The semifinals of the Champions League competition are set and include Bayern Munich, a surprise contender that received a tremendous boost from the return of Arjen Robben and eliminated Manchester United to join last year’s champion Barcelona, Internazionale Milano and…
Tag: Perspective
Commentary, analysis, viewpoint on the captivating stories in the world of soccer.
New York Soccer Has Arrived, For Real
For the first time in recent memory, I watched a New York Red Bulls soccer match on TV from start to finish – willingly – and enjoyed it. Saturday night’s entertaining match at Qwest Field between the Seattle Sounders and…
Word on the Europa League
First leg of the quarterfinal round of Champions League’s poor cousin, the less prestigious UEFA Cup – now called Europa League – featured four good matches this week, as the competition reaches its crescent. All tightly contested encounters and all…
Two Sides of Madrid
Real Madrid came from behind strongly against its eternal city rival to maintain pace with Barcelona over the week-end. Dead even on points, both clubs now appear to be looking forward to the April 11 direct clash that, in all…
MLS, Red Bulls NY Kick-Off
With the players’ strike averted a couple of days ago, as it never fully evolved into a crisis, the 2010 MLS season kicked off last night in Seattle. The opening match between the newest member of the MLS, Philadelphia Union,…
De Que Planeta Viniste?
Leo Messi scored TEN important, if not spectacular, goals in Barcelona’s last four matches. Ten, eight in La Liga and two in the Champions League against Stuttgart. His extraordinary form has generated worldwide awe, particularly because he often makes it…
Champions League Notes – Last 8 Set
Spending hundreds of millions of euros on players provides no guaranty for success. Champions League glory continues to elude Florentino Perez’s Real Madrid and Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea, correctly so. Their elimination courtesy of Olimpique Lyon and Internazionale Milano demonstrated that…
Two Emerging Stars
Marouane Chamakh and Romelu Lukako are not yet familiar names, but both are on the direct trajectory to Premiership star status. While Marouane is ten years older than Romelu, they are enjoying tremendous seasons and seem poised for big club…
Sensational Snejder, Chelsea out
Chelsea followed Real Madrid out of the Champions League competition, following a gripping match at Stamford Bridge that was decided by two dominant factors: the exceptional form of Wesley Snejder and the aggressive, physical play of Inter’s back duo, Lucio…
Hold Up
Ivory Coast fired national team coach Vahid Halilhodzic last week, a little more than three months before the start of the World Cup. The move was not unexpected, following the team’s poor showing in the African Cup of Nations in…
Again, Independiente Wins the Super-Classico of Avellaneda
Independiente – Racing is a special occasion in Argentina, the second or third biggest classico after Boca- River and Rosario Central – Newell’s. As always, the electricity surrounding the match was palpable. The atmosphere superseded the match itself on a…
Champions League Notes-Round of 16
The first leg of the high level clashes in the Champions League is in the books. It was an exciting round that provided some great matches and even a few sub-plots, of course. Inter – Chelsea lived up to expectations,…
O Pato
Long time beloved Boca Juniors goal-keeper Roberto “Pato” Abbondanzieri is leaving the nest once again, this time under less auspicious circumstances than in 2006 when he headed to Spain for a few years. While the 37 year old’s place at…
Guus Kebab
Turkey pulled off a great move this past week by securing the services of Dutchman Guus Hiddink through the Euro 2012 qualifiers. If everything goes well, Hiddink will guide Turkey through the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. After reported links…
Euro 2012 Draw
This past Sunday fifty-one countries participated in the draw to determine the qualifying groups for Euro 2012, a competition held every four years and hosted this time around by Poland and Ukraine jointly. The groups will be contested according to…