IRS: Youth soccer leagues are big business
The Internal Revenue Service is targeting youth soccer leagues around the country, as they have grown in size, and...
Author: toots
Arena in hot water with the MLS for speaking the truth
Bruce Arena, the coach may deserve all the brickbats that he got following the US debacle. But on this...
Simon Kuper: Don’t you have a life beyond the World Cup?
Simon Kuper in today’s FT, has travelled 18 days and slept on 15 different beds. He is sleep deprived...
The Italian squad: Will victory be too pyrrhic?
Gianluca Pessotto, Juventus official and ex-player The Italian media is full of how Gianluca Pessotto, Juventus manager and a...
The World Cup for the lamest excuse goes to…….
There should be a Cup handed out to the team that come up with the best excuse for their...
Coaches and their national soccer teams: Is there a trend to success?
With the Socceroos bowing out albeit in a unfortunate way, the quarterfinals now has no team that is coached...
Deco will not play against England
Deco Portugal’s midfielder maestro and one of the most impressive players in this World Cup is not playing against...
Fulltime: France 3 Spain 1 (Zizou! Zizou! Zizou!)
The old guard for France came through, Zizou and Viera, Makele and Thuram, and Barthez. Zidane was absolutely on...
Halftime: France 1 Spain 1
Got a game. I thought Les Bleus would get run over and to some extent they did through Torres,...
Group of 16: France vs Spain
France meets Spain, 27 June in Hanover at 9:00 PM German time (3:00 PM EST) A meeting with a...
New soccer lexicon: Have you gone lampard on us?
Have you gone lampard on us? This might be what the Black Stars are asking each other after the...
ESPN’s Dave O’Brien and Marcelo Balboa: The horror continues
Dave O’Brien loves the words “clean sheets’, he repeats it ad nauseum. Marcelo Balboa loves “fresh legs” and repeats...
Fulltime: Brazil 3 Ghana 0
Brazil is playing selfish soccer, not attractive to watch but enough to win. The Black Stars had their chances...
Halftime: Brazil 2 Ghana 0
The score should actually read Brazil 1 Ghana 0. Adriano was clearly offside. The atrocious refeering continues. Ghana is...
Round of 16: Ghana vs Brazil: History in the making?
Ghana meets Brazil, round of 16, June 27th in Dortmund at 5:00 PM German time (11:00 AM EST) Ghana...
Of matters Socceroo, Lucas Neill, and Guus.
Why did Lucas Neill have to do this? The outpouring of support for Lucas Neill has been overwhelming. We...
A bit of Sven leg pulling
The Guardian has been pretty critical of Sven, David Beckham, and the English squad. Maybe deservedly so. But this...
Ghana with the wind: Roberto Carlos meets Sulley Muntari
Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos is almost certain to get a warm welcome when his side meet Ghana in the...
Socceroos: It just wasn’t Kewell today!
Tony Karon writes in his blog that the Kewelless Socceroos blew their chances. One man up and 25 minutes...
Carlos Alberto Parriera: No more beautiful game
Klinsmann’s Germany is playing exhilarating soccer. We usually do not associate the word exhilarating with German soccer. It is...
Video: Lucas Neill foul on Grosso: Italy- Australia
It was a dive. Neill stuck his foot out in a sliding tackle that was timed poorly. I think...
The Swiss-Ukraine match: A perfect example of why the US can’t stomach soccer
120 minutes of dull, listless soccer, with men flopping around like fish and no outcome, and then deciding it...
Totti’s PK: Grosso sells a fake, the referee falls for it
How many bad decisions can FIFA allow?? Ridiculous. You know you are playing the Italians who can act their...
The Socceroos meet the scandal plagued Azzurris
Mark Viduka could be right about Hiddink: “The man’s a genius.” There is talk of bestowing Guus Hiddink with...
Video: Portugal 1 Netherlands 0
Maniche punishes the Dutch again! Beautiful touch by Deco.
Video: England 1 Ecuador 0 (Beckham and Posh)
Beckham’s stupendous free kick. The man disappears for 89 minutes, and just when he is proving his detractors right,...
In which Victoria Beckham finally shows some emotion
Victoria Beckham’s usual visage There wasn’t the most enormous amount of love for Beckham, it had to be said,...
Video: Portugal vs Netherlands: Euro 2004
Brilliant goal by Maniche. Euro 2004’s best goal. He seems to have made a habit of punishing the Dutch.
Dutch coach watch: And then there was just one
Marco Van Basten’s team’s exit is probably the most painful. Most pundits would have predicted the semi-finals for the...
Round of 16, Italy faces its old nemesis: Guus Hiddink
One of the most painful matches in Italian soccer history was when the South Koreans coached by Guus Hiddink...
Video: Funny remake of New Order’s World in Motion
Warning: Bad soccer skills and lip synching! But hilarious. Here is the real one with John Barnes and Glenn...
Hernan Crespo gets the goal: Number 3 is in his bag
FIFA had initially ruled that the equaliser in the Argentina- Mexico game was an own goal by Jared Borgetti....
The Netherlands: The legendary 1974, 1978 squads are a dream
Johny Heitinga, he and the Oranje disgraced themselves today vs Portugal I have always been a fan of Dutch...
The Netherlands vs Portugal match: England is the beneficiary
Some invisible hand must be guiding England. They have managed to get through their matches with some of the...
Who is Valentin Ivanov?
He is the referee who officiated the controversial semi-final match between Arsenal and Villareal in their semif0inal match in...
Netherlands vs Portugal: Is the German police ready?
One of the most unfortunate consequences of this bitter match made worse by a referee who ran amok with...
Fulltime: Portugal 1 Netherlands 0: Where does FIFA get these referees from?
The most bizarre match. I thought nothing could top the Italy-USA match. But Ivanov topped Larrionda. 4 red cards...
Halftime: Portugal 1 Netherlands 0
Very physical game that the referee Ivanov is barely in control of. Robben almost got decapitated in the penalty...
Fulltime:England 1 Ecuador 0
England found a way to win and were helped by the fact that Ecuador went to sleep in the...
Halftime: The Three Kittens 0 Ecuador 0
So bad. If this is what England has come up, with such a lacklustre first half, then one can...
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Is the English League providing the most impact in this World Cup?
The first round of the World Cup is over, 16 countries have made it. But which of the big...
Video: Germany vs Sweden: 2-0
Podolksi again!
Video:Germany vs Sweden: 1-0
Lukas Poldolksi!
Video: France vs Togo: 2-0
Birthday boy Viera provides Thierry Henry with his goal!
Video: France vs Togo: 1- 0
Viera comes alive! Nice pass from Rebeiry.
Final: Argentina 2 Mexico 1 (End of extra time)
Maxi Rodriguez, scored Argentina’s matchwinner Great game and a great goal by Maxi Rodriguez as he chested a pass...
Mexico 1 Argentina 1 (Regulation time): Into extra-time
Lionel Messi should have got that goal. Again a dubious offside call. Osorio saved a sure goal by Tevez....
Halftime: Mexico 1 Argentina 1 (You heard right!)
This could turn out to be one of those classics. Mexico is playing a team possessed, they are giving...
Mexico takes on Argentina: Can they hold them off?
Argentina meets Mexico, round of sixteen, today, June 24 in Leipzig, at 9:00 PM, German time (3:00 PM EST)...
Podolski, Klose see Germany through: Larsson is a goat
Miroslav Klose, Germany’s hero (L) Henrik Larsson, Sweden’s goat (R) Michael Ballack used the Swedish goal as target practice....
Halftime: Germany 2 Sweden 0 (Sweden under siege)
Klose- Podolski- Isaakson. The three most repeated names in the match so far. The most amazing thing is how...
Sweden vs Germany: This might go to a penalty shootout.
Sweden meets Germany, round of 16, today, June 24 in Munich at 5:00 PM German time (11:00 AM EST)...
South Korea leaves the World Cup with yet another controversy
The South Koreans are called the Taeguk Warriors and they play tough and scrappy soccer. You can never count...