Because soccer is unpredictable and fun and joyful and compelling- because it's a very good thing- it attracts the amoral, cynical, and outright awful people, who seek to capitalize on our interest in it. Read more »
Colin McGowan - Soccer Analysis
The Force That Birthed And Sustained Luis Rubiales
Eden Hazard And The Real Madrid Transfer To Exit Cycle
The same drumbeat that carried Eden Hazard to Real Madrid will try, in a syncopated cadence, to push him out. It is the peculiar thing that Madrid does. Read more »
The World Is Made Of Both Heavy And Buoyant Things
El Gran Derbi is the best rivalry hardly anyone outside Spain cares about. Given that Sevilla and Real Betis have both been pretty good over the past half-decade or so, their matches are intense and well-played. Read more »
Gianni Infantino's Amateur Hour
Gianni Infantino has a greedy proposal to host more World Cups with shockingly cynical justifications for it. Read more »
Inter Milan On The Verge
Clubs like Inter Milan are always in a tenuous position in the tier right below the behemoths who will poach the players who contribute to whatever fleeting success befalls them. Read more »
Barcelona Is Asking A Lot Of Club Legend Turned Novice Manager
Coaching hires are a crapshoot and Xavi doesn't have much of a record to go on. But he's Xavi. So, sure, why wouldn't Barcelona give him a shot? Maybe he'll turn out like his old boss Pep, or like Simeone. Read more »
Kane, Mbappe And Their Gilded Cages
Kylian Mbappe is on the verge of joining Real Madrid, either now or next summer while Harry Kane must wait for Daniel Levy to decide his fate for him. Read more »
La Liga's Big Three Enter Season In Varying Degrees Of Chaos
Real Madrid have some healing to do, Barcelona are hard up for cash, and Atleti simply need to prep for the season. Read more »
The Euros As A More Generous Reading Of The Game And Its Players
Tournaments like the Euros function as an exploration of what the gifted but not quite great are capable of, when they're asked to do everything. Read more »
La Liga Ain't What It Used To Be
As ever, Real Madrid and Barcelona will decide which direction this whole enterprise goes. And Atleti will have their days, knowing that they don't run the show but do occasionally get to star in it. Read more »
The Super League Died But They're Not Through Tearing Things Down
The richest clubs in Europe were ready to detonate the sport as we know it: bleaching identities, cheapening domestic leagues, starving a great many clubs that are rich in history if not in funds. Read more »
A Modern Badge Is A Corporation's Face
What's happening at Inter is happening all over the sport. Some new badges and kits and color schemes are better than others and some old badges and kits and color schemes were pretty lousy in the first place, but everything smells strongly of disinfectant and money. Read more »
It's Getting Pretty Late For Sergio Ramos
The relationship, as productive and mutually gratifying as it's been, might be at an end. For now, Sergio Ramos will get himself healthy while not knowing exactly what he's getting healthy for. Read more »
Chelsea Hires A Real Manager With A Real Shot To Succeed
At the bleary and miserable end, there wasn't much left to recommend Frank Lampard, beyond the fact that he's one of the best players in club history. Read more »
Atleti Are Approaching A Kind Of Anti-Realization
Diego Simeone is a smart guy, but intensely stubborn, and he hasn't considered the inverse of his formulation: players dictate styles, but styles also dictate players. Read more »
Nobody Pities Pep's City Project For Their Failures Anymore
Pep Guardiola is an excellent coach, but he can't make a credible argument that his successes are not bought as much as they are earned. Read more »
Lionel Messi's Patience With Barcelona Has Finally Run Out
Lionel Messi is both demanding and passive-aggressive in the way that star athletes often are, and he's right to be upset about how Barcelona have wasted his unparalleled talents with squads that haven't worked or even made much sense. Read more »
This Champions League Will Be The Ultimate Spectrum Of Interpretation
It's unclear what this particular title is going to mean. It is certainly something, upon which we will probably never totally agree. Read more »
Fake Noise, Fake Fans, Fake Normalcy
Though the action resembles an intermittently buffering version of midseason soccer, the context in which that action takes place is noticeably strange. Read more »
What Jurgen Klopp Wants Isn't What Society Needs
Jürgen Klopp's got a great career and a lot of money. Anybody trying to cut the line- to have their concerns addressed before those truly in need- is worthy of scorn. Read more »