Marouane Fellaini needs to be dropped. For a player whose job is to link defense and attack, he is one of the most unreliable middlemen in the game. The only consistency you get from the afroed Belgian is a world class chest trap and an imposing-yet-bumbling aerial presence.
Two years ago, the Netherlands were coming off a summer that saw them reach the World Cup semifinals but lose to Argentina in penalty kicks. The main cog in their success was 30-year-old Arjen Robben, who was arguably the player of the tournament — that’s an important admission coming from an Argentine like myself.
Robben was untouchable all tournament with defenders grasping at air as he waltzed by them constantly. He racked up three goals and an assist and nearly got the Dutch to their second straight World Cup final on his back.
Is there a diversity problem in women’s soccer? As other sports have made strides to include players of all ethnicities, most youth, college and professional women’s soccer teams in the USA are still mainly comprised of white players.
This lack of diversity has led organizations to try and overcome the problem, and over the past few years, strides have been made to make the sport more inclusive, but it just doesn’t seem to have come far enough.
Barriers To Diversity
After 34 matches, the MLS Eastern Conference gave us exactly what we expected in some cases and major surprises for other clubs. The 2015 Eastern semi-finalists, the New York Red Bulls (first on 57 points) and the Columbus Crew (36 points and in 9th place), going in wildly different directions.
Jose Mourinho led a rival Premier League team into Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea for the first time on Sunday. Much of the talk over the past week had been about the reception the Special One would, or should, receive when he took the pitch in west London with Manchester United. All things considered, the first moments after Mourinho stepped foot on the pitch were civilized – normal, almost.
It's clear to anyone watching that while still very good, Cristiano Ronaldo is on the physical decline. Questions have arisen surrounding his ability to remain effective while not being the team’s centerpiece. He is still clearly very capable, but his ineffeciency is indicative of a man not quite ready to accept his new role.
What is there to say about the England National Football Team and their governing body that hasn’t already been said? England is, well, a joke. With an underwhelming nil-nil draw marking the start of the Gareth Southgate era, are we simply looking at the next Steve McClaren in charge of the Three Lions?
Bob Bradley was appointed as the new coach for Swansea City on October 3rd, becoming the first American to manage in the Premier League.
Swansea are currently struggling at the bottom of the table with one win, one draw and six losses in their first eight games. They are in 19th position and decided to let Italian manager Francesco Guidolin go after only 25 matches in charge.
M’Baye Niang’s young career has been plagued by controversies and inconsistent play, but his goal on Sunday not only proved his doubters wrong, it also showed a new maturity from the French international. Watch as he celebrates his goal with a memorable gesture to Riccardo Montolivo, Milan’s captain who is out for the season after suffering an ACL injury:
Bob Bradley thinks he’s one of the world’s best managers. So we didn’t expect him to be intimidated by his surroundings when he faced off against Arsène Wenger and Arsenal at the Emirates in his first Premier League match. In the end, Swansea were unlucky not to get a positive result against the Gunners.