| The U.S. versus Costa Rica and Honduras: the same team? |
Posted on Sunday 07th of June 2009 04:22:32 PM by Todd Levins |
| Watching the U.S. play Costa Rica reminded me of high school junior varsity teams who were just learning the concept of marking up on defense.
USA consistently left Costa Rican forwards in the box ten or more feet from any defender. Granted, Costa Rica fielded a superb team and the first goal can be attributed to deft dribbling by Alvaro Saborio, but these cannot explain an idling striker twenty yards from the goal with nothing to do but to unhurriedly trap a lofted cross, spin, ... |
| One man's complete prediction of EURO 2008 |
Posted on Saturday 07th of June 2008 11:35:59 PM by John Holland |
Enjoy articles with little or no actual content? Find it amusing to peruse precise game-by-game predictions with scores listed - but no rhyme or reason or explanation thereof?
If you said 'yes' to either of those questions, you're in luck. Here is my complete prediction of the score of each game of EURO 2008. I forgot to post this article prior to the EURO 2008 actually starting, but I'm going to put my predictions for today's already played games in nonetheless (1 right, 1 wrong). ... |
| Houston-Dallas: April 6 - Why aren't more people watching the MLS? |
Posted on Thursday 10th of April 2008 01:04:35 AM by John Holland |
The Houston-FC Dallas clash last Sunday raised the question: Why the heck aren't more people watching the MLS? The game was about as exciting a soccer game as you'll see, an incredibly North-South game, a game that produced goals, brilliant runs, and flair. The 3-3 draw made me yearn for the old days of MLS when ties weren't on the docket, but that's hardly important. What is important is that it was a supremely entertaining game that featured two of MLS's top sides.
I'm... |
| The Future History of Soccer: Predicting the Next Sixty Years |
Posted on Monday 07th of April 2008 10:53:31 PM by Brian Fobi |
| Like a lot of people who went to elementary school in the 1980s, I grew up hearing wondrous tales of what the world would look like in the year 2000. Based on the fictions spread by my various teachers, we faced one of two future outcomes: the Soviet Union (remember them?) would either trigger a thermonuclear war, or we would all be zipping around in jetpacks and flying cars, wearing oddly matching jumpsuits and eating only large pills and colored liquid. Of course, neither of those things hap... |
| Traveling by Foot: From Salvador, Brazil |
Posted on Monday 07th of April 2008 07:55:57 AM by Brian Fobi |
| One of the most frustrating things about watching football on television and reading commentary about it is the way that subtle stereotypes get infused into the coverage of matches. While in Germany for the 2006 World Cup, I was equal parts bemused and annoyed at how the BBC announcers would comment upon the “clever” French, the “stoic” and “tactical” Germans, the “flair” of the South Americans, or even the “craftiness” of a South Korean or Japanese player.
One of the truly great thin... |
| A Friendlier Kind of Soccer Fan |
Posted on Tuesday 01st of April 2008 08:48:20 AM by Brian Fobi |
| One of the real underrated pleasures of being a sports fan is having a close friend with opposing team loyalties. You love the Red Sox, he loves the Yankees; you live and die with Real Madrid, he is all about Barca; you are Brazil through and through, and for some dang reason the guy has a man-crush on Lionel Messi. If all of your friends support your team, how can you give a postgame in-your-face telephone call, and who can you annoy by wearing your team’s jersey to his family barbecue?
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| Preview of the Chicago Fire, San Jose and Real Salt Lake |
Posted on Monday 31st of March 2008 12:26:46 AM by John Holland |
| Today we tackle three teams, Chicago, Real Salt Lake, and San Jose. I previewed these three teams together because in my eyes they all have one thing in common: they can either be much much better than I predict or much much worse. Most MLS teams I've been able to form a fairly coherent opinion about, but these three teams are something of an enigma.
So, on to the prognosis. Chicago Fire: Key Acquisitions:
Chicago picked up strikers Andy Herron and Poli... |
| Team USA Gets Aggressive With Its Scheduling: What does it mean? |
Posted on Saturday 29th of March 2008 07:15:37 PM by Brian Fobi |
| The well-worn maxim reminds us that to be the best, you’ve got to be the best. The natural extension of this, of course, is that to beat the best, you’ve got to play them. Playing in CONCACAF, the United States has the decided disadvantage of having only one true world footballing nation to call its rival. So, in order to bolster the overall level of its competition, it has to schedule top competition for friendlies, else wait for the World Cup.
In the past, European football fans woul... |
| MLS Playoff Predictions |
Posted on Friday 28th of March 2008 01:22:00 PM by John Holland |
Team by team MLS rundowns will be appearing on Spotlight Soccer throughout the week, but in the meantime, check out my personal playoff predictions. Discuss in the forum here. When it’s all said and done, I predict that the 8 playoff teams will be split evenly between the Western and Eastern Conferences.
The Chicago Fire, DC United, New England Revolution, and the Columbus Crew will represent the Eastern Conference.
<... |
| 2008 MLS Preview - All Week Long |
Posted on Friday 28th of March 2008 01:14:25 PM by John Holland |
Woo-hoo! The 2008 MLS season is, without question, the most eagerly anticipated season to date. High profile offseason moves - with both coaches and players - have embroiled the MLS in a veritable arms race. Most teams made key personnel moves that should make the playoff race a tenser occasion than is normally the case with the MLS. Teams that didn’t make high profile moves might find themselves duplicating the pathetic Derby County in the EPL.
The top s... |
| Football World Tour, Part 1 |
Posted on Monday 25th of February 2008 12:51:34 PM by Brian Fobi |
| The view from the pitch was pretty spectacular. On a large plateau overlooking Yaounde, a long, uneven, asymmetrical and dusty clay soccer field stretched out for 70 yards. Lined by palm trees, the field had six-inch deep dried puddles, rocks the size of small cats, and red dust everywhere. There, in the heart of Cameroon –perhaps Africa’s premier football nation- I did something that I hadn’t done in all too long.
Though I watch soccer religiously and write about it regularly, it has ac... |
| The Gentleman's Game.. Or Why Jamaica Won't Qualify for the 2010 World Cup |
Posted on Tuesday 19th of February 2008 12:11:40 AM by John Holland |
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A few weeks ago, I went out for a beer with a few friends. We visited an Irish pub and, of course, there was soccer on the tube. Our discussions eventually led us back to, shockingly, soccer. We made a conversational foray into Concacaf qualifying and discussed who the most likely teams to qualify for it were.
One of the gang was a Jamaican fellow, a soccer fan, and a despairing Jamaican national team fan. I admitted him to him my constant frustration with the Jamaican N... |
| Thoughts on Soccer Haters... |
Posted on Thursday 07th of February 2008 03:21:39 PM by Brian Fobi |
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When I lived in South Africa, my girlfriend at the time took me to see a cricket match. I got dressed in a nice white shirt and tie, bought a hat at the grounds, and for the rest of the day sat in a shaded box trying to figure out what was going on. The game looked vaguely like baseball, except that there were only two bases, nobody wore mitts, it took nine hours to complete, and the score was expressed in some odd looking fraction that I did not fully grasp. I can’t say that I enj... |
| The Best US National Team Starting Lineup as of Today |
Posted on Thursday 07th of February 2008 02:30:40 PM by John Holland |
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There’s no question it’s wildly premature to name a starting lineup for the US Men’s National Team for the 2010 World Cup. Possibly insanely premature. However, with that disclaimer out of the way, I’m going to unveil my starting 11, my ideal current lineup, my list of subs who should see ample playing time, and hopefully a compelling rationale for my picks.
Players were selected to this elite cadre based on current and past experience for the most part. Nonetheles... |
| An American Soccer Fan's Musings on Mexico, Part II |
Posted on Thursday 07th of February 2008 02:03:08 PM by Brian Fobi |
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With another United States – Mexico matchup on the books, let us take a moment to think about this rivalry in a broader context. I have drawn an interesting mix of criticism and praise for my suggestion that, at least right now, the Mexican side seems better than the American team. The United States has managed to dominate the series of late, in large measure because the American side has taken a more intelligent and calm approach to the rivalry. The Mexican players are more l... |
| US Player Rankings – US-Mexico 02/06/08 |
Posted on Thursday 07th of February 2008 03:06:53 AM by John Holland |
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The US-Mexico meeting Wednesday night in front of 70,000 screaming fans was not a clash for the ages. The game seldom showed much flow on either side of the field and stringing together useful passes was a rarity. That didn’t stop the game from being entertaining, though. Altidore and Onyewu knocked in stellar headers and Magallon’s two finishes off set pieces were sparkling.
The US National Team fielded a young lineup, with the notable exception being Eddie Lewis. Some p... |
| African Nations Cup |
Posted on Wednesday 06th of February 2008 01:29:01 AM by Brian Fobi |
| Though almost nobody in the United States is seeing, the African Nations Cup is providing some of the most exciting and spirited football I have seen in a while. By all accounts, Ghana has put on a compelling a well-run tournament, something that portends well for South Africa 2010. Indeed, many fans of African football look at the constellation of stars playing in Ghana 2008 and feel hopeful about the prospects of Africa’s entrants into the 2010 World Cup. What have we learned about ... |
| Sepp Blatter's Flawed Plan |
Posted on Tuesday 05th of February 2008 06:50:36 PM by Brian Fobi |