World Cup in 2022
“Qatar’s winning bid to hold the 2022 World Cup was marked by a spending spree that included investments in the home countries of several executives who were responsible for choosing the host nation, according to internal documents from the emirate’s bidding committee. The spending sheds light on how FIFA regulations—outlined in the two-page rules of conduct for World Cup host-nation bidding—left the door open for hopefuls to open wallets to exert indirect influence on international soccer’s small circle of decision-makers.” WSJ
Qatar’s World Cup Spending Spree
January 13, 2011
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Meet Portugal’s Boy Genius
November 11, 2010“Some coaches get their shot with a major club at a relatively tender age (in coaching years, anyway). Barcelona’s Pep Guardiola was 37 when he got the gig. And there are those who get a crack at the big time without ever having played beyond amaetur level, like Aston Villa’s Gerard Houllier. There’s another, smaller subset which includes those who advanced to top jobs with little or no head-coaching experience, like Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho when he took over at Benfica.” (WSJ)
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Playing Global Political Football
October 9, 2010“For most of world football’s 208 nations, winning the World Cup is a distant dream: Four countries—Italy, Germany, Brazil and Argentina—have won 14 of the 19 World Cups since the competition began and only eight different teams have ever lifted the trophy. This is the ultimate old boys’ club. Winning the right to host the World Cup isn’t such a grand ambition, but for most of the planet, it remains a more realistic objective. Nine countries are bidding to host the tournament in 2018 or 2022, including four bidders from Europe, four from the Asian confederation, and the U.S., representing Central and North America.” (WSJ)
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Time to End Shooting Party
September 6, 2010
“When the qualification process for the 2012 European Championship gets under way Friday, it’s likely to scotch one of the most enduring clichés in all of sports: Specifically, the old adage that there are no easy games in international football. These days, it’s starting to look like there are almost no hard ones. This week’s slate of international games reads like an endless round of cakewalks and mismatches, in which the only question before kick-off is whether the final score will reach double figures.” (WSJ)
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Man U, Chelsea and a Bunch of Stiffs
August 20, 2010“With just one game played in the new Premier League season, the standings are basically meaningless—we’re the equivalent of 50 yards into a marathon, when the guy in the gorilla costume is still in with a chance of the lead. But there’s no escaping the fact that the opening weekend has left English soccer’s top division with a familiar and somewhat ominous look: Chelsea and Manchester United occupy two of the top three spots and are already two points clear of their biggest title rivals.” (WSJ)
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Who Said Cheating Doesn’t Pay Off?
July 6, 2010“Uruguay is back in the World Cup semifinals. The little country had to cheat big-time to get there, but that’s another matter. In an epic quarterfinal Friday night, Uruguay defeated Ghana on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw to reach the semifinals, improbably returning to the sport’s biggest stage despite being one of its smallest countries.” (WSJ)
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Spain 1-0 Portugal: Villa eventually finds a way through, Portugal fail to respond
June 30, 2010“An intriguing game – Spain were comfortable by full-time, but struggled to find the breakthrough. Substitutions were crucial in the outcome. Vicente del Bosque fielded a side unchanged from the win over Chile – a 4-2-3-1ish shape, with David Villa high on the left, and Andres Iniesta drifting in from the right. Xabi Alonso was fit to start, and Fernando Torres continued upfront.” (Zonal Marking)
World Cup 2010: Spain 1-0 Portugal
“I’m not sure what channel I’m watching but it’s not one of ours. The pundits sound refreshing. There’s a Scotsman who looks a bit like Hansen but uses verbs and sounds interested. In fact, it’s as if it is Hansen but he’s next to proper pundits, so he has to raise his game so as not to sound lazy and under-informed. Alongside him is a nicely understated Dutchman who is always to the point. He admires the Spanish not simply because ‘they’ve got Torres,’ but because ‘there are always two options for the man with the ball… it’s not about the man with the ball if he has no options.’ Simple logic.” (twohundredpercent)
Villa, Vidi, Vici: Spain Moves On
“Is tiki-taka starting to look a bit tired? This phrase, which roughly translates as touch-touch, defines Spain’s technical, ball-playing approach to this sport, a strategy that saw the country crowned European champion in 2008, set a new record for consecutive wins a year later and arrive in South Africa this month as the favorite to win the World Cup. The philosophy is that giving the ball away is inexcusable. It is about perpetual motion, short passing and maintaining possession above all else. And when everything clicks, Spain does it better than anyone.” (WSJ)
Villa scores off own rebound to carry Spain to quarterfinals
“David Villa called it one of his best goals. He was talking about the timing but the effort was pretty nice, too. On a night when Portugal’s defense fought off attack after attack, the Spanish striker finally broke through in the 63rd minute, giving the European champs a 1-0 victory Tuesday and a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals.”>(ESPN)
Spain 1-0 Portugal – Video Highlights, Recap, Match Stats – World Cup – 29 June 2010
“Two European teams who have never won the World Cup met in the round of 16 as Spain faced Portugal. The winner would go on to play Uruguay in the quarterfinals. Spain would be favored in the match as they have improved since their opening loss against Switzerland while Portugal have yet to conceded a goal in the tournament.” (The 90th Minute)
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Brazil 2-1 North Korea: Exactly what we expected
June 16, 2010
“A good game in both tactical and entertainment terms – North Korea defended resolutely and their front two showed their technical quality, but Brazil’s patience was rewarded in the second half. Firstly, it’s never nice when websites blow their own trumpets, but you can be assured that this is actually a vuvuzela ZM is blowing on.” (Zonal Minute)
Why Brazil’s breakthrough was always going to come from Maicon
“It was inevitable that Brazil would eventually score against North Korea, and it was almost as inevitable that they would do so through Maicon, their rampaging right-back. Here’s why. Firstly, the diagram on the left shows general positioning of both teams when Brazil had the ball in midfield. Brazil have four attacking players who play clearly-defined roles, whilst North Korea effectively had eight defensive players – three centre-backs, two wing-backs, and three central midfielders, the central one sitting deeper than his two colleagues.” (Zonal Minute)
One Name Is Better Than Two
“‘It’s madness that Dopey left Duck and Goose off the team,’ Mr. Silva, a shop worker in downtown São Paulo, says in Portuguese. Brazil may take soccer more seriously than any other nation. Some banks will close and even many nursery schools are letting out early in honor of the country’s World Cup debut Tuesday against North Korea.” (WSJ)
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Should This Horn Be Banned?
June 14, 2010“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh! We’re writing this column under proper World Cup conditions—with vuvuzelas blasting in both of our ears. Is everyone already exasperated with the Infamous Plastic Horn of Distraction? WE SAID, IS EVERYONE ALREADY EXASPERATED WITH THE INFAMOUS PLASTIC HORN OF DISTRACTION?” (WSJ)
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A World Cup Drinking Challenge
June 10, 2010
“It all started as an excuse to drink good wine during the 1998 World Cup in France. A few of us had decided to attend the tournament, but before we jumped in the car we had to work out where we were going to watch those matches for which we didn’t have tickets. France doesn’t have many pubs, and for my Anglo-Saxon friends the thought of watching their beloved England team in a Parisian café didn’t appeal. And it was beer they were after, in this wine-drinking country; warm and flat, not the strong, gassy lager served on the Continent.” (WSJ)
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The World Cup For Everyone Else
June 2, 2010“If you’re eager for the latest match analysis from the World Cup, which just got under way Monday in Malta, you’ve come to the right place. Provence kicked off the tournament with a stirring performance against Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Iraqi Kurdistan, which hopes to host the tournament someday, looks like a fairly decent side, while the local Gozo team may have its hands full if it has to tangle with Padania.” (WSJ)
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Not the Germany You Think You Know
May 31, 2010“Despite being a showcase for the supposed ‘world game’—blessed with alleged powers to bring down barriers and make the globe a cozier, happier place—the World Cup actually has a tendency to reinforce some of the most tired of stereotypes. Not so much among hard-core fans, many of whom, in an age of globalization, tend to know better, but among the casual observers, who drop in every four years and need a convenient set of CliffsNotes to better enjoy the spectacle.” (WSJ)
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The Sound of Nations Gasping
May 29, 2010“Compared with the American version of football, soccer doesn’t seem all that rough. There are no helmets, no blind-side hits. Just a bunch of con-artists who howl in fake agony to the referees whenever they go down. Here’s the thing, though: A lot of them aren’t getting up. As the June 11 opening of the World Cup approaches, injuries are clouding the tournament. From England to Germany to Ghana, teams are breathlessly awaiting last-minute word on whether key players can play—or are already resigned to the likelihood that they can’t.” (WSJ)
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Inter 2-0 Bayern: Milito the master of Madrid
May 23, 2010
Jan Massys, Loth et ses filles
“Inter have deservedly won the Champions League – beating this season’s champions of England, Spain and then Germany on the way to collecting the trophy. Jose Mourinho has conquered Europe again, Inter have won the treble for the first time in the history of Italian football, and Italy retains its four Champions League places ahead of Germany.” (Zonal Marking)
How Inter Milan Won its Treble
“Bayern Munich manager Louis Van Gaal is not generally a man prone to hyperbole. On the eve of the Champions League final between his team and Italy’s Inter Milan he was asked whether the two finalists were the best sides in Europe. ‘No,’ he said, pausing a moment for the briefest of frowns. ‘No, these are not the best teams. The three best teams in Europe this season were Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester United.’” (WSJ)
Bayern Munich 0-2 Inter Milan (Internazionale) – Video Highlights and Recap – Champions League – 22 May 2010
“The UEFA Champions League ended the 2009-10 season with the final of Bayern Munich v Inter Milan aka Internazionale. The two sides made improbable runs to the final which included beating FC Barcelona, Chelsea, and Manchester United. The final was play at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu which is the home of Spanish La Liga side Real Madrid.” (The 90th Minute)
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Spanish Teams Eye Breakaway
May 12, 2010“After successfully running away with Spain’s league championship this season, turning the title race into a straight shootout between the country’s top two football teams, now Barcelona and Real Madrid could break away from the league altogether. Spain’s two biggest clubs are among the teams calling for the Primera Division to follow the example of rival European leagues and split from Spain’s second tier Segunda Division in a row over television revenue that threatens to create a schism between the country’s leading contenders.” (WSJ)
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Van Gaal Works Magic at Bayern
May 2, 2010“Bayern Munich capped the perfect week by beating Bochum 3-1 on Saturday, four days after triumphing at Lyon 3-0 to advance to the Champions League final. Coupled with a 2-0 home loss by Schalke—which had gone into the game tied with Bayern at the top of the Bundesliga—it effectively means the Munich club has won the German league for a record 22nd time.” (WSJ)
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Pakistan Defends Its Soccer Industry
April 27, 2010“This is the city the soccer ball built, a global manufacturing hub in a nation starved for foreign capital and mired in terrorist violence. Nike Inc., the official soccer-ball supplier to Britain’s Premier League, gets soccer balls here. So does Denmark’s Select Sport A/S, which sells to the Danish national league and clubs across Europe. The city exports 30 million balls a year, or about 70% of the global output of hand-stitched soccer balls, and an estimated 40% of the total market. This summer’s World Cup is Sialkot’s latest win. Germany’s Adidas Group, licensed by soccer’s governing body to sell the official World Cup ball, has contracted with a company here to produce the entire supply of mass-market hand-stitched replicas of the ‘Jabulani” World Cup ball.” (WSJ)
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Champions at Home Too?
April 18, 2010
“One of the curious aspects of this season’s UEFA Champions League is that three of the four semifinalists—who square off in their first-leg encounters on Tuesday and Wednesday—are all also embroiled in legitimate title races domestically. Inter Milan and Barcelona are neck-and-neck with Roma and Real Madrid in Serie A and La Liga, respectively, while Bayern Munich is nursing a slender two-point lead over Schalke in the German Bundesliga. The same held true for Olympique Lyonnais, the fourth semifinalist, at least on April 7—the day it actually reached European soccer’s final four—when it was two points off the top of the table. (It now sits third, nine points behind league-leading Marseille.)” (WSJ)
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The Case of the Soccer Con Artist
April 13, 2010“Last summer, CSKA Sofia, the winningest soccer club in the history of Bulgaria, invited an intriguing prospect to train with the team. The player, a Frenchman named Greg Akcelrod, had been climbing the ranks of European soccer, signing with a top-flight Paris club and training with a team in Argentina. He had an agent and a Web site that showed him scoring a goal for the English club Swindon Town. He’d even been chosen as an ambassador for Lance Armstrong’s charity.” (WSJ)
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Low-Key Ancelotti Thrives in Tough Spots
April 5, 2010“There’s a widespread belief in soccer, as in most sports, that a successful coach is basically at war 24/7, scoring virtual “public-opinion” points whenever he can. He can take a jibe at the officiating here, make a quick moan about how injuries have affected his team there, and give a recap of his own successes seamlessly dropped into conversation—just as a reminder, of course—over there.” (WSJ)
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Pep Guardiola hails brilliant Barcelona
April 1, 2010
Miracle of the Cross at the Bridge of San Lorenzo, Gentile Bellini
“Pep Guardiola described Barcelona’s supremely dominant first-half performance against Arsenal as “the best 45 minutes” the Catalans have produced during his reign. A thrilling encounter ended 2-2 at Emirates Stadium in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final, but Manuel Almunia had to be at his best in the first half to deny, amongst others, Xavi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic as Barcelona enjoyed 71% possession and produced a succession of excellent chances.” (ESPN)
Arsenal 2-2 Barcelona: Wenger’s side utterly outclassed, but somehow rescue a draw
“A crazy game of football to watch, a difficult one to analyse. Two open, attacking sides produced a wonderful game for the neutral, but one that will probably leave both managers absolutely fuming – Wenger because his side were awful and conceded poor goals, Guardiola because his side threw away a 0-2 lead.” (Zonal Marking)
Theo Walcott’s dazzling introduction gives Arsenal hope to take to Barcelona
“Theo Walcott’s introduction to the fray switched Arsenal’s flow to the dynamic and the direct to give the Gunners hope in the second leg at the Nou Camp. Barely twenty minutes had registered on the clock but those watching the game were in unified agreement that already, they were witnessing something spectacular. Arsenal had just survived the most relentless onslaught you are likely to see in world football this season but yet, somehow, came out of the early exchange with no goals conceded.” (Arsenal Column)
Fantasy Football Comes Alive
“Tonight, the game gets beautiful again. As Arsenal and Barcelona prepare to meet at London’s Emirates Stadium in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, this is fantasy football come to life: a showdown between arguably the two most attractive teams in Europe today. Here are two sides linked by a philosophy of flair, a shared vision that prizes creativity and fast, free-flowing, one-touch football above all else. It’s what the Spanish call tiki-taka, what the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, describes as ‘football that is like art’.” (WSJ)
School’s Out – 8 things I noticed from Arsenal vs Barca
“Before we start, I should probably preface this article by saying I’m going to be writing it in the style of the game itself. Which is to say, it will be overwhelmingly a Barca love in for the first 2/3rds before finally rallying to the Arsenal cause in the final stretch. So any over sensitive Gooners should probably skip to the end. You have been warned.” (FootballFanCast)
Arsenal 2-2 FC Barcelona – Recap and Video Highlights – UEFA Champions League – Wednesday, March 31, 2010
“Arsenal hosted FC Barcelona in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 31, 2010. The two teams are known for playing very attacking and open styles that could provide a very entertaining match. Barcelona remain one of the favorites to win the tournament while Arsenal need a good result with the second leg at the Camp Nou.” (The 90th Minute)
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World’s Focus Is on Old Trafford
April 1, 2010“Hobbled by an ankle injury, Wayne Rooney looks certain to be cast in the role of spectator as Manchester United and Chelsea collide in a potential Premier League title decider on Saturday. He won’t be the only one watching. With a single point separating English football’s top two sides and only six games remaining, the eyes of the world will be on Old Trafford, with an expected global audience of about half a billion people—one in every 12 people on the planet.” (WSJ)
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Benfica Helped by River Plate Reunion
March 29, 2010“SL Benfica centerback Luisão is not who immediately comes to mind when you think of Brazilian soccer. Fittingly, for a man whose name literally means “Big Luís”, his 6-foot-4 frame is long and muscular and, while his main responsibility is taking opposing center-forwards out of the game, he has a knack for popping up with important goals.” (WSJ)
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More Shots the Merrier in Quest for Football Goals
March 24, 2010“Bobby Charlton perfected his shooting technique through hours spent kicking a football against a concrete well. Oliver Bierhoff developed his predatory instinct by practicing with his eyes closed. Brazilian striker Romario even attributed his ability to stick the ball in the net to a penchant for late nights and love making. But what really separates football’s top goal scorers from the rest isn’t ice-cold nerves, a cannon shot or unerring accuracy. It’s being selfish.” (WSJ)
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Keeping Score on the Best Goal Makers in Europe
March 18, 2010“Quick—who’s the best goal scorer in Europe right now? If you answered Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi or Didier Drogba, think again. Those three players top the standings in the race for the European Golden Shoe, given annually to the leading scorer in Europe, but according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal, the continent’s most dangerous finisher is actually plying his trade for an unfashionable Italian team currently fighting relegation from Serie A. Step forward, Udinese striker Antonio Di Natale.” (WSJ)
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France Is Back in Football Hunt
March 17, 2010
“It’s elementary sports psychology: To produce their best in the biggest moments, athletes are advised to recall peak performances from the past. But as Bordeaux prepares to face Olympiakos for a place in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals tonight, Laurent Blanc, coach of the French club that’s been the surprise of this year’s tournament, will focus his team’s attention not on the six European matches it’s won this season, but the only one it didn’t.” (WSJ)
Mid-Week Review Show: EPL Talk Podcast
“Looking back on the mid-week action for Premier League sides in Champions League, Europa, and within the Premiership, analysts Laurence McKenna and Kartik Krishnaiyer join host Richard Farley on this version of the EPL Talk podcast.” (EPL Talk)
Match Of The Midweek: Chelsea 0-1 Internazionale
“How would you feel if you were Roman Abramovich after this evening’s Champions League match between Chelsea and Inter? When he disposed of Jose Mourinho just over three years ago, it was reportedly a show of player power the likes of which the English game had seldom seen before.” (twohundredpercent)
Different Routes Yield Same Result
“One of the joys of sports is that they confound just about any theory that attempts to explain them. When Real Madrid was eliminated from the Champions League last week, and Manchester United produced one of the biggest victories in its history, it was reasonable to conclude that stability counted for something.” (NYT)
Italian press celebrate Inter’s victory over Chelsea
“Having held a grim-faced silenzio stampa (press silence) for the past week, Jose Mourinho’s relationship with the Italian media had reached a new low on the eve of Inter’s Champions League return leg against Chelsea. A touchline ban, a pitiful display against Catania and ongoing grief with Mario Balotelli had formed a simmering backdrop to the game, with the Nerazzurri lumbered with the added burden of being Italy’s sole survivors in the competition.” (WSC)
Chelsea vs. Inter Milan
(footytube)
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Turnbull Produces in Pinch
March 15, 2010“Ross Turnbull enjoyed a mellow afternoon in goal for Chelsea in its 4-1 win over West Ham on Saturday, which briefly took the club back to the top of the Premier League standings. There was nothing he—or anyone—could have done about Scott Parker’s first-half piledriver, which rocketed past him, and his only semitough save, off Carlton Cole in the match’s dying minutes, was competently pulled off.” (WSJ)
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English Football Clubs Face Heavy Debts
February 25, 2010“The full extent of the debts engulfing English football has been laid bare in a report that shows Premier League clubs are carrying more debt than the rest of Europe’s clubs put together. The findings are contained in a study from European football’s governing body into the state of football’s finances and come as the Premier League’s bottom club Portsmouth FC prepares to file for administration—a form of bankruptcy protection—on Friday as a result of debts of roughly £70 million ($105.5 million).” (WSJ)
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A Rising Star Despite the Taunts
February 24, 2010
Mario Balotelli
“Could 19-year-old Mario Balotelli be Italian football’s Jackie Robinson? The latter changed a nation, became a symbol of the fight for equal rights and left a legacy that’s made him a national hero in the U.S. The former may be given the chance to achieve all that for Italy, and maybe more, but so far hasn’t shown he wants the responsibility.” (WSJ)
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Wayne’s World: Rooney Leads the Field
February 23, 2010
The Building Of The Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse Into Troy 1760, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
“This year’s Premier League title race has been notable for its unexpected twists and turns, but one thing seems certain: If Manchester United is to be crowned champion for a record fourth consecutive year, it will be thanks to Wayne Rooney. If it seems like the England striker has single-handedly kept United’s title challenge afloat this season, it’s because that’s pretty much true.” (WSJ)
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Van Nistelrooy Gives Hamburg Spark
February 14, 2010“Twenty minutes into the second half of Hamburg’s match at Stuttgart on Saturday in the German Bundesliga and the score deadlocked at 1-1, visiting coach Bruno Labbadia called in the cavalry. The lanky figure of Ruud Van Nistelrooy trotted on to the pitch for what was only his sixth appearance in the last 15 months. Within twelve minutes, he had turned the game, striking twice from close range, first with a left-footed pounce and then with a cool right-footed diagonal finish. Hamburg went on to win 3-1, rising to fourth in the league standings and keeping its hopes of a Champions’ League spot next season intact.” (WSJ)
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Transfer Rule Snares Footballers
February 9, 2010“Football’s transfer system has always been a murky business. Unlike the National Football League or the National Basketball Association in America, where players enter the professional ranks amid the glitz and razzmatazz of the college draft, the movement of players in football is an altogether more furtive operation. Players are effectively the property of their employers, bought and sold by professional clubs without oversight or regulation from the sport’s authorities. Since every player has a price attached, recruitment is a cloak and dagger process.” (WSJ)
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A Star Abroad Burns Out at Home
February 9, 2010
“Lionel Messi is probably the top sportsman in the world right now: unless you ask fans in Argentina where the soccer star was born and grew up in a town called Rosario, roughly 180 miles (290 kilometers) north-west of Buenos Aires. After helping his club, Spain’s FC Barcelona, win most of the top awards in 2009, Mr. Messi was named World Player of the Year by FIFA, world football’s governing body. He received the 2009 Ballon d’Or, given to Europe’s top player— winning the honor by the widest margin since it was first awarded in 1956. He even won the Latino Athlete of the Year 2009.” (WSJ)
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Last Taboo in English Football: Playing Footsie With Mate’s Mate
February 5, 2010
Winter, Giuseppe Arcimboldo
“Tiger Woods kept his saucy private life under wraps for years, but the flaws of English soccer superstar John Terry, one of the country’s most prominent athletes, have always been on very public display. In 2001, Mr. Terry drunkenly taunted American tourists in a Heathrow Airport hotel in the immediate aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks. A year later, he was caught on camera urinating in a beer glass, which he then dropped on the floor. In 2008, Mr. Terry was fined for parking his Bentley in a spot for the disabled. Last December, he was secretly filmed by undercover reporters giving unauthorized tours of his team’s training ground to journalists posing as businessmen, allegedly in return for £10,000 (or $15,900) cash. Mr. Terry has denied accepting money for the tour.” (WSJ)
Terry Loses England Captaincy
“It would be naïve to say the drama is over, but the John Terry affair has taken a turn toward a conclusion, of sorts. After almost four years as captain of the England team, Terry was stripped of the armband Friday after a meeting with Manager Fabio Capello in London.” (NYT)
Terry stripped of England captaincy
“Terry’s future as skipper of his country has been the subject of intense speculation ever since allegations emerged that he had an affair with England team-mate Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend. The Chelsea defender met with England coach Capello at Wembley on Friday to discuss his future as captain in the wake of the allegations. There had been calls for Terry to lose the captaincy from sections of the media as it has been claimed more revelations are set to be exposed at the weekend.” (World Soccer)
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Big Drop in Transfer Market
February 1, 2010
“If soccer agents had powerful lobbyists working for them in the halls of government, you can be fairly confident they would be asking for a generous stimulus package right around now. Just as fears of an enduring economic slump can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy in the real world, as consumers “feel poor” and hunker down to save, slowing or even negating growth, so too can the perception of imminent doom affect soccer clubs’ spending. And, when teams stop spending, the first to be affected are the agents and middlemen who grease the wheels of the transfer market.”
(WSJ)
Leave a Comment » | AC Milan, Brazil, FC Barcelona, FC Liverpool, Football Manager, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Manchester United, WSJ | Tagged: AC Milan, Brazil, FC Barcelona, FC Liverpool, Football Manager, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Manchester United, WSJ | Permalink
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A Good Defense Isn’t Enough
January 27, 2010“The old adage about defenses winning championships is starting to look outdated. Across Europe’s leading football leagues right now, the major title contenders have ditched the defensive mindset traditionally associated with success in favor of a new adventurous line of attack, in which teams are far more interested in scoring goals than preventing them. The result has been a deluge of goals that has delighted supporters and sent statisticians scurrying to check the record books.” (WSJ)
Leave a Comment » | Arsenal, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, FC Liverpool, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Serie A, WSJ | Tagged: Arsenal, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, FC Liverpool, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Serie A, WSJ | Permalink
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A Chilly Proposal for Russian Football
January 25, 2010“It’s been a rough winter for football fans across Europe. The unusually chilly temperatures in December and January raised havoc with swathes of matches, as ice and snow left fields unplayable and traveling conditions for supporters impossible. In England, only seven out of 41 matches were played on Jan. 9, while down in the country’s fifth division, Wrexham had eight fixtures in a row canceled during the Christmas period, stretching back to mid-December.” (WSJ)
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