Why is the Chinese National Soccer Team so Bad?
Image labeled for reuse from Google Search It seems absurd that a country with over a billion people cannot field a team that can qualify more than just once for the World Cup. Yet, with a FIFA ranking...
View ArticleWM 1974: Ost gegen West
Im Jahr 1974 war Westdeutschland das Gastgeberland für die WM. Dieses Jahr war natürlich eine besondere Zeit in Deutsche Geschichte, denn es war zwei Jahren nach dem Münchner Massaker (als eine...
View ArticleA Plea for Patience After the US Soccer Presidential Election
In the aftermath of that dreadful night in Couva, Trinidad, I, like many other US Soccer supporters, felt a wide range of emotions. Anguish and despair, over not being able to see the first true...
View ArticleEst-ce que le foot peut être plus qu’un jeu?
Je croyais que le commentaire de Winner sur le Coupe du Monde en 1974 était très intéressant. Winner décris l’impact de la perte du jeu comme représentant de plus que seulement le jeu. Pour les...
View ArticleWith the USMNT Out of the Running, Find Out Which World Cup Team You Should...
I’m a big fan of Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight.com. For anyone interested in in-depth statistical analysis of sports, politics, economics, and culture presented in engaging and interactive formats, I...
View ArticleFrom Brooklyn to Omaha to Johannesburg: Reflecting on Heartbreak and Missed...
My heart broke in Omaha, Nebraska. I’ve dreamed of going to the Final Four for as long as I can remember. As all kids do, I dreamed of being the star player. I imagined leading my team through the...
View ArticleUnderstanding the Women’s Game – A Journey of Panels
This week I had the pleasure of listening to Gwendolyn Oxenham, author of Under the Lights and In the Dark: Untold Stories of Women’s Soccer, as well as a panel of Women’s Soccer figures: Dan Levy,...
View ArticleThe State of Corruption in FIFA
In the summer of 2015, US authorities indicted 14 powerful constituents associated withe the FIFA governing body, including two FIFA vice presidents and five corporate executives. The indictments were...
View ArticleHublot and the referee board.
Something’s up. So. Every so often in soccer, one of the teams will sub out a player. (It’s a pretty common occurrence, I’m sure you’ve seen it before.) The incoming player and an accompanying referee...
View ArticleSoccer’s Pre-emptive Public Holiday Curse
Soccer can sometimes feel like an alternate reality, an escape. On a hard-earned weekend, a manual laborer and his friends might be able to gather for a couple of hours and kick the ball around....
View ArticleSuomi: aika meidän tullut on. Finland, our time has come.
Rarely does a qualification match against Lichtenstein warrant attention from Finnish football fans, but on November 18th, 2019, Finland had the chance to qualify for its first ever major international...
View ArticleEl coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) y el fútbol
El síndrome respiratorio agudo grave (SARS, por sus siglas en inglés) es una enfermedad respiratoria viral causada por un coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Originalmente, un brote de SARS-CoV-2 surgió en la...
View ArticleSoccertown USA
A new documentary has just been released, and is free to watch on Youtube, about the remarkable story of Kearny, New Jersey and the town’s role in the history of U.S. soccer. One of the makers of the...
View ArticleDoes the USWNT Really Deserve to be Paid More?
Yes… If only this entire debate, which has engulfed the image of the national team in recent years, was that simple. Unfortunately, this motion has received its fair share of backlash and...
View ArticleIconic Goal Celebrations
While some goals are remembered for their technique, others for game they won or trophy they secured, certain goals are remembered for the iconic celebrations that followed. In all leagues and on every...
View Article¿Es justo el Balón de Oro?
Antes de entrar en detalle sobre tema título del artículo, explicaré brevemente qué es el Balón de Oro y cómo surgió, como una pequeña introducción para aquellos fanáticos “light” del futbol o que son...
View ArticleFootball et féminisme : injustice intolérable
Avant ce cours, je n’aurais pas dit avec certitude absolue que je suis féministe. « Féministe », c’est un terme chargé. Par ailleurs, j’étais toujours très consciente du privilège dont je bénéficiais...
View Article“Ramenez la Coupe à La Maison” et la Coupe du Monde en 2018
Après la victoire de l’équipe Français dans la Coupe du Monde en 2018, le monde a regardé une célébration joyeuse : les joueurs français ont dansé autour le stade devant tous les spectateurs du match....
View ArticlePar tête et par cœur : comment Abby Wambach a sauvé équipe nationale féminine...
La domination internationale de l’équipe nationale féminine américaine est tellement complète qu’il semble qu’elle a toujours été : quatre titres de Coupe du monde, quatre médailles d’or olympiques, et...
View ArticleClass Projects on Qatar World Cup from the University of Virginia
I have now moved to the University of Virginia, where I taught Soccer Politics for the first time this Fall. We delighted in the fact that the World Cup actually happened during the class, and have...
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