He’ll Only Disappoint You — 3/31/2011
By Joe P Hasler— After watching Yoann Gourcuff over the course of the last month, I can definitively tell you this: he is the biggest bust on the planet. A week before the summer transfer window close, the perennial kingpins of the French League, Olympique Lyonnais (OL), burned $27.8 million to pry him away from Bordeaux. … Continue reading
We are talking about practice? — 3/30/2011
By Joe P Hasler— After collecting a pair of wins in five days, Belgium can rightly consider its latest round of European Championship qualifying a huge success. Needing two victories to stay alive in the race for second place in Group A. Mesut Ozil and the unbeatable Germans—5 wins in 5 games, 17 goals scored, … Continue reading
A Higher Education — 3/27/2011
By Joe P Hasler— “This is Soccer 101.” ESPN’s John Harkes during Team USA 1-1 Argentina John Harkes went to college. We know that much is true. The former Team USA captain and current lead color man for ESPN’s soccer coverage played his university ball at Virginia in the late eighties. Today’s blue chips go … Continue reading
Rooney Makes Moves – 3/26/2011
By A.C. Mullins-Khatib — “[Hernández] has got great movement so I’m playing the position that I did when I started playing professionally,” these words were spoken by Wayne Rooney in his post-match interview after Manchester United’s Champions League match against Marseille. Rooney followed up on that thought with perhaps a more telling sentence: ”It’s not often … Continue reading
Hazard Gets Unstuck — 3/14/2011
By Joe P Hasler— For a couple of weeks it looked like Lille were reeling—managing just one win in six games. In fact, they were stuck in the mud—specifically the sloppy greenish expanse at the Stadium Lille Métropole that they were calling “the pitch.” The game killing patch of mud was replaced last week, and … Continue reading
This Is Not A Pitch 