Jozy Altidore vs Mexico
The U.S. Men's National Team faces Canada at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday, June 3, at BMO Field in Toronto
in what is the third game of an 18-day stretch. U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann is managing the
squad as if it were participating in a five-game tournament. This game marks the first time since
November of 1997 that the USA is facing Canada north of the border.
In Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man & the Sea, an elderly fisherman struggles for several
days to catch and subdue an enormous marlin. Once he vanquishes the beast, ties it to his boat, and
heads to shore, a group of sharks arrive and eat the fish. He tries in vain to fend off the sharks
with his oar, but returns home, exhausted and empty-handed.
The soccer interwebs are a large and scary place. Sometimes, you try to find an amusing GIF of a
petulant foul or amazing free kick and you end up in a forum cave, surrounded by trolls that will
defend King Kenny to the death. Tread with caution. And check out these pre-approved links.
Brian Phillips has the scoop on all the leading Chelsea manager candidates and the betmakers'
odds for each one.
The soccer interwebs are a large and scary place. Sometimes, you try to find an amusing GIF of a
petulant foul or amazing free kick and you end up in a forum cave, surrounded by trolls that will
defend King Kenny to the death. Tread with caution. And check out these pre-approved links.
Brian Phillips has the scoop on all the leading Chelsea manager candidates and the betmakers'
odds for each one.
The soccer interwebs are a large and scary place. Sometimes, you try to find an amusing GIF of a
petulant foul or amazing free kick and you end up in a forum cave, surrounded by trolls that will
defend King Kenny to the death. Tread with caution. And check out these pre-approved links.
Brian Phillips has the scoop on all the leading Chelsea manager candidates and the betmakers'
odds for each one.
STARTERSWhen I read that Fabrice Muamba was without a heartbeat for 78 minutes I have to ask, Is that even
possible?
-Brian Phillips of Grantland on Muamba.
dN
Unreal! Watch all 234 goals that Lionel Messi has scored for Barcelona!
-Just make sure you hit MUTE on the sound.
It's all love here. Like the brute, unrefined relationship between Cavani and Lavezzi. These
handpicked eleven pieces are all splendid reads...
- Pitch Invasion on the District Ultras fan culture based around DC United.
- Sid Lowe for The Guardian on how Rayo Vallecano is a model for how to lose with grace
- Ryan O'Hanlon for The Run of Play (in exile) on Thomas Müller's distinct German-ness
- The Two Unfortunates discussing the irrefutable partnership between Unemployment and
Football
- Two Hundred Percent on how the Carling Cup was won
- The Other 87 Minutes tackles the issue of how to develop elite soccer players in the United
States
- IBWM on the prospect of bringing MLS across the street from Disney World.
The FA aside, the news cycle has been a bit slow lately. I did receive an anonymous tip that in
Garden City, Kansas, a caterpillar had recently formed a cocoon and in a few weeks time may
possibly become a butterfly. However, the "source" failed to provide enough detailed facts to
corroborate the story, so instead I went with "Mourinho will quit Real Madrid to coach
England.
A couple days ago Brian Phillips, purveyor of Run of Play, tweeted the following:
Netflix's top category for me is "Dark Dramas Featuring a Strong Female Lead."
Improbably, this is not a list of Beckham documentaries.
My initial reaction was, that's funny, because Phillip's writing is nothing like that first
sentence.
The Very Best of Pitch Invasion, an anthology of 39 essays from this site since
2007, was released in digital and print editions last Friday.
The print edition is available on Amazon in the United States, and today (Monday) is the LAST
day to order it in time for Christmas delivery!
by Adam Bate
Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't look like an underdog. He doesn't feel like one and he most certainly
doesn't act like one. But this weekend he is the player more than any other who will be tasked with
the role of challenging Barcelona's footballing oligarchy.
And yet, don't expect people to thank him for it.
STARTERSThere is still no agreement between players and Spain's Primera over a new collective bargaining
agreement, so you can expect the players to go on strike and boycott this weekend's first round of
games.
-Sid Lowe of the Guardian explains the principles behind the strike.
Some good folks at other sites have spread the word about my modest ebook, hot off the cyber
presses. To said folks, please accept my sincerest thanks. And here's the breakdown on the world
wide web of love:
If you want to read a sample of the book, then check out an excerpt at the Good Men Project.
Maura Gladys on the USWNT's monumental win.
Not to be undone....
A little bit of drama, a little bit of emotion, and one heck of a comeback by the USWNT.
Thinking about this game, I thought about an idea that Brian Phillips threw around a while ago
on his excellent blog, Run of Play.
I love the "Dispatches from Deutschland" series on All White Kit that provides an on-the-street
view of the Women's World Cup. The first was a week ago, the second was posted a few days ago, and
the third was posted yesterday. A highlight from the third:
In the "Only in Germany" file: the DFB Cultural Foundation (does anyone else in the
world even have such a thing?
It seems to me there are three distinct types of football writing.
First, we have the straight-up, journalistic, newspaper style match-report. There are some
intriguing variations on this approach, like Michael Cox's Zonal Marking with its intense tactical
hermeneutics, or the florid style you might sometimes find in a strange place like the Mirror,
incorporating all sorts of colourful, often mixed metaphors that end up featured in the opening
pages of When Saturday Comes.
Just Desserts #7 is a post from: Just Football
We're back with another of our irregular doses of excellent football reading material to be
found elsewhere around the interwebs. The following come highly recommended:
1) YOU MUST READ THIS PIECE by the magnificent Tim Vickery, who picks up a bat,
finds a ball, takes that ball and smashes it out of the park with this brilliant piece on FIFA and
certain quarters' hypocritical reaction to the ongoing scandals at FIFA.
So, due to logistical issues, the book launch has been pushed back. Circle your calendars and
get ready for... t/b/a. Hopefully. This is my first time "producing" a book, so my rosy
and naive expectations have slowly given way to a slightly paranoid and pessimistic perspective. I
just may become a Liverpool fan because of it.
For a long time I felt guilty for not liking Run of Play, and more specifically, the writing of
Brian Phillips. Of all the writers in the soccersphere, Phillips is probably the best example of
one who can arrange words in a way the grammar nazis intended. Other writers I respect (and have in
the past secretly aspired to be, although the Ives Galarcep references have mostly cured that by
now) read and quote Phillips.
You have to read this piece by Brian Phillips on The Run of Play. I
don't know who Mr. Phillips is, but he nails it.
Key passage:
"...soccer has devolved into a realm a little like politics, a realm where fans'
access to preconceived explanations that suit their emotional allegiances is drowning reality out
of the discourse.
Wheeeeee!
Thus ends another "silly season" in European soccer. For us Americans there is hardly an equivalent
to the insanity of the rumors, speculation, and maddening amounts of money that are thrown around
during the transfer window and particularly the closing days of it. The always brilliant Brian
Phillips (of Run of Play fame) wrote for Slate.
Just a quick post to recommend an article.
Brian Phillips at Slate looks at the challenge of advanced soccer statistics.
Brian Phillips of the Run of Play wrote a wonderful portrait about Pato a few years back,
focusing on the fine line between potential and accomplishment. He articulated the "Lolita theory
of fanlove" we as fans project dreams and hopes upon a talented youthful player, long before we've
seen proof or evidence to support our assertions.
