Pixabay – CC0 Licence There is something inherently satisfying to watching a great player in a sport performing at their optimum level. For the armchair fan, it’s thrilling to see someone hit the heights that can be reached by few others, and for a keen amateur sports player, it’s interesting to watch how the best …
But it bucked trend toward conservative soccer strategy By Claude Iosso It was the World Cup final many of us wanted, and yet the experts feared it might be a cagey, even dull affair based on the trends. Instead, Argentina’s victory over France was so exciting, it’s been immediately recognized as the best final ever, …
On May 29, mighty Manchester City will take on fellow heavyweight Chelsea in the final of the European Champions League, but the soccer match could have featured scintillating Ajax battling Leipzig. It is the glory of the Champions League and Europe’s domestic leagues that the minnows can swim with the tunas. Give a hearty cheer …
Brian Schmetzer can be so unassuming and professorial at times, it seems hard to believe he is head coach of a professional soccer team. Pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, he tosses respectful bouquets at opposing coaches and players before and after games. Could this really be the shepherd of a …
Like the entire tournament it culminated, the World Cup final Sunday was a wild one, featuring an own goal, controversial use of video review and lots of scoring, with France defeating feisty Croatia, 4-2. What we may remember best though about this World Cup in the years to come is the emergence of French phenom …
That is the question. These guys can rattle on with the erudition of a college professor about a long reliever for the local baseball team or a minute change in the football’s catch rule, but dare talk about the real futbol, and sports radio guys will ruthlessly mock you. Should they be foolhardy enough to …
My niece and I recently attended the double header soccer game of the national women’s teams, Japan vs Brazil then US vs Australia. It was interesting to watch the game between Avani, my nine-year-old niece who, like many in the stadium, is a big Alex Morgan fan, and a pair of serious women soccer fans, …
After the United States’ 2-1 Copa America quarterfinal victory over Ecuador Thursday night, the team jogged and sprinted by turns around the pitch. It may have been helpful conditioning, but they looked like they were running for sheer joy, reveling in the cheers from the fans still filling half of CenturyLink Field here in soccer-mad …
Has the news of the greatest underdog story in all sports reached you? Leicester City have been perennial doormats in the English Premier League, when they haven’t been relegated to the second or even third tiers. This season most predicted them to finish near last and be relegated again. They were 5,000-to-1 odds to win …
How did Seattle Sounders FC lose their mojo the season they looked poised to finally seize the MLS Cup? Forget the injuries and attrition from national team callups. With an appalling 3-0 loss at home Saturday to the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Sounders looked as clueless and toothless as they’ve ever looked. Clint Dempsey was back, …
I’ve referenced articles from Charles Pierce before. This one, with the quote below, is another reason to admire him as perhaps the most insightful and entertaining writer on sports today: And what we also have learned is that FIFA’s corruption wasn’t in the least covert. It was lying out there, like a mackerel in the …
SEATTLE – Obafemi Martins may not wear a cape, but he is most certainly a superhero for the Seattle Sounders FC. The Nigerian striker can snare long passes on his feet and juke defenders into submission. Bringing peace to his troubled homeland might be a stretch, but Oba racks up goals and assists that astound. …
The World Cup final between Germany and Argentina delivered much. The world’s best player on the biggest stage. A fearsome German side in a battle against an Argentine 11 who would not be intimidated. And a sublime goal by midfield wunderkind Mario Goetze to decide things. I watched with rapt attention and consternation, much as …
Pity Brazil, for the historic pasting by Germany and for the weight that was slowly crushing them throughout the tournament. They were a middling bunch asked by a desperate nation to sprint past cheetahs. According to the brackets I’ve collected, most people figured Germany could take Brazil even when Brazil was at full strength. While …
Yes, the Group of 16 games were all stemwinders, packed with drama to the end as scrappy underdogs repulsed the big boys time and again. The U.S. got the script too, pushing Belgium to extra time with a Herculean effort by goalkeeper Tim Howard. But I’m not satisfied. I expect the most skilled soccer teams …
Let me introduce you to my favorite hero of the World Cup so far — Bryan Ruiz, the cheerful captain of Costa Rica — who seems bent on proving nice guys can finish first. I had never heard of the sprightly midfielder before June. Fulham has been loaning him to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven most …
So I had Chile beating Brazil. It didn’t happen. The weight of 75 years of history and a poor nation’s passion for futbol finally crushed the lusty lads in red. Still, my skepticism about Brazil was confirmed. Neymar is awfully good, maybe even great, but his teammates are just good. Many start for top European …
Sure, it’s too bad the U.S. soccer team gave up a last-second goal to drop into a 2-2 tie with Portugal, but it’s not a major disaster. The Yanks’ chances of advancing to the knockout rounds of the World Cup are still pretty good, and they’ve played well enough so far to earn advancement. There’s …
If it seems like Hope Solo’s from another planet, it’s because she is. People shake their heads at the nutty antics of the United States and Seattle Reign goalkeeper, but it’s not easy being the daughter of Han Solo and Princess Leia. It’s boundary issues really. If you were told to go to bed by …
Midway through the group stage of the World Cup in Brazil, the genuine contenders — and the hapless pretenders — are already emerging. Germany, Holland and France have all looked fearsome in the early going while Spain is suddenly yesterday’s news and England is doomed by a leaky defense. Argentina and Brazil, the front-runners from …
“How did you go bankrupt?” “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.” I think this quote from Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises” summarizes Spain’s swift demise in the World Cup. They were flattened by the Netherlands and Chile, unable to hoard the ball with their trademark stylish passing and too old and slow to keep up with …
With absurd ease, Andres Iniesta steals the ball in A.C. Milan’s half of the field and sends a pass forward to Xavi, who slides a deft ball past a sliding defender to striker David Villa. In the box, at an angle, the Spaniard stops the ball, then drives it with his left foot into the …
With Richard Swarbrick’s previous effort: .
Here are some Swedish soccer fans getting very excited/sentimental about the start of soccer season:
As the Youtube description says, “While on the beach in California shooting a commercial for Diet Pepsi, David Beckham shows why he’s the world’s most famous soccer player.”