“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)

Cape Town
“This is the first part of a group of recommended blogs (in no particular order) that I will be introducing non-regular soccer readers to in the weeks before the World Cup. While long-time blog readers might sort of chuckle at themselves softly in the deep recesses of their suburban basements, old Leeds matches from the early seventies playing on a VHS loop on a lonely TV in the corner, this is really meant for the johnny-come-latelies who might not want all their World Cup info coming from John Molinaro. Or anybody attached to Sports Illustrated with the exception of Grant Wahl.” (A More Splendid Life – Part 1: Futfanatico), (Part 2: Treasons, Strategems & Spoils), (Part 3: The Run of Play)

“World Soccer: You have experienced everything in your career as player and manager but never as coach at a World Cup. How are you approaching that? Fabio Capello: Of course a World Cup itself is not a new experience because I was there as a player. Right now we are preparing everything, studying all the different situations which will arise between here and South Africa including during our training camp in Austria. We are working very hard together – not only the players but also everybody else who has to work for us with the media, with the kit, the travel, the logistics, the accommodation and so do.” (World Soccer)

“44 years of hurt now and it’s made England the laughing stock of world football. Several world-class teams and managers have passed by. But now under Fabio Capello, the ingrained pre-tournament hype has resurfaced again:England will do it this time.” (Six Pointer)

“I am not going to pass any moral judgment on the grubby Melissa Jacobs, who secretly recorded a private conversation with the now ex-FA independent chairman, in order to make him the ex-FA independent chairman. I’m sure she had her reasons – quite possibly tens of thousands of them. Nor am I going to pass any moral judgment on the Mail on Sunday newspaper, which facilitated that recording and published the results. I’m sure there is some philosophical argument that moral judgment cannot be passed on something without morals.” (twohundredpercent)

“The halcyon days of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s were apparently a boom time in England’s glorious history of great goalkeepers. From the benchmark that was the great Gordon Banks and his understudy, Peter Springett, to the rotation of Ray Clemence and Peter Shilton in the 70’s and early 1980’s, England always had a top class goalkeeper.” (EPL Talk)

“Roll up, roll up. It’s the biggest circus in town. This year, without a single ball having been kicked, hasn’t been a terribly successfully one for England so far. On the one hand, there were the varying discretions of members of the England team – John Terry offering his own special brand of comfort to Wayne Bridge’s recently separated former partner and Ashley Cole reportedly sending pictures of “Little Ashley” to some poor girl – which led to national hand-wringing in the press, followed by Ashley fracturing a bone (no, not that one) and Wayne deciding that he couldn’t bear to be in the same England team as John.” (twohundredpercent)