Stepping back into the stadium after a big game, I often find strange and poignant moments. The radio report has been filed, the press conferences are over and, save a little bit of activity in the press box and from maintenance staff, the place is empty. The lights will soon be switched off and the stadium has the aspect of a tired giant preparing for sleep. The seething emotion it held inside itself just a short time ago has now dissipated.
Soccer star Thierry Henry became the villain of Dublin on Wednesday.
It's not often that you see a grown man cry; rarer still to watch a grown man cry at a press conference in front of a baying phalanx of African football journalists. But for Rabah Saadane, the pressure just got to be too much.
They were young, mostly in their early 20s, mostly attached to teams virtually unknown on the world stage, such as the Albany Capitals and the Milwaukee Wave. Two had no professional affiliation at all because they were still college players.
In its most trying year since 2001, Mexico survived and came out stronger at the end because of it. By the midway point of the CONCACAF Hexagonal, El Tri had lost three World Cup qualifiers and fired its coach as panic was entrenched in the country. But Mexico went 4-0-1 down the stretch and wound up qualifying with relative ease after all was said and done.
ARLINGTON, Va. -- This was not how the U.S. soccer team had intended to follow up its newly won World Cup berth. This was not how rising-star forward Charlie Davies had hoped to become a trending topic on Twitter.
The United States is in. So are Brazil, England, Spain and 15 other nations. Yet with eight months to go before the 2010 World Cup, more tickets have been purchased by people from the U.S. (11.7 percent at last count) than from any other country except the host nation, South Africa (47.9 percent).
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras -- You'd be forgiven for thinking you had traveled in a time warp back to the 1980s for the U.S.' big World Cup qualifier against Honduras here on Saturday night (10 p.m. ET, closed-circuit TV in English and Spanish).
MIAMI -- The U.S. could clinch a World Cup berth on Saturday night, and not many American soccer fans will be watching.
Brazil and Paraguay already booked their tickets for the 2010 World Cup, but six other teams are still in the running. There are only two automatic tickets left for South America, and one playoff berth against the fourth-place team from CONCACAF.
Stepping back into the stadium after a big game, I often find strange and poignant moments. The radio report has been filed, the press conferences are over and, save a little bit of activity in the press box and from maintenance staff, the place is empty. The lights will soon be switched off and the stadium has the aspect of a tired giant preparing for sleep. The seething emotion it held inside itself just a short time ago has now dissipated.
Soccer star Thierry Henry became the villain of Dublin on Wednesday.
It's not often that you see a grown man cry; rarer still to watch a grown man cry at a press conference in front of a baying phalanx of African football journalists. But for Rabah Saadane, the pressure just got to be too much.
They were young, mostly in their early 20s, mostly attached to teams virtually unknown on the world stage, such as the Albany Capitals and the Milwaukee Wave. Two had no professional affiliation at all because they were still college players.
In its most trying year since 2001, Mexico survived and came out stronger at the end because of it. By the midway point of the CONCACAF Hexagonal, El Tri had lost three World Cup qualifiers and fired its coach as panic was entrenched in the country. But Mexico went 4-0-1 down the stretch and wound up qualifying with relative ease after all was said and done.
ARLINGTON, Va. -- This was not how the U.S. soccer team had intended to follow up its newly won World Cup berth. This was not how rising-star forward Charlie Davies had hoped to become a trending topic on Twitter.
The United States is in. So are Brazil, England, Spain and 15 other nations. Yet with eight months to go before the 2010 World Cup, more tickets have been purchased by people from the U.S. (11.7 percent at last count) than from any other country except the host nation, South Africa (47.9 percent).
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras -- You'd be forgiven for thinking you had traveled in a time warp back to the 1980s for the U.S.' big World Cup qualifier against Honduras here on Saturday night (10 p.m. ET, closed-circuit TV in English and Spanish).
MIAMI -- The U.S. could clinch a World Cup berth on Saturday night, and not many American soccer fans will be watching.
Brazil and Paraguay already booked their tickets for the 2010 World Cup, but six other teams are still in the running. There are only two automatic tickets left for South America, and one playoff berth against the fourth-place team from CONCACAF.
From the outside looking in, most don't appreciate how hard it is to qualify for the World Cup from the South American region.
With Argentina on the brink of elimination from the 2010 World Cup, which would be the first time it missed out on the finals in 40 years, immediate measures need to be taken. Diego Maradona, who will remain the coach for Argentina's final two qualifiers versus Peru and Uruguay next month, will need to pick up positive results to avoid the embarrassment of elimination.
It was just more than five months ago that Diego Maradona's reign in charge of Argentina seemed on the right track. After a couple of wins in friendly matches, he debuted in World Cup qualification with a conclusive 4-0 triumph at home to Venezuela.
With South American qualifying for the 2010 World Cup resuming next month, the top four positioned teams of the continent tested their strength in what ended up being worthwhile friendly matches on Wednesday. While Brazil, Argentina and Chile claimed hard-fought victories in Europe, Paraguay lost in Asia.
These lists are not mere compilations of all-time bests in their respective sports but all-time bests at quickening the pulse and evoking a visceral response from those fortunate enough to have witnessed their artistry.
It's past midnight when Bora Milutinovic answers the phone in Qatar, but no matter what time, no matter where he happens to be, the Bora optimism prevails.
When Sven-Göran Eriksson was appointed Mexico coach last year, the critics feared he would not have enough time to get to know the idiosyncrasies of the country's soccer or prepare himself for the difficulties of the region's World Cup qualifiers.
With the South American World Cup qualifiers set to resume on the weekend after more than a five-month break, all eyes will be glued on Diego Maradona and the exploits of the Argentine national team.
When a tough loss follows a string of poor results, it's natural to want to take out frustrations on someone. And when that tough loss comes against a bitter rival in arguably the biggest game of the year, it may seem like a foregone conclusion that the coach should pay with his job.
Sir Bobby Charlton, the enduring hero of World Cup glory in 1966, told me recently that he long ago despaired of England ever again winning sport's greatest prize. He was certain exactly where the blame lay, too: at the hands of a succession of mediocre managers.
Maykel Galindo won't be here on Saturday for Cuba's historic World Cup qualifier against the United States. The former star forward of the Cuban national team defected to the U.S. in 2005, boarding a bus in Seattle during the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
BEIJING -- If the U.S. women's soccer team can upset Brazil in Thursday's gold-medal game (USA, 9 a.m. ET), would it be the greatest on-field accomplishment in the history of the storied U.S. program?
BEIJING -- It would be easy to put on my TMZ hat to write about Heather Mitts. After all, the right back for the U.S. women's team has posed for FHM and the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and has dated an NFL quarterback (A.J. Feeley), a major league baseball player (Pat Burrell) and a pro tennis star (James Blake).
My wife thinks I've lost it. And she might have a point.
For years, the standing requirements for Mexican national-team were twofold: He must a) have a vast knowledge of Mexican players and the Mexican league; and b) preferably be born in Mexico. Oh, and a third requirement, which is pretty much a given: The candidate must speak Spanish.
Two coaches fell on their swords as a consequence of the action last week in the third and fourth rounds of South America's World Cup qualification campaign.
For months there was speculation that Juan Pablo Ángel's form for the New York Red Bulls had been good enough to win him an international recall. His 19 goals in 24 games this past season certainly made a good case.
When you think of World Cup qualifying, what usually comes to mind are the predictable matchups between the world's major powers and teams that don't even deserve to be on the same field. (Italy vs. the Faroe Islands, anyone?)
Got a text from my buddy J.C. right after the best women's soccer player I've ever seen (Brazil's Marta) scored her breathtaking, Maradona-at-the-height-of-his-powers goal to sink the U.S. 4-0 in Thursday's Women's World Cup semifinals.
You never know what might happen in soccer. Take the case of Avram Grant, the semi-obscure ex-coach of the Israeli national team who suddenly finds himself managing Chelsea FC, the richest collection of club soccer talent on the planet.
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