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Chuck Blazer 1945-2017: The Fatally Flawed Friend
Posted by Paul Gardner on Jul. 16, 1:31 p.m.
The tragedy that was Chuck Blazer is now over. And tragedy it assuredly was, a good man destroyed by his own excesses, a man capable of wondrous warmth and humanity who ended up vilified as The Soccer Rat.
» 16 Comments
New medical study shows FIFA protocol is being ignored
Posted by Paul Gardner on Jul. 3, 1:04 a.m.
To laugh ... or to cry? There is no middle course here, no way of dodging the utter failure of soccer's response to the concussion crisis. No way to ignore the inadequacy of the protocol, no way to pretend you haven't noticed the pathetic hesitancy of referees when confronted with head injuries.
» 23 Comments
The Gnat's Eyebrow and other VAR stupidities
Posted by Paul Gardner on Jun. 26, 12:30 a.m.
The trial of video-assistance for referees currently under way at the Confederations Cup in Russia cannot be said to have cleared anything up. There remains a good deal of confusion.
» 39 Comments
That Goal
Posted by Paul Gardner on Jun. 21, 8:02 p.m.
It was Pele who started the "soccer is beauty" theme. He titled his autobiography -- one of them, anyway -- "My Life and the Beautiful Game."
» 66 Comments
Tab Ramos paints a rosy American future in the changing U-20 World Cup -- but a U-18 World Cup would make more sense
Posted by Paul Gardner on Jun. 12, 12:23 p.m.
Tab Ramos has been talking in glowing terms of his team and its adventures at the Under-20 World Cup in the Republic of Korea. Certainly, there is plenty that looks good. Winning its group, getting to the quarterfinal. Listen up: "We built a team with confident players who were there to win the tournament ..." Followed by "We could have ...
» 20 Comments
What's this? A goalkeeper penalized for rough play?
Posted by Paul Gardner on Jun. 2, 12:54 a.m.
Meet Sorin Stoica. Maybe you've seen him in action during MLS games. Not a highly paid or widely acclaimed player, though. A referee. A rather unusual referee, it seems.
» 19 Comments
Scots wha hae! Thoughts on the sad and ominous decline of Scottish soccer
Posted by Paul Gardner on May. 27, 11:35 a.m.
I note, with considerable exasperation tempered by sadness, that Scottish soccer is experimenting with a marvelous new scheme for eliminating diving from their game.
» 16 Comments
Celebrity coaches -- who needs them?
Posted by Paul Gardner on May. 18, 11:25 p.m.
I am still finding it difficult to come to terms with the extraordinary way in which coaches have come to dominate our game. Have hijacked it, in fact.
» 15 Comments
Wenger must stay -- even the stats agree
Posted by Paul Gardner on Apr. 25, 4:39 p.m.
Arsene Wenger should stay. That's what I think. And I think that way because I respect his unflinching devotion to skillful and entertaining soccer.
» 22 Comments
Violent Goalkeeping (Part 2): FIFA must radically rethink the goalkeeper's role
Posted by Paul Gardner on Apr. 20, 7:49 p.m.
Last time, I asked: "What action has soccer taken to at least reduce the incidence of head injuries in the sport?" Well, FIFA -- which should be the body making the moves -- has done nothing. Incredibly, nothing.
» 17 Comments
Violent Goalkeeping (Part 1): Players at risk as soccer ignores its own rules
Posted by Paul Gardner on Apr. 20, 2:46 p.m.
Goalkeepers, we are told, need protection. No doubt we all agree. Up to a point.
» 25 Comments
The triumphant return of Bruce Arena
Posted by Paul Gardner on Mar. 26, 4:56 p.m.
Well, take that Jurgen Klinsmann. Never at any time during his five years in charge of the USA did any of Klinsmann's teams put on a show like the 6-0 destruction of Honduras that marked the return of Bruce Arena.
» 54 Comments
MLS games compare well with EPL but referees in both leagues reluctant to call PKs
Posted by Paul Gardner on Mar. 21, 2:49 p.m.
During this past weekend, I watched -- on television, of course -- 15 games. Well, not really. I watched parts of 15 games. That's television for you, a magic carpet that started in Middlesbrough, England at 8 a.m. on Saturday and ended around 9 p.m. on Sunday in Seattle.
» 10 Comments
Of tattoos and voodoo and science ... and soccer
Posted by Paul Gardner on Mar. 1, 12:19 a.m.
My calendar says March 1. But, quite possibly, global warming has advanced things. The weather is spring-like and there is a hint of April 1 in the air. Or so it seems to me.
» 60 Comments
Suddenly, the sport itself rebels against low-scoring Scrooge soccer
Posted by Paul Gardner on Feb. 23, 2:44 p.m.
We haven't seen anything like this for quite a while. In fact it was beginning to look as though soccer had lost its identity, had shrunk from being the world's most exciting sport, and withered away to tedious 90-minute installments of scoreless running around
» 19 Comments
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