Today’s arrests are just the beginning. Is it the end of FIFA as we know it? I read the news today. Oh boy. FIFA officials arrested, face U.S. extradition Criminal case opened on World Cup bids It’s early and I’m still processing the stories, trying to a) understand the scope of the actions against the congenitally corrupt leadership of football’s
Read moreIt wasn’t pretty, but the Yanks advance. What next? Also, the ghost of Landon Donovan. The US Men’s team lost to Germany today, but thanks to Portugal’s win over Ghana the Americans advance anyway. 10 stray thoughts, in no particular order. 1: The pervasive emotion is relief, not elation. Thanks to its last-minute collapse against the Portuguese this was tense until the final whistle for
Read moreEdin Dzeko’s disallowed goal was clearly onsides, but a close review of the replay suggests that it was a simple missed call. Yesterday’s pivotal Nigeria/Bosnia-Herzegovina match featured a blown offsides call that deprived BIH of the only goal it scored. Moments later Nigeria scored courtesy of a controversial no-call on the play that produced the goal by (of all people) Peter Odemwingie. The
Read moreIt’s Hold Your Breath Season. At least three World Cup dreams ended today and the USMNT plays tomorrow. For the 32 national football sides heading to Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, pre-tournament friendlies are a necessary evil. Necessary because competitive tune-ups are essential if they hope to be in top form for their opening matches. Evil because players
Read moreBlack Stars vs. Die Mannschaft was my prediction for Brazil after Copa 2010 in South Africa, but a lot has changed. Four years ago, in the aftermath of Spain’s World Cup win, I ventured a bold prediction for the 2014 Copa final: Germany vs. Ghana. Making these kinds of picks that far out is always a shot in the dark –
Read moreLandon Donovan was left off the World Cup team and American soccer fans are up in arms. Everyone needs to calm the heck down and think about the big picture for a minute. Yesterday US Men’s National Team manager Jurgen Klinsmann announced the 23-man roster that will represent America in this summer’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil. That roster didn’t include
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UEFA (the governing body of European football) has given its tentative approval to moving the 2022 World Cup to the winter. The prospect of a winter World Cup in 2022 took a step forward after European football chiefs agreed a summer event could not be played in Qatar. Summer temperatures in the Gulf state can reach 50C, sparking health fears
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A couple of weeks ago I went off on FIFA and its president, Sepp Blatter, over the issue of racism in world football. The impetus for that post was the racist abuse of AC Milan’s Mario Balotelli by AS Roma fans in a Serie A match. If you recall, Blatter was appalled! I noted that racism in European football was certainly
Read moreRacist abuse of AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli by AS Roma fans in yesterday’s Serie A match caused the official to briefly suspend play. After an PA announcement warning the offending supporters to cease and desist, the game was resumed. While these things are hardly uncommon in Italian football (or throughout the rest of Europe, for that matter), FIFA dictator-for-life
Read moreFédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the governing body of world soccer, today awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. The move is regarded by most as an upset – the odds-on favorite to land the event was the United States, which hosted the most successful Copa in history in 1994. Also in the running were Australia and a combined
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lullaby pit 