When I travel abroad, people often tell me that the United States is good at soccer only because
they import foreigners to play for the national team. While this strategy was key in our
development as a soccer nation, it is far, far less common today. The 1990s saw the US scour
European leagues for players with American connections, coming up with gems such as Ernie Stewart
and Thomas Dooley (both of whom had American servicemen fathers) and duds such as David Wagner and
David Regis (the latter was a Frenchman whose late call-up into the 1998 World Cup squad led to
great friction within the team and was a large part of the team's horrible showing in that
tournament).
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The only thing more incredible than the fact that brother and sister Alexis and Amber Hernandez
both play for youth national teams is the fact that both represent Mexico. The Hernandez siblings
have lived their entire lives in California, but in the past year both have worn Mexico's famous
tricolor. Children of a Mexican-born mother [.
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The case of Chivas' Jesus Padilla is not the only example of a soccer team in Mexico struggling to
define who is, in fact, Mexican. The national team has been embroiled in controversy for much the
same reason. The previous national team boss, Argentine Ricardo Lavolpe, angered some in Mexico by
using naturalized players for [.
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What LA-based journalists Luis Bueno and Andrea Canales uncovered about Jesus Padilla was not that
big a deal. Their reporting showed that Padilla, a young forward for Chivas of Mexico, was born in
San Jose, Calffornia, not San Miguel de Alto in the Mexican state of Jalisco, as stated on the
club's website.
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Following up on my interview with Andrea Canales a few weeks ago, my interview with her fellow LA
reporter Luis Bueno is up now on This is American Soccer (TIAS). Luis writes for Sports
Illustrated, MLSNet.com, the Press-Enterprise, in addition to running his Sideline Views blog along
with Andrea. Most of my conversation with Luis [.
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When Kosovo declares independence on Sunday, the number of countries to have risen from the ashes
of the former Yugoslavia will reach seven (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro,
Serbia, and Slovenia being the other six). Kosovo's independence – supported by the US and many
EU countries, but strongly opposed by Serbia, along with its [.
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Steve Menary's book Outcasts!: The Lands That FIFA Forgot is a fascinating read. In the book,
Menary reports on the far flung "countries" that FIFA doesn't recognize. Steve Menary sat down to
speak with me recently about writing Outcasts and the issues his book raises. Menary told me that
he got his start writing for [.
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Greenland is an autonomous province of Denmark with a population of around 50,000. The Faroe
Islands are an autonomous province of Denmark with a population of around 50,000. The Faroe Islands
belong to FIFA; Greenland does not. A reasonable person might wonder why the Faroes are given
membership into the international soccer governing body while Greenland [.
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Growing up in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Raad Qumsieh probably never dreamed that his life
would include a stop in Kansas. He has led a nomadic life not uncommon of Palestinians today. But
Qumsieh is different than most Palestinians. A gifted soccer player from a young age, he has played
for the under-17, [.
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When Tim Vickery went to Brazil in 1994 he was, like many people traveling to a new land,
overwhelmed by a sense of "straight off the boat surprise." Everything was new, and he loved the
feeling of being immersed in it. Vickery, who had never left England until he was 23, quickly came
to realize [...]
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This is part 2 of this article. Part 1 can be read here. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there
was a dramatic change in American soccer. It moved out of its almost exclusive home in ethnic
communities and was adopted by suburban families across the country. Soccer became the sport of
choice for [...]
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Note: This article ended up being quite long. As a result, I have broken it into two parts, the
second of which will be published tomorrow. A book came out shortly before the 1994 World Cup whose
title almost perfectly summed up many Americans' ideas of soccer. It was called Twenty-Two
Foreigners in Funny Shorts. Something [...]
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People of Croatian ancestry make up less than one-half of one percent of the population. But the
influence of this small Balkan country on soccer in the land of Oz has far exceeded their numbers.
Of the 23 players on Australia's 2006 World Cup squad, 7 had Croatian heritage. Croatia's team had
3 Australian-born players. Croatian-Australian [...]
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A second Where's David challenge for today. This one is definitely more difficult (in fact, I'll be
shocked if anyone gets it). And, to be honest, it's not really a soccer sight. However, the with a
name like Manchester United Methodist Church, it was too good a photo op to pass up. Do you know
[...]
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In Trinidad and Tobago, Christopher Birchall is known by his nickname: "Me Mum." The nickname was
his two-word response to a reporter who asked him how he was eligible to play for the country's
national team, the Soca Warriors. It is rare that a player would be asked to explain their
eligibility, but Christopher Birchall [...]
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