What’s going on in the soccer world?

SI! — Cristiano Ronaldo has won three Ballon D’or awards in his professional career. (Photo: Wikimedia)

The world of soccer is always changing. Scandals erupt daily and news is always breaking. If you’ve found yourself falling behind due to homework overload, we’ve got you covered. Here are some of the biggest stories to shake the soccer world in the past week.

La Liga looking for shades of green
The grass is getting greener in Spain. In an effort to compete with the worldwide popularity of the Premier League, La Liga clubs have been told by the league that they need to step up their appearances, including making sure the quality of the grass on their pitches hits just the right shade of green.

Professional soccer is a business, and in terms of revenue, the Premier League is winning the global game. La Liga wants a better broadcast deal, so what do they do? Implement an audio-visual rule to amp up the beauty of the beautiful game. Stadiums are getting fresh coats of paint and spectators are being moved into the camera’s line of sight. These mandates aren’t required, but if the clubs comply, they will see a larger cut of the broadcast deal.

Ronaldo’s beef with Zidane
In his seven-year career at Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo has been tactfully subbed off one time. That time came last Saturday against La Palmas, and as you can imagine, the three-time Ballon d’Or winner was not pleased. This incident has only raised suspicion of unpleasant feelings between the player and manager Zinedine Zidane, though Zidane has done his best to disprove of these rumors.

“Everything is normal,” Zidane said in a press conference. “Cristiano wasn’t the only one angry after the game but it’s over now and we are thinking about tomorrow’s game. I understand the level of attention it received but it is what it is. I took the decision in the best (interests) of the player and that’s not going to change anything.”

West Ham faces soft conditions
Manager Slaven Bilic is under extreme scrutiny for “soft conditions” at West Ham United. It’s no secret that West Ham is struggling this season, having only won one match in league play. Concern is increasing now that it is known that players are allowed to bring their children and pets to practices.

West Ham owners David Sullivan and David Gold issued a statement saying they are “doing everything they can” to get themselves out of the relegation zone. In this age of high turnover rates in soccer management, Bilic is looking to be on his way out, especially considering he has not yet entered talks for a new contract.

Chicharito stuns in Germany
Javier Hernandez is taking the Bundesliga by storm. After scoring a hat-trick for Bayer 04 Leverkusen against FSV Mainz 05, he was named the #BLMVP Matchday 5 winner. The Mexican striker’s move from Manchester United to Leverkusen has proven to be the greatest thing he could have done for his career. This was his second hat-trick in Bundesliga play, and he has now scored 21 goals in just 32 appearances. Fellow teammate Kevin Volland spoke of Chicharito’s performance: “I’ve never seen a player who’s as good in front of goal as Chicharito.” With Chicharito on their side, Leverkusen has a good shot at title glory.

Pulisic ‘wunderkind’ update
For the more patriotic of soccer fans, we have a Christian Pulisic update for you.

The 18-year-old has been hyped up past Freddy Adu levels in the United States, but Germany may actually be hyping him more, if that’s even possible. After a stellar week for the American, Deutschland is loving him more than ever.

Pulisic had his first ever UEFA Champions League start with Borussia Dortmund last week and he did not disappoint. Not only did he start, but he also claimed an assist in the 76th minute with a left-footed cross. He also clutched his first league goal of the season against Darmstadt. He finished the game with a goal, two assists, three shots and three chances. That’s incredibly impressive.

Maybe it’s not right to expect Pulisic to become the greatest American soccer player of all time. Talk about intense pressure. But it’s hard to deny the facts. More importantly, Pulisic is getting Americans excited about soccer, and that is what really matters.