The beauty of soccer lies in the invisible realm of human interaction. Synapses, emotions, understanding, the unseen often dictates human relations more so than the obvious. All too often, the realm of movies with voice-over kills the complexity of a clever screenplay or a dynamic play. If one could pry open Jose’s skull and see [...]
There is a saying – familiarity breeds contempt. However, for the attacking trident of Chelsea, a keen understanding and movement has led to a whopping 12-0 goal differential and two wins. Granted, neither West Brom nor Wigan will be fighting for titles this season, but…but…but…six goals is six goals is six goals.
Let’s play in the world of a constructed binary. The land of television is seduction. Images and sound combine to tempt you, seduce you, and entertain you. Helpless, you sit there, motionless. The flashing light leaves you still, like a deer in front of a semi on a back alley road in the dead of [...]
The end of the World Cup is like quitting smoking cold turkey, only you can’t cheat. No matter how hard you try, no matter how many old recordings you have of classic games, the sensation, the media overload, the frenzied tidal wave of live games cannot be reproduced. As the tournament progresses, the teams get [...]
I’ve tried for four years to explain to new American soccer fans what it means to lose to Germany. All metaphors escape me expect for horror films. On the one hand, the German experience is a profound blow psychologically. Even when the scoreline reads 4-1 or 4-0, the Germans always give the other team enough [...]
So, we’ve had this debate before. Still, the result, Netherlands 2-1 over Brazil, will fuel the fire of the torch wielding “joga bonito acolytes,” screaming about the exclusion of Ronaldinho and Pato and hundreds of other Brazilians that can pull off an elastico with ease. After all, Dunga’s reliance on results and the discourse of [...]
Esteban Cambiasso is your introverted college roommate from sophomore year. Sans car, the semester ending, and the airport on the other side of town, you don’t even sweat about the prospects of transportation. No, the awful bus system that makes on-time-train-providing-communist-revolutions sound appealing is not the magic solution. No, the silver bullet is Cambiasso. Without [...]
Was this a season of disappointment? Of competitive balance? A two horse race with an overpriced and underachieving show pony stealing headlines? Has the European soccer planet shifted gravitational pull towards the Iberian peninsula? The story lines abounded, and a few refreshing moments shall wet your appetite before the MOST IMPORTANT EVENT is explained.
As the blogger for the Ivory Coast, I have seen the pitfalls of the 4-3-3. When the opposition fields a five man midfield or dedicated strikers, the 3 men in the middle seem even fewer. While the wingers patiently wait for the ball, the sideline chalk covering their heels, the engine room breaks down amidst [...]
Oh, hello there. Did you happen to catch the game? Oh, no. You didn’t. After a late Friday night in the United States of America, you couldn’t drag yourself out of bed to catch this match of matches, this game of games, this confusing mass of headlines and sidestories blah blah. By the time your [...]
