[VIDEO PICK: Off the Post] The German capital of Berlin welcomed back the World Cup champions with 500,000 fans at the Brandenburg Gate and the players unveiledtheir new trophy with a stunt. Thomas Mueller, Mats Hummels, Erik Durm and Christoph Kramer walked on stage, hiding their captain PhilippLahm behind them, to give their fans a […]
world cup 2014
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS English-language viewership up more than 80 percent
[SOCCER ON THE AIR] TThe late Sunday night match on ESPN2 between the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers drew an average of 426,000 viewers, the most for an MLSregular-season game on the Deuce in more than four years. It followed the lowest national audience of the year — only 69,000 viewers — for NBCSN’s late […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They're Saying: Der Spiegel
“The German team has received worldwide recognition as good winners. Evidently, in the celebrations for the world title some of the professionals have not kept up the good work.” –German magazine Der Spiegel after six members of Germany’s World Cup championship team — Mario Goetze, MiroslavKlose, Toni Kroos, Andre Schurrle, Shkodran Mustafi and Roman Weidenfeller […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
A quick, colorful replay of Brazil 2014
[VIDEO PICK: Commericial] We will all have to wait another four years for more World Cup excitement. However, we now get to reminisce about this past World Cupwith the help from a animated video montage from adidas. Included are some of the best goals, from the likes of Robin Van Persie, Lionel Messi and ThomasMueller, […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Argentines have some laughs during presidential welcome
[VIDEO PICK: Off the Post] The Argentine national team received a welcome home celebration despite its 1-0 loss to Germany in the final, with PresidentCristina Fernandez de Kirchner acting as emcee. She called individual players up to chat with them, starting with Ezequiel “El Pocho” Lavezzi, whom she called the”sex symbol,” while Coach Alejandro Sabella […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Castrol Index Names Kroos Top WC Performer
According to the Castrol Index, which ranks the performance of individual players based on a number of statistics, Germany midfielder Toni Kroos was statistically the best player at theWorld Cup. The Bayern Munich playmaker, who is expected to complete a move to Real Madrid any day now, achieved a near-perfect score of 9.79 out of […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Blatter 'Surprised' by Messi's Golden Ball
FIFA President Sepp Blatter is the latest big name in soccer to question the awarding of the Golden Ball, the World Cup’s top individual prize for the tournament’s best player,to Argentina striker Lionel Messi following Germany’s 1-0 win over the Albiceleste in Sunday’s final. When asked about the award, Blatter said he was “a little […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Mario Goetze: From 'rascal' to World Cup hero
The latest edition of our “When They Were Children” seriesprovides a glimpse into the youth years of World Cup final hero Mario Goetze, who scored the goal that gave Germany its fourth world championship. By MikeWoitalla Mario Goetze is the middle child of Jurgen and Astrid, whose three boys enjoyed soccer so much that they […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
English-language viewers almost double in eight years
[SOCCER ON THE AIR] The 2014 World Cup ranks as the most-viewed tournament ever on English-language TV as ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC combined to average 4,557,000viewers, an increase of 39 percent from 2010 and 96 percent from 2006. “ESPN doubled U.S. viewership since the 2006 World Cup and we set industry records for live event […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
World Cup at a Glance
[BRAZIL 2014] The 2014 World Cup finished with 171 goals, tied for the most in tournament history along with the 1998 WorldCup, the first 32-team final. The average of 2.67 goals per game still ranks only tied for 13th out of the 20 finals. After averaging 2.83 goals per game through the group stage, the […]