By Paul Gardner Back in the 1970s I recall watching a soccer panel on English TV. They were discussing an important upcoming game — maybe it was the FA Cup final. Both of theteams who would feature in that game had just had big wins and had scored a lot of goals. The moderator asked […]
SoccerTalk with Paul Gardner
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The Klinsmann Interlude (Part 3): Damage Repair — Bruce Arena returns: Tab Ramos waits
By Paul Gardner Bruce Arena never had any doubts about his own ability to move smoothly and successfully from the college game to the pros. I did. I thought the change wasaltogether too fundamental, too demanding. It looked to me like a change that, even supposing it could be made, would need time. In no […]
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The Klinsmann Interlude (Part 2): Total Failure to Acknowledge Latino Presence
By Paul Gardner For decades now, a very special and specific conundrum has been making its presence felt in American soccer. What to do about the growing presence of American-bornLatino players? They can be seen as a welcome addition to the American talent pool. Or they can be seen as a damn nuisance because their […]
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The Klinsmann Interlude (Part 1): A Sorry Experience for American Soccer
By Paul Gardner Sunil Gulati has done the difficult thing, fired his buddy Jurgen Klinsmann — someone he had been relying on to open up a bright new era of winning soccer for thenational team. A relief to be savored. Gulati, a worthy president, should have ditched Klinsmann years ago. His loyalty to the German […]
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The Howard Years — Remembering Keith Aqui (1945-2016)
By Paul Gardner There comes a reminder — a sad reminder, alas — from the 1970s. The death of Keith Aqui brings flooding back memories of college soccer, and the exploits ofHoward University. Aqui was on the Howard team that, in 1971, won the Division I title. A tremendous upset, the first time an all-black […]
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Playoff refereeing: A tricky business
By Paul Gardner Playoff time always brings with it much discussion of playoff soccer. Which is held to be, in some not fully explicable way, different from regular soccer. Thetheory behind this notion makes a good deal of sense. Thus, playoff games have more intensity than regular-season games, they are all-or-nothing, do-or-die games. A place […]
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Carlos Alberto: One of Soccer's Greatest (1944-2016)
By Paul Gardner Carlos Alberto, one of the sport’s true greats, dead at 72. Unexpected, almost unbelievable. For me, a personal loss, for I learned so much from Carlos,talking with him, watching him play during his years with the Cosmos. The first I ever heard of him was in 1970, when that marvelous Brazil team […]
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The Mauro Diaz tragedy: MLS at fault
By Paul Gardner So we’ve seen the last of Mauro Diaz for this season. He will not be part of the Dallas bid for the MLS title. A serious injury — ruptured Achilles apparently –will keep him sidelined for months. An injury that casts a somber shadow over the playoffs. A wonderful player — probably […]
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Another over-hyped game turns into an unwatchable 0-0 bore-draw
By Paul Gardner You will have been aware of the recent game between Liverpool and Manchester United. Won’t you ever. The hype will have seen to that. Liverpool coach JuergenKlopp told us, “The whole world will be watching.” Last time these two teams played, the global TV audience was estimated to be as high as […]
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The Maturing of Wayne Rooney
By Paul Gardner LONDON — Wayne Rooney’s career is coming to a close. Which seems ridiculous, given that my memory informs me that it was only last week thathe was being hailed as a 16-year-old prodigy with Everton. My, how time has raced by. That Rooney had extraordinary talent was never in doubt. Everyone agreed […]