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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The thirty referees who will handle South Africa’s World Cup matches were announced over the weekend. And yes, “handle” is being used in a punny sense here as Swedish whistleman Martin Hansson is the most controversial inclusion. Hansson missed Thierry Henry’s clear handball in France’s victory over Ireland that secured […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
I wish I was writing about Egypt’s African Cup title, however it pales in importance to another African Cup story. On January 30, 2010 Togo was suspended by the Confederation of African Football for the 2012 and 2014 African Nations’ Cups. The official explanation cited Article 78 of the Cup […]
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 […]
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