Author Archives: 1960s: Days of Rage

About 1960s: Days of Rage

Bill Davis - 1960s: Days of Rage

How to Find Footballing Beauty in the Age of Stats

“Can you really blame them? Technological advances meant that the most casual hobbyist could put up a blog that looked roughly as reputable as a specialist site and skim information from around the world. Distribution channels — social media, podcasts, and Fan TV-type video — multiplied. It’s a fun hustle for those who can make it work. This development hardly troubled traditional football media, which has always internalized the bare minimum from its challengers whilst fending them off. It did, however, change the language of football fandom. Your average fan now speaks in the sweeping, definitive language of a talking head, interpreting everything — who did what now; who should be signed; who should be fired, because someone should always be fired — through the prism of whether it helps a team. …” StatsBomb

Real Madrid’s Champions League Triumph Defined By Bale’s Heroics, Salah’s Injury

“KIEV, Ukraine – The decisive goal, scored with a Gareth Bale overhead kick moments after he had come off the bench, was brilliant, and the two Loris Karius mistakes that gifted Madrid goals either side of that were ghastly. But there was no doubting what had been the decisive moment as Real Madrid won its third European title in a row and its fourth in five years with a 3-1 triumph over Liverpool. As Keylor Navas went to take a goal kick, Mohamed Salah slowly subsided, sinking with a desperate sadness to the ground. It looked bad, and confirmation soon followed from Liverpool’s medical staff. He had not recovered from an injury suffered a couple of minutes earlier and his final was over after just half an hour. As Salah walked off, his face crumpled in tears, his right arm hanging awkwardly limp, Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos both consoled him, but the truth is his departure had been Ramos’s fault. …” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Nigeria’s Will Troost-Ekong: ‘If there is racism we will make a decision’

“When England face Nigeria on Saturday they will line up against a man with a more quintessentially English upbringing than anyone in a white shirt at Wembley. Will Troost-Ekong was educated at boarding school in Bishop’s Stortford and speaks with the accent his parents intended when they sent him to these shores at the age of 12. Troost-Ekong, the son of a Nigerian father and Dutch mother, received a privileged education at Hockerill college and it also set him on the path to his career, although not one usually associated with a boarding school alumnus. …” Guardian

France’s World Cup Snubbed XI

“France boss Didier Deschamps recently announced his 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, for which he snubbed many household names. Here is a formidable starting line-up made up of Les Bleus players who were left out of the squad. As a player, Deschamps represented France on 104 occasions, and also enjoyed a great club career during which he wore the colours of Nantes, Marseille, Bordeaux, Juventus, Chelsea and Valencia. …” Soccerladuma

World Cup 2018 team previews: what you need to know about all 32 teams (ESPN)

“The 2018 World Cup might be missing some big nations, but that’s what makes this tournament the best in sports. Brazil are looking to bounce back from a travesty in 2014, while Spain, Argentina and France are hoping to dethrone defending champions Germany and their typically deep squad. Can Belgium or Portugal make a splash? Do England have what it takes to challenge too? ESPN FC is previewing every team ahead of the opening game on June 14 in English, Spanish and Portuguese to give a truly global feel to our team profiles. Here’s what you need to know about the 32 teams set to do battle in Russia beginning on June 14. …”
ESPN

2018 FIFA World Cup

“The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be the 21st FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the men’s national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It is scheduled to take place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting rights on 2 December 2010. This will be the first World Cup held in Europe since the 2006 tournament in Germany, and the first ever to be held in Eastern Europe. All of the stadium venues are in European Russia, to keep travel time manageable. The final tournament will involve 32 national teams, which include 31 teams determined through qualifying competitions and the automatically qualified host team. Of the 32 teams, 20 will be making back-to-back appearances following the last tournament in 2014, including defending champions Germany, while Iceland and Panama will both be making their first appearances at a FIFA World Cup. A total of 64 matches will be played in 12 venues located in 11 cities. The final will take place on 15 July at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. …” Wikipedia

World Cup 2018 squad guide: Latest news and updates ahead of Russia (Independent)

“The 2018 World Cup is now only weeks away. The 32 countries have until the May 14 deadline to name their provisional squads for Russia with managers all over the globe currently scratching their heads as they bid to whittle down their long list of possibles and probables in time for the final June 4 cut off, just 10 days before the opener in Moscow. However, many teams – England included, – have already pledged to name their lucky few earlier with Gareth Southgate set to pick his 23 before the final pre-tournament friendlies with Nigeria and Costa Rica. …” Independent (Video)

Paolo Rossi: Redemption and the crushing of the Brazilian dream

“In nature there’s a brutal truth about something beautiful always getting its comeuppance. Whether it’s a doe-eyed mammal striding elegantly across the plain or a beatific panfish darting deep between the oceans, there is always the waiting mechanics of a set of teeth ready to devastate its backbone. Football always comes full circle like that too. The beautiful game can’t defy the laws of the system forever, nor its progression. In a thrilling game in the 1982 World Cup, that philosophy would play out beautifully. …” Football Pink (Video)

Paolo Guerrero’s Fight to Reach World Cup Spurs Protests in Peru

“LIMA, Peru — The thousands of fans arrived at the Estadio Nacional as a sea of red and white. For more than an hour, they had paraded through the avenues of central Lima, dressed in their national team jerseys, blowing their vuvuzelas and pushing their children ahead of them in strollers. Now, after filing inside Peru’s national stadium, they sang Peru’s national anthem, waved Peru’s flag and hoped — against the longest of odds — that their festive display of national camaraderie would not be in vain. For a week, their energies, and much of Peru’s attention, has been focused on the case of Paolo Guerrero, the star striker who helped lead his nation to its first World Cup in 36 years but now seems all but certain to miss the tournament because of a doping ban. …” NY Times

Lessons from Brazil’s 2014 World Cup Disaster

“… The extraordinary story of the next few weeks is essentially one of what happened to this confidence – ebbing away bit by bit until one scarcely believable afternoon in Belo Horizonte brought about a candidate for the most amazing result in World Cup history. Brazil prepared with a routine 4-0 win over Panama, followed by a laboured single goal triumph against Serbia. There was no cause for alarm. This was merely the warm up phase in a competition that usually goes to the side that peaks at the right time. …” World Soccer – Tim Vickery

Russia uncovered: writers on the World Cup host nation

Lokomotiv Moscow fans wave flags during the 2017 Russian Super Cup football match against Spartak Moscow
“With the World Cup kicking off in less than a month and tensions with the west at their worst level in decades, Observer writers and Russia experts go behind the spin to analyse the host nation’s social and political landscape. Part 1. Racism. ‘Young fans see the dominance of far-right chants. Anyone who challenges it faces a threat of violence’. It is the most politically charged World Cup in recent memory: Russia, resurgent under Vladimir Putin, is set to host the 32-team tournament next month amid scandals ranging from sports doping to spy poisonings. Relations between Moscow and London are at their coolest since the cold war and the recent events in Salisbury even led to brief speculation (aided by Boris Johnson) that England could skip the tournament, recalling the Olympics boycotts of the 1980s. …”
Guardian

Dani Alves Injury Opens the Door for Another Right-back

“An injury to one is always a chance for another to make a name for himself. Such is the situation now for Brazil’s right-backs. Russia was to have been the third and final World Cup in the career of Daniel Alves, and the crowning glory of his international career. After featuring in midfield in 2010 and losing his place during the course of the 2014 tournament, finally he would have a chance to shine for his country in a team well set up to use his talents. Fate has decided otherwise, with a knee injury ruling him out. …” World Soccer – Tim Vickery

World Cup 2018: Saudi Arabia to show all 64 matches illegally after banning Qatar channel beIN Sports in diplomatic row

“A diplomatic row means Saudi Arabia will be pirating all 64 matches of the World Cup after banning the sports channel in rival Qatar, which owns the broadcast rights. The extraordinary situation arose following a spat between the two countries last June which led to beIN Sports being caught up in a trade ban between the two countries. As well as the World Cup, the Doha-based channel owns the rights to broadcast the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup final across the Middle East. …” Independent

The World Cup in Russia is an unmissable diplomatic opportunity – for us and them

“One month to go, and the Anglo-Saxons are preparing their football fans for the truly horrible time they are going to have at Russia’s World Cup. Here in the UK, the police have warned England supporters about waving their St George’s flags too enthusiastically on the grounds that it risks coming across as “almost imperialistic”. It could even, said the head of football policing, Mark Roberts, ’cause antagonism’ – as though antagonism was somehow alien to what tournament football, indeed all sport, is fundamentally about. …” Independent

Will Neuer make it to the World Cup?

“Manuel Neuer established himself as the embodiment of the modern goalkeeper at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. While he was by no means the first shot stopper capable of creating something with the ball at his feet and his exceptional skill was already beyond doubt to football fans across Germany, his courageous displays in South America four years ago captivated audiences around the world. He was ultimately rewarded with the World Cup Trophy and the adidas Golden Glove as the tournament’s best goalkeeper. …” FIFA (Video)

World Cup 2018 fixtures: Full schedule, match dates and TV channel information

“The Russia World Cup 2018 fixtures have been announced, meaning it’s time for all of us to start planning a mid-June/July which will include watching a highly indulgent number of football matches. Last December’s draw put England in Group G with Belgium, Tunisia and Panama and all three of the games have been scheduled at times which will please office workers country-wide. The full list of World Cup fixtures is below, with timings, venues and TV channels included. …” Telegraph, Telegraph – World Cup 2018: A stadium guide for this summer’s tournament

Coherent, convincing and modern: Gareth Southgate offers touch of hope

“Know ye by this press conference that we, the FA, consent to the contracting of World Cup squad-ship between our dearly beloved Gareth and his brave 23-man selection. Although obviously not Jack, Joe, Adam or Jonjo who are on this occasion gutted to miss out, but for whom the door is never closed, and all the lads are still very much in the frame going forwards. …” Guardian (Video)

10 Greatest World Cup Matches

The 1966 World Cup Final makes our list of the best matches in World Cup history.
“The World Cup has seen some of the greatest matches ever take place, so bearing that in mind we have put together ten of the best. From amazing goals, to spectacular moments, these matches have helped write World Cup history. …” World Soccer

27 days to go: Record-setting Mighty Magyars

“27 – With their exceptional individual skill and outstanding team play, this generation of Hungarian footballers were unsurprisingly known as the ‘Golden Team’ or the ‘Mighty Magyars’. Most of the side also played their club football for Honved in Budapest, which meant they could string together passes and find each other effortlessly when representing the national team. The legendary names of Sandor Kocsis, Nandor Hidegkuti and, above all, Ferenc Puskas, have been etched permanently in the history books of Hungarian and world football. …” FIFA (Video)

Grubby trade deals with strongmen now shape our foreign policy

“There is usually a protest somewhere near Downing Street, and if I really get into the nitty gritty of reading the banners, I always agree with them. I, too, think that pigs should be treated humanely, vivisection should be banned, territorial disputes should be solved without violence and, in the main, when people are demonstrating about someone in prison, that person probably shouldn’t be in prison. The demo against the visit of President Erdoğan, a man who has oppressed Kurds, imprisoned journalists and sent a creepy Big Brother-style voicemail celebrating himself to the mobile numbers of every Turkish citizen, was no different; except it was different. …” Guardian

Zinedine Zidane Has the Wins at Real Madrid. Where Is the Praise?

“MUNICH — Unlikely as it seems, it may be time to consider the distinct possibility that Zinedine Zidane — winner of the Champions League in each of his first two seasons as a manager, and now on the brink of guiding Real Madrid to the competition’s final for a third year in a row — may be quite a good coach. That his brief managerial career has thus far delivered eight trophies in not quite 30 months should have made that perfectly obvious, of course; by this stage, the fact that he could steer his team to a 2-1 victory at Bayern Munich in the first leg of a Champions League semifinal should barely be worthy of note. Zidane the coach, not unlike Zidane the player, has known nothing but success. …” NY Times

Mohamad Salah Stands Tall, but Liverpool Cracks Door for Roma

“LIVERPOOL, England — Of all the teams Mohamed Salah has claimed as his victims this season, of all the defenses Liverpool’s irrepressible striker has shredded, A.S. Roma had a head start. After all, Salah spent two years in the Italian capital before moving to England. He trained alongside Roma’s defenders every day, played alongside them every week. When they came face to face with Salah in the first leg of a Champions League semifinal at Anfield on Tuesday night, they would know all of his tics and his tells, his flaws and his foibles. …” NY Times

Fast and Furious: The Liverpool Front 3 That’s Reawakened a City’s Passion

“The Twelfth Man is one of half a dozen pubs on the adjoining roads of Walton Breck and Oakfield where Liverpool supporters congregate before and after home matches. It is 9 p.m. April 14, and Bournemouth have just been beaten convincingly, 3-0. Upstairs, as the pint glasses clatter and the beer and conversation flow, the singing starts up again. ‘Mo Salah, Mo Salah, Mo Salah…running down the wing…Salah la la la la la…Egyptian King…’ On and on it goes for a good 10 minutes, the enthusiasm and noise rising with each verse. Night is falling, and the windows are steaming because of the mass of bodies and the bouncing of some weighty supporters. You wonder whether the floors will be able to take it all. …” Bleacher Report

Sunderland’s hall of shame: club’s (mostly bad) signings under Short

“These are all the transfers/seasons that post-date May 2009 when Ellis Short assumed full control of Sunderland. Short did take a controlling interest in the club in September 2008 but we have not included recruitment between then and summer 2009 as, at that time, he delegated transfer business to Niall Quinn and the Drumaville consortium also still had a limited say.” Guardian

Reliving Giants Stadium

“The 1994 World Cup in America was the first for Luke Constable of the brilliantly named RGSOAS (Ruud Gullit Sitting on a Shed). His native England hadn’t qualified but thanks to his Irish grandfather, Luke was rooting for the Republic. Having missed the full game with Italy, the myth around the match had grown. Houghton’s goal and McGrath’s performance became legendary as the years went on. Luke has never seen the game in its entirety…until now. …” Pog Mo Goal

Will Carlo Ancelotti be Italy’s next manager?

“The deadline the FIGC gave for the announcement of the new Italy manager is fast approaching. Billy Costacurta, one of commissioner Roberto Fabbricini’s deputies, promised Giampiero Ventura’s permanent successor would be in place by May 20. His former teammate and manager, Carlo Ancelotti, has always been the frontrunner. The last elected FIGC president, Carlo Tavecchio wanted him in situ immediately after Sweden qualified for this summer’s World Cup at Italy’s expense. …” Investobet

The Players Are Retired. But Try Telling Them the Games Don’t Matter.

“LIVERPOOL, England — As soon as he hit the pass, Xabi Alonso stopped dead in his tracks, and raised his hands to his head in horror. He had picked up possession on the edge of Liverpool’s penalty area, directly in front of the Kop. He was under no pressure. He turned elegantly toward his goal, ready to build yet another attack. He has done it thousands of times over the years, and this time, too, he looked a picture of calm — right up until he played the ball directly into the path of a slightly startled opposition striker. Liverpool, a few minutes before, had been three goals ahead. Now, thanks to Alonso’s momentary mindlessness, it was 4-3 down. …” NY Times

Anticipating Anthem Protests, Spain Braces for ‘Verbal Violence’

“BARCELONA, Spain — A long hail of whistles and jeers from a crowd numbering in the tens of thousands might not be the most articulate way to express a political opinion, Arnau Pans acknowledged with a shrug. But, in his eyes, it can serve a purpose. Pans, 24, is a die-hard fan of the soccer club F.C. Barcelona and, like many such fans, an active supporter of the Catalan independence movement. On Saturday, for the fifth consecutive year, Barcelona — the most high-profile of Catalan institutions — will appear in the final of the Copa del Rey, the oldest soccer tournament in Spain. And for the fifth straight year, that means questions about free expression and the boundaries of political etiquette are being debated as vehemently this week as questions about team tactics and lineups. …” NY Times (Video)

Vulnerable channels and 20 zones: the tactics behind Guardiola’s title win

“Ottmar Hitzfeld, the former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich manager, used to speak of the red zone, a central area of the pitch just outside the penalty box. Control that, he believed, and you controlled the game. If in your half you denied the opposition the ball in that space, they were forced wide and while crosses can be dangerous they are a low percentage route to goal. …” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson (Video)

Serie A title race back on a knife-edge ahead of Napoli at Juventus Sunday

“A bicycle kick is called a rovesciata in Italian. Taken literally it can mean reversed. After all, you’re scoring with your back to goal. But the best way to look at it is upside down. The bicycle kick Simy scored to get relegation battling Crotone a point against Juventus on Wednesday night did exactly that to Serie A. It turned a title race many considered completely over on its head. Juventus started the night six points clear of Napoli. Twice, over the course of a remarkable evening, they found themselves nine points ahead of them. …” ESPN

The best players out of contract: Reina, Robben, Buffon, Can, Ribery, Wilshere

“The football season is coming to a close, which can only mean one thing: agents gearing up for business over the summer. The Premier League transfer window doesn’t officially open until 17 May but there are many out-of-contract players ready to pack their bags. Among them could include Jack Wilshere, who has been offered a new deal at Arsenal, serial Bayern Munich winners Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery and Liverpool midfielder Emre Can. But how much do you know about others who have performed well this season, according to the CIES Football Observatory? The research group has compiled a top-50 list based on six different areas for outfield players, including recovery, distribution, chance creation and shooting. …” BBC

2018 MLS Ambition Rankings: Which Clubs Raise the Bar Highest as the League Grows?

“With each passing season, the potential rises and the boundaries are stretched. We’ve see it recently on the field, where Toronto FC became the first MLS club to eliminate two Mexican foes during a single Concacaf Champions League campaign. And we see it off the field. Look to D.C. United and Los Angeles FC, which are building stadiums in the heart of two of the USA’s biggest markets. Or behold Atlanta United, which broke the domestic transfer record with its $15 million acquisition of an Argentine teenager. The leeway clubs now have to operate within MLS’s limits (even if some are self-imposed) is expanding. …” SI (Video)

Scouting Leon Bailey

“Chances are you’ve heard someone wax lyrical about Leon Bailey this season. The 20-year-old winger’s transfer from Genk to Bayer Leverkusen in January of 2017 wasn’t an attention grabber outside of certain circles but, since then, he has certainly gained many new admirers. Through 25 games Bailey has notched 9 goals and 6 assists in 1841 minutes, with solid expected numbers underlying that. He’s established himself as a mainstay in this resurgent and entertaining Leverkusen team. When everything’s clicking the lad is a thrill to watch, turning defenders inside out and causing widespread panic amongst the opposition. There’s still plenty of time for him to grow too. Whether it be this summer or next there’s no doubt the biggest clubs in Europe will be circling around the BayArena soon enough, large briefcases of cash in hand. So let’s take a look at what they’d be getting, shall we? …” Stats Bomb (Video)

Roma send Barcelona out of Champions League: ‘Debacle’, ‘ridicule’, ‘fall of an empire’

“There is certainly a consensus among the Spanish media: Barcelona got what they deserved in Rome on Tuesday night, suffering elimination from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage for the third consecutive season after an abject performance. Having a 4-1 first-leg lead overturned by a Roma team 21 points off the pace in Serie A was the last thing Barca expected, and it will take a while for reality to sink in as the Catalan giants come to terms with one of the most shocking results in the club’s recent history. …” BBC

Bayern: The Invisible Giants

“Sports Burst knows exactly how it feels to be overlooked, ignored and underappreciated for its greatness. After all, it looks at its readership stats every day. Basically, the column is Bayern Munich this week. While the world was clucking and fretting over the demise of Manchester City, Barcelona and Juventus in the Champions League and oozing over Liverpool and Real Madrid, the Germans did their thang by qualifying for the final four of Europe’s top club competition, without anyone really noticing. …” BeinSports (Video)

The legendary Luis Monti

“Luis Monti was known as ‘Doble Ancho’ (Double Wide) because of his impressive physique. He wasn’t particularly tall, measuring just 1.70m, but he had an imposing presence. He was a tough midfielder, although he always played with a sense of fair play. Monti began his career with Club Huracán, but he soon ended up at San Lorenzo de Almagro, with his brother Enrique. After his arrival in 1922, he soon established himself as a dominant midfielder in the Buenos Aires’ club’s Gasómetro stadium, winning three league titles in 1923, 1924 and 1927. Through his hard work, he was called up to the Argentinian national team in 1924, where he played a crucial role in reaching the Final of the World Cup in Uruguay in 1930. …” FIFA

Juventus’ Near Miracle Against Real Madrid Ends in Controversy

“MADRID — Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus’s veteran goalkeeper, has lived through all the highs and lows of soccer, from winning the World Cup with Italy to getting relegated with his club because of a match-fixing scandal. But even by such standards, his exit from the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night will rank as one the most dramatic events in his career. In the dying moments of the game, Buffon was shown a red card for angrily protesting a penalty that allowed Real Madrid to advance to the semifinals of the competition. …” NY Times

Man United need a big game from Alexis Sanchez vs. Man City

“Alexis Sanchez’s January transfer to Manchester United was, on paper, among the most dramatic moves in Premier League history. There were three major factors to it. The first was the novelty of a genuine, real-life swap deal between Arsenal and United, two of the Premier League’s biggest clubs. It was exciting simply because for all the tabloid rumours, such exchange deals barely ever actually come to fruition. But this time everything went through, and two high-profile footballers suddenly swapped lives. …” ESPN – Michael Cox

How to survive in the Premier League

“‘Don’t come within five feet of me during a match,’ Swansea City’s co-owner Steve Kaplan warns me. ‘And if we lose, which unfortunately has occurred so far this season quite a bit, it ruins my entire weekend. I’m not a pleasant person to be around.’ Long-suffering football fans will relate. But a few years ago, the softly spoken American, 59, barely watched the game, let alone allowed his mood to be dictated by it. …” FT

Cenk Tosun On Eating Scouse, Everton Fans & The Liverpool Derby

“Cenk Tosun left the club he grew up supporting as a kid for Everton in January. Tosun parted ways with Besiktas after winning back to back league titles. The striker helped guide the Black Eagles to finish the Champions League group stage as undefeated leaders but turned down the chance to take on Bayern Munich in the Last 16 for an adventure in Merseyside. …” Turkish Football

Santos-Estudiantes in the Copa Libertadores brings to mind what might’ve been

“Estudiantes of Argentina and Santos of Brazil fought out an entertaining clash on Thursday night in the Copa Libertadores. The Argentines pressed for most of the match, but were caught on the break in the first half and conceded the only goal of the match — a clear case of offside that nonetheless sent the visitors home 1-0 winners. …” ESPN – Tim Vickery

Liverpool’s stunning first-half salvo leaves Manchester City’s hopes on rocks

“For Liverpool it was one of those nights when perhaps they reminded themselves why the banners fluttering on the Kop included one carrying the message ‘European royalty’. All three of their goals were scored at that end. They swept Manchester City away during a first-half blitz and will go into the second leg in such a position of strength it is difficult to see how Pep Guardiola’s side can possibly save themselves. …” Guardian

World Cup 2018 groups: Your complete guide to the teams

“The World Cup draw is done and dusted with England drawn against Belgium, Panama and Tunisia. Here is your guide to the eight groups for the 2018 World Cup…” Telegraph

Are Ticket Prices Ruining The Champions League?

“Football fans are increasingly marginalised by the modern game. Most recently, a spike in ticket prices for European fixtures has made the headlines. We went out to Bayern – Besiktas and Sevilla – Manchester United to see how fans feel ripped off by the prices of Champions League games, and see what they want UEFA to do about it.” YouTube: Are Ticket Prices Ruining The Champions League?

We Went There: 3.Liga Matchday 32 — VfL Osnabrück 1-1 FC Hansa Rostock

“Given the variety of colors (especially in a modern context) that are available for clubs to make their own it is occasionally surprising how limited the color palette is for the majority of football teams around the world. Reds and blues (of various shades), black and whites, and combinations of those seem to form the majority of team colors. Of course many clubs have alternate strips that feature different colors and patterns but when it comes to the first strip that a team is identified by there is very much a sameness evident. In the Bundesliga there is one notable team with yellow and a couple that feature green but there is not a lot of variety outside of those primary (and one secondary) colors. …” Bundesliga Fanatic (Video)

Barcelona’s Piqué and Suárez rub it in after Roma’s own-goal gifts

“Roma scored three at the Camp Nou but their chances of reaching a first Champions League semi-final since 1984 are slim. This time it was not Lionel Messi who scored and while Luis Suárez ended his year-long wait for a Champions League goal, it was two own goals that set Barcelona on course for a first-leg victory. …” Guardian

VfL Bochum – Eintracht Braunschweig review

“Hinterseer’s brace keeps all points in Bochum. Robin Dutt sent his squad on the pitch in the expected 4-2-3-1 system and VfL was the game defining team from the beginning. Braunschweig, on the other side, played in a 4-2-2-2 system, but Torsten Lieberknecht chose a strange solution to replace key striker Nyman. Abdullahi started in the Swede’s position and Reichel on the half left, with Kijewski left back. Basically, Eintracht played with two full backs on the left side, although there was also Zuck available, who would have brought more creativity. …” Bundesliga Fanatic

See Jack Run: 227 Premier League Miles, One Deliberate Step at a Time

“BURNLEY, England — Jack Cork wears his status lightly. The Burnley midfielder has been aware of it since his brother pointed it out a few weeks ago, and he is proud of it, too. He is much too bashful to draw attention to it, though, and much too circumspect to read too much into it. Burnley has played 30 games in the Premier League this season: 2,700 minutes (plus injury time) of soccer in what is marketed as the most intense league in the world. And Cork has been there for every second of it. This status does not make Cork unique. …” NY Times

Mexico World Cup Fixtures, Squad, Group, Guide

“As seems to be the case every four years, Mexico will arrive at the 2018 World Cup with the mission to advance to the quarter-finals while wrapped in doubts and in the middle of a heated public debate about the quality of the team and its coach. However, unlike on most other occasions, this time El Tri topped the CONCACAF qualifying table with ease . Given the quality at their disposal, if the draw is kind to them, this time around the team might just end its streak of six consecutive round-of-16 exits. …” World Soccer

Morocco’s World Cup Bid: New Stadiums and ‘Very Low Gun Circulation’

“Morocco’s official proposal to host the 2026 World Cup highlights the country’s low murder rate and its ‘very low gun circulation’ — a not-too-subtle dig at a rival bid led by the United States, which is campaigning for the tournament amid a roiling national discussion about gun safety. …” NY Times

World Cup stunning moments: The Battle of Santiago

English referee Ken Aston sends off Italian player Mario David, while an injured Chilean player lies on the ground, during the 1962 World Cup meeting.
“It took two days for highlights of the match that was christened, even during the commentary, the Battle of Santiago, to be flown from South America and broadcast in Britain. Two days in which the game became, in its own brutal way, legendary, spoken of in ways which must have sent anyone with a combined interest in football and mild gore into a frenzy of excitement. …” Guardian (Video)

World Cup stunning moments: Cameroon shock Argentina in 1990 World Cup

“Of the great World Cup upsets – the USA’s victory over England in 1950, North Korea’s over Italy in 1966 and Algeria’s over West Germany in 1982 probably push it close – this one stands alone in myth and memory. It was not a perfect match but it was an irresistible narrative, as the World Cup champions, led by the great Diego Maradona, were vanquished by an unheralded team largely assembled of journeymen players from the French lower divisions – though for some of them even that was either an impossible dream or a distant memory. …” Guardian (Video)

#IBWM100 For 2018

“As always, we’ve stuck with the format that served Don Balon so successfully for decades; 100 names and details of where each player is from. We’ll revisit the list next December to assess how 2018 has panned out for each of the players concerned. The process we use for selection remains exactly the same: We identify players born on or after 1/1/1996 and talk to scouts, coaches, players, journalists, fans and bloggers from around the world to get a clear a picture of exactly who we should be watching and why. This information forms our long list. …” In Bed With Maradona

The Men Who Stare At Goals By Alex Stewart

“The opening line of The Men Who Stare At Goal instantly resonates with every single Football Manager fan, lover or former player. Why do we love Football Manager? I, like many I’m sure, have spent countless hours of rage at the simulation game. Why aren’t my tactics working? Why does my star player want to a transfer? Does he not know we’ll build something special here? …” In Bed With Maradona, amazon

Football and conflict: The story of FC Pristina and the Kosovo War

“Kushtrim Munishi takes a sup of beer and rests his broad shoulders against his chair. The clunk of the glass on the table as he replaces it punctuates the momentary quiet between two unmistakably trans-Atlantic pop tunes being pumped into the bar. It’s a place which isn’t deliberately themed, but it’s still been decked out in a typically Western style. In Pristina in 2018, that’s just the way things are done. …” The Set Pieces (Video)

Victory from the Jaws of Triumph: Ireland’s Euro 2012 So Far

“European Championship qualifying group B was a strange one: Ireland beat Armenia who beat Slovakia who beat Russia who beat Ireland (while poor fourth-seeded Macedonia looked on and whimpered). The logical progression would have been for a match to be played out between twenty-two footballs kicking a man around the pitch. That man turned out to be Richard Dunne, and the final score was Russia 0-0 Ireland, a result you could only call miraculous if you consider Dunne to be a gift from heaven. …” Run Of Play (Oct. 2011)

Champions League quarter-finals: tie-by-tie analysis

“We run the rule over the last-eight matches, including the all-Premier League duel between Liverpool and Manchester City, and predict who will triumph …” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Memo to Theresa May: In Premier League, Russian Roots Run Deep

“LONDON — The Russian flag has been there so long now that it hardly attracts any notice, just another familiar piece of background scenery in the global, cosmopolitan Premier League. It hangs from the upper deck of the Matthew Harding Stand at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea Football Club. In its central blue band, spelled out in white block capitals, are the words ‘The Roman Empire.’ …” NY Times

Identifying Ligue 1’s Next Breakout Talent: Tanguy Ndombele

“This feels like an annual thing I do with Lyon, where at least one of these type of posts is dedicated to their young starlets. It’s a credit to them that even though they’re having a mildly turbulent season, you can’t help but be excited at the young talent at their disposal. A lot of that is due to them having one of the best youth academies in European football. When the club was in a dire financial situation earlier this decade, they relied on their kids coming through and some of the academy graduates included Alexandre Lacazette, Nabil Fekir, and Corentin Tolisso. Their academy has been ridiculous for quite some time in churning out elite young talents, and they’ve got even more talent coming up with Willem Guebels and Amine Gouiri. …” Stats Bomb (Video)

The Agony of Being an Arsenal Fan

“I’ve been a follower of Arsenal Football Club since I was ten years old. So often our sporting allegiances are shaped by family tradition, passed down like heirlooms. That is not how I fell in love with Arsenal. My mother often tells the story of how, at the end of a trip to London, she got into a cab on her way to the airport. Wanting to bring home a memento for her eldest son, she asked the driver for the name of London’s soccer team. …” New Yorker