Category Archives: soccer

One of the greatest games ever played in any sport?

By Sam Smith | Published: April 27, 2012
Today is one of those days when I feel sorry for those who aren’t soccer fans. Seriously. Because what happened earlier this afternoon in the Champions League semifinal at Camp Nou in Barcelona was one of the most exciting things I have ever witnessed in any sport. And I don’t do hyperbole. I mean this [...]
Posted in soccer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 41 Comments

Panama 2, USA 1: ANALYSIS – is it time for Bradley to go?

By Sam Smith | Published: June 11, 2011
The US soccer team just dropped a 2-1 decision to Panama in the second group stage match of the 2011 Gold Cup. To say the game was frustrating to watch is to understate the case, and with some panache. Despite an appalling first half, the Americans certainly had their chances to draw even and win the [...]
Posted in soccer | 12 Comments

What if we hired a war criminal to “clean up” FIFA? Sepp Blatter has a plan

By Sam Smith | Published: June 3, 2011
Every once in awhile a story comes along where it’s impossible to fathom what the fuck somebody could possibly be thinking. Usually it’s something political, but today it’s sports. In case you haven’t been tracking along, FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, has been swamped with corruption allegations of late. It began with the decision [...]
Posted in soccer | 2 Comments

What are we going to watch if there’s no NFL in 2011-12? A possible Plan B…

By Sam Smith | Published: January 24, 2011
The second-biggest topic of discussion in American pro football circles these days (right after the Super Bowl) is what’s in store for next season. More specifically, will there be a next season? In case you haven’t been paying attention, the owners are set to lock out the players and the two sides don’t seem terribly close [...]
Also posted in football | 41 Comments

Please help: Brazil soccer team threatened by a tragic shortage of cool names

By Sam Smith | Published: December 11, 2010
When it comes to football – some of you may know it by its American name, “soccer” – Brazil is a land of legend. Five World Cups. Two runners-up. Two thirds and a fourth. That’s more championships than any other nation and only Germany has more top four finishes. At the club level, Brazilian players [...]
Posted in soccer | 3 Comments

Lawyers, guns and money and Shari’a Law and air conditioning the desert: how the hell did the US lose World Cup 2022 to Qatar?!

By Sam Smith | Published: December 2, 2010
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the governing body of world soccer, today awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. The move is regarded by most as an upset – the odds-on favorite to land the event was the United States, which hosted the most successful Copa in history in 1994. Also in the running [...]
Also posted in World Cup | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

La Mano del Diablo, The Crossbar of God, The Fallibility of Man

By Raf Noboa y Rivera | Published: July 3, 2010
I’m still struggling with putting this game into words. It wasn’t the greatest game I’ve ever seen, from a technical perspective. There have been prettier goals scored, just in this World Cup alone. People ask me why I love soccer, and I tell them: because it’s the closest any sport gets to reflecting the agony and [...]
Also posted in World Cup | 1 Comment

GHANA 2, U.S. 1: A chance goes begging…

By Raf Noboa y Rivera | Published: June 27, 2010
First off, all praise to Ghana’s Black Stars. Bearing the hopes of an entire continent as the last African side in the World Cup, they showed themselves more than equal to the task. This was a truly well-deserved win by Ghana – they’ve now equaled 1990 Cameroon and 2002 Senegal as the third African team [...]
Also posted in World Cup | 7 Comments

Mama Said Knock You Out: Previewing the World Cup’s Sweet 16

By Raf Noboa y Rivera | Published: June 25, 2010
It all begins again tomorrow, when Uruguay tees off against South Korea to start the knockout round at the World Cup. From here on out, the stakes get higher, of course: win or go home, as the cliche goes. For those of you (paging Rick Reilly) who hate on soccer because of all the damned draws, [...]
Also posted in World Cup | 2 Comments

U.S. vs Algeria: WHO YOU GOT?

By Raf Noboa y Rivera | Published: June 23, 2010
Here’s the USA lineup for today’s match vs Algeria’s Desert Foxes: Howard; Cherundolo, DeMerit, Bocanegra (c), Bornstein; Donovan, Bradley, Edu, Dempsey; Gomez, Altidore And here’s the ALG lineup: Mbolhi; Bougherra, Halliche, Yahia (c); Kadir, Yebda, Lacen, Belhadj; Matmour, Djebbour, Ziani. All in all, an attacking lineup. Missing from it: Oguchi Onyewu, who, frankly, has had a rollercoaster World [...]
Also posted in World Cup | 3 Comments