For anyone who’s interested in the U.S. National Team’s fortunes at the World Cup, I recently published an article on my personal blog, featuring a full analysis of the 23-man squad and its starting XI. The piece seeks answers to some of the most pressing questions surrounding the 2010 squad, including how to solve the… Read More »
The South African magazine Chimurenga has just launched a World Cup project called “Pilgrimages,” sending African writers on journeys to various cities on the continent and beyond to report on the experience of the World Cup there. It will be a great series, I think, and starts with a compelling case for Argentina winning the… Read More »
Yesterday I did an interview for the “How We Got Here” podcast of BBC’s The World, available here. I talk about my book Soccer Empire, about Zidane, Thuram, and the 2006 World Cup, and about my hopes for this tournament.
I just published this op-ed piece about Joe Gaetjens, Jozy Altidore, and my hopes for this Saturday’s U.S.-England game in the Pittsburgh Courrier. The piece is also appearing in several other papers, including the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Seattle Times. A French version of the piece is up at the World… Read More »
People are getting ready for the World Cup in Port-au-Prince. This is a country where taptaps are decorated to reflect the drivers’ allegiance (to Brazil or Argentina) or even to honor a particular player, and where cell phone companies put up billboards with the national team that proclaim “One People. One Passion. Football! Together, we’ll… Read More »
Allright, I’ve got to come out and admit it: I’m sick of a certain kind of whining about the World Cup. I know this is an odd thing to say: after all I should be sick of all the cheesy, commercialized, opportunistic advertisements, and FIFA propaganda blah-blah about global understanding and rainbows of love showering… Read More »
Courtesy of Ferentz Lafargue, here is a link to an interesting ESPN Segment on Joe Gaetjens.
The New York Times just published a nice profile of Jozy Altidore — thanks to my friends at Duke’s FHI for a tweet about this! — and, despite the fact that I know seeking historical and social redemption in football matches is a dangerous game, I can’t help dreaming that this summer will bring us… Read More »
Duke University Economics student Nikhil Taneja has just published this interesting review of Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski’s fascinating book Soccernomics, a must read in advance of the World Cup for those interested in understanding the finances behind global football.
This summer 32 nations will fight in South Africa to be named the world’s best footballing nation. This summer 63 international matches will take place in 10 top-of-the-line stadiums. This summer the entire country of South Africa will open its arms and embrace the world. This summer 6 billion people will come together and be… Read More »
