During the 2005 Gold Cup, I wrote a column suggesting that the moribund tournament be merged with the Copa America to stage a single quadrennial competition for the Americas — one that would be worth watching, and worth talking about. A colleague in the press box at D.C. United was quite indignant, and told me […]
Ian Plenderleith
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Are live creature mascots being subjected to 'animal torture'?
German Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt received a request last week from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Could they please stop bringing the club mascot, Attila the Eagle, into stadiums before games? The bird of prey’s appearance under the auspices of a trained handler amounted to “animal torture,” and should be stopped […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Offside needs a creative and comprehensive overhaul
Offside needs a creative and comprehensive overhaul The good people of Manchester, and many in the world beyond, have spent the past week discussing one of the most important issues facing mankind right now. Was the offside-positioned Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford interfering with play in the run-up to his team’s equalizer in last Saturday’s […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
What are the responsibilities of a captain?
Following last week’s column about soccer’s ongoing battle with player dissent and abuse of referees, reader Ted Powers wrote to me with the following suggestion: “I have played and watched soccer for many decades, and it certainly seems like the surrounding of referees and disrespect has gotten worse. Wanted to throw out an idea to you: follow […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Bam. Bam. Bam. Three red cards. I'd be fine with that.
What can soccer learn from other sports in its perpetual struggle to stem the seemingly endless flood of anger, dissent and disrespect aimed at referees? Or to stop players constantly wasting time and engaging in gamesmanship without suffering so much as a caution? An interview this week in the German press with one Bundesliga referee […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
World Cup 2022: The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly
The Good Despite the best efforts of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) — an organization rotten from head to toe with corruption, crooks and cronies — to exploit the game for all its worth and more, this tournament delivered where it mattered most: on the field. While the quality can no longer compare […]
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World Cup 2022 semis: The jinking goblin of wonder and delight
The semifinals proved to be one round too far for the dogged Croat and Moroccan underdogs, scrapping until the very last kick, but undone by some touches of class that were just a breath beyond their exhausted capacities. With Argentina and France in the final, once again the World Cup will be lifted by a […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
World Cup 2022 quarterfinals: Unlocking the 10-man defense, superstar tears, and erratic refs
“Against Australia [in the round of 16] you had the feeling for 30 minutes that we were up against an impenetrable wall,” said former Argentine striker and latter-day soccer philosopher Jorge Valdano ahead of his country’s quarterfinal game against the Netherlands. “But we all knew that there was one player who could find the hole […]
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World Cup 2022 Round of 16: Great goals, poor penalties, and FIFA's loneliest man
After all the tightness of the final group games, the round of 16 felt liberated from dependence on the outcome of matches being played elsewhere. And yet, they offered nothing like the excitement. The knockout games were divided into two camps — quasi-exhibition games where one side ended up romping away with the ticket to […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
World Cup 2022 group games, third round: Fading Europe, emerging World
All eight groups have gone down to the wire, with the USA, Senegal, Australia, Japan and Switzerland hanging on to single-goal leads, South Korea scoring a nation-rousing stoppage time winner on the counterattack. Croatia survived by dint of squandered Belgian opportunities as the clock petered out, and Poland prayed as Mexico pushed for a third […]