What’s this, then? High noon at Wembley? Actually, a little later, around 3:15 p.m. Sunday, February 10. These are the guys with a problem — 25-year-old English defender Harry Maguire fromLeicester City, and Son Heung Min, 26-year-old South Korean forward from Tottenham Hotspur — seen menacing each other with their imaginary finger pistols. The cause […]
SoccerTalk with Paul Gardner
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
At last Burnley gets a penalty kick — but Coach Dyche still has a major problem
Sean Dyche. Coach at Burnley, in the English Premier League. He’s having a difficult season, down at the wrong end of the league, trying to avoid relegation. Dyche has been gettinghis name in the news quite a lot lately. Doing a lot of complaining. Making a lot of excuses, some would say. Two things have […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Trying to fathom Atlanta's switch from Latin to Dutch
As someone who has made a small study of what a newly appointed coach does on arrival at his new club, I have to tell you that the happenings at Atlanta are rather perplexing. When the new coachtakes over a team that is going through a rough patch, you can be pretty sure that he […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Man City 9 Burton Albion 0: The fantasy world of cup soccer
I recently watched a fantastic soccer occasion, one that must, I’m quite certain, have set all sorts of records. Manchester City overwhelmed Burton Albion by a colossal 9-0 scoreline. Now, this was not any old game, this was the Carabao Cup (no, I have no idea what a carabao is, maybe an animal, maybe a […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Robbie Mustoe and the 'lazy Brazilians'
The game had been, well, not bad. Quite good, actually. Two late goals had given West Ham United a 2-1 win at Southampton. Pretty good goals, both of them, scored within six minutes of each other byWest Ham’s Felipe Anderson — a Brazilian. Anderson arrived at the London club at the beginning of the season, […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Sigi Schmid's Soccer Saga
Sigi Schmid, who died on Christmas Day at age 65, will be remembered by a great many people for being an outstanding coach. Schmid was highly — and positively — influential in both college andprofessional soccer. More than saying goodbye to one of its top coaches, MLS has also lost one of its personalities, a […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Atlanta goes Dutch — not a great idea
The whoops of joy emanating from Atlanta to announce the signing of Frank de Boer as their new coach should be recognized for what they are — sheer piffle. And very, very disappointing piffle atthat. Atlanta, with its original signing of coach Gerardo Martino opted for a South American style for their team. A brave […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
MLS Cup 2018: The long-awaited festival of futbol
It has been my opinion for some 20 years or more that what American soccer needs is a hefty infusion of Latino talent and Latino ideas. The arrival of MLS in 1996, and the carefulselection of a limited number of star players to help kick-start the league was a promising moment. A handful of talented […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Berhalter, a safe choice, has the chance to shake up the U.S. Soccer ostriches
The long and tedious wait for the crowning of a new U.S. men’s national team coach must surely be approaching its climax — though after this long delay it’s going to feel more like ananti-climax. Gregg Berhalter’s name has been circulating for months now, so his appointment will come as no surprise. Actually, it wouldn’t […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
MLS: A league shackled by its own regulations
You may have noticed that a new record has been established in the art world. Whatever kind of record could that be? An award for the fastest painting ever? Or the biggest? Obviously, it could not befor “the best” — no two people would ever agree on that. Of course not. We’re talking money: David […]