The rise of Maggie Thatcher: The decline in England’s football fortunes
The only good thing that came out of the Margaret Thatcher and Ronnie Raygun lovefest in the 1970’s across...
Category: World Cup History
Guus Hiddink’s biggest challenge: Russian indifference
Melancholy is a big part of the Russian nature. It is a theme that runs deep in Russian literature,...
Video: More Aaron Lennon
More reasons why we should not waste anymore time on Beckham. This guy is England’s and Tottenham’s future.
Video: Goodbye, David Beckham! Time to bring Aaron Lennon
Steve McLaren and Terry Venables should be unsentimental: Bring Aaron Lennon in. He deserves a full 90 minutes. Lets...
Video:More Ribery
Ribery feast from his days at OM and Galtasaray! Ljungberg, Henry, Rosicky, Walcott, and now Ribery. Arsenal’s speed kings!
Video: Pele’s nightmare before there were cards
These were the ’70s before there were cards for the sort of stuff you’ll see on this video. The...
Video: The legend that was Garrincha
Jaw dropping stuff! As Eduardo Galeano writes, “There never was a right winger like him. In the ’58 World...
Video: In which Spurs legend Jimmy Greaves becomes a hero
Spurs legend Greavesie gets dribbled on by a dog, an incident that so amuses Garrincha, that he takes it...
Womens World Cup 2007: Testesterone involved
It’s all that testesterone, Brandi! Scientific studies have shown that competitive sports increase testesterone levels in men. This is...
Who wants Franck Ribery?
Franck Ribery is not happy at Olympique Marseille joing a long list of disillusioned players in this very active...
Does country size have anything to do with soccer prowess?
Perusing the list of largest countries in the world, one is struck by the fact that very few of...
Franklin Foer’s analysis: Which form of government is most likely to win the World Cup?
I read Franklin Foer’s afterword in the The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup. In it he discusses...
FIFA’s 17 Commandments for South Africa 2010
SOUTH AFRICA has given world soccer body Fifa 17 guarantees as part of the contract to host the 2010...
Carlos Alberto Parriera: Bfana Bfana’s new coach
Parreira became South African soccer’s 14th coach in that many years since they resumed playing in 1992. He has...
Belgium’s long shadow in international soccer: Bosman and Charleroi
Belgium is hardly considered a powerhouse in world soccer, let alone European soccer. Their cupboard is quite bare of...
ESPN’s Jamie Trecker has officially lost his mind
We have been playing pat-a-cake for a month or so with the possibilities of which coach will utimately coach...
Who are the Bafana Bafana?
The Bafana Bafana are the South African national football team. They played their first match against Australia on 10...
South Africa insists it is on track with the 2010 World Cup
As Germany claims its due pride in hosting a successful World Cup 2006, our memories will fade as our...
Thanks for all those great years, Sol-man!
I am really disappointed with Chiza’s cheap dismissal of Sol Campbell. The man was Mr Defender for Arsenal and...
Kenny Sansom: Arsenal left back and England’s most capped defender
Some of this Curtis Davies transfer talk reminds me of the Kenny Sansom transfer from Crystal Palace to Arsenal...
Juve is really hurting
With all the top flight players leaving Juve for La Liga or other clubs in Serie, it will get...
Alessandro Del Piero: A player of the old school
We saw Dennis Bergkamp retire after 11 years with Arsenal. As remarked before, this is increasingly becoming a rarity...
Video: Bergkamp 2 Argentina 1, 1998 World Cup
Bergkamp goleador. Absurdamente! Listo para llorar.
The Germans: A long time coming for the pride and nationalism
Jurgen Klinsmann led Germany to a third place finish that few would have thought possible before the 2006 World...
Zambrotta, Thuram to Barca
Barcelona have won the race to capture Juventus defenders Lilian Thuram and Gianluca Zambrotta following the Italian club’s relegation...
Zidane and Materazzi: Fines and match bans
Zinedine Zidane has been banned for three games and fined £3,260 for head-butting Italy’s Marco Materazzi during the World...
Buffon deal hots up: Arsenal and Man U frontrunners
Apparently Juventus has been spurned by AC Milan in their quest to get Christian Abbiati plus a hefty sum...
Wayne Rooney: The shy and sensitive type
Wayne Rooney has signed a 5 book autobiography with Harper Collins worth 5 million pounds. It is supposed to...
Parriera resigns: More family time needed
Brazil is looking for a new coach as Carlos Alberto Parreira resigned today. I did not think he was...
The Euro attitude: South Africa not ready to host 2010 World Cup
It had to come sooner than later. The elation that swept through South Africa and the African continent after...
Wake up, FIFA: Rule changes required
Tilam is right about the difficulties that lie ahead when you want change in soccer rules with a bureaucratic...
The economy gets a boost with a World Cup win
The World Cup win for Italy means many things to that country. A morale booster to citizens who are...
Sven and the Three Lions: A one act play
Steve McLaren: Steve Sven Goran Erickson: Sven Steve: Sir, Rooney just stamped on Carvalho’s goolies Sven: With the left...
The beautiful game bypassed these players: Egregious offenders of WC 2006
Arjen “ball hog” Robben; Fabio “diver” Grosso; Frank “miss by a mile” Lampard Cristiano “rooney red card ” Ronaldo;...
Bernard-Henri Lévy: The Zidane Essay
Sometimes even philosophers go nuts when it comes to soccer. Just ask Camus. Here’s the “essay” everyone’s talking about:...
Why Brazil Lost
Alex Bellos writing for the Financial Times tells us: Instead of basing the team around the top players’ strengths,...
Roberto Donadoni: New coach of the Azzurris
Roberto Donadoni- Azzuris new coach With Marcelo Lippi stepping down, the job at the helm has gone to Livorno’s...
Soccerblog to Klinsi: Take the US job
The next generation of soccer players, Team USA Tim Howard (GK) Manchester United Jonathan Spector (D) Charlton Athletic Jay...
What rules must FIFA change to make soccer more attractive?
This World Cup saw goals at a premium (2.3 goals/ match), a record number of yellow and red cards,...
Le Coup de Boule: Zidane to submit statement to FIFA
FIFA has opened its investigation into affaire le coup de boule. Zidane has been asked to submit a written...
Materazzi’s remarks focus on E Jogo Feio
Marco Materazzi is just another player that seems to be determined that the game of soccer should take a...
Video: Zidane’s headbutt proves to be a holiday hit
Le Coup de Boule song – it is really catchy. Zidane’s headbutt is proving to be profitable for a...
Video: Germany 3, Portugal 1
Better late than never. Thanks for the reminder, Gerd!
Marcello Lippi Steps Down
It’s always nice to leave on a high note. Apparently Lippi is tired of hearing his name mentioned in...
Zidane to go on air: What provoked him
Soccerblog readers and fellow fans of the game. We await Zidane’s statement on what happened on the field. Zidane...
The Guardian pundits weigh in on the Three Lions and other stuff
England’s performance in one word Sean Ingle: Dire. Barry Glendenning: Unsurprising. Paul Doyle: Kournikova Scott Murray:Allymcleod. Mike Adamson: Wink...
Video: Zizou’s PK, a chip over Buffon’s shoulder.
This call was bogus. But then again Zizou’s PK was priceless. He had Buffon grovelling.
In Zidane’s defence: He is still the best soccer player of his time
So Zizou bowed out and his epitaph will read, “He was the greatest soccer player of his time except……....
Video: Zidane Head Butt (Extended Version)
Thanks Peter! The question: headbutt or butthead?
Video: Zizou’s Head Butt
This is the signature image of the World Cup. Hat tip to Dimitar Vesselinov for telling us about the...
Who is Franck Ribery?
That little ball of energy bounding around everywhere with the ball stuck to his leg, creating moments of panic...
Rooney’s ref to take charge of the 2006 WC finals
Horacio Elizondo, from Argentina will take over the officiating duties of the World Cup finals between Italy and France....
Bianconeri behind Azzurris 1982 glory: Will they repeat in 2006?
Bianconeri- the Juve block (Buffon, Cannavaro, Del Piero, Zambrotta, Camoranesi, Lippi) The 1982 Enzo Bearzot squad had a core...