There were a lot of ingredients that went into France’s second World Cup championship. There was preparation and coaching — here’s a clip of head coach Didier Deschamps talking at halftime of thefinal about how to shut down Croatia after a difficult first half — and there was luck — calls on France’s first two […]
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World Cup Retro 2010: Five names to have at your fingertips
Here are five names to have at your fingertips about the 19th World Cup, hosted by South Africa and won by Spain. Nelson Mandela. The first African nation to host had been banned, because of its Apartheid government, from international soccer from 1963 to 1992. Nelson Mandela, who had been imprisoned for 27 years, credited […]
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World Cup Retro 1998: Five names to have at your fingertips
Here are five names to have at your fingertips about the 16th World Cup, hosted and won by France. Major League Soccer. In the first World Cup since MLS’s 1996 launch, U.S. coach Steve Sampson’s squad included 16 MLS players, among them 1994 World Cup players who had returned from Europe to play in the […]
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Amazing Uruguay: Five things to know about La Celeste
With a population smaller than Los Angeles, Uruguay is per capita by far the most successful soccer nation.
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Captain Rodrigo 'RoRo' Lopez and Sac Republic chase U.S. Open Cup dream
Rodrigo Lopez was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, but grew up in Santa Barbara, California. He honed his skills at Chivas Guadalajara’s academy system
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Finding flow
[THE PITCH] Christen Press was the 2010 Soccer America College Women’s Player of the Year at NCAA Division I finalistStanford and won 2011 WPS Rookie of the Year honors at magicJack. When WPS suspended plans for the 2012 season, she signed with Kopparbergs/Gothenburg FC of the Swedish Damallsvenskan. In the firstentry of what will be […]
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The Chicago Daily News
[THE PITCH] Growing up, one of my dad’s favorite expressions was the compliment, “She always brings her lunch pail.” The phrase, with roots inAmerican football, tips its hat to the blue-collar workers who were so hard working that they barely took time for lunch. So, “On Any Given Sunday” right before I took the field, […]
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Women's World Cup legacy in France? It's complicated
The late Louis Nicollin — “Loulou” to his friends — was theepitome of a French club president from another era. On match days, you could find most presidents, a cigarette hanging out of their mouth, huddled on the team bench next to theircoach. Like most club presidents, Loulou was a self-made man — he made […]
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World Coach of the Year Sarina Wiegman on the rise of Dutch women's soccer and the benefits of kids playing coed
Sarina Wiegman was voted Best FIFA Women’s Coach of 2017 after guiding the Netherlands women to their first major title, the 2017 European Championship, at which the Dutch endedGermany’s 22-year reign. Wiegman, who played college ball for Coach Anson Dorrance‘s 1989 NCAA-title winning University of North Carolina alongside Mia Hamm andKristine Lilly, took the national […]
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Five tips to help you come back from an injury
Most folks come to the orthopedic surgeon after they’ve been injured. We’ll often prescribe rehabilitative therapy or surgery to help with the condition. Either way, you’ll be making your way back to your objectives, starting typically from a deconditioned point. Here are a few things I often recommend, and with some modifications these are applicable […]