There you have it, Italy in Group F, drawn with New Zealand, Paraguay and Slovakia. A relatively simple group and one Marcelo Lippi should take the Azzurri through with comfort. Group F Italy New Zealand Paraguay Slovakia They begin the defence of their crown in Capetown at the Greenpoint soccer stadium on June 14th 2010 […]

Almost twenty years ago England went to Poland knowing that a draw would qualify them for Italia 90. A backs-to-the wall performance and the magnificence of Peter Shilton ensured they had their point and the team then went onto reach the semi-finals of the tournament that arguably saved English football from itself and ultimately elevated […]

With this weeks 4-0 drubbing of England u21s by the German u21s, Die Mannschaft completed a hat-trick of youth level European Championships (winning the u17, u19, and u21 tournaments). Such success indicates that the future of the Bundesliga is bright, and that while the Serie A begins a period of decline, the Premier League is […]

Fresh from giving England fans palpitations after Fridays semi-final win against host nation Sweden, England's young lions have a chance to win some silverware for the junior lions for the first time since 1993. England Under 18's triumphed that year, riding a week long wave of growing optimism and support to beat Turkey 1-0 in […]

I’ve wondered for a long time what it is that managers see in Stewart Downing, particularly England managers. Since his first call up in February 2005, Downing has been pretty much been a regular in the England squad, but why? I don’t understand how one player can have gained 22 caps without ever making an […]

GolTV has acquired the U.S. TV rights to the 2009 European under-21 Championship, scheduled for June 15-29 in Sweden. The eight countries competing in the tournament will be England, Italy, Serbia, Germany, Finland, Belarus, Spain and Sweden. The draw for the tournament takes place on December 3rd. For connoiseurs of the beautiful game, the European […]

Another Germany-Wales match, another game too close for comfort for die Nationalmannschaft. The all-time series record stands at 8 wins for Germany, 2 for Wales and 6 draws between them. I don't know what it is with the Welsh, but they punch above their weight when playing against Ballack and co. Germany needed all my […]

As you may know former longtime Germany and Bayern no. 1 Oliver Kahn had his testimonial exactly a week ago in Munich. The match, between Bayern and Germany, ended 1-1, but the score was less important than the man honored that night. His accomplishments are legion and well-known, including, perhaps most impressively, being the only […]

st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } 1. Parity Okay, let’s not kid ourselves. Not any team can win the Bundesliga. But since the inception of the EPL in 1991, four teams have won the title: United, Blackburn, Chelsea and Arsenal, but United has won 11 of those titles. In that same span, five teams have won the title in […]

The new Bundesliga season is just days away, so Bundesliga Talk writers Mark Moll and Double Pivot decided to interview one of the preeminent writers and authors on the topic of German soccer, Raphael Honigstein. Many readers may know Honigstein best from his appearances on the Football Weekly Podcast by The Guardian. Here's the transcript […]

Fred Rutten isn't the only new Dutch manager in the Bundesliga, as ex-Tottenham Martin Jol took over the reigns of Hamburg earlier this month. It's been nearly 30 years since Jol's last appearance in Germany. He made 9 appearances for Bayern Munich as a midfielder in 1978/79 before returning to the Netherlands the next season. […]

On the European Continent and on the British Isles the view of the Olympic football Tournament is completely different than in the rest of the world. In Europe the tournament is seen as more of a nuisance than anything, while among those in the Western Hemisphere and in Africa it is seen as big deal. […]

Spain have finally overcome their history of underachievers to win Euro 2008. They did so while playing a variation of the style that sometimes led to them being eliminated from competitions. This time around there was one huge difference, the teams spirit. Weather it was winning at the last minute against Sweden, or pinning the Italians back for an […]

Google is getting into the mood for today's Euro 2008 final by showing a soccer doodle on its homepages in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. As of writing, Google Spain's homepage didn't feature the image. German seventeen year old Mai Dao Ngoc drew the winning picture.

ESPN and ABC's dreams have come true. Sunday's Euro 2008 final between Germany and Spain is a far better proposition for the Disney owned TV networks than Turkey against Russia would have been. With plenty of German Americans living in the United States as well as a massive hispanic population, TV ratings should be high. […]