This weekend was an all you-can-eat buffet of MLS playoffs, World Cup qualifiers, and meaningless friendlies. In the US, scoring goals in regulation has gone the way of the zootsuit. However, in Africa, scoring deep in injury time has experienced a renaissance of mod-style proportions. EPIC proportions. And in Europe, scoring has gone the way [...]
Sometimes, our defects come not from design, but are injuries of our own making. I will not get too harsh on Bradley for not shipping his key players back to Europe immediately post-Honduras-win-qualification, but the US has gaping holes at forward and centerback. After the Brazil win in Argentina, Kaka sipped sangria in Madrid while [...]
And the second half hummed along for all of five minutes before the lights went out. No, not as in a lights out play, but rather, the lights went out. Another power outage, another moment of class for a tense playoff game on ESPN. David Beckham had finally made the playoffs in the US Mickey [...]
The crickets chirped and your eyelids’ weight exponentially increased as your European-based twitter co-conspirators dozed off with dreams of World Cup qualification. The opening five minutes were classic MLS – 40 yard passes to nobody in particular, but rather the result of a neuroses, a fear, a desire to abdicate responsibility rather than risk being [...]
Ireland and France square off in Dublin in the first match of a two leg playoff with World Cup qualification at stake. With so much one the line, nerves will play a role and uncertainty looms. Can Ireland qualify for the World Cup after missing out in 2006? Can the new look France fully mature? [...]
The USMNT has qualified for the World Cup, yet questions remain. Under the reign of Bob Bradley, the US has registered important and impressive away victories in both rounds of qualifying, and also made the finals of three tournaments. But two finalist appearances mask disappointing returns – a 5-0 drubbing on homesoil and a 3 [...]
It’s been awhile since our last link round-up, errr, hold-up. Don’t worry, though. This fresh batch of delicious morsels will make you tap your toes and click your mouse. The theme is football as interpreted by melodious instruments. And…the inevitable implosion of the universe. The first link is football, but American football. The tackling, the [...]
Despite apology after apology, Sir Alex has been punished by the English Football Association for criticizing referee Alan Wily’s fitness after a 2-2 draw with Sunderland. Sir Alex was fined and banned from the touchline for 4 matches, 2 of them suspended. Suspended? Basically, if Sir Alex “misbehaves” at a future date, he can be [...]
If the taste of victory is sweet, then the sabor [taste] of defeat is amargo [bitter]. For this lesson, we will focus on a very sensitive subject – how you feel when your team loses. And no, you are not an eternally cheery optimist. We begin with a close look at exactly how your team [...]
