1. Terry Venables inspired a generation to dream and left England wanting more By Richard Jolly (The Independent)2. Italy soccer players put red marks on faces in campaign to end violence against women (AP)3. Union Berlin’s Marie-Louise Eta makes history as first female assistant coach in Bundesliga By Ciaran Fahey (Associated Press)
referees
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
The Simplest Game. Not.
They call soccer The Simplest Game. But officiating it can certainly get complicated, especially when the coaches let it get that way. At the lowest levels, it can be basic confusion over who’s in charge of a game, as I found in my last game of the season. The players were U-11 boys who, if […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily
Sunday morning: What we're reading (and listening to)
1. Ghana striker Raphael Dwamena dies at age 28 after on-field collapse in Albania (BBC)2. Stadium unrest clouds several weekend Bundesliga games (DW.com)3. What is VAR, how does it work and what are the biggest problems? By Karl Matchett (The Independent)
Posted inSoccer America Daily
Saturday morning: What we're reading (and listening to)
1. Rapinoe and Krieger’s trailblazing journeys to NWSL final By Jeff Kassouf (ESPN)2. Soccer has a refereeing ‘epidemic’ — just not the one you think By Henry Bushnell (Yahoo Sports)3. The complicated legacy of Qatar’s World Cup By Adam Kilgore (Washington Post)
Posted inSoccer America Daily
U.S. Soccer: Three executives join leadership team
U.S. Soccer announced three additions to its executive leadership. • Chelle Adams, Chief Financial Officer. Adams, who replaces Pinky Raina, will manage, among other projects, the development of the National Training Center in the Atlanta area. She joined the federation on Tuesday. • Abe Geiger, Chief Product Officer. Geiger, who will oversee digital platforms and […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
Christina Unkel: Ref, lawyer and broadcaster moves into club presidency
Soccer referees often joke that when an official begins working with administrators, they’ve gone to “the dark side.” Christina Unkel has gone “even darker”: She’s now collaborating with players and coaches. It’s not a career twist the NWSL, Concacaf youth championship and MLS (VAR) referee ever imagined. But the recently appointed president of the new […]
Posted inYouth Soccer Insider
Ref Watch: A fun part of reffing — meeting the players
Last year while checking in a U-14 team, one boy’s name, Briegel Morales Pérez, piqued my curiosity. So I spoke to him after the game. He had moved to California from Guatemala, and his father had indeed named him after Hans-Peter Briegel, Germany’s left back at the 1982 and 1986 World Cup. One of the […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily
Saturday morning: What we're reading (and listening to)
1. Michael Bradley retires as ‘an icon in U.S. soccer history’ who made a big impact By Paul Tenorio (The Athletic)2. How VAR could have changed soccer’s most controversial moments By Dale Johnson (ESPN FC)3. Chiamaka Nnadozie’s father didn’t want her to play soccer. Nigerian star defied him and rewrote the record books By Michael Johnston and […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily
Watch: Assistant ref stop attack — with a foul tackle
Assistant referee Debodun Osekita was yellow-carded by his colleague in the middle after entering the the field and tripping a winger during an English Sunday league game between AMG Ballerz and Welling Town Reserves. According to The Guardian, Osekita thought the ref had blown the whistle and intervened to stop play.
Posted inSoccer America Daily
Thursday morning: What we're reading (and listening to)
1. Even with World Cup years away, Germany is a precious test for USMNT By Harry Bushnell (Yahoo Sports)2. Fuerte Apache: Thiago Almada living a dream with Atlanta United By Jon Arnold (MLSSoccer.com)3. Alyssa Nichols: The trailblazing U.S, referee chasing her World Cup ‘dream’ By Adria R Walker (Guardian)