Category: Section 2 Around the Net

Soccer’s “best tradition,” says Steve Davis of the Dallas Morning News, is how player’s actually applaud the fans after games. In a way, this is patriotism at its finest, as the players gather in front of the section of the stadium where most of their fans are, applauding them for their support, sometimes taking flags […]

How about Germany? Pundits across the globe had their doubts the hosts would even be good enough to get out of their group, let alone coast their way to the quarterfinals. But coast they have, prompting Germany’s famously reserved national public to wave the flag like never before. German flag-waving is a new phenomenon in […]

Mexico finally brought it’s A Game last night against Argentina, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Albicelestes from marching on to the quarterfinals. An absolutely unstoppable volley from Maxi Rodriguez was the difference yesterday, as Mexico’s tireless midfield kept the likes of Riquelme and Saviola quiet throughout. Even the introduction of Leo Messi and […]

Adidas is setting records this year at the World Cup. Senior executives have said sales are surging beyond a billion euros and beyond expectations, as the World Cup has created a spending bonanza across Europe. The company attributes much of its success to its global marketing efforts; in fact, Adidas this year was given the […]

USA Today tries to take some positives out of the U.S.’s failure in Germany. For one thing, Americans are watching this tournament in record numbers: about 5 million viewers saw the U.S. tie Italy; that’s more than those households watching baseball on a typical Saturday. While MLS struggles in the ratings, the World Cup’s numbers […]

The New York Times witnessed the game from a Korean church, as 700 devoted fans streamed in to attend service together and then watch the match. Because the church’s pastors are big soccer fans, viewings of the games have been organized to draw people to worship and watch soccer together. Some of the games have […]

In taking her dig at the “listless” American performance, San Jose Mercury News columnist Ann Killion focused on the disappointing Landon Donovan, who the media marketed as one of THE potential stars of the World Cup. “For all Donovan did in this tournament, he might as well have stayed in Southern California, hanging with his […]

Former U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel was outraged by some of the defamatory comments lobbed at Coach Bruce Arena from some of his former teammates following the national team’s sorry exit at the hands of Ghana on Thursday. Friedel singled out TV commentators Marcelo Balboa and Eric Wynalda, teammates of his for many years, saying “those […]

The media continues to pipe on and on about America’s early exit from the World Cup. What happened? Was it just one bad performance and two referees sent to keep us from advancing to the second round? What happened? As San Francisco Chronicle columnist Bruce Jenkins says, “What happened? Did you see Brazil’s game on […]

The soccer-haters can come out of the closet now. Not only is it okay again for them to loudly and proudly hate the sport loved by the rest of the world, it’s expected. Call it their moment, and perhaps they’ve earned it. This World Cup has been a huge media play, and the U.S. team […]

Graham Poll, England’s only referee at the World Cup, will not be moving on to the next round, unlike his compatriots. The man widely regarded as one of Britain’s best referees had a terrible time yesterday overseeing the crucial Group F decider between Croatia and Australia. Poll bizarrely booked one player three times before sending […]

What a way to go out: caught in possession in the last third of the field, tackle leads to painful injury, giveaway leads to goal, goal leads to World Cup exit. It was not a good day for captain Claudio Reyna against Ghana yesterday, a day that would be his last on the international stage. […]

Poor officiating aside, the reasons for team USA’s first round exit from the World Cup are obvious enough, says the New York Times. Poor tactics (a 4-5-1 when the team hadn’t scored a goal yet), poor preparation (secrecy with respect to the line-up leading to a rift between coach and players), and a lack of […]

And so it had to be that the most anticipated match of the first round, the only game the experts might have ventured to call a preamble to the final, ended in a drab 0-0 draw. For those looking for flair and goals and lots of running and excitement, Argentina versus the Netherlands was a […]

Brazilians who’ve made the pilgrimage to Germany to see the national side defend its title may have found themselves stranded, after Varig, the largest Brazilian airline carrier, was forced to suspend service to several German cities, the Associated Press reports. In a statement Wednesday Varig officials said it would cancel 180 of 365 flights in […]

The media’s coverage of the hapless Michael Owen continues, as the striker says he feels he’s let his club down, after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament against Sweden on Wednesday. Owen told reporters that he feels guilty for Newcastle more than self-pity for an injury that will likely see him out of action until 2007. […]

Italy Coach Marcello Lippi praised the “terrific spirit” demonstrated by the Italians in their victories over Ghana and the Czech Republic. “This team has … probably the most fighting spirit I have had in any team,” Lippi said, adding that finishing top of Group E was important for several reasonsone of which is the likelihood […]

After his team’s 2-1 loss in its last game at the World Cup, U.S. coach Bruce Arena blamed the Americans’ exit at the hands of a very beatable Ghanaian defense on the crucial penalty call awarded by Markus Merk, widely considered to be one of the world’s best referees. Center back Oguchi Onyewu was called […]

When you receive this, you will probably already be watching or about to watch what we hope is the spectacle that Argentina versus the Netherlands could be. Right now, everyone watching this tournament, and apparently, everyone playing in it too, is anxious to see how Argentina responds to its crushing 6-0 win over a Serbia […]

In the American press, those who don’t understand that the United States not only played one of the traditional defensive powerhouses of world soccer, but had to do so after two of its players were sent off, might look at the team’s goal-scoring record and conclude that team USA needs “an offensive paramedic.” Against Ghana, […]

Mortgage lender Northern Rock, principal sponsor of English Premier League club Newcastle United, has pulled an advertisement that was scheduled to run throughout the World Cup, after it learned that Michael Owen, the Newcastle striker featured in the ad, would sit out the rest of the tournament with a cruciate knee injury. “Out of sympathy […]

Poor Michael Owen. It took him forever to recover from a broken foot sustained late last year. He clearly returned too early, was never really match fit, and now he’s suffered a torn ACLone of the most devastating injuries in soccerthat ends his World Cup and could take up to 9 months to heal. This, […]

According to the Independent, Sven Goran Eriksson somehow inspires “performances that defy comprehension, games that come with triumph and despair in equal measure.” In a typical England game, with Sven at helm, fair is foul and foul is fair, “and last night was his defining act,” the article said. Consider that: England played a great […]

Perhaps it’s Spain, and not Brazil, that’s turning into the neutral’s favorite at this year’s World Cup. For 70 pulsating minutes, the Spaniards searched and searched for an equalizer you knew had to be coming. And it was Raul, the out-of-form legend, who brought the group favorites back in control of a game they thoroughly […]

After a demoralizing 4-0 debut loss to Spain, Ukraine brought itself back to parity by thumping Saudi Arabia by the same score. The win, followed by the good news that Spain beat Tunisia, means the Ukrainians are now likely to qualify with just a point from their final match against the North Africans. “It’s a […]