Europe

English Premier League

A Sideshow For Chelsea When They Need It Least

Sure, in the lead-up to matches charged with a side-show backdrop, there’s always going to be the reflexive rhetoric about professionalism, such as what Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti recently spilled ahead of his side’s match against Manchester City on Saturday(7:45 a.m. EST).  Perhaps the aftermath of John Terry’s purported shagging […]

Goodbye Plasticity!
Manchester United / Union

Goodbye Plasticity!

The reaction is always the same – “of course you are” or “figures” or “aren’t all Yanks?”. It’s not easy being an American Red Devil. Well, some would argue it’s too easy. Manchester United are arguably the world’s largest soccer team, and, inarguably the de facto European team for American […]

Unirea Urziceni
UEFA Europa League

Unirea Urziceni

Liverpool’s Europa League campaign begins today against Unirea Urziceni. The surprise champions of the Romanian league made a good showing in the Champions League group stage, finishing in third place and only one point behind Stuttgart. Urziceni is located in southeast Romania. It takes almost half the town to fill […]

England / English Premier League

Schoolyard Goalkeeping Sinks Arsenal Again

Anyone wondering to what extent goalkeeping can derail an otherwise very good team need only look at Arsenal. The Gunners’ goalkeeping situation reached farcical proportions today after young Polish ‘keeper Lukasz Fabianksi gifted Porto a 2-1 advantage in the first leg of their Champions League tie. Fabianski was filling in […]

Thierry Henry Non-handball Story!
Barcelona / La Liga / MLS

Thierry Henry Non-handball Story!

On Soccernet.com yesterday, Didac Peyret had an article about the rough year Thierry Henry has endured at Barcelona. The story is speculative, draws specious conclusions, and contradicts itself (paragraph 3 questions Henry’s spirit while paragraph 7 is a quote from the Frenchman in which he asserts his willingness to ride […]

English Premier League / France / La Liga

Woe To Managers Who Forget: Soccer Is A Team Game

Diego Maradona’s famous run against England in 1986 is probably the most famous play in soccer history (closely followed by the Hand of God). It’s a memorable play for many reasons, not the least of which is how it showcases one player’s ability to single-handedly change a game. Maradona’s goal […]

English Premier League

Altidore scores first Premier League goal in upset win

Jozy Altidore scored his first English Premier League goal today to help Hull to a 2-1 upset  win over Manchester City. Altidore won multiple free kicks and looked dangerous throughout the match before pulling up lame with what looked to be a quad injury and leaving for a substitution in […]

Soccer affairs
England / World Cup - International

Soccer affairs

After a week of rampant speculation in the British press, Fabio Capello announced today that John Terry is out as captain of England. It all started over the past weekend when, after a super-injunction brought about by his lawyers was overturned by a  British high Court, the news broke that […]

That was a 4-6-0 formation
English Premier League / Manchester United

That was a 4-6-0 formation

The traditional footy formation is a 4-4-2: Four fullbacks, four midfielders, and two prima donnas strikers (the goalie excluded because, barring schizophrenia, he will always be a 1). The more counterattacking-inclined team may use a 4-3-3 while a possession-based squad often takes the pitch in a 4-5-1. There are endless […]

The old onion bag: Barcelona baby boom
Barcelona / Daily news roundups / La Liga / UEFA Champions League

The old onion bag: Barcelona baby boom

Barcelona fans had much to celebrate the first week of May in 2009. First, on May 2nd, they kicked the bejesus out of Real Madrid 6-2, effectively ending any questions as to who would be La Liga champs. Then, on May 6th, Andres Iniesta scored a screamer of a goal […]