Michael Parkhurst was particularly thrilled to put his hands on the coveted MLS Cup trophy. It was the fifth MLS final for the veteran defender: Parkhurst was on the short end with the New England Revolution in 2005, 2006, and 2007, and lost the final again with the Columbus Crew in 2015. The city of Atlanta has warmed quickly to its new MLS team. United drew an MLS record 901,033 fans for its 17 home games during the 2018 regular season—an average of 53,000 fans per match.

Atlanta’s MLS Cup victory capped an exciting season in which the team finished a close second to the New York Red Bulls for the Supporters’ Shield as the MLS team with the best record. In the playoffs, United took out New York City FC before downing the mighty Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference championship. Portland finished fifth to eke out a playoff spot in the Western Conference, but the Timbers gained steam in the playoffs, defeating FC Dallas, the Seattle Sounders, and top-seeded Sporting Kansas City to reach the MLS Cup final.

July 17, 2018

On Sunday, July 15, at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, the French national men’s soccer team defeated Croatia 4-2 to win the FIFA World Cup championship. It was the second world title for France, which first won the tournament in 1998. It was Croatia’s first trip to the World Cup final. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). Soccer is called football or association football in much of the world. FIFA is soccer’s world governing body. Held every four years, the World Cup is the world’s most important and prestigious soccer tournament.

The French national men’s soccer team celebrates its World Cup championship at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, on July 15, 2018. Credit: © Franck Fife, AFP/Getty Images

Winning the global soccer championship is the dream of every nation’s team, and fans on every continent—yes, Antarctica too—follow the tournament closely, even rabidly, devouring every minute of every match. Many fans travel great distances and pay exorbitant amounts of money to watch their teams compete in the tournament, which was played this year in 12 stadiums in mostly western Russian cities. The World Cup is the end of a two-year elimination tournament process that narrows the global field of more than 200 teams to just 32. The host country (in this case, Russia) and the previous champion (Germany) receive automatic berths.

The year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974 is engraved on the underside of the trophy. Credit: © Alfredo Lopez, Jam Media/LatinContent/Getty Images

The opening group stage of the World Cup divides the 32 teams into 8 groups of 4. The top two teams of each group advance after playing the other three teams in their group. This year, Russia romped its way through the opening stage in front of delirious fans. Germany, however, became the fourth defending champion in the last five tournaments to be eliminated in the group phase. Superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal shone in the opening round, while fellow star Lionel Messi helped prevent early ejection for Argentina.

In the so-called “knockout” phase (because one loss means elimination) of 16 teams, both Ronaldo and Messi packed their bags for home, as did the Mexico team that looked so impressive in the group stage. A talented Belgium squad mounted a furious comeback to eliminate Japan, which was the first World Cup team to advance from the group stage on “fair play” points. Japan had tied Senegal in every category on the field but one: the Japanese had fewer fouls. In the intense quarterfinals, Belgium, England, and France advanced over Brazil, Sweden, and Uruguay, respectively, and feisty Croatia scraped by in a penalty kick shootout win over Russia. In the semifinals, France downed Belgium 1-0, and England lost to Croatia and its superior midfield, 2-1.

From the opening kick of the World Cup final, France’s superb athletes dominated the pitch, outrunning and eventually out-shooting their Croatian opponents. A French free kick in the 18th minute (each match has two 45-minute halves) ricocheted off a Croatian defender and into the net, giving France a 1-0 lead on the first “own goal” in World Cup final history. The lead was short-lived, however, as Croatia’s Ivan Perišić knocked in the equalizer 10 minutes later. Before the half, French star Antoine Griezmann drilled a penalty kick for a 2-1 advantage.

France hit the accelerator in the second half as stars Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappé each hit dazzling goals for a seemingly insurmountable 4-1 lead. As the champagne was chilling, however, a few ice cubes clinked to the floor as Mario Mandžukić retaliated with a Croatian goal in the 69th minute. The final 20 minutes then evaporated as France played keep away and thwarted every Croatian attack. A few minutes of stoppage time passed uneventfully, and the final whistle gave all of France—the team, the fans, and the nation—the feu vert (green light) to pop the corks.

French manager Didier Deschamps, who was team captain on the 1998 world championship squad, embraced his players as they lined up in a sudden drenching rain to receive their World Cup gold medals. For France, the date of its 2018 title (July 15) can now be celebrated every year after the country’s great national holiday, Bastille Day (July 14.) Croatian disappointment was quickly replaced by pride in the achievement of reaching the final, and midfielder Luka Modrić added to Croatia’s consolation by winning the Golden Ball Award as the tournament’s best player.

On the day before the World Cup final, Belgium defeated England 2-0 in the highly anticlimactic contest for third place in the tournament. England’s Harry Kane won the Golden Boot by leading all scorers with six goals. Thibaut Courtois of Belgium won the Golden Glove Award as the tournament’s best goalkeeper. Since the World Cup began in 1930, Brazil has the most championships (5); followed by Germany and Italy (4 each); Argentina, France, and Uruguay (2); and England and Spain (1).

July 11, 2018

As soccer’s FIFA World Cup winds up this weekend in Russia, Florida’s Pérez Art Museum of Miami (PAMM) is featuring an exhibition on the art of soccer, or, as it is called in many places, football (fútbol in Spanish). “The World’s Game: Fútbol and Contemporary Art,” which runs through Sept. 2, 2018, features works by more than 40 artists who have revealed their love and unique views of the sport through painting, photography, sculpture, and video art. The PAMM exhibition, timed to coincide with the World Cup, is free to youth soccer clubs and teams in the Miami area.

“The World’s Game: Fútbol and Contemporary Art” at the Pérez Art Museum of Miami celebrates the art of soccer. Credit: © Oriol Tarridas, Pérez Art Museum Miami

“The World’s Game” features works by such famous artists as Andy Warhol and Kehinde Wiley, and includes soccer balls (naturally), cleats, player portraits, videos of raucous fans, and miniature figurines dashing about on artistically imagined pitches (playing fields). Warhol and Wiley excepted (they are both connected to New York City), most artists in the exhibition come from the Miami area and nearby regions of Latin America. The exhibition is a celebration of the sport, of course, but it also explores how soccer influences nationalism while also promoting globalism through such uniting events as the World Cup.

“The World’s Game” also reflects Miami’s diverse population through the international appeal of the sport. Over two-thirds of Miami’s population is of Hispanic origin. Cubans make up about half of that group, and they give the city a strong Latin culture. The city also has a large Haitian population. Other population groups include those of German, Irish, and Italian descent. About a fifth of the people in Miami are African Americans.

PAMM focuses on international art of the 1900′s and 2000′s. It is one of the main attractions of Miami’s Museum Park (formerly known as Bicentennial Park) on Biscayne Bay. The museum’s roots go back to the opening of the city’s Center for the Fine Arts in 1984. It was renamed the Miami Art Museum in 1994, and was later renamed again in honor of Miami real estate mogul, art collector, and philanthropist Jorge M. Pérez, whose donations helped fund an expansion and a new building that opened in 2013. The three-story, 200,000-square-foot (18,580-square-meter) museum was designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron.

November 22, 2017

In May 2017, London’s powerhouse soccer club Chelsea won the English Premier League (EPL), arguably the world’s best professional soccer league. For Chelsea, led by Belgian superstar Eden Hazard and no stranger to success, it was its sixth English title. On June 3, Spanish side Real Madrid defeated Italy’s Juventus 4-1 to win the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League, the world’s top annual soccer tournament. Real Madrid, led by superstars Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, and Karim Benzema, won its second-straight European championship and record 12th overall. The soccer year was dedicated to familiar favorites, but it was individual stars who stole the headlines—and the cash.

Brazilian soccer star Neymar and his bodyguards wade through fans and media to attend a press conference officially announcing his move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain on Aug. 4, 2017, in Paris, France. Credit: © Mehdi Taamallah, NurPhoto/Getty Images

The money year began in China, where the Chinese Super League (CSL) has dangled oodles of yuan (the nation’s currency) to lure players away from better known and more competitive leagues elsewhere. In January, Argentine striker Carlos Tevez joined Shanghai Greenland Shenhua. His new salary? Roughly $42 million per year, or more than $800,000 per week—and more than 20 times the salary paid by his previous club, Buenos Aires’s Boca Juniors. Nigerian John Obi Mikel and Brazilians Alexandre Pato and the mononymous Oscar were among the other stars who followed the money to China. Managers, too, were chasing yuan signs (¥): 12 of the CSL’s 16 teams are currently led by coaches from other countries. Notable among them are Brazil’s World Cup-winning coach Luiz Scolari and Chile’s Manuel Pellegrini, who guided Manchester City to an EPL championship in 2014. Italian Fabio Capello leads Jiangsu Suning; his compatriot, Fabio Cannavaro, manages Tianjin Quanjian.

As more and more talent took the fast boat to China, the Chinese government counteracted the growing trend in late May 2017 by introducing a heavy import tax on clubs—purportedly to encourage the development of domestic talent. The nation’s “100 percent tax” means that every yuan a club spends on a foreign player must be matched by a yuan paid to the Chinese Football Development Foundation. The tax effectively doubles the price for foreign players, somewhat lessening the shock value of CSL salaries. The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has taken protective steps too by limiting clubs to a maximum of three non-Chinese players.

The CSL was soon upstaged, however, by colossal transfer dealings in Europe, where the average EPL salary is $3 million per year. In July, English right back Kyle Walker took $60 million to move from Tottenham Hotspur to Manchester City—a record topped days later by French left back Benjamin Mendy’s $70-million move from Monaco to Manchester City. (Teams in Europe pay a transfer fee, which amounts to buying out the player’s existing contract, while also adding the cost of a new contract.) London’s Arsenal bought French striker Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon for $60 million; Chelsea signed Spanish striker Álvaro Morata for $80 million; and Manchester United bought Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku from Everton for $100 million. During the hot transfer season of July and August, EPL clubs spent a total of $1.8 billion on new players, an amount roughly equal to the gross domestic product of the Italian republic of San Marino.

The year’s biggest jaw-dropper hit in early August, when Brazilian star Neymar confirmed wild rumors that he was leaving Spain’s Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in France. The price? $263 million. Barcelona then promptly spent $125 million on French forward Ousmane Dembélé.

December 15, 2016

On Saturday, December 10, Seattle Sounders FC (Football Club) won its first Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup, defeating Toronto FC 5-4 on penalty kicks after the game ended in a scoreless tie. It was the first championship for the Sounders, who won despite being the first team in history to finish an MLS Cup final with zero shots on target. The Sounders managed three shots total (the fewest in MLS Cup history), but it was their cool and luck in the penalty shootout that brought the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy home to Seattle for the first time.

At BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Román Torres hoists the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy shortly after his penalty kick won the MLS Cup for Seattle Sounders FC on Dec. 10, 2016. Credit: © Dan Poss, Seattle Sounders FC Communications

The Sounders’ victory disappointed most of the 36,045 fans crammed into BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario—a buzzing scene all season that saw the hometown Reds finish third in the Eastern Conference. Toronto forward Jozy Altidore led the Reds’ romp through the playoffs, scoring in every match until being shutout in the final by Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei—a worthy recipient of the MLS Cup Most Valuable Player award. Altidore and Toronto star Sebastian Giovinco pressed the Reds’ attack, taking 10 of their team’s 19 shots.

Seattle finished fourth in the Western Conference before taking down the top two teams in the west—FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids—during a dominant playoff run. The Sounders’ offense sputtered in the final, however, and the championship fell on the strong shoulders of Panamanian defender Román Torres during the fourth penalty shootout in MLS Cup history. After the high tension of back-and-forth hitting, saving, and missing, the entire season came down to a penalty kick by Torres—delivered deftly up and to the right of Toronto goalie Clint Irwin, hitting the back of the net to win the title for Seattle.

July 11, 2016

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo lifts the Euro 2016 trophy as his teammates celebrate their 1-0 championship win over France on July 10, 2016.
Credit: © Frank Augstein, AP Photo

Yesterday, July 10, Portugal‘s national men’s soccer team upset home favorite France 1-0 to win the 2016 UEFA European Championship at the Stade de France near Paris. UEFA stands for the Union of European Football Associations. Soccer is called football in much of the world. It was Portugal’s first European title and first major tournament win of any kind. It wasn’t Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, however, who pushed the red-clad Seleção (Selection) to victory. Ronaldo, a three-time Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) award winner as the world’s most outstanding player, left the pitch after suffering an early knee injury. Portuguese heroics were then left to sure-handed goalkeeper Rui Patrício and—in the match’s 109^th minute—late substitute forward Éder.

In the match’s 8^th minute, Ronaldo collided with French midfielder Dimitri Payet. Ronaldo went to the turf, clutching his knee, but he remained in the game. A few minutes later, the hobbling Ronaldo went down again, receiving treatment on the sideline before returning to action. Finally, just 25 minutes into the match, the superstar forward could take no more. Grimacing and hugely disappointed, Ronaldo left the pitch on a stretcher. At the time, Ronaldo’s injury seemed to spell doom for the Portuguese. The Seleção have a poor track record in international tournaments, and it looked like the grit that advanced them through the month-long Euro 16 would not be enough to win it as well.

France dominated the first half, but several scoring opportunities turned up nothing—thanks largely to Patrício, who made several outstanding saves and repeatedly snatched the ball amidst pockets of French attackers and Portuguese defenders. After a lackluster second half, time expired with the score still 0-0—the first time a Euro championship final had remained scoreless through 90 minutes.

Extra time, too, began uneventfully and the match seemed destined to end in a penalty shootout. But then, shortly after a Portuguese miss off the crossbar, Éder, who had entered the match in the 79^th minute, snaked a goal past French keeper Hugo Lloris to put the Portuguese up 1-0—a lead they would not relinquish.

Portugal’s victory ended a run of 10 straight losses to France, who lost a major tournament on home soil for the first time since 1960. Ronaldo, who had languished and then cheered and then celebrated on the sideline, was the first to raise the Henri Delaunay Cup for Portugal in the Seleção’s finest moment to date.