Posts under ‘Soccer’

God (Christine Sinclair) scored penalty for Portland in opening game against Kansas –… Continue reading

Alex Morgan – Reuters

Great good luck to the National Women’s Soccer League, underway this weekend. Our icon Christine Sinclair is with The Portland Thorns…… Continue reading

Mario Balotelli played in his side’s 2-2 draw at Fiorentina after having been caught smoking on a train. Photograph: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images

Time passes. Things come and go. But Mario Balotelli stays at mental age of 14 forever…Smoking in the boy’s room, on the train, no less… Continue reading

Abby Wambach is four goals behind Mia Hamm’s international record of 158: Scott Bales/Icon SMI

Oh for feck’s sake – it turns out that the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada will be mostly played on artificial turf. This must be stopped. The annoying Wambach has a point… Continue reading

Paolo Di Canio salutes Lazio fans during a 2005 derby against Roma. The Italian has been asked to clarify his political beliefs by anti-racism groups. Photograph: Vittorio La Verde / Rex Features

If only the appointment of Di Canio as Sunderland manager was an April Fool’s joke…it isn’t. Sunderland, a club that has done so much to help the community is in dangerous waters here… Continue reading

My first thought re new Pope – Is he a Boca Juniors or River Plate man? But reports say he supports San Lorenzo big time… evidence here

The weirdness goes on and on. Good summary here, but one fails to believe the new boss Nelsen grasps the depth of the dire straits… Continue reading

Ryan Nelsen greets the media on his arrival as head coach of Toronto FC. Photograph: Frank Gunn/AP

Well done Sonja Missio on fine analysis of the ongoing Toronto FC mess, done for The Guardian….no less!… Continue reading

Toronto FC’s team captain Torsten Frings prepares to talk with the media during the MLS team’s media open day in Toronto on Tuesday January 22, 2013. (Chris Young/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

First, Budweiser (ick!) is the new official beer, then comes rumour that Torsten Frings is on his way out…(yikes!)… Continue reading

Robbie Rogers, a midfielder for the Columbus Crew from 2007-2011, revealed Friday that he is gay

And another thing – shouldn’t Leeds Utd FC, Stevenage & the U.S. Men’s National team & M.L.S. say loud and clear they embrace Robbie Rogers and he’s welcome to play? MLS Commissioner Don Garber Tweeted support and some individuals, but is that enough?… Continue reading

Monica McDonald and her daughter Tessa, who plays soccer in the summer, are shown in their North Toronto home.

Ontario youth Soccer starts “holistic” approach. No scores kept, no standings. Just the game & skills development.…Will this save or sink soccer here?… Continue reading

And on these cold, grey, snowy days, you see this and you can almost taste it… Continue reading

So many books, so much to choose from, etc. (Hopefully, too, somebody, somewhere, has my book The World is a Ball on a Best Soccer Books list.) Number four.

La Roja: How Soccer Conquered Spain and How Spanish Soccer Conquered the World (Nation Books) by Jimmy Burns.
Jimmy Burns, a man whose family played a role in Spain’s bitter history in the 20th cenutry, is always good on the Spanish game. Here, in a scholarly book that begins with the arrival of football – in the mines of Andalusia, near Seville and hard by the Portuguese border – he traces the often dark ebbs and flows of the game that Spain made its own… Continue reading

This Love Is Not For Cowards: Salvation and Soccer in Ciudad Juárez (Bloomsbury), by Robert Andrew Powell.

I first came across Robert Andrew Powell’s beautiful book through an interview Carol Off did with the author on CBC Radio’s As It Happens. The Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez, just across the border from the U.S. has been brutalized by the drug wars there. Murder after murder, day after day. Powell spent a year there, tracking the ups and downs of the Indios the local soccer team, one that exists with profound meaning in the city’s agony. Wonderfully told, his story has the sort of observation and anecdote that explains so very much… Continue reading

So many books, so much to choose from. Etc.

Finding the Game: Three Years, Twenty-five Countries, and the Search for Pickup Soccer (St. Martin’s Press) by Gwendolyn Oxenham. Much more than a companion to the great documentary Pelada, which Oxenham made with partner Luke Boughen, this account of the journey around the world to play pick-up soccer and make Pelada, is a fabulous read. Hey eye for the telling detail is magnificent and there are scenes in Brazil and in Palestine that are unforgettable. A stand-out too is her description of playing inside a jail in Bolivia. All the detail comes together in what is an exceptional celebration of football’s allure and meaning… Continue reading

So many books, so much to choose from. Didn’t read everything in 2012 and best-of lists are things of wispy substance, but here’s four great soccer books. (Hopefully, too, somebody, somewhere, has my book The World is a Ball on a Best Soccer Books list.)

El Clasico: Barcelona v Real Madrid: Football’s Greatest Rivalry (Bloomsbury) by Richard Fitzpatrick. This is a truly fine, informative, lively and well-written book. Fitzpatrick takes the time to explain the context of the Madrid/Barca rivalry in terms of history and politics but doesn’t merely set down the old stories and convenient mythology. In some instances he demolishes cliche. He’s very good on the financial aspects, especially Barcelona’s wealth, which… Continue reading

“The government appeared to have lost control of Port Said, a major city, after a court sentenced 21 soccer fans to death and their supporters poured into the streets.”

Analysis of the reasons for the deadly soccer riot last year that begat this chaos.

In a way, Egypt is the soccer world in microcosm – place where soccer clubs essentially replaced political parties during years of political repression. The clubs became stand-ins for movements and instruments for expressing beliefs and attitudes… Continue reading

John Terry

“Most of Michael Owen’s goals have come in the past.” – Dan Walker.

Football/Soccer quotes of the year (UK version) Enjoy… Happy Holidays from the author… Continue reading

Alex Ferguson. Photo: PA

Alex Ferguson’s secrets of successful management, at Manchester United. As told to Harvard students. Interesting… he learns from an orchestra’s co-ordination, among other things… Continue reading

Jean Yves Poame trains with the Republic of Ireland under-15 squad prior to its departure to Qatar. Photograph: Cyril Byrne/Irish Times

The Republic of Ireland Under-15s scored a remarkable 3-0 win over Juventus in Qatar yesterday with Zachary Elbouzedi scoring twice and Jean Yves Poame once… Continue reading