CONMEBOL President Juan Angel Napout says he is unsure if the 2016 Copa America will be played in the United States as planned. In an interview with Paraguayan radio station AM 1080, thechief of South America’s soccer confederation indicated that while the tournament, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, will go ahead as planned, it […]
copa america
Posted inAround The Net in Soccer World Daily, Story
Sampaoli Turns Down El Tri
ESPN reports that Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli has rejected an offer to coach the Mexican national team but is considering an offer to coach Ligue 1 side Marseille. Sampaoli, who guided Chileto the 2015 Copa America title, is contracted to remain with La Roja through the 2018 World Cup, but he is still mulling offers […]
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How Argentina Abandons Messi
Lionel Messi made his first appearance for Barcelona since returning from summer vacation on Wednesday night against Italian giant AS Roma in the annual Joan Gamper Trophy showcase.It’s great to see him back to his scoring and creating best. He is probably happy to be home, too — that is, in Barcelona, not Argentina. As […]
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Who Wants to Coach El Tri?
Who wants to take over for erstwhile Mexico coach Miguel Herrera? Presumably, lots of high-profile coaches — after all, the job pays well, and with a likeable personality and a couple good showings in bigtournaments, you could even become a celebrity in the country, earning extra money on the side shilling products in TV commercials […]
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In Defense of Herrera (the Coach, That Is)
It’s hard to know what to make of Miguel Herrera’s firing as head coach of the Mexicannational team. On the one hand, he absolutely deserved it if it true was alleged: you can’t punch people, no matter what they say about you, your tactics, what you look like, yourfamily, whatever. Moreover, in the state of […]
Posted inAround The Net in Soccer World Daily, Story
Man United to Sign Sergio Romero
ESPN is reporting that Manchester United will complete the signing of Argentina international goalkeeper Sergio Romero after the club’s former No. 2 goalkeeper, Victor Valdes,fell out of favor with coach Louis van Gaal for refusing to play in a U-21 game last season. Romero, who finished second with Argentina at the 2015 Copa America, is […]
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Barca's in LA; Where are Messi and Neymar?
As you might have heard, Spanish treble winner Barcelona is in Los Angeles preparing for the first game of its International Champions Cup tour across the USA against Major League Soccer champ LAGalaxy. The game, which will be held at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday night, is sold out — in fact, However, as you […]
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About That U.S. Senate Panel Hearing…
Following last Wednesday’s U.S. Senate panel hearing on corruption in international soccer, British investigative journalist Andrew Jennings, who was invited to give testimony at lastweek’s hearing, has given an interview on the “Soccer Morning” showwith Jason Davis in which he calls for American soccer fans to demand the ousting of U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Soccer's Defensive Bias (Part 2): How to blunt your own team's attacking powers
By Paul Gardner I’ll focus on one aspect of the defensive “duties” that all players are now required to assume. One that you’ll hear repeatedly mouthed by the TV commentators.Tracking back. No matter how far upfield you are expected to play as a forward, you must be ready at all times to track back — […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Soccer's Defensive Bias (Part 1): Chile champion! But the soccer was a total disaster
By Paul Gardner Chile deserved its win over Argentina in the Copa America final. Well, just about. This was 120 minutes of parity, of total stalemate. So the grotesque mechanismof the shootout decided matters, and Chile was certainly the better team at that. But now that the celebrations have passed, the fireworks have burned out, […]