For a Soccer Star, the Goals Shift to Style
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As an American soccer player, you can’t help but be drawn to the national team’s goals. From Michael Bradley’s sublime strike at San Francisco to Clint Dempsey’s goal against El Salvador, you can’t help but wonder how they must feel about their ability to convert into the biggest shots in the world. In fact, as we all know—especially if we are on Facebook—we’re all fans of the big hit.
Of course, we can never deny the genius of soccer stars like David Beckham or Pele, and the beauty of a goal from a goal-scoring machine like Messi or Ronaldo, and of course, the skill of a goalscorer like Didier Drogba or Kaka. But what separates the top scorers from the rest of soccer’s best players is not their technical ability but their ability to find a rhythm and find a style and find that “special one.”
For this week’s Best Game In Soccer article, I caught up with some top guys, players who make it look easy to score that big goal.
Goalie
Dwayne De Rosario
On March 7, against Club Atletico de Madrid, De Rosario scored a stoppage-time goal for his team, FC Dallas, to win the MLS Cup in a penalty shootout. He is the second U.S. player (the first was Michael Bradley) and the first Latino to win an MLS Cup. His teammates also won the league and the MLS Cup. The Dallas defense was broken up for most of the year by De Rosario. He’s considered the most complete goalkeeper in the league and one of the best in the world.
De Rosario was the 2011 MLS MVP.
What does it take to score that big goal?
Most people ask me, “What is it?” and I look them dead in the eye and say, “Style!”
Style, guys. Style.
And with that
