Tag: soccer

Racism in Football

therightliberal2 Comments

This weekend’s friendly between Scotland and Brazil saw an ugly display of racism, one that cannot be tolerated.

I support Brazil in the international game because of how great they play football. Most Americans are incredulous on how I could not support my home country but the fact of the matter is I support Brazil because they play the best football.

During their friendly against Scotland (which was played in England), the Brazilian youngster Neymar got two goals. Being 19 years old, that is extremely impressive. But when Neymar went to take a penalty kick, a fan through a banana on to the pitch.

For someone who does not know Neymar this might seem irrelevant but Neymar is black. This is a unexcusable action that should be heavily punished. Neymar and the other Brazilian players are out showing the world their skills. They do not show hatred towards anyone.

Neymar is a young kid who is making it in the crazy world of football and he does not deserve this.

I support Scotland in most games (except when they play Brazil ironically) because my heritage is from there. But the Scottish fans who were involved in the throwing of the banana and the usage of racial slurs against the Brazilians should be ashamed of themselves. I am embarrassed to say that I support Scotland after this incident.

This is not the first time Brazil has had to deal with intolerance. going back over 50 years, Brazil has taken the brunt of many racial insults. Argentina fans often refer to Brazil as being the (n-word) team because Brazil has many more blacks due to colonization than Argentina.

France, with its large population of black soccer players, has also had to put up with racial prejudice. I will say that FIFA does everything they can to stop the hate; banning certain fans they catch on tape and even banning some teams from playing in front of spectators.

But FIFA should not be the ones who have to get people to stop, it should be the fans. As a football fan I want to say enough is enough. Supporting the other team is no excuse for being racially intolerant. Let us enjoy the wonderful skill and appreciate what there people are giving to us.

Qatari Clouds

therightliberalLeave a comment

Today the tiny country of Qatar produced a great idea: make a cloud to hang over a soccer match.

An artist's impression of the Al-Rayyan stadium for the 2022 World Cup finals

Qatar has run into a problem (many actually) after winning the bid to host the 2022 World Cup. The major problem is that it gets well over 120 degrees in the months that the World Cup is supposed to take place.

But FIFA Rules dictate that there cannot be indoor stadiums and that the games cannot be played in the Winter. I still do not see why FIFA then picked Qatar for the World Cup when there are rules in place that make hosting the tournament very difficult.

But Qatar is already taking real strides to solve the problems they are faced with. Their latest proposition is to make artificial clouds that would hang over the stadiums and block sunlight and provide a moist and cool environment.

They have many plans to do wild things to their stadiums such as one that is totally surrounded by media screens, 420,000 square feet of them. Incredible things such as that would make the World Cup very cool if they can pull it off.

In theory it sounds like a great idea but I do not know how feasible it is. I do know that after seeing the pictures of the stadiums Qatar is planning on building and hearing all their crazy ideas, I am ready to pack my bags for the Qatari World Cup today.

Football or Futbol?

dmilesburton2 Comments


Chad Ochocinco just finished his first day of tryouts for Kansas City’s MLS team.

I know… WTF right?

Well, apparently Ochocinco has had a longtime dream of being a soccer player, and thanks to the NFL lockout, he has the chance to make his dream a reality.

With almost forty reporters present at the tryouts, Ochocinco had a lot of questions coming his way. “Why would it be?” Ochocinco asked in reply to the notion that it was another one of his now famous jokes. “What you rather have me do during a lockout? Go get arrested, get in trouble? Act like Charlie Sheen? I’m one that never gets in trouble, I do nothing wrong. I just try to have fun.”

After the practice, Kansas City manager Peter Vermes said Ochocinco was “very coachable” but that he wouldn’t make any judgments yet.

Ochocinco had a couple of things to say about the tryout on his twitter, but said to reporters after the game, “I want to live out a dream, whether I make it or not,”

What is Wrong With Youth Soccer

therightliberalLeave a comment

Being a referee, I have seen many youth games as an outsider. But I also have played both club and organized soccer as a kid. Now that I see the insanity from an outside prospective, I am a little taken aback.

Youth Sport Violence image

I think that every child should play soccer as a kid. This is an incredibly biased opinion but it does have merit. Soccer is a great sport for kids because it is simple in rules but complex in thinking. There are no plays drawn up, the player has to figure out what he or she needs to do. Soccer is also very physically demanding — a good amount of long, slow distance mixed with sprinting. For the development of kids, soccer is great.

But here is the dark side: parents. This is also biased because almost every weekend I have to deal with parents who are upset and out of control. Parents ruin soccer for kids. If the parent starts caring more about the game than his or her child, something is wrong.

Parents are their to support their kids, not to scream obscenities at the other team, the ref or another parent. I have seen many a child’s faces go a deep red when he or she hears his or her parents screaming from the sideline.

Parents should be involved with their sons and daughters soccer education. But parents need to learn to control themselves. I know that how badly they want their kid to win and to demolish the other team but can they please keep it to themselves. When they open their mouths to yell things like “Break his leg!”, “Pull her down!”, “That’s right, take that losers!”, they simply look immature.

Parents want their kids to be great and there is nothing wrong with that. But the kids will either motivate themselves to play soccer or they won’t. Chances are that the kid won’t stick with soccer if they have parents yelling at them from the sideline.

So parents take my advice: Encourage your kids, support their team. But please calm down and let the kids play. After all, its youth soccer.

Little Pea

therightliberal1 Comment

He was expected to be great, but not this soon.

This past summer, Manchester United signed Javier Hernández Balcázar, also known as Chicharito (which is “little pea” in English). His nickname comes from his father, who also was a professional soccer player, named Chicharo. The last three generations of his family have played for Chivas, a very impressive family tree.

United signed him at age 21, a young but very mature player. Chicha had been on the Mexican team that won the U-17 World Cup. He also scored two goals for Mexico in last summer’s world cup.

When he was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson, United fans were surprised. Chicha was not a well known player in England and although he had proven himself playing for Chivas (leading the Mexican Primera with 17 goals) he was not being hailed as a prodigy.

But as usual, Sir Alex Ferguson showed his brilliance. Chicha is the second leading scorer for Manchester United with 10 goals in the Premier League.

10 might not seem like a huge number but Chicha has only played in 20 games. Even more impressive, those 10 goals came off of only 37 shots, a very good rate.

In all competitions he has 29 goals in 80 games, an absolutely incredible record.

The EPL is very different from the Mexican Primera where Chicha was playing but he has adjusted beautifully. He is an exciting player to watch and is already showing leadership among some of the most famous players in the world.

In United’s most recent game against Marseille, Chicharito scored two goals, winning the game for United.

Manchester United's Javier Hernandez scores the opening goal

Chicha brings a Latino American soccer style, one that is flashy and exciting, to Manchester United. He looks to be an extremely promising player, a goal scorer and leader. With his skill, Manchester United has a lot better chance of winning games.

Disgraceful United Fans

therightliberal4 Comments

The game between Manchester United and Liverpool’s youth teams was an ugly one. The game saw 4 red cards as well as riots and fights in the stands. It was a Manchester United home game.

The trouble in the stands started when United fans started singing songs about the Heysel and Hillsborough tragedies of the 1980’s, a subject that is close to all Liverpool fans hearts.

Although I love a good rivalry, this is going to far. In these tragedies, 135 people died including players. These songs were insulting to the families that have lived through it.

Unfortunately there is not an easy or effective way to prevent people from singing abusive songs inside the grounds in my mind.

Former Liverpool player John Aldridge was at the game, and was also present during the Hillsborough tragedy, called the actions of the United fans “disgraceful”.

Although the United fans actions were not acceptable by any means, I can be more than sure that Liverpool fans were less than friendly. There were many reports after the game of ugly clashes between the fans.

As I said I love a healthy rivalry. I would go as far to say that I love bad blood where teams hate each other because they play so hard for the win. But it is not ok for any fan or player to publicly insult the people who lost their lives and the families that have had to live through it.

I am upset that United fans would stoop down to that level especially because they went on to win the game 3-2.

For more go to: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/893953/fans-arrested-as-liverpool-united-youth-tie-turns-ugly?cc=5901

United Trump Arsenal

therightliberalLeave a comment

Man United came out of its slump in spectacular fashion today, beating Arsenal 2-0. United was able to pull out the victory thanks to fantastic goalkeeping by Edwin Van Der Sar and goals from Wayne Rooney and Fabio da Silva.

Wayne Rooney

This win puts United in a semi final with Bolton Wanderers also grabbing a spot. Arsenal on the other hand was knocked out of their third competition in the last two weeks.

Luckily for Arsenal fans, their team is still very much in the running for the Premier League title.

Hopefully this win will allow United to get back to winning form in the Premier League as well as the Champions League next week. Wayne Rooney looks to be getting back on form which helped as well the return of Antonio Valencia.

For a full summary of the game go to: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=314700&cc=5901

Should Players be Fined for Their Opinions?

therightliberal4 Comments

After the Barcelona vs. Arsenal game, Robin Van Persie made some comments that are sure to get him fined or suspended.

Robin van Persie receives his marching orders after kicking the ball away

They included calling the official, Massimo Busacca, a joke. I have been on both sides of the spectrum because I am both a soccer player and a certified referee.

I know from the side of the official that it is not fun to be criticized. This poor official was insulted on a public scale. Although he did have a horrible day at the office, it should not matter what is performance went.

In my mind the right of free speech carries over to soccer players. The players have opinions and they should be able to express their opinions without facing fines or suspensions. However, my feeling is that refs should have every right to have a rebuttal about what a tool the player in question is.Read More »

How to Get Away with Murder (In Soccer)

therightliberalLeave a comment

Soccer is a thinking man’s game. I have heard this saying over and over again and when thinking about it I find that it is really true.

I have been playing soccer my entire life and I have always been slow. My first step is quick but it goes down hill from there. Because of that I have had to find ways to level the playing field.

I have found that the most successful way is to physically level the playing field. An elbow placed correctly to the head will at least make the opposing player avoid you at all cost. This might seem incredibly dirty but I don’t think so.

A referee’s job is to call the game. If he catches me being to physical then he will punish me and I am sure I will deserve it. If he does not catch me then he is not doing his job. A ref is part of the game and players need to play him just as much as they need to play the ball.

Getting away with fouls requires a few different skills. The first is awareness. As a player you need to know where the ref is in relationship to the foul you are about to commit. If his line of sight is right there then chances are you will get caught.

The next step is the actual foul. How hard and where are the two key questions. The answer to those depends on what ones goal is. If it is to hurt the opposing player (which I strongly oppose) then one should aim for what ever soccer player needs, their legs. A stomp on the foot will cause a lot of pain without putting a player out of the game.

My whole goal in intentional fouling is to put the opposing player off of his game. Soccer is a game that requires full mental awareness and having a severe pain or the fear of pain can throw a player off.

The best situation to foul is one in which the chances of getting punished are small. I cannot remember the last corner kick I defended that I was not grabbing an opponents jersey. I can be almost certain that a ref will not call a penalty for a shirt tug but the grabbing of the shirt is a huge advantage for a defender.

The third step is the follow through. If the opponent goes down after you fouling him then just keep walking away as if nothing happened. If you are quick to react the ref will be very suspicious. Even though refs aren’t supposed to make calls based on something they didn’t see, I know from experience that they will. Make the other player look crazy, like they are writhing on the ground for no reason.

This all might seem like it is dirty and un-sportsman like. I have been told more times than I can count that fouling is bad. But to win sometimes you have to do it, and its all about what you are willing to give to win.

If you want to see how its done (mostly quite poorly) watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J40V4QWemII&feature=fvst

In the modern game of soccer there are many fouls. As a player you have to evolve with the game and fouling is part of that evolution. The trick is getting away with it. It is not easy but once you perfect it you are at a huge advantage.

Manchester United vs. Liverpool

therightliberal3 Comments

On Sunday, March 6th, Manchester United faces Liverpool. This might sounds clichéd but this is the most important game of the season. That was said about the Chelsea game and it might prove to be true but I am hoping United can move on.

After the heart breaking loss to Chelsea last weekend, this is a key game. If United win, they have a chance to guarantee that they are 3 points clear of Arsenal. But Liverpool do worry me. They might have lost Torres but they gained Suarez who is a real danger.

There are 10 games left in the Premier League season and every week the pressure will rise. I still believe that it is a two horse race between Arsenal and United.

Read More »