At the crossroads of the Pyrenees and the fruitful Ebro valley lays the Estadio Reyno de Navarra in Pamplona, where RCD Mallorca visited Osasuna in Round 14 of La Liga. A cold, crisp night with a wintry wind whipping through the bones of the players and the supporters, the below freezing weather suits no team […]

Thirty minutes before the Arsenal Liverpool game, my mate (a Liverpool fan) turns to me and tells me that we need a miracle to beat them. At the final whistle, he looks at me with a huge frown on his face and says that we had four. I personally don't believe in miracles, so let's […]

ESPN Personalities Bob Ley, Efan Ekoku and Alexi Lalas share their initial thoughts about the World Cup draw. This commentary was recorded right after the draw was completed.

For once Arsene Wenger got angry. Or so at least say his players, as they point to his halftime talk as a motivator for coming from a goal down to beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield. Apparently, he told his players they didn't deserve to wear the Arsenal shirt, which surprised them, as well as those familiar with the Frenchman's tendency to coddle his players. Perhaps that's simply his belief in their abilities, but lacking sharpness can't always be the reason his side drop points. And the Gunners did lack sharpness, as they have since the loss of Robin van Persie. They did not play well in the first half, and if Torres had a few games under his belt to regain full match fitness, it could've easily been 1-0 to the Reds in the first fifteen minutes. Actually, make that two goals, as the Reds also could have had a penalty after William Gallas upended Steven Gerrard in front of goal.

In our ongoing review of US Soccer’s Project 2010 as we enter the World Cup year, today we look at the Teaching Academy structure. This is part III in our series. Links to Parts I and II can be found at the bottom of this article. ————————————– "This presents a teaching academy model which attempts […]

Alex McLeish has built the right type of squad to maintain Premier League status. After several consecutive “yoyo” seasons, the Blues appear poised to survive easily this season. McLeish’s strategy: combine veteran British footballers with one very special bargain buy from CONCACAF. Stephen Carr, who won the 1999 League Cup with Spurs, Kevin Phillips, the […]

It goes without saying that both the Reds and the Gunners will have much to prove at Anfield on Sunday. Liverpool are out of the Champions League and will be clawing their way back into contention for a top four finish in the Premier League. Arsenal will be thirsting to prove that the losses against […]

There have been very few if any boring Premier League weekends so far this season, and this Saturday was another example of why this is one of the most entertaining leagues in the world. Here are my observations from the Saturday games I've watched thus far:

I'm more nervous about this Arsenal match than any other time I've awaited Liverpool taking on the Gunners. Well: outside of a European quarterfinal, anyway. It's the context of this season that has me all wound up. The injuries. The results. The fall from the Champions League. With Liverpool following their best season in nearly […]

Referees never have an easy job, but they don't make their life any easier when they make costly mistakes in heated Premier League games. A perfect example of this was in Saturday's game between Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City when Craig Bellamy was making a run down the left wing. In the incident, Bolton defender […]

It's been a rough few months for Manchester United players as the rigors of competing in multiple competitions have taken their toll. Sir Alex Ferguson's defensive dilemma has been well documented in recent weeks so weary eyes now turn to the almost 29-year-old Canadian born England and Manchester United midfielder, Owen Hargreaves. Seemingly vanished from […]

A few weeks ago I introduced you to The Group Of Death via a video showing a special package from ESPN that was delivered to my doorstep. But now, in homage to Spinal Tap and for a little bit of fun on a Friday, we have a video of The Group Of Death rock band […]

Thomas Dooley, former USMNT captain, joins us to talk about the US team and other topics. After retiring as a player who spent most of his career in the Bundesliga, Dooley now lives in California and works with youth soccer and also for Match Analysis, a company that complies soccer statistics and sells the information […]

Last night’s first leg of the FMF Apertura Final was an incredibly entertaining affair. Monterrey behind Humberto Suazo, one of the top strikers in COMNEBOL came from behind to beat Cruz Azul 4-3. The second leg is Sunday, in Mexico City. Suazo, who led COMNEBOL World Cup Qualifying in goals scored, could be one of […]

Maybe it was the World Cup Draw bounce or a nice lift from the previous weekend's Manchester United game, but the Nielsen Ratings for last weekend's match between Portsmouth and Burnley, far from being two popular teams in America, achieved the sixth highest rating of the 2009-2010 Premier League season thus far. The broadcast generated […]