Nathan Nipper

Call it World Cup fever. Call it “I Believe That We Will Win” fervor, or just call me crazy, but if there was ever a World Cup the United States could actually win, Brazil 2014 is it. When you’ve recovered from laughing, allow me to explain… There is a certain tongue-in-cheek quality to the I […]

In the first half of Nigeria’s 1-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina tonight, Edin Dzeko ran onto a terrific through-ball and beat Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama with a precise finishing shot. The offside flag went up late and the goal was disallowed. Replays clearly show Dzeko was not offside. It is another unfortunate high-profile officiating error that […]

At the beginning of the 2013 MLS season, FC Dallas surprised fans and pundits with their quick start. After the first month of the season, Dallas had a league-leading 12 points with four wins and a single loss. By the middle of May, Dallas still led MLS with 24 points from 12 games, but the […]

In Friday’s press conference at FC Dallas Stadium, new Stoke City manager Mark Hughes confirmed his desire to help his new club play a more "progressive" style than the straight ahead, defensive style they’re known for, without getting rid of those elements that have kept Stoke in the Premier League since the 2008/2009 season. On […]

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes, striker Peter Crouch and US defender Geoff Cameron attended a press conference yesterday evening at FC Dallas Stadium ahead of their preseason friendly tonight versus FC Dallas. The trio discussed a number of topics relating to Stoke's preseason tour of the United States, including Hughes's opinion about his team's 2-0 […]

It’s not every day that you get a chance to attend two international semifinals on the same night, in the same stadium. Wednesday evening was a rare soccer spectacular at Cowboys Stadium, aka Jerry World, in Arlington, Texas, just a short drive from where I live in suburban Dallas. Big time international soccer doesn’t make […]

As much good work as MLS Commissioner Don Garber has done for MLS in the United States, he occasionally makes American soccer fans scratch their collective heads, like with his recent comment that there’s way too much soccer on television. Another confounding example in recent months is his effort to land a second MLS team […]

Brek Shea was the face of FC Dallas the past two seasons, but now — pending international clearance — he will play for Stoke City. I’m glad for Shea. It’s always good to see American players get a shot in the world’s top league. But since I just bought an FC Dallas season ticket a […]

This week some American soccer fans have decried Jurgen Klinsmann’s decision to leave Jozy Altidore off the U.S. Men’s National Team roster for the two upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Antigua and Barbuda and Guatemala. Altidore’s omission is a wise decision by Coach Klinsmann. It is also a good thing for the U.S. team and […]

There is much speculation about which team may acquire American Clint Dempsey from Fulham at the end of this season. Arsenal is one of the latest teams rumored to be interested in him. Dempsey is in high demand after scoring a career-high 17 goals this season – more than any other American in Premier League […]

Controversial calls have been a prominent feature of the Premier League this season. Barely a week goes by without claims of a diving incident, debatable red cards, or phantom goals. Of course this often irritates fans, particularly if your team is wronged. The fact that soccer’s major governing bodies continue to ignore fans by doing […]

In the brief period since Andre Villas-Boas’s dismissal as Chelsea manager, there has already been an entertaining array of names floated in the press as potential replacements. First it was former Liverpool and Inter Milan boss Rafa Benitez. Then of course there are the two mega-managers du jour – Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho of […]