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Joshua Wells graces TSG again.

Following the USA vs. Brazil 4-1 drubbing in Landover, Maryland, Jurgen Klinsmann vented his spleen. He was forthright, honest about his feelings, and blunt about his disappointment.

As you watched the press conference, you knew that you were getting exactly what was inside of Jurgen's head.

Anti-semitism. White Power. Targeting black players. This is the ugly side of the beautiful game. Sol Campbell is right to be disturbed about it and caution fans who are non-white planning to go to Ukraine and Poland for Euro 2012 to stay home. The families of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain are not going.

Just. Simply. Shocking. This is just so much hate and racism. And for what? And we call it the beautiful game.

The United States National Team squared off against Brazil on Wednesday night and the match was televised on ESPN2. The game broadcast featured Ian Darke and Taylor Twellman, ESPN's primary international team. The pairing of Darke and Twellman makes for an interesting contrast with NBC's primary broadcast team of Arlo White and Kyle Martino.

TweetIn The Stands' new weekly feature Never Forget delves into the archives to pay homage to the stars who have transcended the 'beautiful game' over the past 15 years. In our first installment we look at the legendary Zinedine Zidane. Zinedine Yazid Zidane, otherwise known as ‘Zizou', is a footballer no football fan [.

TweetIn The Stands' new weekly feature Blast from the Past delves into the archives to pay homage to the stars who have transcended the 'beautiful game' over the past 15 years. In our first installment we look at the legendary Zinedine Zidane. Zinedine Yazid Zidane, otherwise known as ‘Zizou', is a footballer no [.

I put this blog on hiatus shortly before Christmas last year with the promise of being back in the new year with a clearer idea for the future. This might not be what anyone thinks of as "the new year", but here I am and it's not last year.

I've written and re-written this post countless times, but it always degenerates into a verbose, self-indulgent trip down memory lane.

Wow. Times does fly. It was just before the start of Euro 2008 that I started Il Mondo di Calcio, as a way to get in touch with other soccer fans around the world, and talk about the beautiful game... Now 4 years later I feel obligated to once again give you a preview of what is to come this summer in international football.

King Rémi is back!

Miss him? Rémi GAILLARD is the unforgettable YouTube legend and football freestyle wizard; world renowned for his ‘Mario Kart' and ‘Rocky' sketches, alongside disguising himself as player when Lorient won the 2002 Coupe de France. Despite being a humourous prankster, Rémi also frequently displays crazy football skills in yellow shoes which have become a trademark.

TweetCameroon goalkeeper Alan Tshoumi Tiko raised many eyebrows with his very bizarre means of releasing the ball upfield. Blink and you will miss it! Don't really know what to make of it all. I suppose Tiko likes to ensure that entertainment remains central to the beautiful game; but really though..

Ducky's Note: A guest post on George Best's birthday from our reader Vignesh Murali. As they said, Maradona Good, Pele Better, George Best.

Almost 7 years have passed after the demise of George Best and Manchester United are still appertained to the mercurial Irishman who changed the face of the club and the English game forever.

Ducky's Note: A guest post on George Best's birthday from our reader Vignesh Murali. As they said, Mardona Good, Pele Better, George Best.

Almost 7 years have passed after the demise of George Best and Manchester United are still appertained to the mercurial Irishman who changed the face of the club and the English game forever.

SerieAWeekly and LevelUp bring you more training videos starting with this next trick, 'The Proposal'. Enjoy and work hard at perfecting it! The Proposal A gentleman gets down on one knee when he is in love. And best footballers are gentlemen in love with the beautiful game. You don't propose often but when you do, you need it to be perfect.

SerieAWeekly and LevelUp bring you more training videos starting with this next trick, 'The Proposal'. Enjoy and work hard at perfecting it! The Proposal A gentleman gets down on one knee when he is in love. And best footballers are gentlemen in love with the beautiful game. You don't propose often but when you do, you need it to be perfect.

Having just watched the engrossing documentary, "Marley", it is worth remembering how much the beautiful game meant to the legendary reggae singer and cultural figure.
Despite hailing from the cricket-loving Jamaica, Bob Marley played football almost as much as he played music and was never far from a ball and a kickabout with his friends.

STARTERS
I had the pleasure to be on Twin Cities radio today and talk MLS in Minneapolis with my old pals Patrick Reusse and Phil Mackey at ESPN 1500.
-Listen to the interview here on their website at Reusse & Mackey Thu May 10, hour 2 (hear me starting at 16:38)
dN
L.

He certainly won't be at Euro 2012, and no he doesn't play in the Premier League, but former Lyon star Fred scored this nice overhead kick for Fluminese over the weekend that we just couldn't ignore. The beautiful game. ... Continue reading →

Constructing the Perfect Football - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

It goes without saying, but the footballs of today are miles more advanced than those that were used in the early days of the beautiful game. But as advanced as they are, there are still some kinks with even the best and most advanced soccer balls out there.

Footballers and the continued connection to horse racing - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Ownership of a horse is a sign of wealth and affluence, with modern day footballers some of the richest people in sporting circles both in the United Kingdom and further afield.

With the money attached to horse racing and betting, leading figures in football stand to make more money than their already inflated wages.

Ten Reasons why Football is better than Horse Racing - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Despite the allure of horse racing amongst spectators, punters and race-goers alike, nothing beats a Saturday afternoon and a game of football. Horse racing is building in popularity and, especially with the betting on bigger races, is becoming a main sport in British society.

When Luis Suarez was accused of racially abusing Patrice Evra, he retorted with the quote,

"I go to the field with the maximum illusion of a little child who enjoys what he does."

I finally understood what he meant by that last Saturday against Norwich.

União de Leiria, the first club to play a 4-3-0

Unbelievable - Leiria is the first club in the Portuguese first division and probably in professional football to start a match with 8 players. It's been an endless turbulent season for the club, who were evicted from their home stadium and are on the verge of relegation.

Footballers that have had cosmetic surgeries - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Fame, wealth, respect and status the modern day footballer has it all. However some things are pre-set, like a person's appearance. Liposuction, plastic surgery and beauty enhancing treatments are all the rage in Hollywood, and it appears that the footballing world is following suit, with a number of players spending their mega-wages on making themselves more attractive.

Footballers that have had cosmetic surgeries - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Fame, wealth, respect and status the modern day footballer has it all. However some things are pre-set, like a person's appearance. Liposuction, plastic surgery and beauty enhancing treatments are all the rage in Hollywood, and it appears that the footballing world is following suit, with a number of players spending their mega-wages on making themselves more attractive.

Some times the beautiful game is, well, quite ugly - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Footballers have it all fame, fortune and the chance to play the game that they, and we, love. Many prospective talents never make the grade, and the chosen few who play in the Premier League must be regarded as some of the luckiest people on the planet.

The beautiful game happens in India....

Chandrima

Chandrima Chatterjee is the program director for Street Soccer USA a non-profit that seeks to improve the spirits and lives of the homeless through soccer in Philadelphia, but most recently here charitable work as an ambassador for Yuwa took her to Jharkland, India where she witness how the beautiful game was impacting the lives of young women in a notoriously difficult part of the world to grow up and even exist in.

For the longest time, they labelled Fernando the £50 million flop. "Give him a ball, they said, "and he'll show you his mop!" But over the weeks, old Torres remained the same Till yesterday, when football returned to the Beautiful Game Pique, Messi, Alexis and Iniesta, they all tried None could break through when Ramires took flight And in the 81st minute, when Torres came on, Chelsea began to hum a strange song An hour of combing his blonde mane Had left the poor Spaniard quite insane, But who's to say what money can buy?

The complete Euro 2012 TV guide for UK and US viewers - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

There is nothing quite like an international football tournament: the best players, teams and games packed into a three-week beautiful game marathon.

For most of us, the not-so-exotic climes of Ukraine and Poland will be avoided but the Euro 2012 extravaganza can be monitored closely from the safe haven of our living rooms.

Posted by Eric Beard

Billions of dollars surround the beautiful game and, like in any business, clubs strive to gain an advantage over their competitors. Some gain advantages through hard work and creativity. Others do so through unethical and even inhumane practices.

It's a sad day, as one of the original 4 MLS Timbers, Eddie Johnson, has announced his retirement from the beautiful game. While it's certainly hard for us to know what he's going through, we should all be happy that he is going to not have further complications from his multiple concussions.

Eddie's time with PTFC was short, but effective.

The MLS has another chance to show its pedigree and monitor its progress when the division's best take on English Premier League powerhouses Chelsea in the All-Star game on July 25.
This free bet site backs the west London outfit as favourites to show their class and win the fixture at PPL Park, however the hosts will look to take inspiration from their 1-0 victory over the Stamford Bridge club six years ago, and win oncemore.

From solo sensations to incredible team efforts, delicate chips to 40-yard screamers, The 500 Great Goals Collection serves up a feast of the finest strikes in football history. Each volume of this must-have collection features 100 memorable strikes from international greats such as Pelé, Cruyff and Zidane as well as homegrown heroes like Rooney, Beckham and Gazza.

Soccer has never been a clean game and never will be. It's original form allowed hacking. Long before the soccer craft was engineered for style and class, hunks of meat took chops at each other. Reputations were built around violence and threats. Men whose shadow was aggression found the soccer field inviting, a safe place to kick the living daylights out of a fellow mortal.

Real Unhate, by Eduardo Salles.

Rivals, unite: Real Madrid x Barcelona. Manchester United x Liverpool. Boca Juniors x River Plate. América x Chivas. Inter x Milan. That's the message.

Some will see these 5 hybrids of club crests as borderline blasphemy.

One of the core problems with inbred structures is that new thought takes longer to evolve.
So it is with applying science to football.
In recent years, the pseudo-science of sabermetrics has been introduced into football - a sport for which it is patently not suitable. At best, sabermetric inputs are peripheral to any player evaluation, at worst they are useless.

‘La Mano de Dios' by 3NIL.

22 June 1986 was a day that will forever be remembered by the football world.

It was the day Diego Armando Maradona broke English hearts at the World Cup in two incredible moments.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has urged The Football Association to introduce the video replay technology in the Barclays Premier League so that the accuracy of referees' decisions could be improved.

Last weekend, Chelsea's two offside goals were wrongfully allowed to stand and then Manchester United were denied a clear penalty kick in their midweek loss to Wigan Athletic.

Ted and Chris are back for another condensed episode with 2 of the ladies behind Women's United, a new website conceived by and for female fans of the game. Founders Kristi Colvin and Kayla Knapp give us the history and the reasons behind the new venture, and speak to us about some exciting events being planned to make more ladies fans of the beautiful game.

In this sporting world filled with overbearing statistics, fantasy sports and the dawn of "SabreMetrics" brought to light by the hit movie "Moneyball", the attention to the numbers in sports has never been higher. While almost anything can be analyzed using pure statistics, the beautiful game is usually a little more difficult to do so given it's free flowing nature on the pitch.

There are advantages to playing in a smaller league. With fewer eyes watching, sponsors are more willing to use America as a test market, trying out new technology in the US before shipping it over to the big boys in Europe.

It was announced recently that Adidas would be using the 2012 MLS All-Star game, slated for July 25 in Philadelphia, as a forum to test its new "smart cleat" technology, micoach.