Author Archives: Soccer America

After a four-year freeze (presumably not the same one that has affected the team’s trophy cabinet), Arsenal has raised ticket prices to keep pace with “the substantial inflation in football.” The cheapest season ticket now costs a mere $1,850.

Still awake out there? Don’t raise your hopes, but the Ronaldinho transfer saga may come to an end within the next 72 hours. If he sticks to his promise to make a decision.

The “latest buzz in U.S. soccer circles” (wherever they may be) is that New England’s Michael Parkhurst will be in Peter Nowak’s Olympic squad, to be announced Thursday.

How important is soccer in the greater scheme of things? Sometimes external events cause both players and fans to adopt a more rational perspective on the relative importance of the game, a transitory state that usually lasts until the next kick-off. New England Revolution defender Chase Hilgenbrinck, however, has taken a more long-term view and […]

Soccer at the Beijing Olympics is threatening to become a showcase for Barcelona’s biggest names, albeit some of whom seem to be heading for the Nou Camp exit, writes Jack Bell. First Lionel Messi was called up by Argentina, then Ronaldinho was picked by Brazil, and now Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o has said he thinks […]

It’s not been a brilliant season so far for the Kansas City Wizards, but it might have been even worse had the team not signed Argentine veteran Claudio Lopez, 34 this week. The forward has missed only 14 minutes of league action so far, is tied for the team lead with three assists, and is […]

Slavery in soccer has little to do with Cristiano Ronaldo, but plenty to do with the exploitation of young players from Africa looking to make a career for themselves in Europe. The danger comes not just from exploitative clubs, but from fraudsters claiming that they can set up trials with clubs, then pocket a fee […]

An editorial at the excellent U.K. webzine twohundredpercent analyzes an article in last Saturday’s Guardian by comedian David Mitchell. Although Mitchell’s anti-soccer piece displayed a typical lack of understanding of the game, it ought to strike chord with soccer fans who are sick of the year-round blanket media coverage that no longer even allows us […]