September 1: World-record signing, Gareth Bale, finally makes his way to the Bernabéu, following a summer of rumors and speculation. Madrid fans will depend on him to fill the creative midfield vacancy to be left by Mesut Özil's departure, and following recovery from several minor injuries, the Welshman begins to impress at once. He finds the back of the net against Villareal in his debut, much to the delight of Madridistas. September 1: Madridistas weep and Milanisti rejoice when Kaká decides to return to the San Siro, four years after the finale of his inaugural spell at the Italian club. Although managerial plans and lack of ample playing time did hardly enough to help him flourish during his time in the Spanish capital, Kaká captains his final match as a Madridista, scoring a tidy brace and providing an assist to help Madrid clinch their ninth Teresa Herrera trophy over Deportivo on August 29. The Ballon d'Or winner returns to his beloved Milan and number '22' shirt just two days later, and proves to be a driving force within the Rossoneri upon his return, despite the difficult season they are facing. September 2: Mesut Özil shocks Madridistas and Gunners alike with his abrupt move from Real Madrid to the Emirates on deadline day of the summer transfer window. Mere days after assuring the media that he would see out his contract with Real until 2016, Özil departs for World Cup Qualifying camp with Die Mannschaft and doesn't return home to Madrid, leaving his prestigious number '10' shirt, his teammates, and Madrid fans, feeling empty. He is well-accepted by Arsenal supporters and begins leaving his mark on the Premier League upon arrival, assisting Olivier Giroud in his Gunner debut. September 16: Cristiano Ronaldo calls the Bernabéu his home, after signing a new contract with Real Madrid that will keep the Portuguese a Madridista until 2018. After a summer of speculation that the striker could possibly have made a shock return to his former club, Manchester United, the extension allows Madridistas to breathe a bit easier. | October 26: Towards the end of a calendar year that saw the royal whites earn the bragging rights of Spain over Barcelona twice in a row in February and March, the Catalan giants claim the victory at the conclusion of October’s Clásico, which was watched by approximately 1 billion viewers (1/7 of the population) across the globe. Barcelona's prized summer signing, Brazilian wonderkid, Neymar, took the lead 19 minutes into the match, only to be reinforced by Alexis Sánchez's beautiful 78th minute shot, putting the Catalan giants up 2-0. In the 91st minute of play, Real Madrid's blossoming attacker, Jesé, was able to secure a compensation goal for Real, leaving the match to resolve shortly after at 2-1. October 30: Cristiano Ronaldo proves his greatness on the pitch, when he responds to disrespectful comments from FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, with a phenomenal hattrick against Sevilla. Blatter, who'd said he preferred Argentine striker, Lionel Messi, to "the commander" [Cristiano] was silenced when Ronaldo followed the first of his treble of goals on the day with a proud, no-nonsence salute toward the cameras, as well as any good commander would. |
November 6: The New York Red Bulls win the MLS Supporter’s shield, but are denied a place in the MLS Cup finals after being narrowly edged out by Houston Dynamo in the MLS playoffs. An overtime goal from Omar Cummings of Dynamo in extra time of the tie's second leg leads to heartbreak for over 22,000 fans gathered within Red Bull Arena for the match-up. November 10: The United States Women's National Team completes the calendar year unbeaten in all competitions after defeating Brazil 4-1 in Orlando, Florida in their final match of 2013 . 2013 saw the first-ranked national side win 13 times, and draw only three matches. They currently hold the longest unbeaten streak in FIFA international competition, having not lost since falling to Japan in the Algarve Cup, approximately 22 months ago. November 19: In a matchup that draws the attention of viewers from cross the globe, showcase players Zlatan Ibrahimović and Cristiano Ronaldo both come up big for their respective national teams in the second half of their final match of FIFA World Cup Qualifying. However, it's Cristiano Ronaldo who clinches Portugal's golden ticket to the World Cup, outscoring Zlatan's second-leg brace 4-2 on aggregate, with a first-leg goal and second-leg hattrick. His stunning performance, which sees him respond to Zlatan's quickfire brace with two back-to-back goals of his own makes the Portuguese a new favorite to win the Ballon d'Or over the injured Lionel Messi. November 24: Despite a timely response to Molde's first goal with a screamer of his own just seconds later, U.S. international, Mix Diskerud, and his club Rosenborg suffer a heartbreaking defeat to their rivals, Molde, in the NM Cupen final. After taking the lead shortly after halftime, the Tippeligaen runner-ups succumb to three goals from the Olso-based side within the final 19 minutes of play and return to Trondheim with a different color medal around their necks than they had hoped. | December 5-9: The world of football remembers an icon, a legend, and a beautiful human with a weekend of tributes and mourning following the passing of former South African president, Nelson Mandela. During the match-weekend immediately following his passing, a moment of silence is observed prior to each La Liga match, while in the BPL, Mandela is celebrated before each kickoff with a moment of reflective applause. He is honored in the Turkish Süper Lig by Ivorian teammates Didier Drogba and Emmanuel Eboué on commemorative shirts beneath their kits, a gesture that sparks tension with the Turkish FA and nearly yields incomprehensible fines for the players, much to the appall of the football world. December 7: After 10, nerve-wracking rounds of penalty kicks, Sporting Kansas City are crowned the champions of the 2013 MLS Cup in front of their home fans in one of the most thrilling [and chilling] MLS Cup finals in history. Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen is the hero of the decisive penalty kick shootout, ending his career on a massive high, as he retires from his playing career just two days later. December 21: Clinching their fifth major title of the calendar year, Bayern Munich seal 2013 with a Club World Cup victory over Moroccan side, Raja Casablanca. The Munich side became trophy-holders in each of their competitions across the past 12 months, including the Bundesliga, Champions League, DFB Pokal (German Cup), Telekom Cup (not major), UEFA Super Cup, and finally, the prestigious Club World Cup. Five Munich players were named to the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or 23-man shortlist, with one, midfielder Franck Ribéry, named to the list of final three nominees, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. (scroll over the images above for captions!) |