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So much to dislike about soccer: a critic writes
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, October 4, 2021
Ambrose Bierce defined a critic as "a person who boasts himself ha ...
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FIFA wants your feedback on a biennial World Cup -- let them have it
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Tuesday, September 28, 2021
A press release from FIFA was headlined "Majority of fans favor mo ...
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'The Barcelona Complex,' starring Cruyff and Messi, details the rise and decline of 'the world's greatest club'
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, September 20, 2021
Barcelona's 3-0 home loss to Bayern Munich in last week's UEFA Champio ...
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Joshua Kimmich deal shows what soccer needs least -- players' agents
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Tuesday, August 24, 2021
Bayern Munich and Germany's central midfielder Joshua Kimmich extended his contract wi ...
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A chat with Seamus Malin: Part 2 -- the NASL and the evolution of the American fan
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Wednesday, August 18, 2021
'In the 1970s was really when things started to change in t ...
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A Chat with Seamus Malin: Part 1 -- Harvard and UK coaching courses in the 1970s
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, August 9, 2021
Former ABC and ESPN commentator Seamus Malin worked as a radio commentat ...
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Crazy for Football: a documentary about a team with a difference
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Tuesday, July 27, 2021
A few years ago, psychiatric patients from all over Italy showed ...
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NASL Memories: The fan who caught Pele the night that soccer came of age
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, July 19, 2021
Paul Charles went to the game with his father and younger brothe ...
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The Best of the Euro: Month of magnificence ends with deserving champ, our Best XI, top 10 games, and off-field winners
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, July 12, 2021
Italy, a squad bursting with varied talent, multiple characters and collective spiri ...
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Euro 21, semifinals: And with one final dive, England makes the final!
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Thursday, July 8, 2021
In terms of quality, Spain against Italy on Tuesday saw two ...
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Euro 21, quarterfinals: Weeding out the underdogs
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Sunday, July 4, 2021
The quarterfinals saw the exit of co-favorites Belgium and three teams th ...
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Euro 21, round of 16: Four days when favorites fell, but thick with thrills
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Four days of knockout action brought us eight games that were main ...
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The Euro, round 3: Goals, drama, human rights and the mysteries of VAR
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Wednesday, June 23, 2021
The final round of group games brought a glut of goals a ...
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The Euro, round 2: Resurgent Germany, faltering France, wasteful Spain
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Sunday, June 20, 2021
The second round of games in the 2021 (nee 2020) European Championshi ...
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The Euro, round 1: Daring Dutch, attacking Italians, dominant Belgians
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Predictions of cagey group games and tired players were quickly erased ...
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European Championship: 24 countries, 11 cities and a lingering pandemic
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Thursday, June 10, 2021
The Covid-19 pandemic inevitably looms over the European Championship, kicking off ...
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Hector and Eels expose serial banality of the obligatory interview
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, May 31, 2021
Broadcasters have paid for the right to talk to players who ha ...
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Sunderland still learning to cope with life in the lower tiers
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Tuesday, May 25, 2021
In the League One promotion playoffs, my hometown team Lincoln City secur ...
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On the Bundesliga coaching carousel, where loyalty counts for nothing
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, May 17, 2021
There are good ways and bad ways of leaving a club a ...
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Fascinating footnotes to the NASL's weird and wonderful history
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, May 10, 2021
The newsletters are authored by the league's PR director, Cliff Kachline (lat ...
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'An industry swimming in a toxic stew of gender inequality'
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Tuesday, May 4, 2021
Several soccer clubs in the UK and the rest of Europe to ...
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Who is this 'global fan'?
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, April 26, 2021
One of several obvious takeaways from last week's surreal rollout and hilarious ...
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Foul throw lenience reflects crass inconsistency of top-level officiating
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, April 19, 2021
One of the most challenging aspects of soccer's rules is their openne ...
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Now landing in your inbox and not mailbox, Soccer America's strengths remain true
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, April 12, 2021
It was back near the start of the century, and I'd call ...
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Pele, the brutal dictator, and the 1970 World Cup
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Saturday, April 3, 2021
What does Pele have in common with the Beatles? They are bo ...
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Again and again, soccer lets bigotry off the hook
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Tuesday, March 30, 2021
One major frustration for referees is not just that we have ...
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'I'm With the Cosmos: The Story of Steve Hunt': English winger reflects on his days with Pele and Co.
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Arriving at age 20, he was among the young players to count ...
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European fans demanding a stop to Champions League greed
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, March 15, 2021
Once more the richest clubs have been pressing Europe's soccer governing bo ...
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IFAB wastes another year on handball and offside
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, March 8, 2021
Ever since the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), there ha ...
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What soccer can do to pressure Qatar ahead of the World Cup
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, March 1, 2021
It is suspected that many of the otherwise healthy young men di ...
