It's difficult to answer that question with any precision. But seems the answer is "a lot more corrupt than we realized". Because German prosecutors think it's corrupt enough that 200 games of European football need to be investigating. Including 12 in the Europa League and at least three in the Champions League. Click to continue reading...

In honour of today's Algeria vs Egypt showdown in Sudan, had planned on putting together a Top 10 Biggest International Rivalries post. But halfway through I realized it wasn't a great idea. Your own national team's rivalry will always feel bigger than anyone else's, so why include some in a Top 10 but not others?

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It's international break time in world football right now. Dates that FIFA has blocked out on the calendar for international play. Which means no club football (or at least no high level club football). Which means someone somewhere is complaining about the international break. And I say to them: Please stop. Click to continue reading...

Something to read while you support your national team hanging out the window of a moving vehicle. On Friday 13th. FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images World Cup playoff previews here African qualifying preview Like ill-informed radio shows about Asian soccer? Then you'll love this... (Podcast Offside) Premier League legends to cherish right now (EPL Talk) A reminder that penalty kicks aren't [. Click to continue reading...

I know this isn't new. I also know that Chris already posted it on Water Cooler Offside. But I don't care. It's Friday, and this video needs to be shared. For those unfamiliar, Rémi Gaillard is a famous/infamous prankster, sort of like a French version of Dom Joly. The key difference between Joly and Rémi is [. Click to continue reading...

Please allow me to bring one of the newer Offside blogs to your attention. It's called Water Cooler Offside, and it's written by Laurie, Chris and myself. I say written, it's really a lot of cutting and pasting. Water Cooler Offside is basically a "behind the scenes of The Offside" blog. It's videos, photos and [. Click to continue reading...

Today, Santos Laguna inaugurated their impressive athletic complex, Territorio Santos Modelo (TSM). And all of the heavy hitters in Mexican, CONCACAF, and world soccer were there, from Javier Aguirre, Justino Compeán, and Mexican President Felipe Calderón to Jack Warner, Sepp Blatter, and Pelé. Ricky Martin gave the first concert, and Santos and Brazil's Santos are playing the first match in the new stadium (with Matías Vuoso scoring the first goal). Click to continue reading...

I didn't really have a favourite Swedish Superettan (second tier) team to support until recently. But then Luka emailed The Offside and persuaded us to start a blog for Assyriska Föreningen, and I've been following their fortunes through the season. Assyriska finished 3rd in the Superettan, which was enough to earn a promotion/relegation playoff vs the [. Click to continue reading...

This seems almost impossibly unimportant following the sad news of Robert Enke's passing, but Cristiano Ronaldo will now definitely miss both legs of Portugal's World Cup 2010 playoff vs Bosnia-Herzegovina (November 14th and 18th). The story had been steadily building into the club vs country smackdown to end all club vs country smackdowns, with Real Madrid insisting their player was injured and unavailable (and doubly so since said ankle injury is a direct result of C-Ron playing for Portugal last month when not fully fit) and Portugal maintaining it was there right to call up whoever they want.

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One of my favourite things about The Offside and WorldCupBlog is that we're a bit international. As a result, I've been exposed to a lot of non-English language football words and phrases that I otherwise may not have discovered. There are far too many to list them all, obviously, so below I've put together a [. Click to continue reading...

I hope everyone has seen Zlatan Ibrahimovic's magical assist for Barcelona vs Mallorca this weekend. I saw it live on TV and instinctively applauded. Even though I was alone. Bit odd maybe, but a testament to Zlatan's talents. Chris spotted the above YouTube vid of the clip over at Unprofessional Foul and posted it on Water [. Click to continue reading...

It was 20 years ago today that the Berlin Wall fell, and so Jan posted the above video about Helmut Klopfleisch on Bundesliga Offside, which I'd also like to share with readers here on the front page. Klopfleisch was either very brave or very crazy, because in a nutshell he lived in the GDR [...] Click to continue reading...

Seven stories from The Offside and World Cup Blog this week: Nominate your player/manager football ubermen Gigi's Buffon's incredible Champions League save Ballon d'Or or FIFA World Player of the Year: Which is shinier? Norwegian homage to Brazilian airport ad The return of Johan Cruyff. To Catalonia. Click to continue reading...

Some advance warning: This post is going to be mildly critical of Zinedine Zidane. Nothing too harsh, because as for many people he was one of my favourite players to watch. The vision, the touch, the roulettes, the shiny bald patch. Loved it. But that's also the reason I'm about to mildly criticize him.

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Movies and soccer. Two things that traditionally don't mix well. In documentary form, maybe. But in scripted Hollywood form? No. For various reasons, it usually ends in either cheesy emotions, unconvincing action, or Robert Duvall's Scottish accent in A Shot at Glory. But not always. There are a handful of good football movies out there. Click to continue reading...

I've seen the above game described as a "catfight", but that absolutely does not do it justice. Bringham Young University vs New Mexico in the Women's Mountain West Conference college tournament last night was more like the roughest game of soccer ever captured on YouTube, and it featured the roughest display of defending I've ever [. Click to continue reading...

Richard Farley from "Inside the Six" interviewed yours truly to bring you up to date with the latest news on the Team Owners Association (TOA).

"Inside the Six" is part of the World Soccer Reader network and Richard Farley is well versed in football from around the globe as well as the US.

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Richard Farley from "Inside the Six" interviewed yours truly to bring you up to date with the latest news on the Team Owners Association (TOA).

"Inside the Six" is part of the World Soccer Reader network and Richard Farley is well versed in football from around the globe as well as the US.

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Most would agree that the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year awards are the two biggest individual honours a footballer can win. Bigger even than my Netherton Colts East U-14 Manager's Player of the Year Runner-Up trophy (pictured?). But which award is really the one to win? The Ballon d'Or has the [. Click to continue reading...

The United States will face perennial world soccer power Italy on Wednesday in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, and making it to the knockout stage of the tournament has been behind the backbone of a stingy defense. Click to continue reading...

YouTube videos (and blog posts, including some of mine) often come with hyperbolic titles. So when I see anything titled "Worst _____ Ever!", I immediately reach for my skeptical spectacles. However, the above YouTube video titled "Worst football miss ever!" made me put them down again. I'm not saying that it's categorically, definitely, no takesy-backsies the [. Click to continue reading...

I don't know if anyone else reads World Soccer but I have a subscription to the magazine and in the most recent issue, they raised the point of the best striker in the world. I'll explain how they came to their conclusion in a moment but I was wondering what other people thought was required in a striker and who they feel is the best.

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Is it just me, or are football clubs digging deep deep holes for themselves every time they sign a manager to a big money multi-year contract? News broke over the weekend that former Inter coach Roberto Mancini had finally reached a settlement with his old club. A settlement that apparently made him €8m richer. Click to continue reading...

For a long while there, Stephen Appiah was an international footballer only. The midfielder has not played a kick of club soccer since late 2007, but still managed to captain Ghana through a successful World Cup 2010 qualification campaign. Which is ridiculously impressive when you think about it.

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Dear Mr. Goodell,

What has been witnessed all season long at Qwest Field in Seattle is the potential of professional Soccer in the U.S.� Interestingly, it has all taken place at a football stadium.� Who would have ever guessed, 14 years in,� that MLS would make� its biggest� impact in a football stadium.

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FIFA has announced its shortlist of 23 players for the Men's World Player of the Year award, and 10 players for the Women's World Player of the Year Award. National team captains and coaches will now vote (but not for players from their own country) and this final five will be revealed in early December, with the winners announced at FIFA's World Player bash in Zurich on December 21st.

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This past week I was asked by Inside The Six's Richard Farley to discuss about MLS, the last match at Giants Stadium, Red Bull New York,� MLS as a whole and the situation of the USL & the future of American Soccer.

Richard Farley who has been� a guest many times on the MLS Talk Podcast with Kartik Krishnaiyer was gracious enough to allow me to share my thoughts on the game here in the USA.

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Remember how last year we were complaining about viral football videos. About how they'd jumped the shark because it was all CGI and lies. Well, we take it back. The latest viral I've seen has a commercial interest, in that it's designed to promoted English indie band Kasabian's new single "Underdog". Click to continue reading...

Have you ever heard of the Golden Foot award? I absolutely hadn't, until this morning when I read on ONTD that Ronaldinho had won the 2009 edition. Which led me to do some searching and find out exactly what this thing is. Random, is what it is. But also kind of interesting. Each year, the Golden [.. Click to continue reading...

Battle of the Brands In the world of soccer sponsorhip, there are two big boys. Adidas and Nike. Adidas sponsors footballers like Leo Messi and Ricky Kaká, Nike sponsors footballers like Cristiano Ronaldo and Ibrahimović. Neither are particularly shy when it comes to telling us about this. In fact, after spending millions on getting the players [. Click to continue reading...

On FIFA's web-site promoting the start of the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria the event is hyped as a chance to "discover the stars of tomorrow."� And while there is an impressive list of former participants (including, for example, Ronaldinho, Michael Essien, and Luis Figo) another look at the history of the U-17 World Cup offers more cautionary tales than burgeoning stars.

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We have three big derbies happening this weekend: We have El Súper Clásico in Mexico, the Superclásico in Argentina and what I'd consider the equivalent in England when Liverpool host Man Utd (can we call it The Super Classic?) Here's a quick lowdown on the three big games, and a question: Which game or games will [. Click to continue reading...

After a hectic weekend in European competition which didn't go particularly well for some of the Premiership teams, we're back to the bread and butter (or should that be the champagne and caviar) stuff. No doubt about this weekend's biggest game: Liverpool v Manchester United on Sunday.

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Martin Rogers, the senior World Soccer writer for Yahoo! Sports joins Kartik Krishnaiyer to discuss the epic clash that defines English Football: Liverpool-Man United. This Sunday's game however is different than so many in the past as Liverpool comes in having lost four on the trot while United sits atop the table.

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I'm not quitting, and neither is Rob. But we both have other blogging commitments and so could definitely use some help here on England WCB. Especially as we begin the buildup to the big football show that is World Cup 2010.

Much like Fabio Capello, we won't settle for just anyone.

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