Name: Seattle Sounders Coach: Sigi Schmid Last Year: 18-7-9, 2nd Western Conference, 2nd Overall Hashtag: #Sounders Are Sounders fans too demanding? In its current iteration, the club is entering its fourth MLS season and has made three consecutive conference semifinals. They own the U.S. Open Cup. They have set attendance records that will be hard to […]

Let's gear up for tomorrows FA Cup matches with a video. Take a look at the highlights from last years final. Here's the links: Aston Villa shaken up [Caught Offside] Buy Beckham's 2008 Porsche [Ebay] Manchester City played for the draw [A Different League] Obi Mikel out until February [Sky] Dzeko interview [M.C.F.C.] Soccer Songs […]

The Premiership, probably at the moment, is the most open league for anyone to win since its introduction in 1992. The emergence of teams like Bolton and Sunderland is making them competitors worthy of testing the best in the league. The league in my mind has stretched across a different range altogether, watching a resurgent […]

The partisan nature of football is one of the greatest things about the sport. It gives us the chance to get behind one team, to share banter with opposing fans and feel that ecstatic high when our team wins. But do we take things too far? I am not talking about violence or poor behaviour […]

There is some real drama about which European country will host the next World Cup. Both England and Russia have submitted solid bids, and FIFA is going to have to think very deeply about which country will get to host this prestigious event. However, FIFA is awarding both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups this […]

There are a couple of different ways to look at tonight's friendly between the United States and El Salvador (ESPN Classic and Galavision, 7 p.m.). The first is to write it off as a meaningless affair. After all, there might be four or five guys out of the 20 in uniform tonight that have a […]

In a long and completely boring interview with London’s Daily Mail, Marky Mark Wahlberg had this to say about his neighbor David Beckham: Man, the Beckhams. It used to be so quiet on my road. Then David moves in with his family. Suddenly we've got paparazzi hanging out day and night. Now they'll follow any […]

Simon Kuper and Stefan Syzmanski titled the American version of their new book Soccernomics (review is here), but their title for the release in the UK is Why England Lose. In the book, Kuper and Syzmanski identified the US as a rising power in soccer and England as a permanent disappointment to their rabid fans. With […]

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 […]

A clash between the second- and third-place teams in the Barclays Premier League is set for Sunday at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea entertains Liverpool. Sounds like fun, right? But first, check out the TV schedule here. Now, on with the previews: Chelsea vs. Liverpool Oh, no big deal. Just two clubs with title dreams playing […]

If it's lonely at the top, you wouldn't guess it by watching Chelsea run rampant through the Premier League in the early stages of the 2009-2010 campaign. With a perfect 18 points in six matches and a +12 goal difference to boot, the Blues aren't letting their recent transfer ban get in the way of […]

Can Spurs be stopped? Will the real Liverpool, Manchester United and Aston Villa please stand up? When will Pompey spend some of their new found wealth? Oh yeah, we have our first Big Four clash of the year with Arsenal visiting Old Trafford this week as well. Perhaps this week in the EPL will get […]

Have a look at the table. Go on, have a look. It's always interesting to glance at a Premiership table and see Tottenham at the top while Manchester United sits mired in 10th. Take heart, Red Devil fans. The season is still very young. On the tube Don't miss the weekend's TV schedule, which is, […]

Finally. The 2009-2010 English Premier League season is less than 24 hours away and, for the next few hours, everybody is in a Champions League spot. Of course, a pessimist would point out that everyone is also in the drop zone. Whatever. Let’s get into some previews for week one, shall we? Chelsea vs. Hull […]

Who is the real target demographic of professional soccer in the U.S.? Is it Soccer Moms? Is it Soccer players? Is it Latino people? Sure, Soccer Moms, Latinos and Soccer players make up some of the peripheral targets, but who makes up the core target? One U.S. pro soccer fan thinks he's the core target demo. He's 41 and 1/2 […]