NOVEMBER & DECEMBER Updates:
After a trophy-less 4-year span, Hulkster has finally got his chance to celebrate a trophy win with Gremio. He had earlier in the year won the Confederation's Cup with Brazil, but winning a Cup with his current club was remarkable. With just 7 matches left in the season, many thought Corinthians would pick up their 2nd trophy in a row. Corinthians shocked though and somehow Gremio picked up their form and went on a hot-streak that went down to the last match-day. Corinthians drew...Gremio won their game. Propelling them 1 point ahead of their rivals to pick up their first Brazilian League Title since 1996. 21 years without a trophy made their fans restless and now, the Gremio fans will be celebrating the new years with extra spice to their party. Hulkster and Wanderley were the most potent duo in the league, combining with 40 goals out of the 61 goals scored. The man himself scored 33 goals in all competitions and they were able to pick up the Brazilian League and the Gaucho State Championship Title. The 33 goals season for Hulkster was also a new record for Gremio for goals scored in 1 season. Gremio rewarded Hulskter with a new 5 year contract that will see him make $68,000 a week with a goal bonus of $6750 a goal and a $10250 bonus for every appearance. It is now time for Hulkster to help Gremio to Continental glory.
Cameron and Cruzeiro hasn't had nearly the good year that Hulkster got this past season. Cameron was still able to score 20 goals himself, but Cruzeiro were only able to finish mid-table yet again. He was also able to pick up 6 assists and 5 MotM awards.
Deportivo Cali ended their 2nd Stage League season in 2nd place and made the Group Stages...only to crash out by finishing in 3rd place of the Group Stages. Many thought they would go into the finals and make it hard for their opponents, but they failed to deliver. Reginald Bottomtoucher Jr had himself a great season for his own standards. In making 41 appearances, he scored 8 goals and collected a career high of 19 assists in a season. The 19 assists also blew the previous record out of the water which was at 10. Yet, Reginald still hasn't got a call up to the National Team. With Colombia out of the World Cup, surely he will get a few caps with upcoming friendlies in 2018.
Raul might have scored 2 goals less than the previous season, finishing the year with 20, this season has seen his finishing become as clinical as anyone could ask from a forward. With 2 goals in every 3 matches, teams facing this Chilean force shook in their boots the moment they read his name on the starting 11. It was unfortunate that 2017 was filled with injuries, missing a total of about 4 months. Injuries didnt slow him one bit though, collecting 7 assists and 3 MotM performances too. He was in such a good run this season that he got a call and got 2 caps, where he also picked up an assist. Making his debut in a 3-0 friendly win against Russia. With Chile making it to the World Cup, fans who know the 21 year old will be hoping to see him make the trip to Russia with the squad when June comes a long. After the success of 2017, Raul has been recieving interest from AZ from Holland and Hercules and Sporting from Spain.
Benfica's summer signing Messy Hallow has made, so far, a smooth transition. Already scoring 10 goals in 20 appearances. Also creating 2 other assists and picking up 1 yellow card. Benfica might have had the worst goal scoring differential with PSV, but they had beat them on 1 occasion and drew the return fixure. So they will now be facing Manchester United in the following round. Will Messy Hallow prove a handful for Manchester United's defense? Or will Benfica crumble in front of the English giants?
Valderrama had a slow start to his career with Atletico Madrid. With Squeekles taking center stage with Atletico's feirsest rivals, Real Madrid, Valderrama decided to get focused and help his team move up the table. In our last update, Kenrry had only scored 3 goals in 13 appearances. Over the past 2 months, Valderrama became the hottest player in Spain, scoring 12 goals in the following 13 games. With this great form, Valderrama has helped his club move up to 2nd place, with only 5 points seperating Los Colchoneros from Valencia, and even overlapping Real Madrid, with 1 point difference. With Atletico Madrid's stadium expension ending this past summer while the players were on vacation, the team's great form as of late has helped the club break the attendance record week after week. Pundits point the finger directly at Valderrama's contribution to the club's latest surge of attention and positive vibe it is getting. With half a season left to go, many will be cheering not only for Atletico Madrid to win the league, but for Valderrama to break the record for the most goals in one season, which is at 35. Its still possible if he keeps up his recent form, with Europa League and Copa del Rey still on schedule.
Finally Juan Pablo Miguel has made his way back into the club after being sidelined for 5 months due to a broken leg. Since then, he has made only 4 appearances, getting 1 assist. This hasn't stopped Mallorca and Levante showing interest into the Venezuelan.
With only 5 goals in his first 10 matches player by Ignacio Ballena, the Uruguayan has gone to score another 8 in the following 14 matches for Young Boys. His latest form has helped Young Boys move up to 2nd place in the Swiss League, 7 points behind Zurich, and his 6 goals in 8 Europa League matches were not enough to keep them in the competition.
OTHER News:
- After Ronaldo won both FIFA Ballon d'Or and World Player of the Year 2 years running, it was Messi's turn to pick up both Awards in 2017.