USMNT manager Bruce Arena has announced his 24-man squad for vital World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and Panama at the end of March. This represented the first opportunity for Arena to include European-based talent, but it’s clear that he’s also given a fair shake to the MLS players that impressed during January camp.
Brazil will travel to Montevideo, Uruguay for a clash between the top two sides in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying without David Luiz, the Chelsea center half and captain of Brazil’s 7-1 capitulation to Germany once again omitted from Tite’s latest squad announcement.
Luiz has been in great form for club this season, helping Chelsea to the top of the Premier League table with a defense that’s allowed only 19 goals in 26 matches. However, Luiz hasn’t appeared for Brazil since last March, and Tite has ignored him since being placed in charge of the Seleção last June.
For those with a preference for attacking football, there was no greater side than the one Brazil assembled for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. The fascinating talents of Zico, Socrates, Eder, Serginho, Falcao and even defender Junior combined to score a staggering 15 goals in five matches.
Remember Ronaldo's really bad haircut at the 2002 World Cup? The one he would have never lived down if Brazil hadn't won the tournament and if he hadn't won the Golden Boot with eight goals? Apparently there was a reason for it.
Here's what Ronaldo told ESPN Brazil:
Zenit Arena, which will be called Saint Petersburg Stadium during the 2017 Confederations Cup and 2018 World Cup, has finally hosted its first event after beginning construction in 2007.
It’s not a glamorous role, but it’s the lifeblood of any club. Soccer's executives and administrators are the unsung heros of the sport at all levels.
At best, admins and execs keep a club running like a well-oiled machine. At worst, they find themselves in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Charged with the oversight of all aspects of the game – from scheduling matches to hiring coaches and balancing the books – administrative life is a juggling act of communication, organization and foresight.
Qatar, the small country on the Arabian Peninsula with a population less than that of Nevada, is spending almost half a billion dollars per week in preparation for the 2022 World Cup according to the country’s finance minister.
As reported by World Soccer’s Jamie Rainbow, this will amount to more than $200 billion by the time the tournament rolls around.
Oguchi Onyewu signed for the Philadelphia Union on Monday, bringing back a smorgasbord of painful nostalgia. I loved Onyewu, he proudly flew the flag for American soccer players abroad for a number of years, but he was also at the center of a couple unpleasant memories during a very formative time in my life.