soccer
May 6, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
A week or two ago, it looked like German soccer would resume this coming weekend. That was the plan, but it did not receive approval from the government. Now, the government has approved a resumption of play in mid-May for Germany’s top two professional soccer league. Games will be played behind closed doors, with only around 300 people — players, coaches, referees, team officials and staff, broadcast crews — allowed
»
April 24, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
The German Bundesliga is poised to become the first sports league I follow to go back to work. In fact, players are already at work. They are practicing in anticipation of matches to be played in early May. When the Bundesliga season came to a halt, teams had nine matches left to play. And, for once, there was a genuine race for the championship. Normally, Bayern Munich has the top
»
March 25, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
In early to mid March, the English Premier League was planning to keep playing soccer matches in front of spectators when it learned that Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s manager, had contracted the Wuhan coronavirus. Shortly thereafter, the EPL postponed its season. The season remains on hold. Arteta’s case was of interest to me because, as a star midfielder for Everton, he was one of my favorite players. Therefore, I’m extra happy
»
March 17, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Euro 2020, the European nations’ soccer championship, will not take place this year. The competition, held every four years, has been pushed back a year. It will now take place in 2021 from June 11 to July 11. The tournament wasn’t scheduled to begin until June 12 of this year. By that time, there’s a good chance the virus will have subsided to the point that teams could compete and
»
March 14, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
For a while, it looked like major sports leagues and tournaments would proceed despite the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, but with no fans admitted. This plan ended when players, coaches, and referees were found to have been infected by the virus. I did watch one German soccer match played without fans. It was a Rhine derby between arch rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach and FC Köln (Cologne). Fans called this a “ghost match”
»
February 27, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Italy is the European nation most affected by the coronavirus, so far. As of two days ago, more than 2,000 cases and seven deaths had been confirmed. Reportedly, a dozen towns, including Milan and Venice, have been placed on lockdown. Travel is permitted neither in nor out. Last Sunday, the two top-league soccer matches scheduled in northern Italy — one in Milan, the other in Bergamo — were postponed. Matches
»
January 6, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Wayne Rooney, one of England’s all-time great soccer players, has made a sub-specialty of the instant splash. He made one as a 16 year-old for Everton in 2002 when his late wonder goal against Arsenal ended the Gunners 30-match unbeaten run, making Rooney the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history at the time. “Remember the name, Wayne Rooney,” the match commentator instructed. Rooney was also an instant success in international
»
December 23, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
The punchline to this joke was supplied 20 years ago by a soccer fan I met on my way to a match in London: American football, you get up, get dressed, and go to the game. English football, you get up, get dressed, get drunk, and go the game. Twenty years later, I’m not sure the joke applies. The difference may now reside in where you get drunk. In American
»
December 12, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
The most bitter local rivalry in British football is probably the one between Celtic United and Rangers, a pair of Glasgow teams that long have dominated Scottish soccer. Unlike the rivalries between, say, Liverpool and Everton or Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, the Celtic-Rangers rivalry has major sectarian overtones. Celtic is the team of choice for Catholics, Rangers for Protestants. Last weekend, Celtic defeated Rangers 1-0 in the League Cup Final.
»
December 8, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
As I was leaving Goodison Park looking glum after Everton’s loss to last place Norwich City two weeks ago, a female steward said to me, “it will be better next time.” I responded, in my Yank accent, “I don’t know when the next time will be for me, but it was a pleasure just to be here.” The woman, who had just heard 70 minutes of the foulest language sports
»
November 29, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
On the train from Manchester to Liverpool (delayed half an hour until a driver could be found), I met a Bolton Wanderers fan who, like me, was on his way to see Everton play. He explained that an Everton season ticket holder friend had invited him to the match. Bolton Wanderers were a founding member of the Football League in 1888 (along with Everton). They have won the FA Cup
»
November 20, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
I’ll be in the north of England for the next week attending soccer matches, among other things. The highlight will be a last visit to Goodison Park in Liverpool. Everton will be moving to a shiny new stadium soon. I probably won’t blog while I’m away. However, I know that John and Steve will be dying for soccer news, so maybe I’ll file a match report or two.
»
October 17, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
International football, by which I mean nations playing other nations, has a strong and obvious nationalist component. The anthems of the two teams are played before the matches commence. Some players belt out the song with the gusto one would expect at a feverish nationalist rally. Fans paint their faces in the colors of their nation. Some countries come to a standstill the day their team plays. FIFA, the body
»
July 9, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
No, Everton, the football club, didn’t win the South American championship this weekend. Instead, it edged a Kenyan team on penalty kicks in its opening pre-season match. However, Everton, the soccer player, scored a goal and assisted on another as Brazil defeated Peru 3-1 to win Copa America. Everton was named outstanding player of the match and finished the tournament as its co-leading goal scorer. Everton probably will never play
»
June 14, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Members of the U.S. women’s soccer team continue to insist that there was nothing out of line with the exuberant celebration of goals that ran up the score in their 13-0 victory over Thailand. It was all in good fun, an expression of sheer joy, they contend. But this hasn’t been the women’s team’s view in the past. Years ago, after Norway defeated the U.S. women in a World Cup
»
June 12, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday at the Women’s World Cup, the U.S. defeated Thailand 13-0. The lopsidedness of the result is further proof that the tournament is a second rate sporting event. Soccer is the world’s game, but women’s soccer is not. Not many countries take women’s soccer seriously and, with the possible exception of the U.S., those that do don’t take it nearly as seriously as they take men’s soccer. Hence, mismatches like
»
May 18, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
England wrapped up its club soccer season today with Manchester City crushing Watford in the FA Cup final, 6-0. The victory gave City a “triple.” It won the EPL championship, the FA Cup, and the League Cup (as I call it). In the history of English football, which extends back to the 19th century, this has never been accomplished before (though 20 years ago, Manchester United achieved an even more
»
