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 […]

In the last few years a great deal of ink has been spent in the American football press about how young aspiring American soccer players must go to Academies and then skip college for MLS or a trip to Europe in order to properly develop. I've never subscribed entirely to this view as culturally our […]

It was called a victory for football. With the free-flowing, attack minded Barca defeating the dour hard-nosed boys from West London, with their stifling, aggressive and negative tactics. But it wasn't total football that won Barca the game last Wednesday night, it was one moment of brilliance from Iniesta in the last minute – Barca's […]

It was another exciting weekend of football in the Premier League. Liverpool continued to keep the heat on Sir Alex Ferguson after the Merseyside club beat West Ham United 3-0, while Manchester United moved one step closer to the 2008/2009 title with their comfortable 2-0 derby win. Is the race over or is it just […]

A photograph of Stoke City's new away shirt for the 2009-2010 season have been revealed. Stoke City's new away football kit will be black with red trim. Designed and manufactured by Le Coq Sportif, the shirt will be sponsored by Britannia Building Society. The new black away kit will replace Stoke's current design which is […]

The latest episode of Special 1 TV is out, and it's chock full of references to last week's Champions League drama. The Special One gives his views about Pep Guardiola, Didier Drogba, Guus Hiddink, Arsenal's exit at the hands of Manchester United and more — including the Swedish version of Special 1 TV. Enjoy.

As the last World Cup hosts, Germany unsurprisingly have an array of impressive stadiums. There are no fewer than 11 football stadiums with a capacity of at least 50,000, 10 of which are called home by Bundesliga clubs. This is compared to only four English football grounds, including Wembley, to have a capacity above 50,000. […]

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 […]

This week's nine matches averaged over 14,800, about 1,300 less than last year's seven matches. The NBA and NHL playoffs continue. Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston and LA have teams alive in the NBA, while the NHL still shows Anaheim, Boston, Chicago and DC(well kind of, the Capitols). I'll leave it to smarter folks than me […]

Football loves dominant sides. Think of Herbert Chapman's Arsenal of the 1920s, ravaging England with the WM formation; Real Madrid of the early days of the European Cup, with Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas wreaking havoc on unsuspecting continental champions; Liverpool getting comfy on their "fucking perch," winning four European cups in the span […]

Who else could have saved Blackburn so effortlessly? Sat second bottom of the Premier League, five points from safety with just 13 points from 17 games, Sam Allardyce succeeded Paul Ince as Blackburn Rovers' manager, and in less than 20 games he has made them all but safe – almost in second gear. He took Bolton […]

The march on DC by supporters will be covered extensively on this week's podcast. We're doing the review a day early this week because I will be traveling on Monday morning. Kansas City-DC was a difficult game to watch, but both teams fought hard to split the points. Referee Michael Kennedy made two very questionable […]

On 28 December Roy Hodgson accepted the managers post at Premier League side Fulham. The Cottagers' immediate future was looking bleak – in the bottom three, with just 14 points on the table. The revival was hardly immediate either, taking just two points from his first five league games in charge. Further to this Fulham only managed two wins in the […]

One day hell will freeze over,the same day pigs will indeed be given the power of flight. Quite probably this will be the same day that Sir Alex Ferguson makes his departure from Old Trafford. On 6 November 1986 sat behind the managers desk for the first time at the helm of arguably the biggest club in world […]

With their typical class, Chelsea players and staff asserted their belief, following their 1-1 agg defeat to Barcelona, that UEFA conspired against them to prevent an all-English final in the Champions League. Players, such as Didier Drogba, displayed their sentiment by all but physically assaulting the referee as he left the pitch. Manager Guus Hiddink […]