I knew England had a number of soccer leagues in a hierarchical structure where teams could be promoted and relegated between them. But I never knew it was made up of 24 levels, 140 leagues, 480 divisions, and over 7000 clubs.
If England can manage to promote and relegate teams within 24 levels, why can’t we [...]
When did the USMNT get an all black kit? Hey – anything is better than the Old Navy Pajamas – but all black? Well, if we can go to Poland and wear all black, we certainly can go somewhere else and wear RED like so many people want! I can understand not wearing red in [...]
Over at SoccerLens, Dan Leo has an excellent, albeit sobering, look at the state of US Soccer. It’s easy for suffering US Soccer fans to get euphoric over even the smallest successes, but it’s good to have a reality check once in a while.
I think Dan probably sells the MLS a bit short recently, primarily [...]
Since we’re talking about referees this morning… At the recent NCYSA Annual General Meeting, two international FIFA referees (Kim Oberle and Sandra Serafini) presented a new program they are championing in North Carolina called the NCSRA Referee Mentor Program. The program is designed to take referees who want to go beyond entry level and help [...]
If you haven’t seen them – these are hilarious. Let’s just say #1 is NOT my favorite. Add two or three.
While reading one of the many posts around the Soccersphere ridiculing the new USMNT kit, commentor bq at Throughball posted a link to a Slate article/slideshow from last June that does a great job looking back at the, er, non-evolution of the USMNT kit. It’s a must read if you haven’t seen it!
In light of the almost [...]
Can someone please explain to me why US Soccer wants our team to look like we’re wearing pajamas on the pitch? This new kit is just horrible and makes you long for the 3rd kit to come out more often. But those are pajamas too. Insert obligatory Bananas in Pajamas quote here.
As if we weren’t [...]
Over at Main St. USA, they note with glee:
Confirmed: Dave O’Brien and Eric Wynalda are out as MLS’ #1 broadcast team and will be replaced by JP Dellacamera and John Harkes.
Please, please, please, let them be out as the USSoccer announcers, too. If I ever have to hear Dave O’Brien reveal his sketchy [...]
Josh at Throughball takes US Soccer to task over their disregard for the many soccer blogs out there covering US Soccer on a daily basis. Clearly US Soccer can do more to leverage the SoccerSphere and expand the reach of US Soccer online.
Though most of you probably already know about it, if you’re interested in the deeply rooted soccer history the US has, look no further than the American Soccer History Archive. I happened to stumble across it doing some research for another article and was just blown away by the depth and detail, especially in the [...]
Are we hindering the development of our players by over emphasizing the pass?
So Iraq wins the AFC Asian Cup, with a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia and advances to the Confederations Cup, to be held in June 2009 in South Africa. The US will be there as well, having won the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Want to start a betting pool on the US and Iraq [...]
I know, I know. Late to the party. But it has to be said. Why in the world did Bob Bradley think taking a team of players with so little experience to the Copa America was a good idea? 16 out of 22 players had less than 10 caps. Of the 166 total caps for [...]
For years, US Soccer has issued position papers related to the Laws of the Game and things referees should be doing or looking for and highlighting ‘tough call’ scenarios. With the advent of online video, they have started to include YouTube videos as part of the papers which show the situations being discussed. Very cool.
A [...]
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