Futebol Nation, by David Goldblatt

photo credit: alobos Life via photopin cc

The World’s eyes will turn to Brazil in less than two weeks. But what will they see? Yes, the World Cup, of course. It is hard for anything to coexist with the biggest tournament on Earth. But they will also see, perhaps more than ever, the nation playing host. The World Cup, which at times has defined Brazil’s progress, has brought turmoil instead. Inside the stadiums they will play games, but outside there will be protests. Futebol Nation, by David Goldblatt, provides to the outsider context and backstory for the country that more than any other is inseparable from the jogo bonito. 

What we learned from the USMNT’s win over Azerbaijan

The easy text to put here is: not much. Azerbaijan sat back, parking the bus in a way that none of the US’s group stage opponents will do. Forced to break down a staunch defense, the U.S. often struggled, but we learned little about how they’ll exploit the counter. That said, some things are worth noting.

XI: The weekend of May 24th

-Two minutes. That’s all that separated Atletico Madrid from an improbable double, the Champions League in addition to their La Liga win. If you put down a $10 bet on said double at the beginning of the season, you were two minutes away from $60,000. Diego Godín’s header, and Iker Casillas’ mistake gave Atletico a 1-0 lead. For most of the second half, it seemed like Atletico’s staunch defending would be enough to hang on. It helped that Real Madrid’s best chances fell to Gareth Bale, who had a couple horror misses. But in the 93rd minute, on a set piece, an area of strength for Atletico, Sergio Ramos found space. His header just inside the far post was only an equalizer, bu it didn’t feel like that.

Golazo, by Andreas Campomar

The eyes of the soccer world, from August to May, are on the northern hemisphere. Europe, the birthplace of the game, is home to the world’s best leagues, and it is there the best players ply their trade. But in the summer, and come the World Cup, South America is every bit Europe’s equal. This summer, soccer’s showcase returns to Latin America for the first time in nearly three decades, and the continent is favorite to win, be it Brazil or Argentina. Golazo: The Beautiful Game from the Aztecs to the World Cup, by Andreas Campomar, tells the story of how that came to be. There’s a lot of violence.

GIFs of the Week: 5/17-5/23

That’s the goal that won the Spanish title for Atletico Madrid. Diego Godin’s header was the equalizing goal against Barcelona, and Atletico held on for their first title since 1995-96

Obafemi Martins took home goal of the week in MLS for this effort. But what did goalkeeper Jon Busch think?

Yeah.

Meanwhile, in Russia, wizards are now allowed to play in Premier League. That’s Pavel Golyshev with one of the best assists you’ll ever see. 

Der Junge: Jurgen Klinsmann’s USMNT

Jurgen Klinsmann has built a young USMNT heading into Brazil | Photo credit – NathanF on Flickr

In theory, the announcement of a World Cup squad should be a fairly joyous occasion for the 23 players selected. But in practice, and especially when a 30-man roster is released before, the focus goes to those left out. They are fewer in number, and the inherent conflict of their exlcusion is easier to write about. When one of those so-called snubs scored the most important goal in your country’s history just four years earlier, well… But there are American soccer players not named Landon Donovan. And they are important too.

Seven of the 23 players on the World Cup Squad are younger than 25. Almost a third. For comparison, hosts Brazil feature just three such players. The same holds true for Argentina.  Defending champions Spain have just five. The US squad is fairly young, in other words. And youth brings with it surprise and suspense.

The Donovan Goal

Over the course of your life, you’ll see hundreds, maybe thousands of goals. But some goals are more than just goals. Mas que un gol, if you will. Sometimes, you need to do no more than mention the player’s name, and everyone knows the goal you’re talking about. These are the goals that stick out in your memory forever. This is one of those goals. 

“Howard, gratefully claims it.” 

The sequence starts with a free header for Algeria. No, it starts with the goal ruled offside earlier in the game. No, it starts five days earlier, when Maurice Edu’s potential winner was disallowed against Slovenia. Without that, none of this happens. If the U.S. had defeated Slovenia,  a draw in their last game would have seen them through to the second round. Little did we know at the time that the ref was doing U.S. soccer a favor.

A Brief History of Soccer in Boston*

That asterisk is important. To tell the history of soccer in Boston is mostly to tell the history of soccer in nearby cities and towns. Owing to a lack of available land, among other matters, the city has struggled to provide a suitable home for the beautiful game. It should be noted that this lack of land has treated American football much the same way; there is a reason the Patriots play in Foxboro. Soccer’s fortune has been inextricably linked to the gridiron game, in this area especially, since the very beginning.

The Gus Johnson Dilemma

American soccer culture is a queer blend of habits aped from Europe and Latin America that, somehow, wants nothing more than to be considered authentic. There’s a team in Utah with a name ripped from Spain, and supporters’ groups across the country singing the same English songs. Leagues in other countries have better television ratings than our own. Little of it is uniquely American; we even borrow British grammatical practices when talking about the sport.  

In that context, enter Gus Johnson.

The Next Grande Thing

Liga MX, not the Premier League, is the most watched soccer league in the United States | photo credit: rapapu via photopin cc

On Saturday, Atletico Madrid clinched the Spanish title with a draw in their final game against Barcelona. The next day, the Spanish relegation battle came to an end, with Real Valladoid and Osasuna going down thanks to final day results. On Sunday night, the Mexican league saw its two-legged final decided in extra time, as Leon added a spring title to their fall title.

La Liga is perhaps the best soccer league in the world. Liga MX is the most watched soccer league in the US. But neither is easily found on English-language television in this country. As the powers that be buy up rights in the growing soccer market, these two leagues represent perhaps the most significant unclaimed territory.

2013-14 Premier League TV Ratings on NBCSN

Chelsea didn’t win the title, but they were the most watched club on American TV | photo credit: proforged via photopin cc

In their first season covering the league, NBC Sports Network aired 160 Premier League games, with another few dozen games being shown on other NBC channels. Of the NBCSN games, the Premier League averaged 395,000 viewers per game. This is a massive increase over last season when games were on ESPN/2 and Fox Soccer. The Premier League averaged just 220,000 viewers per game in 2012-13, with similar viewership in 2011-12. For comparison, Major League Soccer’s first seven games on NBCSN this season have averaged 216,000 viewers. About half of these matches have had the benefit of being preceded by Premier League coverage.