Honduras Uses Soccer Triumph in Crisis
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/24/AR2009102401219.html
Monthly Archives: October 2009
Soccer Project Screening
We had the pleasure of hosting a screening of the work-in-progress Pelada (previously known to most of us as “The Soccer Project”) here at Duke on October 29th, and got the chance to talk to the filmmakers, three of whom are Duke alumni. As John Turnbull, editor of The Global Game and also a Duke… Read More »
Possible South African Grandmother Team Exhibition Match
A South African football team made up of 35 grandmothers may have the possibility of playing in a “curtain raiser” for the 2010 World Cup this summer. The team gets together twice a week to play in a local league made up of 8 teams. The grandmothers range in age from 40’s to 80’s and… Read More »
World’s Most Expensive Team Crushed by Semi-Pros
Today, in the Copa del Rey (Spain’s Cup, a knockout tournament that goes on at the same time as the league), a tiny, tiny team, Agrupación Deportiva Alcorcón, hailing from the outskirts of Madrid and competing every week in the Segunda B (the third tier of Spanish football), crushed Real Madrid, the most expensively assembled… Read More »
Hope Solo
Today in class a few people (including myself) raised questions about the “Hope Solo Incident” at the 2007 Women’s World Cup. I don’t have a whole lot to say in this post (maybe more in a future post), but to start I wanted to share some links to articles I found interesting and insightful. A… Read More »
Can a United Kingdom team truly represent the United Kingdom?
As an Englishman, I was relieved to see England negotiate their World Cup qualifying group with relative ease, thus banishing the demons of the calamitous Euro 2008 qualifying campaign fought under the tragic stewardship of a hapless Steve McClaren. As an Englishman living in Scotland, I took great pleasure in seeing the Scottish national team… Read More »
Racial tension in Glasgow
Here’s a link describing an incident in which Maurice Edu, an American playing for Rangers in the Scottish Premier League, suffered racial abuse from his own supporters, despite not even playing in a loss. According to the article, it was not the first time this had happened. Having written about the Celtic-Rangers rivalry in my… Read More »
Año maradoniano: On Emir Kusturica’s Maradona
That Kusturica’s documentary Maradona, chronicling perhaps world football’s biggest personality, begins with shots of the director playing his guitar at a concert, is telling. Introduced by his band as “the Maradona of the guitar,” it is clear, in retrospect, that what comes after is as much a defense of Kusturica as much as it is about the greatness of Maradona.
Beach Balls are for the Beach
Check out what occurred when Sunderland played at Liverpool recently. In second 32 you can see the Liverpool fan hit the beach ball onto the pitch. This beach ball comes back to act as a striker providing a masterful flick past the Liverpool goalie. I have always noticed soccer fields throughout the world (especially in… Read More »
Soccer and Homophobia
Homophobia has no place in sport–though it often finds its way onto the field. It presents itself in different ways and at all levels. College athletics carefully tip-toe around the subject and professional leagues don’t know what to do with it. To those who are unaware of the homophobia rampant in sports culture they may… Read More »
