My friends and I often indulge in extended debate on the club vs. country issue and how so far, it's ‘OK' to support England. We eschew the jingoism, the hooliganism, the sheer repugnance of many of those called on to sport the jersey, the overreaction to defeat and over-anticipation of victory, the arrogance and the aggression, but still wish for a team we can support.

The idea of a soccer "derby" eluded me when I was younger. Not only because I heard it as a "dArby", but also because American announcers would always make a point to distance it from our petty little rivalries in the US. Derbies are a rivalry, but fueled by years of bad blood and proximity - where immense soccer fervor allowed multiple teams to pop up within a few miles of each other.

Kids day at the Amsterdam Arena

After a KNVB cup match between Ajax and AZ Alkmaar was suspended because a fan ran on to the pitch and attacked AZ's keeper, Ajax were able to replay the match, but with one caveat: only kids (and a few supervisors) would be allowed into the Amsterdam Arena.

What you lookin' at, boy?

Liverpool continue to defend Luis Suarez saying he did nothing wrong in the face of overwhelming evidence showing systematic and targeted racial abuse directed at Patrice Evra.

For his part Suarez finally did issue a sort of half hearted apology of sorts not to Evra but in general for having inadvertently caused offense for using the word "negro" which he said he only used once.

After Tottenham's controversial defeat against Stoke City last Sunday, it has been reported that hundreds if not thousands of Tottenham supporters have been and continue to send obscene tweets to Sir Chris Hoy. It appears there seems to be a literacy problem among some of the Tottenham supporters.

In some respects it was inevitable that a group of fans would collectively reach a breaking point, and take a stand at the way supporters are treated by many professional clubs. However the fact that it happened at Elland Road yesterday, and the Cardiff City fans concerned ended up boycotting the end of a game where they had already paid was still a surprise.

Image Credit: Stuart Wilson/Getty Images Europe.

Our weekends were filled with Iker in tight pants-greatness, thank you for asking. How 'bout yourselves, Kickettes?

Saturday

- John and Toni Terry attended the 'Fashion for Good' charity event at Brooklands Hotel just at the beginning of the weekend.

Still battling that PR campaign which involves ridding the public of the idea that Turkish football is an abode of corruption and fan violence and a place where Felipe Melo celebrates things, they've gone one better from the "women and children only as punishment" for crowd misbehavior. So impressed were they by the atmosphere created by a soprano-heavy crowd, they've decided to allow them in for free.

Michel Platini has said he is at last confident Ukraine can host Euro 2012.
After several 'last chance' warnings over the past three years, the UEFA boss can tear a few fewer hairs out now the four stadia do seem to be on track for next summer.
"A year ago, we were deciding whether to leave four or two cities," Platini told reporters on a tour of Kharkiv.

This is an absolute winner for women and football! Last night, 41,663 women and children filled the stadium to watch Turkish side, Fenerbahce play against Manisaspor. The Turkish Football Federation recently took up a decision to ban male supporters from attending games following their acts of hooliganism against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Turkish football authorities have pioneered a remarkable anti-hooliganism tactic: allowing only women and children to watch a game. Initially after violence marred a Fenerbahce match authorities had decided to ban all fans from two games. Then someone instead suggested only allowing certain fans.

There was a bit of a mess in Switzerland back in May when the fans of Zurich and Basel, not quite friendly, also took on those charged with keeping the peace with various weapons fashioned expertly from anything in the general vicinity of their person.

The videos were just released by the Swiss police last week, and they're not exactly a shining light of the well-behaved football fan.

We'll be giving over a lot of time to the non-league game over the next few days on Twohundredpercent out of deference to Non-League Day, which is to be held this Saturday. We'll have more on this later in the week, but first of all here's NLD's co-founder, Mike Bayly, on the decline of terrace wit.

There are many problems currently afflicting football, and one of the most serious is undoubtedly the rampant cheating epidemic, which continues to devalue and destroy the heart and soul of football. What is UEFA doing to tackle this problem? Nothing. And with Michel Platini running UEFA, this is unlikely to change anytime soon.

Riots have broken out throughout UK with looting and violence, yet Eltham hasn't been touched and it's not by luck. Millwall fans have long been known for their hooliganism and... Read more »

Bobby Robson, manager of Ipswich in 1978, said of Millwall fans after fights erupted throughout The Den during an FA Cup match, "They [the police] should have turned the flamethrowers on them." When you consider the history of Millwall supporters, that could be construed as a compliment.

It would exhaust too much time and effort to recount the past of Millwall FC supporters, but in short, they were some of the worst torchbearers of English hooliganism in the 1970′s.

Away from Home: The Struggle for Football in Palestine is a post from: Just Football

June 12th 2014, Maracana Stadium. To much fanfare, World Cup 2014 kicks off. Opening game Brazil vs Palestine. Could happen? Perhaps not. But as Lewis Cheetham explains in his debut article for Just Football, duress is being met with progress:

Footballing associations across the world are inevitably faced with complications and disruptions which obstruct the development of their game each season.

The current sweltering weather conditions in New York City remind me a lot of 1977, especially the blackout of '77 that sent the city into terror and mass hysteria. The looting, rioting and threat of the Son of Sam (David Berkowitz) created a terrifying time for anyone living in the city.

Who said hooliganism was dead? On Friday, a small group of Newcastle United supporters invaded the pitch after the Toon scored their second goal against Darlington in a friendly (see above video). Not only did Newcastle supporters invade the pitch...
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Who said hooliganism was dead? On Friday, a small group of Newcastle United supporters invaded the pitch after the Toon scored their second goal against Darlington in a friendly (see above video). Not only did Newcastle supporters invade the pitch...
This is a content summary. Visit http://www.

By Ulysse Pasquier, writing from Paris

Although the sport sections of French newspapers have been dominated this past week by Les Bleues' exploits in the Women's World Cup, the fate of the Ligue 1 may dramatically -and discreetly - change in the coming days.

Shocks continue to abound in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup with defending two-time winners Germany crashing out in their home tournament on Saturday whilst Brazil went out on penalties to the United States on Sunday.

Saturday saw Germany unexpectedly go out to Japan with Karina Maruyama's goal in the second half of extra-time sealing the fate of the tournament hosts who were hoping to win a third straight world crown following their wins in 2003 and 2007.

I am, some of you will doubtlessly be delighted to hear, taking a few days off to go abroad. Over the weekend, though, we'll be keeping you on your toes with a mixture of old and new material, kicking off with this resumé of old goal-posts.

One of the greatest blights of modern football is that it looks the same wherever in the world you go.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

DaMarcus Beasley is headed back across the Atlantic but south of the United States' border.

The United States' international has joined Mexican club Puebla, the club announced on its Twitter feed Wednesday. The move ends Beasley's brief stint with Hannover 96 in which he saw little playing time.

It's been a busy news week for the Sounders and the rest of MLS. The Seattle Sounders invited strikers Cillian Sheridan and Myron Samuel to train with the Sounders this week. Sounders fans were able to see both play in the reserve league game against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Whitecaps senior team, and their family-friendly fans, will be in town this Saturday for the big rivalry game.

Over the long weekend I was luckily enough to see an advanced copy of the new movie 'One Night In Turin" which chronicles England's 1990 World Cup run where they lost to West Germany on penalties in the semi-finals.

Watching the movie I was struck by the similarities between England's 1990 World Cup run and the 2010 effort.

That may very well be too loaded a question to ask, or perhaps it is being asked in ignorance given recent fan violence between Lions and QPR supporters, but in the interests of venturing forth from conventional stereotypes, it is a matter worth exploring at least superficially. This query originates from watching the recent match between Millwall and Preston North End at the New Den and observing those featured in the stands.

Hooliganism is causing a "huge image problem" for European Championship co-host Poland with every round of league matches marred by crowd trouble, a UEFA executive said on Wednesday.

Ahead of the influx of football fans in the country next year, Polish authorities have vowed to adopt a zero tolerance toward hooliganism.

Disclaimer: As some of you will already be aware, Twohundredpercent was fortunate enough to win a gold medal a metaphorical one, we should point out, not a real one in the 2009 and 2010 When Saturday Comes Webwatch awards and, in addition to this, our site's Ian King, Rob Freeman and Gavin Saxton have all been lucky enough to contribute to the magazine over the last couple of years.

Wales' European Championship clash with England on Saturday has a frisson to it which most international matches between a major footballing nation and one which has failed to qualify for a finals tournament for over half a century fail to generate. This is of course owing to a fierce local rivalry engendered by centuries of cultural and historical struggle between the two countries which helps to foster a healthy sporting rivalry.

Regular readers of this blog will be aware that I am a long time Arsenal supporter, having first stood on the Highbury terraces over 50 years ago, a time when seats were basically for the well to do and, as they would have it in those far off days, the bosses.

The workingman stood on the terraces; this was his place, and his fiefdom.

Inglostadt x 1860 Munich - Audi Arena - I didn't know it at the half-way point of my trip, but this would be my final match. Since I was in Munich on a Sunday, the odds of a lower divison side having a nearby match were good. I'm extremely lucky that Inglostadt, a city one hour North of Munich, was hosting TSV 1860 Munich.

Inglostadt x 1860 Munich - Audi Arena - I didn't know it at the half-way point of my trip, but this would be my final match. Since I was in Munich on a Sunday, the odds of a lower divison side having a nearby match were good. I'm extremely lucky that Inglostadt, a city one hour North of Munich, was hosting TSV 1860 Munich.