Today's World Cup Final between Netherlands and Spain will have an immense impact on the growth of soccer in the United States. While soccer continues to thrive among the die-hard fans who play the sport and/or watch it on television, the jury is still out regarding whether soccer will become more popular among mainstream America. […]

Spain, if you're the "Best Team In The World" according to Joachim Loew, why do you have to be so bloody boring? Watching Spain's 1-0 victory against Germany Wednesday, I was bored several times during the match. No, not because of the lack of goals. But because of Spain's methodically slow tempo. Several times in […]

The final of the 2010 World Cup is set. After Spain defeated Germany 1-0 in the World Cup semi-final Wednesday, we now know that there'll be a brand-new country to add to the list of the select group who have won the most prestigious soccer tournament in the world. But who will win Sunday? Vote […]

Through some fortuitous timing on my part, and the benevolence of my wonderful wife, I was able to spend a large part of our recent honeymoon in South Africa…for the 2010 World Cup! Since arriving back Stateside, I’ve attempted to settle back into a life devoid of 24/7 football and the sweet hum of the […]

For Scotland fans, there is one goal above all others than stands alone as a probably the best goal they've ever scored in a World Cup. In fact, lets be honest, it's one of the best goals scored by any team at a World Cup. It's certainly one of my favourite goals in the tournaments […]

One of the co-authors of Soccernomics, Simon Kuper is also an expert on Dutch soccer. On this edition of the World Cup Buzz podcast, I talk to Simon about the romance surrounding the Oranje, when we learned about the team from Euro 2008, and whether he feels a suspect defense and hold up in South […]

One of the co-authors of Soccernomics, Simon Kuper is also an expert on Dutch soccer. On this edition of the World Cup Buzz podcast, I talk to Simon about the romance surrounding the Oranje, when we learned about the team from Euro 2008, and whether he feels a suspect defense and hold up in South […]

Last year, I was lucky enough to do a fabulous series on English football legends, which saw me delve back through history to cover 11 players that perhaps never get the credit they deserve. Football is such a fickle sport that these days, people forget just how many great players passed through the annals before […]

Yesterday, I looked at the expectations we often place on international football. This got me thinking about the Dutch and their legendary Total Football era in the 70s. What does this mean to us today? Does Cruyff's legacy still influence world football? What do we want from our football? The Spain/South Africa match was on […]

Yesterday, I asked the question of implementing live video review in football. Today's question is: are our expectations too high for international football? I enjoyed your responses to yesterday's article. Please weigh in with your feelings on international football in the comment section below. It is easy to hold one's international side to an unfair […]

Marco van Basten told us Ryan Babel might just be the next Thierry Henry. And there have been some instances to suggest the 22-year-old could be on the path to greatness: Babel's 40 yard blast against Chelsea to give Liverpool a breath of hope in last year's Champions League semi-final. His arched rocket past Edwin […]

It's finally official, Rafael van der Vaart the Netherlands midfielder and Hamburg's captain is on his way to Real Madrid pending the results of a medical. The Bundesliga's own version of the Ronaldo affair has come an end. Although the clubs themselves have not released the details regarding the transfer fee, reports in the German […]

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. […]

This week we make the short trip west on the A40 from Dortmund past Bochum to Gelsenkirchen, home to Schalke 04 and their new coach, Fred Rutten. Much like his new Ruhr rival, Jürgen Klopp, Rutten has been a one club man for almost his entire 30-year playing and coaching career, all with FC Twente […]

The Guardian's Barney Ronay wrote an excellent article this week about ticket scalpers at Euro 2008. While in Zurich, I didn't see one scalper. But the minute I walked off the train in Bern on the day of the Holland against Italy match, there were scalpers everywhere. That day, I probably saw about 20-30 different […]