They were one of history’s greatest teams. But by the late 2000s, Pro Vercelli were entrenched in the lower leagues, their glorious past forgotten. Until one day, a man bought a video game. Read the uplifting saga of a small-town Italian club, an unknown American manager, triumph, betrayal, passion, and several extremely good recipes, from start to finish [more inside]
posted by Joe Beese
on Jul 3, 2010 -
26 comments
The whistle has blown in Port Elizabeth. Stoppage time in Pretoria, and three men run into the box. Altidore flicks the ball across, but Dempsey walks it straight into the goalkeeper. On the rebound, Donovan puts it in the net.
The world reacts.
[more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane
on Jun 24, 2010 -
194 comments
Stadiums in South Africa are currently
resounding with the riotous blare of the
vuvuzela. And while most of the folks making their joyous noise in the stadiums will be doing so in a basically random fashion,
this vuvuzela ensemble is demonstrating the funky hocketing technique that is a feature of certain strains of traditional African music, played for centuries on horns very much like these modern-day plastic versions. Well, anyway, like the shoe ads
almost say,
just blow it.
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Jun 8, 2010 -
49 comments
The paradinha is a devastating penalty kick tactic popularized by Pelé in the 1970s, and increasingly adopted by Brazilian players. This week soccer's primary governing organization, FIFA, will discuss the maneuver as it prepares for the
2010 FIFA World Cup.
As the
Wall Street Journal [
print version] explains:
The paradinha (pronounced par-a-JEEN-ya) is performed on a penalty kick by the shooter, who pauses unexpectedly before striking the ball—or even swings his foot through the air several times—before making contact. It's designed to throw off the goalkeeper's timing. When executed properly, the move can have jaw-dropping results. [more inside]
posted by 2bucksplus
on Mar 4, 2010 -
72 comments
Is television holding back the evolution of football? What is rarely considered is that television could be shaping the way the game is played, and not necessarily for the better. It sounds, admittedly, a touch far-fetched, but two of football's most respected thinkers believe it to be true, and when Jorge Valdano and Arrigo Sacchi are in agreement, it is usually worth listening. Sports journalist
Jonathan Wilson investigates the effect televised football/soccer might be having on the tactics of the game.
[more inside]
posted by dng
on Jan 5, 2010 -
64 comments
At the beginning of the '09 season a young rookie coach named Pep Guardiola
was appointed manager of FC Barcelona, one of the top teams in European football. One year later, the team plays 19th December in Abu Dhabi against Estudiantes for the Club World Cup, the cusp of association football season. Guardiola had taken a talented but stagnating team to the top, a prometean figure that brought
the philosophy he had inherited playing for historical player Johann Cruyff almost 20 years before.
[more inside]
posted by valdesm
on Dec 17, 2009 -
18 comments
In 2010,
Obama will have a miserable year,
NATO may lose in Afghanistan,
the UK gets a regime change,
China needs to chill,
India's factories will overtake its farms,
Europe risks becoming an irrelevant museum,
the stimulus will need an exit strategy,
the G20 will see a challenge from the "G2",
African football will
unite Korea,
conflict over natural resources will grow,
Sarkozy will be unloved and unrivalled,
the kids will come together to solve the world's problems (because their elders are unable),
technology will grow ever more ubiquitous,
we'll all charge our phones via USB,
MBAs will be uncool,
the Space Shuttle will be put to rest, and
Somalia will be the worst country in the world. And so
the Tens begin.
The Economist: The World in 2010.
[more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane
on Nov 14, 2009 -
60 comments
What`s great about the World Cup of football is that everyone gets a chance to qualify, against all odds. This week was a fascinating week of World Cup qualifying matches around the world. But while the world's attention was focused on Portugal and Argentina and France and Cameroon and England, among others, a small victory was won in a dusty forgotten corner of
UEFA Group Seven. On Wednesday the
Faroe Islands recorded their first cWorld Cup win , a
2-1 victory over Lithuania. [more inside]
posted by salishsea
on Sep 10, 2009 -
46 comments
In Britain, just as the football season ended 5 months ago, a football fan and journalist launched an endeavour to buy a club.
MyFootballClub asks for £35 from their members and in return, trustees are given the right to vote on transfer deals, squad choices and managerial appointments. But first they are to decide which football team to buy. From across the world people are invited to play
the tycoons at their own game. With the target 50,000 members signed up already, and with the new season set to start in a few weeks
it looks like this radical trust has a fighting chance.
posted by takeyourmedicine
on Aug 2, 2007 -
22 comments
