“Admit it: You’re fascinated by all the chaos and allegations embroiling FIFA these past few days. So are we. Who knows what to believe, but it’s hard to argue with the theater of it all. At some point, we read a poignant quote from legendary French philosopher writer Albert Camus (right), who before writing The Stranger and other classics was a goalkeeper for the youth team of Racing Universitaire Algerios (RUA).” Kicking & Screening Soccer Film Festival
Five great soccer quotes from a few literary giants
June 10, 2011Ten Bundesliga talents who could be on the move this summer
June 10, 2011“The post-Bosman age of contractual freedom has made it much harder for the smaller European teams to hold onto their best players. In the case of German champions Borussia Dortmund, however, the fact that it succeeded with the youngest ever side now rather than, say, 20, years ago, actually works in its favor. In those days, every half-decent Germany player was snapped up instantly by Serie A clubs and Jürgen Klopp’s side would have been dismantled in the time it takes to drink an espresso. But the Bundesliga’s newfound prosperity has stopped the migration across the Alps in recent years. The crème of young German talent will only move to a handful of European super-clubs now, and for that reason alone it is unlikely that Borussia’s brave young squad will suffer too much hemorrhage.” SI
Liverpool FC Transfers: Centre Back Scouting Stats
June 10, 2011
“Liverpool FC Transfers are the talk of twitter at the moment with the transfer window now in full swing and, shockingly, with Liverpool FC completing its first piece of business of the summer, it promises to be a summer to remember. However a major talking point has been of the pursuit of Blackburn Rovers’ young central defender, Phil Jones. We’ll be looking at Phil Jones’ stats a little later on in this article. First up we’ll be comparing the renowned defenders from the top three and also comparing them to Liverpool’s centre backs, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel. We’ll then look at the central defenders that are more likely to be available for transfer.” Anfield Index
The Wages of Narcissism
June 10, 2011“You’ve got to be someone pretty special to work in the highest echelons of professional football in Europe, a most arrogant and self-aggrandising industry, and still be singled out for narcissism. As any media across Europe, maybe even the world, will attest though, José Mourinho snugly fits that bill.” Run of Play
Ince breaks down barriers
June 10, 2011“Every so often a moment occurs in football that breaks down an existing barrier. In 1993, such a moment occurred when England midfielder Paul Ince became the first black captain of his country on June 9, in a US Cup match against the USA.” ESPN
Nigel’s Webspace – Galleries of English Football Cards 1965/66 – 1979/80
June 10, 2011“BAB has always represented one of the great mysteries of football sticker producers. Now, with the help of a website visitor, Mark, this website is proud to exclusively reveal at least part of the mystery. Bernard Babani began publishing technical books in 1942. In the late 1950s and early 1960s Clive Sinclair was an employee, and the author of some of their books on transistors.” Nigel’s Webspace
I’m In Love But I’m Lazy
June 10, 2011“The US national team is part of that élite group referred to in England by their demonym rather than by the name of the country. At the last World Cup, for instance, England were shut out by Algeria after drawing against the Americans. They beat Slovenia but they lost to the Germans. It could be regarded as something of a badge of honour, like being criticised by the TaxPayers’ Alliance. Last summer, an English football website published a link to footage of American fans celebrating Landon Donovan’s goal against Algeria. Readers were advised to ignore the ‘obnoxious’ chanting of ‘USA! USA! USA!’” The Carvalho Peninsula