🖖 ⚽️ 🎃 TGIF. Top of the morning everyone, and an adios to intl week, we’ll be sure to catch them again next month. Until then, are you ready for what’s awaiting us this weekend? Anticipate more crazy spooking magic that will certainly get us off the sofa to pick our jawbones off the floor. SSB Team sends a big get well soon to Neymar Jr, we sent Intern Jose to fetch this balloon for the lad 🎈. Cheers 🍻 

Playoffs? We’re in. MLS Playoffs season is upon us and we’re raffling an MLS Season Pass for you to catch all the action. That’s a $30 value, from SSB to you. How to enter? Sharing that unique referral link or sharing us on your Instagram stories, of course 😉.

Weekend Preview

Matches to Catch

⚔️🍵Chelsea vs Arsenal. Arsenal are coming off a big win against Manchester City.. but that was two weeks ago. How will The Gunners react to such an emotional game? Chelsea host Arsenal this Saturday and Pochettino is hoping that they can keep their 3 game winning streak going and move up the table as they currently sit in 11th place.

🫡 🦶Sevilla vs Real Madrid. Sergio Ramos, a long-time captain and defensive pillar for Real Madrid, will face his former club on Saturday. This will be their 145th fixture played against one another, Sergio Ramos alone has over 30 appearances.Real Madrid are keen to pick up the La Liga by maintaining their position top of the table. Sevilla,on the other hand, are hanging low in 14th. Yet both teams will keep an eye on their future Champions League fixtures, with Sevilla hosting Arsenal while Real Madrid fly to Portugal to face Braga.

🌎🍝☕AC Milan vs Juventus. Stateside takes over the this Italian matchup. We expect to see 4 Americans in this high stakes game: Pulisic and Musah vs McKennie and Weah. AC Milan currently sit in first place and are 4 points ahead of 3rd place Juventus, and have the opportunity to go 7 clear should they pull of a win. Check out the preview from CBS Golazo Show.

🗽🎸NYCFC vs Chicago. Playoff implications? Say no more. It’s decision day for the MLS and NYCFC and Chicago find themselves in a win or go home scenario. We expect to see a fast pace game with two teams playing to keep their post season hopes alive. For Chicago, they haven’t made the playoffs since 2017 and for NY, it’s a little more complicated. They need a win against Chicago, NYRB to lose against Nashville, and Inter Miami to tie or lose to Charlotte.

Legal

FC Barcelona President Under Investigation

👮 💼 🔍️ In what has been dubbed “Caso Negreira”, Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta, has been indicted and is under formal investigation for suspected bribery in relation to two decades of activities at Spain’s refereeing committee. 

🤫😉🫣 Going back to March, Spanish prosecutors filed a complaint over alleged payments of more than €7.3m over 17 years to firms owned by José María Enríquez Negreira, vice-president of the Spanish football federation’s refereeing committee from 1993 to 2018. Prosecutors accused FC Barcelona of coming to a “strictly confidential verbal agreement” with Negreira aiming to produce “actions which tended to favor Barcelona in the form of refereeing decisions.” Joan Laporta, who started a second term as Barça’s president in 2021, was at the helm from 2003 to 2010. 

❓️🧐⁉️ There was doubt as to whether Spain’s statute of limitations could reach Laporta. However, Judge Aguirre Lopez has cited to an article in Spain’s Penal Code thus going back to Laporta’s first tenure. Now the Judge has extended the list of suspects to Laporta and those who were members of the board of directors of FC Barcelona during his mandate or who were integrated into the club organizational structure and who had an effective responsibility in decision-making to allegedly make the illicit payments to Negreira. 

⏭️ ⏭️ 🫢 With the latest ruling, not only does this implicate Laporta, but also Barcelona’s ex-presidents Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu. This is the latest scandal to Barcelona’s streak. If history has shown anything, it’s that Sports has no tolerance for collusion and corruption. Just ask Italian Serie A (and Serie B) Titan Juventus. Barcelona, are one of the three only La Liga teams to never face relegation. However, after their long spell of scandal after scandal, some are proposing relegation. “But if there was no Barcelona why would you get out bed in the morning?” - Ray Hudson

Wrap Up: Best Goals from International Break

▶ Unstoppable free kick from Robert Taylor for Finland

▶ Shaqiri with a beauty of a curler for Switzerland

▶ Super skill by Hungary’s Roland Sallai

▶ Mbappe shows why he’s a world class players

Tale of Talent

A Story of Brilliance Shadowed by Injury

🤕💔 Another Setback. In the world of soccer, few stars shine as bright as Neymar Jr., yet a recurring narrative of injuries has overshadowed the Brazilian forward's illustrious career. The latest setback came as Neymar tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in a recent World Cup qualifier against Uruguay, a grievous incident confirmed by his club, Al Hilal.

🏥🚑 Career Under the Scalpel. Neymar's tale is a poignant reminder of how even the brightest stars in soccer can find themselves dimmed by the harsh reality of physical injury. Since his move to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2017, Neymar has missed an astonishing 161 games due to injury for both club and country.

✨💪 Starboy When Healthy. Despite these hurdles, Neymar's capability to change the course of a game remains undiminished. Since August 2017, in the 229 games Neymar has played for both club and country, he has recorded 146 goals and 108 assists, which is remarkable. When fit, his agility, vision, and goal-scoring ability make him a nightmare for defenders and a treasure for his team. Yet, the full measure of Neymar's potential seems to be a narrative punctuated by 'what could have been,' had injuries not stolen precious time away from his professional journey.

Around The Web 🕸️

▶ New club, who this? San Diego FC reveals logo and will enter the MLS in 2025. Thoughts on logo? 😅

▶ American, Tyler Adams, will be out until February due to unsuccessful surgery

▶ In Philadelphia, over 125k fans gathered to watch soccer, baseball and hockey, with over 65k fans watching Mexico vs Germany

▶ FC Barcelona 🤝 The Rolling Stones 🎵. New Spotify collab for upcoming Clasico match vs Real Madrid.

Be the 12th Player and Support Your Team

In search of a pub? Ever find yourself in a new city and are desperately searching for a local soccer pub? Who would have thought that the premier league took time out of their day to create a bar finder. There really is nothing better than catching an early premier league game on the weekends with fellow fans of the game, and finding that bar that will actually have the game sound on just got that much easier.

USA Bar Finder. Bar, easily top three 3-letter word out there. Easy to use search platform on the premier leagues website. It has most major cities included, and they’re even accepting updates to their list if you email them at [email protected]

Find your local soccer pub here.

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