Opinion

Sebastián Córdova’s By Far The Best Player At The Concacaf Olympic Qualifiers

When listening to people discuss the merits of the U.S. U-23 side on a player-by-player basis, it’s interesting to take note of this particular ilk of big-brained soccer ‘splainer as nothing more than a snake oil salesman well-versed in misleading radar plots.

What I can tell you for sure is that they don’t know the strengths and weaknesses of 19-year-old João "Johnny" Lucas de Souza Cardoso, they don’t spend much time watching Internacional in the Brasileiro and their sage words of advice for Jason Kreis are worth even less than their 8K Twitter followers.

Pelé Documentary Kicks Up Questions On Race, Violence And Democracy In Brazil

A recent Netflix documentary about the legendary Brazilian soccer player Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé, tells a compelling story of the athlete’s rise to fame from 1950 to 1974. The 99-minute documentary, which includes interviews with the 80-year-old Pelé, shows Pelé’s spectacular life against the backdrop of Brazil’s politics. But the film fails to address deeper questions of race and class.

Real Madrid’s Biggest Rejects: The Ones Who Got Away

Real Madrid is a team that millions of players around the world want to be on. It's probably the most desired team to play for amongst youngsters. As the club with the most Champions League titles ever, they've always had very good players in the side, but talent isn't always given a long-term opportunity to perform at the Santiago Bernabeu.

El Tata Martino Sugiere A Los Árbitros De La Liga MX No Cortar Tanto Los Partidos

Dos años son los que lleva Gerardo "Tata" Martino al frente de la Selección Mexicana. En ese período, el argentino ha visto más de cerca la Liga MX y si pudiera recomendarle algo al fútbol local sería que los árbitros hicieran los partidos más fluidos, ya que eso ayudaría un poco al espectáculo y al nivel de los jugadores.

Desde que es entrenador del Tri es recurrente ver a Martino en los estadios de la Liga MX y en la experiencia ha notado que los partidos se cortan mucho por el trabajo de los silbantes. Por eso mismo cree que una mayor fluidez sería buena para la liga.

8 Footballers Who Made A Career Out Of Failing Upwards

Sometimes I wish that, through some glaring administrative error, I had been accidentally registered for the Ajax youth academy, even if it was just for one day. Then, in semi-good conscience, I could exploit that fact to have my own Wikipedia page, Transfermarkt profile and agent, allowing me to bounce around the world on one-year contracts — obviously being found out as total trash time after time — living my best life. 

Hell Hath No Fury Like A Footballer Scorned By Their Manager

A couple months before USMNT manager Jurgen Klinsmann announced his final 23-man roster for the 2014 World Cup, I was at a wedding in California, at the bar with a member of the LA Galaxy technical staff. The conversation turned to Landon Donovan, who’d reestablished himself in the national team after being dropped at the start of the Hex.

4 Covid-Enforced Changes We’d Like To Keep After The Pandemic Is Over

The Covid-19 pandemic certainly changed the "normal life" that apparently existed in the world before 2020. It's a virus that affected literally everyone's life, and soccer was no exception: After the Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid match at Anfield in the 2019-20 Champions League, soccer was gradually and then quickly suspended.

What New Netflix Hit ‘Moxie’ Gets Depressingly Accurate About HS Soccer In America

Amy Poehler has a new hit movie streaming on Netflix. “Moxie” was released March 3 and has been a regular in Netflix’s Top 10 since. While not technically a sports movie, the film features a depressingly accurate depiction of high school soccer in America.

Man City’s Dominance Has Only Added To The Mental Fog Of Late-Stage Pandemic

There was a point in Manchester City’s 21-game win streak where we ran out of things to say. To watch them is to immediately understand the profundity of Pep Guardiola’s highly drilled machinations and the osmosis of an obsession with spatial perception (here comes João Cancelo into the midfield); that and the recognition of İlkay Gündoğan as an absolute monster of the No. 8 position. 

Vacant Space: 7 Matches From This Past Year That Covid Prevented From Being Classics

When we look back at football in 2020/21 over the years to come, there will be no classics, no games to remember — because without fans, matches just don't have the same impact.

Of course, these changes were necessary to prevent the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus, and, if current trends hold, it seems that fans will soon be allowed back in stadiums again.

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