Category — Soccer

The president of Nigeria placed a suspension on his own country’s national soccer team due to their poor play in the World Cup. The Nigerian are banned from international play for two years. Pretty ridiculous right? Well, when FIFA got word of this they decided to tell Nigeria that if they do not revoke the suspension they will ban them from FIFA. That’s right no one is allowed to ban soccer…except FIFA.

The reality of the situation is that FIFA does not allow political interference by the nation on the teams. Teams must not be operated by politicians and Nigeria is breaking a rule. However, the Nigerian President isn’t completely crazy. President Jonathan believes that there is some funny business going on within the organization of the national team. He suspects illegal funds are going into the organization and wants a full investigation. This wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened. (Watch ESPN’s 30 for 30 “The Two Escobars.”) President has till Monday to revoke the suspension or the Nigerian’s are banned.

If Nigeria tries to appeal the ban on the suspension I believe FIFA will only ban them further.

I’ve been a soccer fan for just about a year now. Which is more than most Americans can boast, but for a real soccer fan…is laughable. I’m part of a google group that emails me soccer news almost 24/7. This isn’t a service, these are friends and friends-of-friends who love soccer. I’ll never be on their level. They make my love for football–American football–seem like a faint interest. They’re fanatics. That’s why I feel ridiculous saying I was saddened by the US loss on Saturday. Because it’s nothing like the sadness that some of these guys feel when their teams (Mexico or England) were eliminated this weekend.

The game was gut-wrenching but it seems like we didn’t have a chance. Ghana simply wanted the win more than we did and fought harder and longer. Their defense was amazing. The only goal we scored was a PK by Landon Donovan coming from a foal on Clint Dempsey. (I’m a fan Clint but it seemed like you spent the whole game on the ground. I need to go back and watch it because you were either flopping a lot or you got the snot beat out of you.)

Ghana had the weight of Africa on their shoulders, were the underdogs and beat us. They were younger, faster and hungrier. The goal we gave up in the beginning of the game was the killer. Ghana isn’t a huge scoring threat and when they stole the ball and went in for the kill it broke my heart. I knew that scoring on Ghana would be tough and it was.

Many people are calling for Bradley’s head but to be honest I’m not knowledgeable enough to know if we could actually get a better coach. Bradley made lineup mistakes, that’s for sure, but who could we get to replace him? In the end, I think Bradley didn’t put the right lineup out on the field and that mistake will haunt him. But he’s done a lot of things for the US team. I’m sure someone could replace him but the question is still who. I think the team did well, they could have advanced but weren’t able to strike. I’m proud of them but you have to give credit to Ghana for playing with heart and wanting it more.

I think it’s official, I’m addicted to the WC. I wish I would have been a futbol fan before this year so I could understand more of the history of this event. Big games tomorrow. Can’t wait.

If they say having a game be a draw is like kissing your sister, I don’t want to know what losing is like. Pulling a draw from England when everyone predicted that we should have lost isn’t too bad. USA can still make it to the next round if the cards fall the right way. However, it is not good for the publicity of American soccer to tie England. I’m sure most people will continue their apathy towards the sport. We’ll see.

Like most American sports fanatics, I’ve always thought of soccer as being a bit foreign to me. (No pun intended.) I’ve casually played soccer with friends or at camp but Baseball has always been my sport to play and Basketball and Football my sports of choice to watch. So like every other red-blooded American I’ve kept a professional distance between futbol and myself. This is how I saw soccer.

Lately, I’ve had a bit of a change of heart. I’ve slowly become more and more interested in the sport and have been doing my research. I know that the number of American’s that are interested in soccer are steadily increasing and to most soccer fans I’m just one more American jumping on the bandwagon. But I don’t care too much. I’ve been excited about the World Cup and couldn’t wait for it to start today.

So starting today I hope to write a little more about soccer. I set my alarm this morning and woke up early…and I’m on vacation. That never happens. That rarely happens when I’m at home. But I woke up and watched South Africa and Mexico battle it out and the result be a draw. What!? The game was tied at the end of regulation…and that was it. It ended. Tie game. That confused the mess out of me. I’m not used to sports that end in a draw. But I think I can get used to it. (I know the big games will have a clear winner.)

Another thing that confused me was the fact that I was confused as to who I should cheer for. And it really did take me a hot minute to realize I was American. I was doing my research and reading up on the teams trying to find one that I could identify with; then I realized that these are countries not just teams. I felt rather foolish because cheering on your country is one of the best parts of the World Cup. Please forgive me Coach Bombay and Team USA from the Mighty Ducks 2, I have not forsaken the lessons of nationalism you have taught me. So don’t worry, I’m not a terrorist, I am cheering on USA (although I can’t stand Landon Donovan). But I do have some other countries I will be rooting for of course.

So here I am. After day one of the World Cup still trying to figure out exactly what I should be doing to correctly watch this awesome event. I shall keep you updated and if I ever find myself with enough knowledge or even a barely strong opinion I’ll give you my thoughts/predictions. Here’s to the WC and the awesomeness (or at least intrigue) of soccer.