By Paul Gardner I get a lot of enjoyment out of looking at the Cal South Magazine — it tells me quite a lot about the youth situation in one of our most importantregions, and anyway, there are plenty of photos of smiling kids, and that’s always fun. The May 2010 issue is no exception, […]
SoccerTalk with Paul Gardner
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Not the Greatest Final, but …
By Paul Gardner So here we go again, another super-climactic final that failed to live up to its billing. It’s not that the Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich game was apoor one — it wasn’t. But this was the high-point of the European season, the two best teams, with a ton of the world’s best […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Ballack injury raises referee worries
By Paul Gardner I guess it had to happen. Someone had to get injured at the last minute, injured so badly that he would miss the World Cup. Well, not just someone –it would be a big star. And so it turns out. Germany’s Michael Ballack is the unlucky one. Playing for Chelsea in […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
A dubious history of pre-World Cup clampdowns
By Paul Gardner Every four years, as the World Cup rolls into sight, we get the news that the rules of the game are not quite as good as they ought to be. And so welearn that a minor change is necessary for the tournament to be played properly. Either that, or the referees are […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Seattle's win raises coaching conundrum
By Paul Gardner This sort of thing happens far too often, I’m afraid. At least, it does so here in the States. Some visitors from Europe were in town over the weekend– soccer people, as it happened, and they thought they’d like to take a look at an MLS game. Perfect — the Red Bulls […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
The Unacceptable Face of FIFA
By Paul Gardner I continue to be astonished — and I do not astonish easily — at the extraordinary claims that FIFA makes as to the extent of its authority. Here is an international organization devoted to the organization and control of soccer, worldwide. Certainly, then, a form of global government. It has its own […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
World Cup squads: the predictable surprises
By Paul Gardner Looking at the preliminary World Cup squads, there are certainly some selections and omissions that you could call “surprises.” Except inthe case of Brazil, of course. No one should ever be surprised at who is, and is not on the Brazilian roster. This is a country with so many good players that […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
What England's injuries may mean for USA
By Paul Gardner As various American players are recovering their physical fitness in time to play in the World Cup — think Clint Dempsey, Stuart Holden, Oguchi Onyewu,even Charlie Davies — it seems that events are taking a rather different direction for England — the team that the USA will face in its first game. […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
In soccer terms – are we still a colony?
By Paul Gardner I have received a breathless announcement from MLS informing me that Manchester United will be coming to the USA this summer. A press release, ofcourse, but one is entitled to wonder which section of the press it is intended for. It also seems likely that much of the wording is designed to […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Needed: A Special Rule Book for Goalkeepers
By Paul Gardner Not for the first time, Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger has been bitching about Sam Allardyce and the way that his Blackburn Rovers see fit to playsoccer. Far too physical, in Wenger’s view. Not at all, says Allardyce, everything we do is within the rules. Which leaves it up to the referee to […]