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 moreUPDATE: It’s official. _____ English Premiership side Sunderland AFC is considering hiring Paolo Di Canio to be its new manager. Di Canio would replace Martin O’Neill, who was turfed after Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Manchester United. Providing negotiations proceed smoothly, club officials hope to announce his appointment on Monday morning. It remains unclear whether he will be hired on a
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The American soccer sphere has been abuzz these last couple of days thanks to a question that first popped up on Alexi Lalas’s Twitter feed: Last night this was discussed: If you live in the U.S., can you call yourself a “soccer fan” even if you don’t support @MLS? The question gets a thorough working over in an article posted
Read moreRoman Abramovich’s top choice to be the next Chelsea manager, Pep Guardiola, is heading to Munich. Bayern Munich on Wednesday officially announced it had hired Pep Guardiola to coach next season for an undisclosed salary over three years. … Guardiola, who is the first Spanish manager of Bayern Munich since the club’s promotion to the Bundelisga in 1965, had been
Read morePart five in a series. As Americans continue to succeed in the global game, expect fans to jump on the bandwagon. Back to my original thesis, noted in part one: Americans love a winner, and the more success we achieve on the global stage, the more fans here are going to latch on. …soccer might well have a bright future
Read moreSoccer’s American base is young, passionate, and more globally minded than any generation in history. In part one we saw ESPN analyst Rich Luker explaining that in the 12-24 demographic, soccer is already bigger than any sport except American football. And yesterday, in part three, we saw that the bright young entrepreneurs driving MLS are tightly focused on the sport’s
Read morePart three in a series. Thanks to expanding TV deals, smart entrepreneurs in the MLS and a Millennial-fueled supporter culture, soccer is the fastest growing spectator sport in the country. There has been a good bit of talk over what pro soccer in the US will do now that Becks has departed the Galaxy. It is a little hard to fathom
Read morePart two in a series. Yes, the lawyers are coming, and football will be forced to change in ways that undercut its essential appeal. Did someone say “litigation”? From the ESPN story linked above: The concussion issue has become part of the NFL story of late, with more than 3,000 former players suing the league on allegations that officials withheld information
Read morePart one in a series. Several years ago I wrote a piece examining the reasons that soccer wasn’t bigger (as a spectator sport) in the US. In the end, I argued, it all boils down to one thing: Americans like to be the best at whatever we do, and the US is nowhere near the best at “proper football.” I suggested,
Read moreIt’s no secret to Chelsea fans that the sporting press, such as it is, does not love us overmuch. Time and again, whether we’re reading a match report or an editorial “analysis” or listening to in-game commentary, we’re confronted with “journalists” who seem on the verge of bursting into song every time something bad happens to our side. Fine. I
Read moreI wake up, log in, and see this headline in my news ‘gator: Suspect in Yuma County double slaying was aspiring comic, necromancer Then our boy Frank Balsinger turns up with this bit of lunacy: Ku Klux Klan protests Westboro Baptist Church No, seriously. Watch.
Read moreYou couldn’t possibly have seen this one coming. For years, Manchester United and English national team defender Rio Ferdinand has dedicated himself to ridding soccer of its ugly and pervasive racism. Recently, he has seen his brother, Queens Park Rangers defender Anton, embroiled in an ugly did-he-or-didn’t-he case involving Chelsea (and England) star John Terry. Terry was ultimately acquitted of
Read moreThe Dutch team, working out in preparation for its opening match at EURO 2012, was targeted Thursday by racist chanting from the crowd in Krakow. UEFA’s response was…disappointing. UEFA, a day after reportedly denying the chants were racially motivated, acknowledged them Friday. “UEFA has now been made aware that there were some isolated incidents of racist chanting,” UEFA said in
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