Lawrence Cohen

When it comes to explaining soccer in this Beginner's Guide to Argentine Primera División, the league is more complicated than leagues from other parts of the world. Few countries can say that soccer intersects with every facet of daily living like it does in Argentina. “Which club do you support” is the one of the […]

CONMEBOL president Juan Angel Napout has told Argentine radio that the 2016 Copa American Centenario will be played in the United States, potentially providing clarity after months of speculation about the future of South America's upcoming competition. In a Tuesday interview, Napout confirmed to AM 950 in Belgrano, Argentina, that the tournament was still scheduled to take […]

When Ricardo Ferretti (nicknamed Tuca) was introduced this week as interim coach of the Mexican national team, he put on a display of a mild mannered man. This was not, by any means, the same man that many were accustomed to seeing, the one that berated journalists both on and off the pitch. The man that was […]

When he was a player, Miguel Herrera's blonde mullet accentuated his piquant naughtiness, mixed in with a nasty mean streak. He was dogged, hard-working, and one of the peskiest defenders in Mexican soccer during a greater part of the 1990’s. Although diminutive in stature, his intense nature made him a fan favorite. Yet it was […]

I'm always surprised when I hear stories about how some people never knew that their closest friends were involved in corruption. In the modern world, let’s forget about soccer for a second, how can you NOT know something is going on right next to you with the amount of information that is available to us […]

Arsenal are close to a deal to sign Colombia national team goalkeeper David Ospina from French club Nice. The club president of the Nice team, Jean-Pierre Rivère, revealed, "There is still no agreement, but we are not far." But if and when a deal is reached, what can we expect from Ospina? When 17-year-old Ospina put […]

Juan Román Riquelme was always a personality that intrigued many in the soccer world. His unparalleled skill and penchant to virtually will the ball wherever he wanted made him such an attractive footballer to watch on any pitch he played on throughout his career. In the next few days, when Riquelme is presented on the […]

The free-kick in the dying moments of extra time saw Lionel Messi in a position where he could etch himself into immortality. He was not going to win the match at that point, but if he had scored, Argentina could have flirted with victory at least. The problem was Messi blasted the ball over Manuel […]

Editor's note: One of the less discussed topics at this World Cup has been the vocal animosity that Brazil fans have shown towards Argentina, whether it's Brazilians booing the Argentina team and/or cheering on Argentina's opposition. Now with Argentina in the final on Brazil soil, we thought it'd be a good opportunity to have World […]

There are no words you can give you perspective about when you lose a colleague. It gives you perspective on how blessed one is to actually be working in this “calling”. When Argentine journalist Jorge “Topo” López passed away this past week, one reflects and one realizes. López, like many other people (myself included) in […]

I remember fondly a Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen during the 2012-13 season. Bayern Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer runs up towards the Leverkusen goal. He dribbles and sets up a cross that drifts into the area, and in the end the ball skips off the crossbar. Bayern loses the game. This was no […]

Chile had Brazil on the ropes and that was what Germany saw as they knew that the two sides would cross paths at one point in this World Cup. It was a foreshadowing of things to come, although many thought things were on the up and up when they defeated a Colombia side that was […]

In 1990, Sergio Goycochea stepped in for the injured Neri Pumpido and would be one of the catalysts to help lead Argentina in the World Cup. Between Maradona playing on one leg and “Goico” making important saves as well as stopping penalties in shootouts against Yugoslavia as well as Italy, the Argentines reached the final […]

BUENOS AIRES — Uruguayan radio personality Sergio Gorzy went off on Colombia and its soccer team after Uruguay lost 4-0 to Los Cafeteros at Barranquilla in World Cup qualifying play back in 2012. His anger was so extreme that he started talking about how soccer in Colombia was being run by “drug dealers” and how […]

Enner Valencia’s goal against Honduras this past Saturday made the small town of Ricaurte in the north of Ecuador go into a frenzy. This small town is closer to Colombia (11 miles from the border, to be exact) than it is from Guayaquil, but his success made that the epicenter of Ecuadorian soccer. His goal […]