Amateur Football In Germany
Flares, cows and trees across the lower reaches of the game in Germany.
Remembering the Rich History of Stadion Dziesieciolecia, Warsaw
From the rubble of the Warsaw Uprising rose a stadium that was to host some of the most famous moments in Polish post-war history.
The Referee Is Not A True Artist: Jack Taylor, World Soccer Referee
For Jack Taylor, the referee for the 1974 World Cup final, handling players was much like handling the clientele at the Wolverhampton butcher shop he worked at throughout his career.
The Curious Career of Blagoje Vidinić: Bribes, Bank Notes and Balls
How a Yugoslavian goalkeeper and coach dealt with dictators and FIFA politics to change the course of sporting history.
FIFA From Rous to Blatter: All For The Good Of The Game!
Once upon a time, FIFA was not corrupt, it was just a Eurocentric empire run for the good of a few countries in western Europe unwilling to open the doors of the World Cup to the rest of the world.
A Mental Game: Pain
Andrew Guest considers flopping, pain and perception: does it really hurt, Arjen?
Goals for Galilee and Arab Soccer in a Jewish State
Our regular book reviewer Alex Usher delves into football in Israel with Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler’s Goals for Galilee: The Triumphs and Traumas of the Sons of Sakhnin, Israel’s Arab Football Club and Tamir Sorek’s Arab Soccer in a Jewish State.
Soccer Empire: The World Cup and the Future of France
Alex Usher dissects a new book by Laurent Dubois that attempts to tie together the history of colonial and post-colonial France with its national soccer team’s success.
Paving The Way For South Africa 2010: Ydnekatchew Tessema, Forgotten Hero Of African Soccer
National team player, coach for his country’s only major international triumph, co-founder of a FIFA confederation, and the man who set in motion the chain of events that led to South Africa becoming the first African nation to host the World Cup: we look at the late Ethiopian visionary Ydnekatchew Tessema.
Tackling The Absurd Ascent Of The Manager
Alex Usher looks at Barney Ronay’s attempt to look at the rise of the manager historically, the book’s insights let down by its prose.
The Currents of History: What does it take to win the World Cup?
Supriya Nair looks at highbrow theories of World Cup success and twentieth century history, and finds the analysis to be awry.
The Anatomy of England
Alex Usher reviews Jonathan Wilson’s new book on the history of the England national team, coming away rather underwhelmed.
Martians, Steven Wells, and the Soul of American Soccer
Why does the coverage of soccer in the United States by the British media fail to glimpse the diversity of the game in North America?
America Wakes Up To The World Cup
On the morning of the United States’ most hyped game ever, we comb through America’s hundreds of daily newspapers to see what Americans are reading about the World Cup on their front pages today.
The World Is A Ball
Alex Usher concludes that John Doyle’s new book on his World Cup travels is a little on the smug side.
Post-Invictus: South Africa’s Greatest Soccer Moment
Andrew Guest pieces together the story of South Africa’s triumphant hosting of the 1996 African Cup of Nations, offering it as an important complement to ‘Invictus’ and the Rugby World Cup seven months prior.
Soccer, Passion, Politics and the First World Cup in Africa
Alex Usher looks at Steve Bloomfield’s incisive take on soccer across the continent of Africa in his new book, Africa United.
Team USA and the State of the (Soccer) Nation
Andrew Guest does a ‘Soccernomics’ style analysis of the US 30 man roster to consider who and what the team represents.
Stories of African (and English, and American) Soccer: Steve Zakuani and the Congo
Andrew Guest considers the Steve Zakauni’s soccer journey from Kinshasa to London to Akron to Seattle to get perspectives on the Congo and fateful chance in the game.
Coming Soon to MLS: Hoodoo Yaller Dogs, Bizarre Tennis Cults, and a New Portland Stadium with Old Soccer History
As the Portland Timbers start their final minor league season in the midst of a stadium remodeling, Andrew Guest describes the stadium’s long soccer history.
The South African Connection: Kaizer Motaung, Jomo Sono, and the North American Soccer League
Andrew Guest explores ‘one of the more obscure connections in world football’ between the old NASL and World Cup hosts South Africa.
A Mental Game: Us versus Them and the Social Psychology of Fandom
Andrew Guest offers some psychological perspectives on fan allegiance and rivalry, looking at Seattle vs. Portland with an eye on social identity theory.
The Women’s Game in Africa: ‘Zanzibar Soccer Queens’ and Other Tales
Andrew Guest considers the relative under-development of the women’s game in Africa while reviewing the documentary film ‘Zanzibar Soccer Queens’
Fan Ownership: A Practical Future?
Yesterday, we looked at how the idea of fan ownership has received serious attention in recent weeks, with the growing profiles of supporters’ trusts at English clubs. Today, wrapping up our weeklong series, we look at the the practicalities of cash, stadiums and regulations in fan ownership schemes.
Fan Ownership: Brentford’s Brian Burgess On the Reality of a Fan-Run Club
Gary Andrews interviews a fan put in charge of a club, and looks at the good and the bad of the realities of fan-owned football.
Fan Ownership: The Successes of the Trust Movement
In the second part of our exploration of Trusts and football, we look at those clubs currently flying the flag for the Trust movement.
Putting the Trust into Football: An Examination of Supporter Ownership
All this week Pitch Invasion is looking at the concept of fan ownership. We’ll look at the highs and lows of supporter ownership in English football, and its prospects for the future. In our opening part, Gary Andrews outlines where Trust or fan ownership currently stands.
African Soccerscapes: History, Ideas, and the 2010 World Cup
Andrew Guest reviews the book African Soccerscapes and asks its author Peter Alegi about his work as related to South Africa 2010.
The Evolution of American Soccer Support Through a Kid at Heart
Peter Wilt looks at how the generational growth of soccer in the United States is exemplified by one family, with a passion for the game nurtured by a loving father.
The Role Model Thing: Perspectives from the Women’s Game
Andrew Guest draws from research with elite women’s players to consider the role model thing in soccer and society.
Tales From the Dark Ages of American Soccer
Peter Wilt tells us how he got started in professional American soccer, during its darkest days.
The Dark Ages: Soccer in America From 1984 to 1996
Benjamin Kumming looks at what happened to American soccer in the lost days between the end of the NASL and the launch of Major League Soccer.
Going Pro: Kelsey Davis, American Soccer, and Emerging Adulthood
A profile of Kelsey Davis, and thoughts on what it means to be an American player going pro. By Andrew Guest.
A Brand History of the European Championship
FMountains. Flowers. Hearts. Stars. No, these are not elements of a new children’s breakfast cereal – they are visual signifiers of the world’s second–most prominent international football tournament. JL Murtaugh looks at the brand identities that have defined the European Championship.
Where Has All the Magic Gone? Juju, Africa, and Superstitions in the Game
Andrew Guest considers juju in African soccer, both in relation to other types of sports superstition and in relation to its seeming absence from stories about the 2010 Cup of Nations.
Angola Aside from the Cup: A Different Soccer Story
Andrew Guest offers some personal perspectives on Angola and the game away from the stadiums and the Togo bus tragedy
Rival Leagues and Pitch Invasions: American Soccer in 1967
The failure of the USL and NASL to receive sanctioning from the USSF as Division II leagues for the 2010 season is a reminder of the days in American soccer when the country had competing leagues fighting for FIFA and USSF approval.
Selecting an MLS Head Coach: An Insider’s View
As many MLS teams look for a new manager, former Fire GM and President Peter Wilt tells us how he made his choices.
The Inevitabilities of Soccer and South Africa: ‘More Than Just a Game’ on Robben Island
Following a visit of the FIFA executive council to Robben Island, Andrew Guest considers the story of the Makana Football Association and reviews ‘More Than Just a Game’.
From the Dayton Dynamo to Saprissa Stadium
Culture of Soccer blogger David Keyes explains how his love for the game developed from indoor soccer to Saprissa Stadium.
Building Stadiums: Angola, China, and the African Cup of Nations
With African Nations Cup Qualifying complete, and the draw to be held November 20th, Andrew Guest takes a look at the stories behind the Angolan stadiums hosting the tournment.
Robert Enke and Depression in Professional Sportsmen
Bobby Bandon looks at the deeper issue too often brushed away when sportsmen face depression.
Onward Christian Athletes? Faith in the Game
Drawing on the new book Onward Christian Athletes, Andrew Guest analyzes the curious ways religion interacts with the modern game.
Who Owns a Soccer Club? Creating Tribalism
Peter Wilt’s weekly column looks at what role owners and supporters can play in turning casual fans into hardcore supporters.
Football Books: The Rough Guide to Soccer In Print
If anyone’s read more football books than our new book reviewer Alex Usher, you’ll have to prove it with a post as long and learned as this one covering the entire genre of football in print.
DIY or Prefab? Portland, Seattle and Success in American Soccer Culture
Benjamin Kumming looks at the fascinating contrast in the Pacific Northwest between the sudden guerrilla marketing success of Seattle and the long term solidity of DIY supporter culture in Portland.
The Job that Wasn’t: Sir Bobby Robson’s First Managerial Appointment with the Vancouver Royals
Few obituaries on Sir Bobby Robson noted his first managerial appointment, at the Vancouver Royals. Richard Whittall looks at an inauspicious start to a legendary career.
Booth, Fish, and Me: Playing While White in Africa
Andrew Guest offers a personal account of his experience as the only white player in Malawi’s Kwacha Lifebuoy Super League, and looks at race and football in Africa.
The Police Playing the Policed
I am a founding officer for the Union Football League, an AYSO-affiliated adult league which plays near downtown Los Angeles. When we heard that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) would field a team during our first season we were a bit wary.
Eastville Stadium: Flowers, Fire & Gas
It was a stadium known for flowerbeds behind the goal and a terrible fire.
It was also known for its stench.
Portland in MLS: The Origins of the Timbers Army
As they say in other soccer countries, we’re going up. Today, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber anointed the Portland Timbers—our modest local soccer team with the not-so-modest grassroots fan following, the Timbers Army—as the latest franchise in the nation’s top soccer league.
The Business of Euro 2008
The corporate branding at Euro 2008 was pervasive. Marc Bahnsen considers what this meant for the casual fan at the tournament, looks at protest against Euro 2008, and some clever counter-marketing.
Inside Chelsea’s Propaganda Machine
Wouldn’t writing for the club you supported be your dream job? Not so for Terry Daley, who found a different reality working for Chelsea’s official publications.
Sexism Hurts
Jennifer Doyle looks at how the ingrained sexism in sports medicine is damaging to women’s football.
The Old, Weird Everywhere: Bristol Rovers and “Goodnight, Irene”
Continuing our recent theme, Brian Phillips takes a look at the history of one of the strangest supporter songs in football — “Goodnight, Irene,” an American folk song about love and suicide that’s been the anthem of Bristol Rovers for almost 60 years.
Shall we sing a song for you: Italian football songs, Part I
Continuing our look at the songs sung by football fans, Vanda Wilcox considers the traditions and culture of Italian club anthems.
Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur
If you are lucky enough to visit White Hart Lane on match day, you might hear the Tottenham fans chant “Glory, Glory Tottenham Hotspur” to the tune of the song popularly known as “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. Jennifer Doyle looks at the oft-forgotten origins of this stirring tune in 19th century America.
What Needs to Change in Non-League Football
We’ve been looking at English non-league football all week, and in something of a call-to-arms, Dave Boyle suggests that more supporters of …
