Mattlichtenstadter

If it wasn’t abundantly clear before this weekend, it should be now. The referees of the English Premier League are detracting from an otherwise great season of soccer. Normally when a team like Burnley steals points from a team like Chelsea away from home, that team gets its fair share of plaudits and admiration. This […]

Tim Sherwood thinks he has a legacy. How cute. Yes, he introduced the world to Nabil Bentaleb and Harry Kane. For that, we should all be thankful. Yes, he won many games as Tottenham Hotspur manager, but had just as many brain-melting moments on and off the pitch. And just days into his tenure at […]

For Spurs, their Europa League campaign continues Thursday against Fiorentina. For Liverpool, another campaign begins at Anfield against Besiktas. Both are in similar league positions, form, and a similar predicament – how seriously do we take the Europa League when we could still finish in the top four? It’s the tightrope that both Brendan Rodgers […]

Through all of the arguments about fitness, Jurgen Klinsmann himself, his tactics, how the US “should” play soccer, all of it, the popular narrative has missed a critical point: It’s February of 2015. It’s the beginning of a cycle, the beginning of a new dawn. Why panic now? The calendar is a friend to Jurgen […]

Derby games are sometimes cagey affairs with far more interesting events happening in the stands than on the pitch. The last four North London derbies have been like that. Two 1-0 wins for Arsenal, a 2-0 win in the FA Cup, which was far less competitive than the scoreline indicates, and the 1-1 draw from […]

Rumors had been spreading throughout January that Jurgen Klinsmann would implement a 3-5-2 formation when the US took on Chile in Rancagua. The lineup that was sent out Wednesday validated those rumors. Klinsmann has always been a fan of pushing players out of their comfort zones, whether it be positionally, tactically, or who they are playing. […]

Lost in the news of major DP signings and the Frank Lampard fiasco is MLS’ ongoing CBA negotiations. Now as teams begin preparations for the 2015 season, the war of words has begun on both sides. MLS’ current structure is by no means perfect, even if the discussion on single-entity is avoided entirely. But the […]

Today quite possibly the most important player signing in MLS’ recent history was unveiled in Toronto. La formica atomica, Sebastian Giovinco was introduced as another marquee signing for the flagging Toronto FC. Last year it was a “bloody big deal” when Jermain Defoe was introduced, and it turned out to be a “bloody big flop”. […]

Friday night I posted here that there is a bright future ahead of US Soccer based on the U-20 team that is attempting to qualify for its World Cup, and that still stands. The talent on that team is miles above any U-20 team in recent memory, and that’s without some amazing talent left at […]

If there are frustrated fans of the US Men’s National Team looking for a beacon of light before the January camp gets underway, look to some younger Yanks in Jamaica. The CONCACAF U-20 qualification tournament for the 2015 U-20 World Cup in New Zealand is underway, and if the Yanks on display are any indication, […]

As the year 2014 winds down, it is a good time to look back at what was a pretty eventful year for the beautiful game. We saw transfer madness, the slip seen around the world, the bite(s) felt around the world, the transfer ban that almost wasn’t then was again, and everything in between. It’s […]

It has not been a good season at the Emirates. They're 13 points behind Chelsea in the Premier League, they have already been eliminated from the Capital One Cup, and they're likely to finish second in an easy UEFA Champions League group. And now this past weekend at Stoke might have been the tipping point for […]

Chris Wondolowski and Roy Lassiter hold the joint record for the top scorer in a MLS season with 27 goals. Now Bradley Wright-Phillips has joined them after last night's emphatic 2-0 away win against Sporting KC. In a season where the focus has been mainly on the futures of Tim Cahill and Thierry Henry, Wright-Phillips has […]

Whether it’s promotion and relegation, or major USMNT players leaving Europe for the riches of MLS, Jurgen Klinsmann has taken numerous whacks at Don Garber’s piñata recently. And Mr. Garber, desperate not to lose any PR or standing in the eyes of the growing American soccer populace, fought back. It does reek of desperation, but […]

Each Premier League club is where it is thanks to contributions from a whole heap of players, but there are some that are greater among equals. That’s what this is about: trying to find the most valuable player for each team. It’s actually harder than it looks, but thankfully I’m here to give it a […]