In a summer filled with international football, the two most prestigious national tournaments besides the World Cup have come to a close. Argentina overcame their heated rivals, Brazil, in the 2021 Copa America Final, while Italy defeated their tough anniversaries, England, in the Final of Euro 2020 (still called “Euro 2020” for marketing purposes). 

For two nations who hold such an ancestral and historical bond, it seems poetic that both Argentina and Italy win their respective continental tournaments in the same year. One could suspect that Pope Francis (the holder of the Church’s throne and the Vatican City in Rome, who is also of Argentine descent) may have said a few prayers to give each team a slight divine advantage.

Euro 2020 Final

Between Italy and England, it appears fitting that both these teams meet in the final. They have been the two best of the tournament overall, though they definitely had to fight for their spots in the showpiece match. 

From where we left off in the quarterfinals, Italy met Belgium (the best team in the world, according to FIFA Rankings) and taught them a lesson on how to play football before facing familiar foe Spain in the semifinals. This unstable yet very dangerous Spanish team gave Italy a run for their money, but the Italians just edged their opponents on penalties.

England, on the other hand, utterly smashed Ukraine in the quarterfinals ahead of their semifinal meeting against Denmark, the dark horse and darlings of this tournament. While the Danish were no doubt England’s toughest opponent prior to the final, the English did well enough to defeat them setting up a historic matchup between Italy and England, a replay of the famous Euro 2012 quarterfinal amongst these two nations.

Italy have arguably been the better of the two teams throughout the tournament and have a much larger trophy cabinet. However, the final was to be held at the famed Wembley Stadium in London; alongside the immense media attention created by the English press, England were slight favorites. 

The rallying cry among the fans was “It’s Coming Home!,” the chorus from the song “Three Lions” by Baddiel, Skinner & The Lightning Seeds which cheers England on to achieve success for the first time since the 1966 World Cup. The viral phrase “It’s Coming Home!” has been used every time England does well in an international tournament for the past 20 years, and it refers to the history behind football and how the sport was created in England. The fact that England has chased success for so long yet never even won the Euros before made this final was almost written in the stars for many. An English victory in Wembley would certainly put an end to the “years of hurt,” as the song says. 

The majority of the attention in the English-speaking world has centered around England and their quest for glory, but this match was historic for Italy as well. Despite being one of the most successful football nations in the world, winning the World Cup four times, Italy has often underachieved at the Euros, winning only once way back in 1968. 

In fact, the last time Italy made it to the final in Euro 2012, they were mauled to death 4-0 by that magnificent Spanish side. The last few years had not been kind to Italy as well; poor management and a lack of talented players caused them to not even qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Since that disaster, new manager Roberto Mancini, along with a crop of new young players, saw this team quickly rise to the top again.

In a crowded Wembley stadium packed with over 67,000 fans, the Euro 2020 Final kicked off. Knowing that Italy have a very strong defense but their weakness is quick-attacking combinations, England came out the gate swinging. Their star striker, Harry Kane, picked up the ball deep before playing a crucial pass to Kieran Trippier, who picked out a superb cross over the top. Kane and Raheem Sterling drew all the defenders toward them, and then, out of nowhere, opposite fullback Luke Shaw made a late run into the box before volleying home the ball at the near post, sending England up 1-0 in just the second minute. 

Italy is a team who likes to play the game on their own accord, but when they aren’t in control, they are at their weakest. Once England took the lead, the Italians looked very disorganized, especially as the majority-English crowd cheered on their home team. With some dogged defending, England was able to break up all the attacking plays Italy tried to build; besides a few direct runs from Federico Chiesa, they created nothing.

When Italy came out the tunnel in the second half, Roberto Mancini tweaked the system and made some substitutions shortly after, bringing more attacking ambition to his team. On the flip side, Gareth Southgate, the manager of England, set his team up with the intent of defending their lead and seeing out the rest of the game. While England’s defense has been impenetrable this tournament, only conceding one goal prior to this game, Southgate’s cautious approach has drawn criticism due to the vast attacking talent England have, which many feel are under-utilized. 

As the half progressed, Italy began to dominate possession and push England back into their own territory. England still looked threatening on the counter, but Italy were really starting to grow into the game. Chiesa and Lorenzo Insigne forced England’s goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford, into several saves. 

Then, about an hour into the match, Domenico Berardi sent in a looping cross off a corner and Bryan Cristante was able to flick the ball towards Giorgio Chiellini in front of goal. Chiellini slipped as the ball bounced past him, but Marco Verratti lunged forward, heading the ball to goal. With a quick reflex, Pickford was able to palm the ball away and onto the post. But rushing into the danger area was Italy’s heroic centerback Leonardo Bonucci, who swept the rebound into the back of the net, equaling the score 1-1. It wasn’t the prettiest goal you’ll ever see, but it was a goal nonetheless, and one that had been a long time coming.

As the game went on, Italy pushed for a late winner that never came, and with the scores equal, the match was sent to extra time. Throughout the 30-minute period, however, both teams were so fatigued after playing so many games this tournament that several mistakes led to potential goals from Italy and England. After an English corner, Kalvin Phillips had a beautiful off-the-chest volley from outside the box which sailed just wide. For Italy, Federico Bernardeschi sent a driven freekick through the wall and on target, but Jordan Pickford was able to calmly save it. With neither team able to break the deadlock, the champion of Euro 2020 was to be decided by penalty shootout. 

Of each team’s first five penalty takers, Berardi, Bonucci and Bernardeschi all scored theirs, while Andrea Belotti had his shot saved by Jordan Pickford. As for England, Harry Kane and Harry Maguire scored, but Marcus Rashford hit the post and Jadon Sancho’s shot was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma in Italy’s goal. 

With a score of 3-2, Italy’s last penalty taker Jorginho, who is a wonderful penalty taker and even scored the winner against Spain in the last match, was tasked with repeating that feat this time around. However, as Jorginho stepped up to strike the ball, Pickford correctly guessed where he would shoot and dove to his right, tipping the shot off the post and out. England were still alive, yet their entire tournament rested on the shoulders of the youthful Bukayo Saka, who was England’s final penalty taker. If Saka missed, Italy would be champions. The pressure seemed to be too heavy for the young man, whose penalty was powerfully beaten away by Donnarumma in goal, confirming Italy as the King of Europe. As the Italian team was sent into delirium, Leonardo Bonucci summed it up perfectly when he grabbed the camera and screamed, not it’s coming home but “It’s coming to Rome!”

For England, another tournament ends in heartbreak, but it is relatively bittersweet as England played great and had their best run ever at the Euros. It is not the end of the world either, as they possess a very talented team that will have opportunities to win further trophies down the road. 

It must be said that this match in particular will definitely leave a sour taste given the manner in which they lost: a penalty shootout. Throughout English football history, England lost every single penalty shootout they had until it seemed the curse was lifted, when they prevailed against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup. But now, it looks like the curse has returned, and against Italy of all opponents — the same team who beat England on penalties at Euro 2012 when Andrea Pirlo humiliated Joe Hart with a Panenka penalty.

As for Italy, they have officially reclaimed their spot as one of the football’s elite and completely repaired their reputation after their 2018 World Cup failure. And with this talented group of players and even stronger team mentality, who knows what the future could hold?

Copa America 2021 Final

The centerpiece match of this year’s Copa America, the oldest national competition in football history, was between two teams who have faced each other on numerous occasions: Brazil and Argentina. The two intense rivals share a mutual hatred dating back to the introduction of the sport to South America, with both nations competing for the mantle of the best team in the Americas and often the world. Here as well, it is quite fitting these two teams meet in the final.

From where we left on in the quarterfinals, Brazil narrowly eliminated Chile in a match where Brazil was tried and tested by an experienced but old Chilean team. Brazil then met Peru in the semifinals, the same team they beat 4-0 in the group stage, although Peru would play much better this time around. While Brazil looked incredibly dominant in the first half, they eased back after halftime and looked very fatigued, almost allowing Peru to equalize. Brazil did just enough to hold off their opponents and make it to the final.

Argentina faced Ecuador in the quarterfinals, beating them 3-0. While Ecuador weren’t actually all that bad, a masterclass performance from Lionel Messi put them to the sword. Colombia proved to be a much tougher adversary in the semifinals as they took the Argentines to penalties after a 1-1 draw, but heroics from Emi Martinez set up a meeting with Brazil in the final.

Between the two, it was hard to look past Brazil as overwhelming favorites. They had waltzed through this tournament, beating teams with little effort at times. Not only that, but they also had the best squad in the tournament with a world-class player in every position. Neymar Jr. has been great in attack while Marquinhos and Thiago Silva have been unbreakable in defense. Brazil are also the reigning champions and the host nation. In fact, every single time Brazil have hosted the Copa America, they have won. The last time they even lost a match as hosts was in 1949.

Argentina, on the other hand, have not won a single trophy since the 1993 Copa America. And not for a lack of trying, as they reached the final of the 1995 Confederations Cup, 2004 and 2007 Copa America, 2014 World Cup, 2015 and 2016 Copa America — losing every single one. That being said, what better place to break your losing streak than in your biggest opponent’s backyard? And throughout this tournament, Argentina grew into it, looking better with each game they played under their surprisingly talented manager Lionel Scaloni.

The match kicked off on an extremely humid night at the famous Estadio do Maracana in Rio. Argentina knew that the first 20 minutes and last 20 minutes of the match were crucial, as that is when Brazil are most dangerous. If they could hold off Brazil at those moments, their chances would be good, and that is exactly what they did. 

With both teams going toe-to-toe, Argentina’s Rodrigo de Paul played a beautiful long-ball over the top. Renan Lodi was caught out of position and failed to clear the ball, leaving Angel Di Maria one-on-one with Ederson in goal. As the ball bounced up, Di Maria lifted the ball over Ederson’s head and into the back of the net with a cheeky chip, giving Argentina a 1-0 lead only 22 minutes into the final. 

Brazil were shellshocked, they didn’t know what hit them. But as they scrambled for an equalizer, Argentina played hard, hacking down all of Brazil’s attackers and pushing them off the ball every time it neared the goal. This violent and aggressive approach was the antithesis to Brazil’s lovely and free-flowing “Joga Bonito” style of football — and it was working. Even though Brazil had some shots from distance, Argentina were deadly on the counter, almost increasing their lead on several occasions.

Into the second half, Brazil’s manager Tite switched up the formation and subbed on more attacking talent, looking to take the game to Argentina. Brazil then began to tighten their opponents between the vice grip, and Argentina’s back four started to bend and buckle under the Brazilian pressure. Richarlison thought he had scored the equalizer as he poked home a loose ball, but it was ruled out for being offside. 

Richarlison had yet another chance to score after he picked up the ball from Neymar and unleashed a powerful shot on target, but this time, Emi Martinez stood tall and batted it away. Sensing Brazil turning up the heat, Argentina themselves boosted the aggression. Every time Neymar got the ball, Nicolas Otamendi was there to meet him with an American football-style tackle. These tackles and others alike resulted in several on-pitch fights between the Argentinian and Brazilian players, which only wasted more time and worked in Argentina’s favor.

But in the 87th minute, Brazil carved out a great chance when Neymar sent in a cross off a freekick. Marcos Acuna was able to clear the ball only as far as Gabigol, the Brazilian striker who plays his club football for Flamengo in that very same stadium. As the ball bounced toward him, Gabigol struck it with a perfect half-volley, heading right under the roof of the net, but a fantastic fingertip save from Martinez tipped it over the bar. 

Shortly after, Martinez himself started a counterattack which caught the Brazilian defense off-guard. Another great through-ball from de Paul found none other than Lionel Messi one-on-one against Ederson. If Messi scored, that would have been the perfect cherry on top, but unfortunately for him, he slipped in the grass while trying to cut to the left and Ederson was able to gobble up the ball. De Paul himself also scored off another counterattack but was thwarted by the Brazilian keeper again. Ultimately though, these misses went unpunished; the referee blew the whistle, ending the match and confirming the elusive Copa America trophy would be heading to Argentinian shores this summer. 

After the final whistle, all the Argentine players rushed to Messi and lifted him in the air in celebration as the country rejoiced, ending 28 years of hurt. While this victory meant a lot to every Argentinian, the trophy was especially important to Lionel Messi. Messi had tasted bitter defeat in four international finals, three of those in consecutive years. Due to fan backlash, Messi even briefly retired from the Argentina National Team after their loss to Chile in the 2016 Copa America final. Messi has achieved literally every possible trophy in his club career with Barcelona but had yet to win a single trophy with Argentina. While some consider Messi to be the greatest of all time, this was the one thing that held him back, as Diego Maradona won the 1986 World Cup, Pele won three World Cups and even his generational rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, won Euro 2016 with Portugal. 

But finally, those criticisms can be put to rest. Messi decisively brought glory to la Albiceleste. In this Copa America, Messi was incredibly motivated; he topped both charts with four goals and five assists. He even helped out in defense often. And now, with this trophy, I believe Lionel Messi is officially the greatest player of all time.

Ironically, Messi didn’t even have that great of a game in the final. For a player who carries Argentina so often, it was his supporting cast who finally showed up. Angel Di Maria’s lone goal proved to be the winner, but if you go back to the other finals Messi has played in, his teammates have squandered multiple chances — Juan Roman   Riquelme, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, even Di Maria himself. What separates this team from past iterations is this unbreakable team mentality and well-oiled system, with every single player pulling their weight.

The biggest stage in sports, The Olympics, returns this summer in Tokyo, Japan, and baseball is returning with it. After baseball was removed as an event following the 2008 Beijing Games, it is set to return this year. With the Major League Baseball season in full swing, you won’t see the big stars in Tokyo, but it would be fun to imagine a dream starting nine on the diamond with “U.S.A.” written across their chest. So, if the Major League superstars could make the trip to Japan, here is what a dream team on the baseball field might look like.

Catchers: J.T. Realmuto and Buster Posey

J.T. Realmuto is arguably the best catcher in baseball, and without a doubt, the best American catcher because Yasmani Grandal was born in Cuba. Realmuto easily gets the starting job behind the plate for Team U.S.A. Buster Posey, at the age of 34, is in the back end of his hall of fame baseball career. For who was one of the best players in baseball at one time, an Olympic gold medal to go along with a World Baseball Classic gold medal would be a nice addition to a winning career that includes three World Series championships. An icon of baseball for the last decade, like Posey, deserves to be on the biggest stage in sports, even if he is not starting.

Infield: D.J. LeMahieu, Trea Turner, Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, Paul Goldschmidt, Kris Bryant

The versatility that D.J. LeMahieu has allowed this infield to be as stacked as it is. Going into the games, I would have LeMahieu as the starting first baseman with Trea Turner at second base due to his experience at second. On the left side would be Trevor Story at shortstop and Nolan Arenado at third. Kris Bryant is the backup third baseman and LeMahieu is the backup second baseman. Paul Goldschmidt would be the backup at first base, so if someone were to go down with an injury, there is not much production lost. Some honorable mentions that did not make the team are Whit Merrifield, Max Muncy and Bo Bichette.

Outfield: Mookie Betts, Nick Castellanos, Aaron Judge, Christian Yelich

Current injuries have derailed the perfect Team U.S.A outfield. The best player in the game, Mike Trout, has been injured with no timetable which means he would not be able to play. Cody Bellinger just returned from a fractured bone in his leg and hasn’t had the best numbers in the games he has played. Bryce Harper has battled injuries throughout the 2021 season, and so theoretically, I don’t think he would have gone to Japan if MLB players were going. Obviously, Mookie Betts was a lock for a starting spot. With the season Nick Castellanos is having, it would be hard to leave him off the roster. And then there’s Aaron Judge, one of the most marketable players in the league. The layout I would have is Mookie in center, Castellanos in left, and Judge in right. Christian Yelich battled injuries in the beginning of the 2021 season and is working to be the player he used to be, so I would have him as the backup outfielder. Bryant and Turner also add depth as they have outfield experience.

Starting Pitching: Jacob deGrom, Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer

There’s not much to say regarding Jacob deGrom besides he is the best pitcher on the planet. Gerrit Cole has become one of the most electric, dominant righties in the game and is among the league’s best. And then there’s Walker Buehler, who at the age of 26, looks like the future of starting pitching in Major League Baseball. Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer are in the same boat here; two future hall of famers who are past their primes but can still compete among the best. Two legends like Kershaw and Scherzer get seniority to make the team over Trevor Bauer, who was left off. Justin Verlander could have been in the same scenario, but he is still recovering from Tommy John surgery. Shane Bieber is also injured right now, which is why he did not make the team.

Relievers: Madison Bumgarner, Josh Hader, Craig Kimbrel, Mark Melancon, Brad Hand, Devin Williams, Ian Kennedy, Will Smith, Jake McGee

A lights-out bullpen can go a long way, which is exactly what this bullpen is. I have Madison Bumgarner in the bullpen as a long man and backup starter, which he is capable of doing as we saw his bullpen performance in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series. Josh Hader, Brad Hand, Will Smith and Jake McGee represent the lefty relievers while Mark Melancon, Devin Williams and Ian Kennedy take care of the righties. I have Craig Kimbrel as the closer of this group.

It’s a shame we won’t see the world’s best baseball players on the Olympic stage from late July into early August, but expect Team U.S.A. to be composed of older big leaguers, prospects and college players while being managed by Mike Scioscia. Olympic baseball is set to begin July 27 and end on August 7.

The 2021 summer full of international football is definitely underway! After last year’s global pandemic forced the entire world to a halt, football followed suit. This summer, we finally get witness the international tournaments we have all been waiting a year for: Copa America 2021 and Euro 2020 (called so for marketing reasons, despite being played in 2021). Both tournaments have made it through their first -round over the past few weeks, and we now look ahead to the quarterfinals.

Euro 2020

After a rather eventful group stage full of goals (uncharacteristic for European football), the round of 16 was no different, if not even more exciting and expansive. 

The first match of the round of 16 was an interesting matchup between Wales and Denmark. Overall, Wales aren’t world-beaters or anything, but they are a decent team and they earned their spot in the knockout stages. Denmark are a classic case of a “dark horse” team given their talented but relatively unknown squad of players. 

Denmark’s tournament had taken a turn for the worse earlier when their star player, Christian Eriksen, collapsed due to cardiac arrest in Denmark’s opening match. Eriksen’s life was saved by the Danish medical team, but the mental stress put on the squad was immense. Denmark consequently lost that match to Finland and their next one to Belgium. 

But in their final match against Russia, Denmark finally clicked into form, smashing Russia in a 4-1 route. The Danes carried this monstrous form over into their round of 16 match, torching Wales 4-0 along with a masterful performance from Kasper Dolberg.

Elsewhere, the Netherlands lined up against the Czech Republic. After the departure of manager Ronald Koeman, the Netherlands have not looked anywhere near the world class team they had been over the past two years. Even still, they were able to top their group with three wins out of three, playing some great football at times. 

The Czech Republic were a team that few expected much from, yet they surprised the masses by beating Scotland and tying Croatia, sending them to the next round. While most anticipated the Dutch to blow away the Czechs, the complete opposite occurred. The Czech Republic dominated the entirety of the match and were allowed even more freedom going forward after Matthijs de Ligt was sent off. Yet another goal from Patrik Schick saw the Czechs win 2-0 and progress to the quarterfinals in Euro 2020’s first shock result.

With these results, Denmark will face the Czech Republic in the Quarterfinals.

Italy’s round of 16 match was against Austria in a game where the Italians were heavily favored. Italy cleaned house in the group stage and went undefeated, scoring seven goals and conceding none. Prior to the knockout stages, they have easily been the best team at Euro 2020. Compare that to Austria, who played well at times but were exposed as painfully average in their 2-0 loss to the Netherlands. 

But against all odds, Austria gave Italy a run for their money, frustrating and disrupting the Italian team’s style on multiple occasions. Austria even nearly took the lead with a header from Marko Arnautovic, but the goal was disallowed as replays showed he was offside. 

The match eventually went to extra-time, where a beautiful half-volley from Federico Chiesa broke the deadlock. Italy’s superior player quality came through and they eventually won the match 2-1. Although the Austrians lost, they exited Euro 2020 with their heads held high.

In the opposite match, we were treated to a clash of titans as reigning European champions Portugal faced off against the best team in the world (according to FIFA rankings), Belgium. 

Both teams went into this match in a contrasting manner. Belgium arrived after three straight wins and lots of goals. Meanwhile, Portugal had won one game, tied another and lost the last, looking defensively weak occasionally and far from the team that won this competition last time around. There is nuance to that, though, as Belgium, played Denmark, Finland and Russia — one good team and two not-so-good teams. Portugal on the other hand, was drawn into the group of death against Germany, France and Hungary — two world-class teams and one good team. 

Ultimately, this match between Portugal and Belgium was up in the air as either side could’ve won. Portugal dominated the first half, but Belgium bossed the second. In the end, the Belgian defense did just enough to nullify Cristiano Ronaldo, and the match was decided by a moment of brilliance: a curling longshot from Thorgan Hazard that won it 1-0 for Belgium. 

With these results, Italy and Belgium are set to play each other in the quarterfinals. Judging by their performances, I predict that whoever goes through in this match will be the champions of Euro 2020.

Later on, Croatia played a familiar foe, Spain, in their round of 16 draw. Croatia are far from the team that reached the World Cup final three years ago; while they still have quality, they faltered in the group stage, losing to England and tying the Czech Republic before professionally seeing off Scotland. 

Spain had some major problems themselves, including a small COVID outbreak in the squad just before the tournament started. They started off firing blanks in attack, unable to finish their chances leading to draws with both Sweden and Poland, although they did finally find their feet and demolish Slovakia 5-0. 

Most people expected Spain to top Croatia, but it was actually Croatia who took the lead after a truly shocking goalkeeping error from Unai Simon. Spain’s daunting offensive strength prevailed, however, and they raced to a 3-1 comeback afterwards. 

Then, with less than five minutes left in the match, Croatia kicked into third gear and scored, then scored again, tying the match 3-3 and sending it into extra-time. Both teams had chances to score the winner, but despite their bravery, the Croats eventually tired themselves out. The much-maligned Spanish striker, Alvaro Morata, silenced the haters and scored a magnificent half-volley for his country. Spain scored another and won 5-3 as the match concluded.

In an equally insane match, the reigning world-champions France competed against Switzerland. France headed into this match coming out of the group of death, winning one match and drawing the other two. While they weren’t playing the best football, that is excusable given the quality of opposition. And in all honesty, France didn’t play all that well at the 2018 World Cup either and still ended up as champions. 

Switzerland, the perennially-mediocre team, were living up to the stereotype. As a result, one must be a rather daring individual to bet on a Swiss victory. To the surprise of all, the Swiss actually scored first with Haris Seferovic’s header and were outplaying the world-champions. It wasn’t until 60 minutes into the match that France scored an equalizer after the Swiss’ morale dropped due to a missed penalty. The France that we all expected finally showed up, and in the span of 20 minutes, they scored three wonderful goals. 

But just when all was said and done, the French lost control of the match again, and Switzerland scored two goals within the last 10 minutes to equalize 3-3. In extra-time, both teams were deathly exhausted, and neither side could gain an edge. After going to a penalty shootout, the scores were all equal again, until the French superstar, Kylian Mbappe, had his penalty saved by Yann Sommer, eliminating France from Euro 2020, the same team that most expected to win the whole thing.

With these results, Spain have a meeting with Switzerland in the quarterfinals.

From there, the age-old rivalry in football, dating back to WWII, was to grace the pitch of the Euros yet again: England played Germany in probably the most anticipated match of this round. Both teams had very different tournaments so far as England topped their group, conceding zero goals. However, in those three matches, they only scored two, meaning England look very solid defensively but also uncreative in front of goal. 

Emerging from the group of death, Germany actually almost did not qualify after Hungary came close to beating them on the final matchday of the group stage. Overall, Germany had been abnormally poor defensively, but at the same time, they seemed overtly powerful going forward. 

As the match went on between the two rivals, it became very evident that England was the worst possible team Germany could’ve faced, as England’s defense completely nullified the German attack, their biggest strength. As the match went on, England grinded down their opponents and eventually scored twice in the second half, winning 2-0 after goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane. This gave England their first victory over Germany in a knockout round match at a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup Final.

In the final match of the round of 16, Sweden were set to play Ukraine in a matchup that realistically could’ve gone either way. Sweden surprisingly topped their group, mostly due to Spain’s two draws; while they aren’t a world-class team, they definitely are deserving of a spot in the knockout stages. 

Ukraine had a very tough group stage, losing to the Netherlands despite playing well, just doing enough to beat a hard-fought North Macedonia and narrowly losing to Austria. While Ukraine don’t offer much going forward, they are a very tough team to break down, setting up their match against Sweden to be a fascinating one. 

Ukraine took the lead after a fierce volley from Oleksandr Zinchenko before a deflected longshot from Emil Forsberg tied the match at 1-1. In a very open match, both teams had chances to grab the winner but neither were able to, sending yet another match to extra-time. Just as the momentum was swinging in Sweden’s favor due to their superior attacking quality, an absolutely horrific spikes-up tackle from Marcus Danielson saw him red-carded and Sweden reduced to 10 men. With the man advantage, Ukraine pushed for the winner, and a header from Artem Dovbyk in the 121st minute sealed the victory.

With these results, England are scheduled to play Ukraine in their quarterfinal matchup.

Copa America 2021

Given that CONMEBOL, the South American governing body of football, only has 10 member-nations, the format for the Copa America is very different than the Euros. There is no Round of 16, and the conclusion of the group stage leads right into the quarterfinals.

The first quarterfinal matchup of the Copa America will be between Peru and Paraguay. Peru started off their Copa America in awful fashion, getting crushed 4-0 by Brazil. Given that Peru went into this tournament without veterans like Paolo Guerrero and Jefferson Farfan, predictions that this overachieving Peruvian team had finally reached its end were looking to be reality after the Brazil game. 

However, Peru proved to the world that they are the ultimate tournament team. Despite not having the most talented squad, or not even playing that great football, they still grinded out results, shocking Colombia, drawing Ecuador and scraping a win against Venezuela. They finished second in their group. 

Peru in the Copa America is a whole different animal; in fact, they have made the semifinals in three of the last four editions. Paraguay on the other hand, are really two teams in one. Some days they look like they can beat anyone in South America (like when they thoroughly outplayed Chile), but on other days, they look like the worst team in the region (like when they were abysmal against Uruguay). 

Between Peru and Paraguay, the Paraguayans seem to have the higher ceiling. That being said, it looks likely that their best player, Miguel Almiron, will miss the match through injury, and the odds seem to be in Peru’s favor to pull off yet another unexpected victory.

The next quarterfinals matchup will see host nation and reigning champions Brazil face previous back-to-back champions Chile in a matchup that has seen several historic games in recent years. Brazil come into this game head-and-shoulders above everyone else in the Copa America. They have won three of their four matches, drawing the other, scoring 10 goals and only conceding 2. Their squad are totally stacked, with a world-class player in virtually every position. Brazil looked like champions before the tournament started and so far no one seems to be standing in their way. In fact, Brazil has won the Copa America every single time they have hosted it. 

Meanwhile, Chile are a team still holding on to the remnants of that golden generation that won consecutive Copas in 2015 and 2016. While Edu Vargas, Arturo Vidal, Claudio Bravo and Alexis Sanchez (technically) are still there, they all are on the wrong side of 30 — and it really shows. In all of their game, Chile are only able to dominate and play well for portions of the match before fatigue sets in and they lose their composure. So far, they have tied two matches, lost one and won only one, a narrow 1-0 over Bolivia. While crazier things have happened in the Copa America in the past, one realistically can’t see anything else besides Brazil easily winning this match.

Next up, we will see Colombia play Uruguay in a very interesting matchup, which could either be a multi-goal thriller, or a completely goalless snooze-fest. Both these teams come into this match playing slightly below expectations. 

Uruguay, who, as of late, have been the second-best team in South America behind Brazil, look very weak in front of goal, often lacking the clinical touch despite creating numerous chances. Meanwhile, their defense has not been as strong as normal. In the group stage, they won two games, drew Chile and lost to Argentina. Not a bad record, but they have not been reaching their potential. 

Colombia are in a very similar boat. Despite having an attacking lineup with players like Duvan Zapata, Luis Muriel, Rafael Santos Borre and  Miguel Borja, they have often looked lost up-front, scoring few goals and sometimes even playing negative defensive football. Maybe leaving home the star midfielder, James Rodriguez — the one guy who could properly link the midfield and forwards — despite him pleading that he wasn’t injured, was not the best decision coach, Reinaldo Rueda made. 

In the group stage, Colombia scuffed a win against Ecuador, drew Venezuela while losing to Brazil and Peru. Both teams do have a realistic chance to beat each other, but Uruguay are slightly more favored in my opinion, simply due to their stronger defense and more experience.

In the final match of the Copa America Quarterfinals, we have Argentina against Ecuador in probably the most straightforward game of the round. Ecuador were the surprise team of South America last year in the World Cup qualifiers, putting four goals past Uruguay before utterly obliterating Colombia 6-1 last November, forcing them to sack their coach. Relying upon a mixture of a few veterans and a plethora of new attacking talent, Ecuador had looked to be building a serious team for the future. 

Unfortunately for Ecuadorian fans, we have only seen small glimpses of that team in Copa America 2021. In their group, they lost to Colombia and blew consecutive two-goal leads against Peru and Venezuela, drawing each match 2-2. Then, they tied a heavily rotated Brazil side 1-1 to just do enough to qualify. History is not on their side either, as Ecuador usually perform very poorly at the Copa America. In fact, they are only one of two teams in South America to have never won it, and last tournament they were arguably the worst team in the whole lineup. 

Conversely, Argentina are in flying form, looking like the best version of themselves for the first time since at least 2016. With a very talented yet balanced squad, they have a stable system, consistent lineup and the results that they need underway. Despite drawing Chile in their opening match, they won all of their other games, finishing their most recent match with a 4-1 drubbing of Bolivia. As always, Lionel Messi is the key to everything, and he is in great form with three goals and two assists so far as he looks to win his first-ever senior trophy with the Argentine National Team. It hasn’t been perfect from Argentina, but it has been pretty good so far and that is why it looks extremely likely they will go through at the expense of Ecuador.

June 22 to 27 saw Cairo, Egypt hosting the Professional Squash Association World Tour Finals. The tournament is made up of the players with the highest amount of accumulated points over the 2020-21 season. The tournament format is different to most PSA events, with group stages and semi-finals being played as best-of-three and only the finals using the traditional best-of-five format.  

Women’s group A consisted of Egypt’s Nour El Sherbini (1), Nouran Gohar (3) and Salma Hany (8), along with Frenchwoman Camille Serme (6). Women’s group B was made up of Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy (2), USA’s Amanda Sobhy (4), England’s Sarah-Jane Perry (5) and New Zealand’s Joelle King (7). 

Women’s day one results were Gohar 2-1 Hany, Serme 2-1 El Sherbini, El Hammamy 2-0 Perry. Day two results were King 2-0 Sobhy, El Sherbini 2-0 Hany, and Gohar 2-0 Serme. Day three results were King 2-0 Perry, Serme 2-0 Hany, and El Hammamy 2-0 Sobhy. The final day of group stages results were Gohar 2-1 El Sherbini, El Hammamy 2-0 King, and Perry 2-0 Sobhy. 

Gohar won group A with 10 points, followed by Serme with 7 points, both advancing to the semi-finals. El Hammamy won group B with 12 points, followed by King with 8 points. Semi-final match-ups were decided as Gohar vs King and El Hammamy vs Serme.  

In the men’s tournament, group A was all-Egyptian, consisting of Mostafa Asal (7), Mohamed ElShorbagy (5), Marwan ElShorbagy (4), and Ali Farag (1). Group B was made up of France’s Gregoire Marche (8), Welshman Joel Makin (6), New Zealand’s Paul Coll (3), and Egypt’s Tarek Momen (2). 

Day one results were Coll 2-1 Momen, Marwan ElShorbagy 2-1 Farag and Mohamed ElShorbagy 2-1 Asal. Day two results were Asal 2-0 Marwan ElShorbagy, Mohamed ElShorbagy 2-1 Farag and Marche 2-1 Makin. Day three results were Marwan ElShorbagy 2-1 Mohamed ElShorbagy, Momen 2-1 Marche and Coll 2-1 Makin. The final day of the group stages results were Momen 2-0 Makin, Coll 2-1 Marche and Asal 2-0 Farag. 

Asal came out on top of group A with 9 points, and Mohamed ElShorbagy came a close second place with 7 points. Coll won group B with 9 points, with Momen finishing just one point behind him. The semi-finals were set for ElShorbagy vs Coll and Asal vs Momen. 

The semi-finals proved to be just as exciting as the group stages. First up we saw Gohar vs King. The higher ranked Gohar took the first game 11-2 with great confidence. King came back to win the second game 12-10 in the tie-break, leaving the game tied at 1-1. Due to the best-of-three format, it went to a decider. Gohar proved why she is the higher-ranked player and won the final game 11-6, advancing through to the finals. 

Asal vs Momen proved to be one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament. Fiery youngster Asal won the first game 11-9, but Momen came back to win the second game 11-6 and forced the match into a decider. It was won convincingly by Asal 11-4, who advanced into the finals after a 68-minute match. 

A classic El Hammamy vs Serme match-up was next, with the experienced Serme against the 20-year-old El Hammamy. El Hammamy took the first game 11-6, quickly followed by an 11-3 win by Serme. The final game went to two tie-breaks, with El Hammamy coming out on top 14-12, setting up an all-Egyptian final. 

Finally we saw ElShorbagy vs Coll. ElShorbagy took the first game 11-5, followed by Coll winning 11-5 himself. ElShorbagy won the final game 11-6, setting up another all-Egyptian final. 

First up in the finals, we saw last year’s champion El Hammamy Face Gohar, with both players undefeated so far in the tournament. The finals are played in the traditional best-of-five format. Gohar won the first game 11-9, quickly followed by another game won 11-6. El Hammamy took back a game of her own 11-8, but it proved to not be enough against “The Terminator” Gohar as she took the final game 11-8 and became the new World Series Finals Champion with a prize fund of $25,000. This was Gohar’s 10th PSA title, but her first for this event. 

The men’s final saw current World Junior Champion Asal vs the World number two ElShorbagy. ElShorbagy came out strong to take the first game in the tie-break 14-12. Not discouraged from a game down, Asal bulldozed through three consecutive games to take the title 11-4, 11-7, 11-3. This was also Asal’s first time winning the event, at just 20 years old. Asal also took home $25,000, with the PSA showing their support for equal prize money.

It’s been a long season involving 79 teams from 54 European countries, and the showpiece match in Europe’s premier club competition—the Champions League Final—is upon us yet again. From 79 clubs down to two, English rivals Chelsea and Manchester City faced off Saturday to see who would inherit the crown after Bayern Munich’s triumph last year. Following a rather uneventful yet tense game, Chelsea emerged victorious with a 1-0 scoreline, winning their second Champions League trophy in the club’s history.

Route to the Final

Throughout the 2021 Champions League season, it became clear that both Manchester City and Chelsea were the two best teams in the tournament, especially by the semifinals.

That wasn’t the case in their domestic league, as the two teams both had rough starts in the English Premier League before finding their feet and ending the season on a high note. Chelsea even sacked their manager, Frank Lampard, in January after a slew of disappointing results and hired Thomas Tuchel, who led them to a fourth place finish while also narrowly losing the FA Cup Final. Manchester City, on the other hand, actually won both the Premier League and the Carabao Cup and were looking to complete a treble by winning the Champions League.

In this tournament, Manchester City were drawn into a comfortable group by their standards, alongside Porto (Portugal), Olympiacos (Greece) and Marseille (France). Porto ended up being their only real competition, as Olympiacos and Marseille were very poor this year. In response to Man City’s early-season bad form, Pep Guardiola completely transformed this team into a calculated, conservative side with more emphasis on defense than before. This can be seen in the group stage as Man City topped the group, winning five of their six matches and only drawing the other, all while scoring 13 goals and conceding just one.

In the round of 16, Manchester City were drawn against Borussia Monchengladbach in a matchup where Man City were heavy favorites, given Monchengladbach’s subpar league form. The Citizens again lived up to expectations and eliminated their German counterparts, 4-0 on aggregate—a score that could’ve been much higher.

In the quarterfinals, Man City faced another German side, Borussia Dortmund, though this would be a much larger task given Dortmund’s attacking prowess and Manchester City’s past slipups in this stage of the competition. In fact, in the last three Champions League seasons, Man City had been eliminated in the quarterfinals by a team they were expected to beat. That was not the case this time around, though, and Man City nullified Dortmund’s attackers. A pair of hard-fought 2-1 wins saw the Englishmen progress, 4-2 on aggregate.

Then, in the semifinals, Man City lined up against French giants Paris Saint-Germain, who were finalists last year and fresh off eliminating reigning champions Bayern Munich. After a dominant first half in the first leg, PSG took their foot off the gas and allowed City to slip in. A 2-1 Man City comeback win before an awe-inspiring 2-0 victory in the second leg saw the blue side of Manchester march on the final as possibly the best team in Europe.

As for Chelsea, they were drawn into a group with Sevilla (Spain), Krasnodar (Russia) and Rennes (France). Like Manchester City’s group, there was really only one team that Chelsea had to worry about: Sevilla. Despite the team going through a period of mediocre form in the Premier League, that did not carry over to the Champions League; Chelsea topped their group with ease, scoring 14 goals while only conceding two. They won four matches (which included a 4-0 thrashing of Sevilla) and only drew the other two.

At the very end of 2020, however, Chelsea went on a terrible run, losing five matches across December and January (which resulted in head coach Frank Lampard’s sacking). Former PSG coach Thomas Tuchel was hired as a replacement, meaning Chelsea went into their round of 16 matchup against Atletico Madrid with a whole new manager.

Many expected Chelsea’s run to end here at the hands of the eventual La Liga champions. Fortunately for the Blues, Atletico were going through a poor run of form themselves, and Chelsea were able to run away with a 3-0 aggregate win. In the quarterfinals, Chelsea drew Porto, who were playing some good football but seriously punching above their weight. Despite Porto putting up a good fight and Chelsea’s attack faltering a bit, the Blues advanced 2-1 on aggregate.

Chelsea’s semifinals opponent was none other than Real Madrid, a team who was not in best form but still a formidable adversary, given that no club has won the Champions League more than Real Madrid. In a matchup where Chelsea truly proved their pedigree, Real Madrid were run ragged under the efficient aura of this Chelsea side and eliminated 4-1.

Going into the final, both sides knew each other very well. In fact, even though Manchester City ran away with the league, it seemed that only Chelsea held the secret to defeating them—they had eliminated Man City from the FA Cup semifinals 1-0 before beating them 2-1 in the Premier League last month.

These two teams had a lot in common. Both Chelsea and Manchester City had some of the best defensive backlines in the world, and they each achieved success this season by building their teams on defensive solidarity. Whether it be Ruben Dias for City or N’Golo Kante for Chelsea, each team’s standout player this season was a defensive player. On the other hand, both teams struggled in attack this year as well.

The battle of the minds between the managers was also an interesting story to follow. As was mentioned before, Tuchel had only taken this job in January, without a pre-season and transfer window of his own. With his previous team, PSG, Tuchel actually brought the Parisians to their first-ever Champions League Final, where they lost to Bayern Munich. Now with Chelsea, Tuchel had his own ax to grind.

Pep Guardiola, on the other hand, is one of the best managers of all time, but the one thing that holds him back is this very trophy. Pep has not won a Champions League since 2011 with Barcelona, and he has stumbled in the latter stages of this competition with both Bayern and Man City as of late. But last Saturday, he had the opportunity to finally put those criticisms to bed.

In general, there was no clear favorite for this match. Manchester City had the overall better team so they were slightly more favored to win, but Chelsea were by no means underdogs and had a very real chance of taking the title.

The Final

Hosted in the Estadio do Dragao in Porto (rather than the planned venue of the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Turkey, because of British travel restrictions), the final kicked off under a hot Portuguese sun. To the shock of many, Pep decided to play without a defensive midfielder and instead start Raheem Sterling, even though Sterling hasn’t been playing well lately.

His start almost paid off, though, as a world-class through-ball from City’s goalkeeper Ederson found Sterling who nearly scored in the seventh minute but was extinguished by Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy. Sterling also had a wonderful low-cross that would have reached Riyad Mahrez if not for a great tackle from Ben Chilwell. Another Chelsea defender, Antonio Rudiger, had a game-saving tackle of his own as a square-ball from Kevin De Bruyne found Phil Foden. Foden would have easily slotted the ball past Mendy before the outstretched leg of Rudiger blocked the shot.

City’s lack of a defensive midfielder quickly became evident as Chelsea began to dominate proceedings in parts of the first half. Timo Werner, Chelsea’s striker, has had a hard time in front of goal after transferring from RB Leipzig last summer. Werner could have (and really should have) scored with at least one of three clear chances he had on goal. The first, he completely missed the ball; the second was a weak shot that Ederson effortlessly saved; and the third hit the outer-side netting of City’s goal. Even if Werner didn’t bring his shooting boots, there was one thing he did do, and that was make great runs. Werner worked tirelessly, spreading City’s defense with his strategic positioning.

Then, late in the first half, a diagonal run from Werner pulled both Dias and John Stones towards the left, opening up a gap in the back. A magnificent through-ball from Mason Mount found Chelsea forward Kai Havertz, who was then one-on-one with Ederson. The Brazilian goalkeeper tried to charge the ball, but a deft touch from Havertz took the ball around Ederson and another sent it rolling into the empty net, sending Chelsea up 1-0.

Aware of their defensive strength, Chelsea went into the second half knowing all they had to do was sit back and protect their lead, only going forward to attack if there was an opportunity. Man City, who were already uncharacteristically struggling to create chances, were dealt a heavy blow when Antonio Rudiger blocked the ball from Kevin De Bruyne by throwing his shoulder into De Bruyne’s face. De Bruyne, who is City’s best attacking player, was then forced to leave the field after he suffered slight facial fractures and a swollen eye, blocking his vision.

After changing the formation and subbing on different players, Man City held all ball possession as they desperately tried to score. City thought they had a penalty when a shot deflected off Chelsea fullback Reece James’ arm, but the referee did not call it. Ironically, it was actually Chelsea who had the next best chance to score as a great run on the counter-attack saw Havertz find Christian Pulisic, the American star himself, whose shot just sailed wide after excellent positioning from Ederson.

As the clock ticked closer and closer to the end, Man City threw everything they had at their London opponents, but in all honesty, they never looked like scoring. Foden had a poked-shot blocked by Andreas Christensen, and Sergio Aguero had a dangerous cross saved by Mendy in goal.

The best chance, however, fell to Riyad Mahrez in the final minute of the match. After a throw-in, the ball pinged around before falling to Mahrez outside the box, who sent a finessed volley towards goal. Everyone in the stadium stood completely still for a half-second—Chelsea fans, Man City fans, even Edouard Mendy—as the ball gracefully floated over his head. Luckily for Chelsea and their supporters, the ball dipped and fell just behind the net, not in it, as they all breathed a sigh of relief.

And just like that, referee, Mateu Lahoz, blew the final whistle, ending the match and confirming Chelsea as the champions of Europe for the second time in their history after their previous unexpected victory in 2012.

As harsh as it may sound, this defeat wholly falls on Pep Guardiola and Manchester City’s players. After tearing up the Premier League, the pressure was on them to finally break their duck and win their first European crown. Instead, the City players looked unsure of themselves, too scared to lose rather than motivated to win. They were far from the side that brushed aside all opposition ahead of them throughout the year.

Pep himself immediately received backlash for switching the lineup right before the match. Throughout the season, City has always played a 4-3-3 formation, with either Fernandinho or Rodri as a defensive anchor. For this game only, Pep instead decided to play a strange 4-2-4 formation with four forwards (but no striker) and two attacking midfielders. Pep possibly played this formation to overwhelm Chelsea’s defense with attackers, but this had the opposite effect, as Ilkay Gundogan was too occupied with covering defensive ground to go forward while City never fully controlled the tempo to carve out enough chances. An out-of-form Sterling also started on Pep’s call.

For all his achievements, Pep Guardiola’s Achilles heel has been overthinking big Champions League matches; just last year he played a City team without a defensive midfielder in the quarterfinals, which saw Lyon shockingly beat them. In 2019, Pep benched De Bruyne in the first leg of the quarterfinals, and Tottenham won 1-0. Even in 2018, similar formation tinkering saw Liverpool beat City 3-0 in the quarterfinal first leg.

While Chelsea may not have been the absolute best team, they were the smartest and most professional team in Europe this year. Tuchel has elevated his reputation as one of the best current managers while he righted his wrongs after losing last year’s final. PSG fans may feel a little irked knowing the manager they just sacked midseason went on to win the Champions League while their own team still looks for their first European title. Frank Lampard will feel both proud and saddened that this crop of players he coached and nurtured finally reached major success—just without him. And for us Americans, we are extraordinarily proud that Christian Pulisic is a Champions League winner. Pulisic is only the second American to do so and the first to play a major role in the campaign.

For the rest of us, yet another wonderful season of European football has concluded, reminding us of why we love this sport so much. Now, time for the summer and international football.

The 2020-21 season was a historic one for the Dragons, with many teams outperforming themselves despite the harsh conditions of the pandemic and often being out of practice for much of the season. The Dragons proved themselves in many athletics and will be tough competitors during summer sports and the next season. Let’s take a look back at the success of the Dragons this season.

First up: Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams were successful at the College Athletic Association Championships. The men’s team won the finals against Elon 63-56, which propelled them into their first NCAA championships in 25 years. Unfortunately, the Dragons went on to lose in the first round against top-seeded Illinois.

The women’s team also saw a historic win at the CAA, where they beat Delaware 63-52 to make the NCAA. They also unfortunately lost in a close first round against Georgia 53-67.

Congratulations to both our men’s and women’s CAA basketball champions, and further congratulations to Camren Wynter, named Drexel Junior Male Athlete of the year for his achievements, including MVP of the CAA Tournament. Keishana Washington was named Drexel Junior Female Athlete of the year for her success, including the CAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Drexel men’s and women’s lacrosse teams also outperformed themselves this season. The men’s team won their CAA championships, beating UMass 13-8 and Hofstra 15-11. In a close match in the first round of the NCAA, the team lost 8-10 against Notre Dame.

The women’s team also made the NCAA after coming second place in the CAA championships. The Lady Dragons also, unfortunately, lost out in the first round of the NCAA, with a close 13-16 loss against Rutgers.

Karson Harris was named Drexel Senior Female Athlete for her achievements this season, including being nationally ranked in three categories: goals per game, free position goals per game and total goals. Sean Donnelly was named Drexel Freshman Male Athlete of the Year for earning All-CAA 2nd Team honors.

Drexel women’s field hockey saw another successful season, making the CAA semifinals in Newark, Delaware. The team just lost out to JMU 3-4 in a tight match.

Congratulations to Eline DiLeva for being awarded Drexel Freshman Female Athlete of the Year for her achievements at appearing in all 10 games of the season and being named First Team All-CAA. Also, congratulations to Isabel Jacobs for being named Drexel Sophomore Female Athlete of the Year for her success this season, including being named First Team All-CAA.

Drexel’s wrestling team also made an impact this season, particularly Mickey O’Malley, named Drexel Sophomore Male Athlete of the Year. This season, O’Malley won the 79kg junior national title.

The team also excelled as a whole, with six wrestlers making the 2021 National Qualifiers for only the second time in program history. Congratulations, Drexel Wrestling!

Drexel Softball also saw a historic season. The Lady Dragons became the CAA North Division regular season champions, with their highest win percentage in program history. Four Dragons were named on the All-CAA team, along with two Dragons named All-Tournament Team. A special mention goes to Linda Rush, recipient of this year’s Mary Semanik Award, given to Dragons who demonstrate athleticism and academic achievements, and personal leadership.

Drexel Athletics has boasted a successful season in all sports, and everyone is eager for the regular seasons to begin when fans can once again join the stands. Congratulations to all Drexel teams and athletes on the 2020-21 season!

The Phillies found themselves in first place at the end of April. But after a May that saw them go 12-16, they now sit in third place with a 25-29 record. They are still only five games back of the Mets with plenty of time to get back into the race, but they will have to continue to do certain things well, along with improvements in other parts. Here are some positives and negatives from the month of May.

Positive: Andrew McCutchen has turned things around.

McCutchen’s offensive numbers from April and May are night and day. In April, he had a batting average of 0.169 and hit only one home run. However, in May, he had a batting average of 0.227—not great, but still a drastic improvement compared to his April average.

But the power numbers are where McCutchen has really improved. He hit six homers while slugging at a 0.454 clip in the month of May to drive in 13 runs and score 15 times himself for the Phillies’ offense. If McCutchen continues to drive the ball with authority, it can only help the lineup’s production.

However, McCutchen will need to tighten up his defense in left field, which has been a liability. As McCutchen enters possibly his last year of his contract with the Phillies, it will be interesting to see if he can continue to turn the tide after his slow start.

Positive: The center field problem has been solved.

The Phillies center field situation was one of the most critical problems in April, and May seemed to have solved that problem. The answer to the problem was Odubel Herrera, who (after a slow start) has settled back into the big leagues.

Herrera is batting 0.264 with a solid 0.339 on-base percentage. In addition to the production, Herrera has played incredibly hard with dives into first base and pumps his teammates up after drawing a walk.

Fortunately, Herrera has become the solution for that eighth position, because Roman Quinn is done for the season due to his Achilles injury. Adam Haseley is still working back to the Majors, and Mickey Moniak is developing Triple-A.

Negative: Alec Bohm is officially having a sophomore slump.

Bohm has struggled mightily on both sides of the ball this season. His defensive struggles have carried over from last year; he has piled up eight errors so far. His bat has not made up for those flaws, as he is batting 0.203 with an OBP of 0.249.

Bohm has struggled to get anything going and has not been disciplined at the plate either, which has led to 58 strikeouts—among the leaderboards in the Majors this season.

However, if there is one young rising star that could turn things around, it would be Bohm. He has shown he can be a prototypical pure hitter with a simple and productive approach. Look for Bohm to turn things around in June.

Negative: Bryce Harper has not been healthy.

Harper had a great April. He led the league in on-base percentage with six homers and batted 0.317.

However, Harper has only played 38 games so far. In spring training, he had a shoulder injury. Then, he sat a few games after being hit in the face with a pitch. He is currently on the injured list with a lingering wrist injury that he tried to play through, but he entered a slump before being placed on the list. When everyone is playing up to their potential, Harper is the best player on this Phillies roster. He needs to get himself right so that this Phillies lineup has their most destructive weapon.

After a rough May, the Phillies will need to turn things around before losing their chances completely. Some essential series are coming up for the Phillies this month. They will play the Nationals and Braves back-to-back and then have a big test against the Dodgers June 14 to 16. Their last eight games of June will all be against NL East teams, so it is going to be a critical June for the Phillies.

The Stadion Miejski in Gdansk, Poland, was witness to one of the most equally-matched and tightly-contested European cup finals in years. English giants Manchester United faced off against the perennial Spanish underdogs in the 2021 Europa League Final, the second-tier international club competition in Europe. A tense 90 minutes resulted in a 1-1 score; extra time followed, but no goals came. After an even more intense penalty shootout, Villarreal shocked the world as they overcame their opponents 11-10 on penalties, winning their first ever trophy in the club’s history.

Before meeting each other in the final, Manchester United and Villarreal had proven to be the two best teams in the tournament, especially as the latter stages came around. Villarreal was drawn into a manageable group alongside Sivasspor (Turkey), Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) and Qarabag (Azerbaijan). Villarreal lived up to their expectations, though, effortlessly topping the group, winning five of the six matches while drawing the remaining one, all while scoring 17 goals, conceding five.

In the knockout stages, Villarreal played Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg in the round of 32, where they easily beat them 4-1 on aggregate. Following this, they defeated Ukrainian team, Dynamo Kyiv on aggregate 4-0 after a pair of 2-0 victories in the round of 16. 

In the quarterfinals, Villarreal’s opponent was Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb, who themselves were a dark-horse contender this term. Despite putting up a good fight, Dinamo Zagreb was eliminated by the Spaniards, 3-1 on aggregate. 

Come to the semifinals, Villarreal faced off against historic English titans Arsenal, who were desperately trying to win this tournament, as it was their only realistic path to the Champions League after having a poor season. But yet again, Villarreal would emerge victorious with a narrow 2-1 aggregate win, sending El Submarino Amarillo to their first major European Cup Final.

Manchester United, on the other hand, had a very different path to the final. They started the season in the Champions League, getting drawn into the group of death with Paris Saint-Germain (France), RB Leipzig (Germany) and Istanbul Basaksehir (Turkey). Despite a few good results early on, Man United stumbled a bit and finished third in the group, sending them down to the Europa League knockout stages. 

In the round of 32, Manchester United lined up against Real Sociedad from Spain. A smashing 4-0 victory in the first leg and a 0-0 drawn in the second meant they passed with ease to play AC Milan in the round of 16. In the first leg, Man United was held to a 1-1 draw with the historic Italian super-club, but a razor-thin 1-0 triumph in the second saw the Englishmen progress. 

Man United’s quarterfinals opponent was another Spanish underdog team, Granada, whose valiant display was no match for Man United, seeing the Andalusian club lose 4-0 on aggregate. 

In the semifinals, Man United encountered another Italian team, Roma, known for their occasional poor performances in Europe. The stereotype came true as they were battered 6-2 by Man United in the first leg, and while Roma would in the first leg in the return fixture 3-2, Man United went to the final with an 8-5 aggregate victory.

As for their league form, Villarreal had a decent season by their standards, finishing in seventh place in the La Liga table. On the other hand, Manchester United started the season very poorly before getting their act together at the midway point. While they never threatened champion Manchester City’s spot at the top, Man United did comfortably finish in second place. Both Villarreal and Manchester United had played each four times before this match, with each game ending in a 0-0 draw, though these games occurred over 12 years ago.

When comparing the two teams heading into the final, both were very deserving of their spot in the showpiece match. Manchester United brushed aside numerous good teams, scoring many goals in the process. And while Villarreal isn’t as free-scoring and had slightly weaker opponents, they still dominated every match they played, looking very organized and well-drilled. 

Saying that, Manchester United was still seen as clear favorites given the player quality and European experience gap. Man United are of the biggest and most successful teams in football history, winning at least 66 major trophies, while Villarreal had yet to win a single trophy going into this match. Similarly, Villarreal by no means has a bad squad; Man United simply has many better players and more prominent stars. 

However, the opposite is true when it comes to each team’s head coach. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer manages Man United, and though he has proven to be a competent coach, he is still very early in his managing career. In all honestly, the only reason he was given this job was because of his legendary status as a former Manchester United player. Villarreal, on the other hand, has Unai Emery, who is one of the most decorated managers in the current game. Emery even won the Europa League three times already with Sevilla.

As the match kicked off in Gdansk, most expected a tight game, even if Manchester United were favorites to win. And if this match was anything, it was close and equally matched. In the first half, Man United took control of the ball and pressed Villarreal into their half. However, Villarreal’s brick wall of defense was rock solid throughout the entire match, forcing their opponents to take all their shots from far out, rarely troubling the keeper. While Man United was struggling to create clear chances, Villarreal knew that they did not have the pace to continually hit on the counter, so they primarily relied on set-pieces for their opportunities, to which they created several. 

30 minutes into the match, and this strategy paid off: Villarreal was awarded a free-kick outside Man United’s 18-yard box. After midfield maestro Dani Parejo sent a world-class looping cross into the box, akin to that of a heat-seeking missile, Villarreal’s star striker Gerard Moreno was able to evade his marker and poke the ball into the net, sending his team up 1-0. 

Chances in the first half were few and far between, and more of the same carried on into the second as Manchester United were still able to find that creative spark, primarily due to Villarreal’s incredible defense. However, football is an unpredictable sport often based solely on luck, which Man United capitalized on. 

After avoiding threatening Villarreal’s goal, the English club was awarded a corner about 10 minutes into the second half. Luke Shaw’s initial cross was cleared away by Villarreal’s acting captain, Raul Albiol, but then the ball trickled down to Marcus Rashford, who sent a venomous low shot towards goal from far out. Luckily for his team, Rashford’s shot pinged around in the box before kindly falling in front of veteran-striker, Edinson Cavani who smashed in the rebound, tying the game 1-1. 

Afterward, the momentum slightly swung in Man United’s favor, though they were far from dominating the match. Neither team had any clear-cut chances on goal throughout the rest of the match except for a quick header from Cavani, which was expertly blocked by star center-back Pau Torres, who himself had a decent shot on goal following a corner shortly after.

But with nothing left to separate the teams, the match went into extra time for an additional 30 minutes of play. As fatigue started to settle in, along with a fear of conceding the first goal, nothing of note happened in the two periods of extra time besides a half-chance shot from Villarreal’s Paco Alcacer, which sailed far over the crossbar.

After 120 minutes of football could not decide a winner, the match went to a penalty shootout to crown the winner dramatically. While the game during the regular time was not as eventful, the penalty shootout was the complete opposite, proving to be one of the most exciting penalty shootouts in recent history. Gerard Moreno was first to shoot for Villarreal, and he scored with a calm penalty before Juan Mata matched that with a straightforward penalty. Out of the five initial penalty takers, all five impressively scored: Gerard, Dani Raba, Alcacer, Alberto Moreno, and Parejo for Villarreal, and Mata, Alex Telles, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford and Cavani for Manchester United, sending it to sudden death. As penalties continued, both goalkeepers, Geronimo Rulli and David de Gea, had several penalties that they should have saved, but overall, most of the penalties were exceptional.

The match went to sudden death, and the quality of shots meant that each outfield player had to take a penalty, to which each scored too, leaving it all up to the goalkeepers. Geronimo Rulli, technically Villarreal’s backup keeper, smashed his shot into the corner, meaning Manchester United’s world-class shot-stopper, David de Gea, had to score or his team would lose. As de Gea stepped up to take his shot, Rulli was able to easily read his run-up, correctly guessing where he would shoot before batting away de Gea’s shot and clinching the Europa League for Villarreal. 

After an 11-10 score in the shootout, Villarreal was victorious in Gdansk as deserved champions of the 2021 Europa League. As heartbreaking as it was for David de Gea, one could barely fault a goalkeeper for missing a penalty given the infrequent circumstances where they would ever need to.

When club captain Mario Gaspar lifted the trophy and celebrated the victory with Villarreal fans in the stadium, history was made with the first ever trophy in Villarreal’s cabinet. And the small club earned it, playing some great football this year. In this match specifically, Rulli was great in the penalty shootout, and Gerard did his job to score. Still, other players played great, including Parejo, Yeremy, Pau Torres, and the entire defensive line. 

As for Manchester United, they will be very disappointed they did not win, even if they also played a good match. Both Edinson Cavani and Scott McTominay had good performances, but Paul Pogba and the forwards like Rashford and Mason Greenwood were a bit lackluster on the night.

This victory, though, is also very significant for other reasons as well. Firstly, this is manager Unai Emery’s fourth Europa League trophy, making him the manager with the most Europa League trophies after he won 2014, 2015, and 2016 titles with Sevilla before this year’s with Villarreal. In fact, he even reached the 2019 Final with Arsenal but lost to Chelsea. For a manager whose reputation was damaged after relatively disappointing tenures with PSG and Arsenal, Emery proved again to the football world that he is a quality manager and serial winner. 

Villarreal’s achievement is even more remarkable when you consider how much of an underdog they are. Despite coming from a city with less than 52,000 citizens, Villarreal remains one of the best teams in Spain and Europe now. By comparison, other elite Spanish clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona come from cities with close to a million people. Given the recent chaos with the proposed European Super League, Villarreal’s victory was a statement win, as these kinds of underdog stories would never occur in the European Super League monopoly. Given how well-run Villarreal is as a small football club, they serve as an example to Villarreal in the football world.

Imagine training 1,000 hours for the biggest race of your athletic career. You wake up at 5 a.m. daily, practice twice a day and review film. Now imagine that race being cancelled, leaving you feeling like your training was for nothing. On top of that, imagine being a college senior and having to face the end of your collegiate career while unable to compete in your final season. 

In the past year, neither collegiate nor National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes were immune to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA is, in its own words, “a member-led organization dedicated to the well-being and lifelong success of college athletes.” In reality, however, it is essentially the governing body for all collegiate athletics, creating and enforcing protocol. 

In 2020, the NCAA was faced with unprecedented decisions. Last year, March Madness (men’s basketball), 2020 NCAA Rowing Championships (women’s rowing), and 2020 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were cancelled. Training became incredibly difficult and isolating during this time, especially since there was no end in sight. Coming into the 2020-21 athletic year, athletes were hopeful to compete once again.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Drexel University Athletics, had a tremendous amount of success, a testament to the athletes who really stepped up. With CAA conference championships in men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s lacrosse and softball, and strong team finishes in women’s lacrosse and women’s rowing, Drexel athletes accomplished a great deal. However, that doesn’t it was easy.

According to 19-year-old Rita Keefer, a first-year student on Drexel’s Women’s Rowing Team, being a student athlete was not at all what she expected.  

Keefer, a California native and Culinary Arts major, has been rowing for six years and is used to working hard. Balancing school work and athletic commitments was no challenge, as she has been doing that for years; the toughest part of being a student athlete over the last year was the unusual and unexpected required sacrifices. 

“You know, athletes always have a bigger commitment than other students, and we are required to give a lot,” Keefer said. “But this year, we weren’t given so many of the resources we expected to have. I thought we would be able to lift weights, get special training days, have access to the cool study rooms in the DAC, but we had none of that.”

Keefer also explained that the overall lack of structure and consistency due to the pandemic made transitioning to college-level athletics incredibly difficult.

“We had no idea when practice was,” Keefer explained. “Times and locations changed daily because we had to wait for COVID test results.”  

Keefer also noted that, like other Drexel students, athletes also had to sacrifice their social lives,—with even more restrictions than the average Dragon.

“We couldn’t go out, or make friends off the team. We had to give up our entire life to remain in our pods,” Keefer continued. 

NCAA athletes had to follow strict rules this past year. Over the months, guidelines continued to change, such as how many people were in your pod and how often you had to be COVID tested. However, one rule remained the same: Stay in your pods. 

This meant no study groups, no parties, no dinners, no visiting home and no meeting friends. The consequences of breaking this rule were dire, not only for the individual but also the entire team and athletics department.

Keefer recalled one particular instance when these rules weren’t followed: “Once, there was a party that a lot of people went to. There were so many positive [COVID] cases after that the athletic department threatened to shut down all sports if it happened again.” 

Not only was there immense pressure to do well athletically, but athletes like Keefer felt anxiety at the possibility that they could be the ones to shut down all athletics. 

Many athletes were more than willing to make these sacrifices, like Giavanna Hunt, a second-year materials science and engineering major on the Drexel Women’s Rowing Team. 

“I distinctly remember looking at my calendar on May 17, 2020 and thinking ‘we should be competing at CAAs right now,’” Hunt said. “That feeling of missing out is what ran through my head when life, a workout, or school got too hard.” 

Hunt’s motivation was infectious, and she helped lead the First Varsity Eight to a second place finish at the Collegiate Athletics Association 2021 Rowing Championship. 

When confronted with requests to allow athletes whose seasons were cancelled, the NCAA issued this blanket response via the official NCAA website: “Institutions may self-apply a one-year extension of eligibility for fall and/or winter sport student-athletes who are unable to compete, elect not to compete or who qualify for a season-of- competition waiver due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

While the attempt at supporting athletes is there, it just is not feasible for all students, especially seniors, to enroll for another year. Therefore, this proposed solution is not suitable for everyone.

This is not the first time the NCAA has failed to properly represent and compensate its athletes. Recently, on April 28, the NCAA took a major step towards giving athletes the better compensation. The Board of Governors, the NCAA’s highest governing body and those in charge of creating new policies, released an announcement through the official website regarding beginning the process of allowing “student-athletes to receive compensation for third-party endorsements both related to and separate from athletics.”   

Komal Kaur, a 19-year-old Drexel freshman and English major, has a few classmates that are student athletes. 

“I’ve only heard about the immense amount of work and training involved that pushes students to the edge and involves a lot of physical exercise that is mentally exhausting,” Kaur said. “And the favoritism can be frustrating when school is supposed to be an academic setting.” 

Kaur’s sentiments are shared by many. It’s likely that many regular students don’t recognize what actually goes into college athletics, and this is through no fault of the students themselves. 

Maybe some individuals view the 2020-21 season as a waste. However, Drexel student athletes like Keefer and Hunt made the most of it and rose to the challenge.

The first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs began this week. Miss any of the action? Here’s a recap of each series as of Thursday morning.

Eastern Conference

#1 Sixers vs. #8 Wizards

The Sixers coasted to an easy Game 2 victory Wednesday night to take a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Washington Wizards. Game 1, however, was not as easy, with the 76ers eking out a seven-point victory against an incredible performance by Bradley Beal. The series now moves to Washington for Games 3 and 4, where Philadelphia looks for the four-game sweep.

#2 Nets vs #7 Celtics

A monumental Jayson Tatum effort led Boston in Game 1, but that was not enough to overcome the three-headed monster Brooklyn Nets. Game 2, much like the Philadelphia series, was a non-contest, with Brooklyn controlling the game from the opening tip-off. This series will head back to Boston, where the Celtics look to avoid a four-game sweep.

#3 Bucks vs. #6 Heat

In a rematch of an opening round series from last year, the Bucks look to avoid the same disappointment they felt a season ago. Khris Middleton sunk the game-winner with seconds left in Game 1 to help Milwaukee escape, and former league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo led the charge in Game 2. So far, the story of this series has been the lackluster performance by Jimmy Butler, where he’s averaging 13.5 ppg on 25 percent shooting.

#4 Knicks vs. #5 Hawks

In the most entertaining Eastern Conference series so far, the Knicks and Hawks are knotted up at one game apiece. Trae Young put together an all-around performance in Game 1 to lead the Hawks to a victory, much to the dismay of the rowdy Madison Square Garden crowd. An Obi Toppin dunk emphasized Derrick Rose’s 26 -point outpour in Game 2 to help the Knicks.

Western Conference

#1 Jazz vs. #8 Grizzlies

In the most surprising upset so far, the Grizzlies — who would not be in the postseason without the controversial play-in tournament — upset the team with the best record in the NBA, the Utah Jazz. Controversy surrounded this game with Jazz star Donovan Mitchell sitting out despite his camp saying he was ready to go. Mitchell returned for Game 2 and helped the Jazz even the series, despite a 47 point performance from reigning Rookie of the Year  Ja Morant. Tied at 1-1, this series heads to Memphis for the next two games.

#2 Suns vs. #7 Lakers

Two of the best games from the playoffs have come from the Arizona desert. Game 1 saw a defensive standoff between the reigning NBA champions and the up-and-coming Phoenix Suns. Ultimately, Phoenix won because of the battle on the block where Deandre Ayton dominated Anthony Davis. Davis, however, returned with a vengeance in Game 2 and propelled the Lakers to a narrow victory with a 34-point outing. Don’t be surprised if we see seven games between these two juggernauts.

#3 Nuggets vs. #6 Trail Blazers

Portland, led by their star backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, stole home-court advantage from MVP candidate Nikola Jokic in Game 1, combining for 55 points. Jokic showed his MVP form in Game 2, where his 38 points helped stave off a 42-point barrage from Lillard. Even at one game each, the series heads to Portland for a pivotal Game 3.

#4 Clippers vs. #5 Mavericks

The Clippers entered the playoffs, losing two straight games to avoid the Lakers until the Western Conference Finals. Instead of playing LeBron, they chose to play Luka Doncic. They were wrong. The Mavericks came out strong in Game 1, led by Lukas 31-point, 10-rebound, 110-assist gem of a game where LA had no answers. In Game 2, former Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard took a crack at Luka and fared no better. Doncic dropped 39 points, and Tim Hardaway Jr. hit the game-winner to propel the Mavericks to a six-point victory. Now heading back to Dallas, the Mavericks hold a controlling 2-0 series lead.