The Beautiful Poetry of Football Commentary: Book review

How do they do it? When confronted with a dramatic situation for our favorite club or a stressful moment in an engaging match, we usually regress to unintelligible sounds or a series of annoying semi-connected syllables. Broadcasters, conversely, not only need to keep their cool and convey the moment, but transmit the gravity of what is going […]

The World Cup is upon us, and whether this is your first or fortieth year of watching the world's greatest tournament, each one has its own unique story. Certainly this one in the winter and in Qatar is historic, but also complicated and controversial. To help the casual soccer fan navigate the Qatar World Cup, […]

When the US Men's National Team roster was announced for the 2022 World Cup, the club names of the players were dazzling: Arsenal, Barcelona, Juventus, among others. The "kids" playing in Qatar in the red, white, and blue are part of a new generation of soccer players. Top clubs covet these names with contributions pouring […]

The beautiful game has an ugly side. This is what soccer fans quickly learn as they grow as fans. They learn about match fixing, the violence, the seamy characters and the political manipulation. It is this last one getting full attention as the first November World Cup takes place in Qatar. Just four years prior, […]

If talent alone won a World Cup, the Netherlands would have at least one, maybe two stars on their crest. Brazil would go decades between losing World Cups. And the Germans, well, they would still be winning on penalties. Joking aside, winning a World Cup takes more than just the most talented 23 players. It […]

Berlin is an interesting place. I remember my first visit a few years back when I went for a work conference. My first reaction was how big of a city it was. In many ways, it felt like a city in Texas: sprawled out, impossible to see all of it, and full of different zones […]

Fairly or unfairly, women's soccer is about more than just the game. For decades, the sport has been tied into larger cultural issues around women's rights and equity. Whether it is the immediate ask for comments from women's soccer players after the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, or the international interest in the US Women's National […]

The football fan autobiography is a classic genre on our sports’ bookshelf. Soccer, more than any other sport long invited fans and authors to write about their rooting experiences. These develop into valuable recruiting tools in places where European football fandom continues to grow. This author is a fan of Arsenal because of Fever Pitch, […]

Tracking the American soccer scene is a full-time job. Fans require time, energy and resources to go beyond MLS and learn how we got to the present as a soccer nation. Those who search find the repetition of tearing down American soccer only to be "rebuilt" again. Consequently, there are years of history and stories […]

Review: World Soccer Talk's Robert Hay Jr. details the autobiography of Paul Mariner, My Rock and Roll Football Story. Universal shock and dismay in the soccer world came in response to the passing of Paul Mariner this summer. Mariner was the epitome of a 'jack-of-all-trades'. Mariner won near universal praise for his larger-than-life personality and kindness […]

In 2021, we are witnessing a change in U.S. women's soccer. As the national team prepares for the 2023 World Cup, a number of players head to camp to form the next generation of American stars. The task in front of these young women is tall. They must replace the on-field production of Carli Lloyd […]