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The Other Football: A soccer minnow hopes to leave its mark at Euro 2016

Mon, 30 Nov 2015 13:49:09 -0500

Euro 2016 is coming this summer. The showpiece tournament happens every 4 years, straddling halfway between World Cups.

While all the smart money this time around will be on the likes of powerhouses like Germany and Spain, a country with very little soccer history is also attracting a fair amount of attention: Iceland.

For perspective, Iceland is a nation about the size of Kentucky but with a population of only 320,000 – or about 4 million fewer people than that U.S. state.

Previously, the smallest nation to qualify for a European Championship tournament was Slovenia – which had about 2 million people when it qualified for Euro 2000.

Iceland’s national stadium has a capacity of 15,000. The national stadium of France, the host of Euro 2016, holds 80,000.

So how does a tiny island nation qualify? By knocking off a perennial world power along the way. Iceland beat a Dutch team that got 3rd place at the last World Cup and were the runners-up 4 years before that twice during qualifying.

In 10 games, Iceland won six and tied twice, conceding only six goals.

For some insight, Fox Latino spoke with Ómar Smárason, Head of Marketing and Media at the Football Association of Iceland.

He said, “We can firmly point to three factors in an attempt to explain the recent success of the Icelandic men´s national team. First-class training facilities, a high level of coaching education and a good generation of players.”

Smárason added, “Since year 2000 football infrastructure in Iceland has taken giant leaps, and the facilities Icelandic football players, young and old, can now train and compete in are top class all year around. Football halls, either with full-size or half-size pitches, give shelter from the winter weather when necessary. Artificial pitches … with undersoil heating and floodlights, mean the days of the frozen gravel pitches” are a thing of the past.

“The benefits of having top-class facilities can only be fully exploited if you have the knowledge to get the most out of them,” Smárason told FNL.

In 2003 no Icelandic coach had qualified for a UEFA B or A level coaching license. Today, Iceland has 639 coaches with a UEFA B license, 19 coaches with UEFA A license or more and 13 coaches with UEFA Pro license.

This current “golden generation” of players on Iceland’s national team could well be a direct result of this improvement. “A major part of the group of players in the current national team was around the age of 10 when it all started, 15 years ago. There must be a link,” said Smárason.

Icelandic fans also deserve a bit of the credit for the team’s success. Smárason told FNL, “Icelanders have always been football crazy, and there is enormous interest in the team these days.”

Consider that 3,000 fans made the trip to the Netherlands for Iceland’s crucial 1-0 away win against Holland. That’s around 1 percent of the country’s population. That’s the equivalent of around 3.2 million U.S. fans traveling to a national team match in Mexico City.

“The support we have been given, both home and away, has been fantastic,” Lars Lagerback, the national team’s head coach, said after the victory against Holland. “Even I got goosebumps when I heard them sing the national anthem [in the stands].”

But just qualifying for Euro 2016 is not enough.

Smárason said, “The coaches have clearly stated … that the team will not go to France as tourists and will do everything possible to progress from the group. “

Forget the “Barcelona Model” of developing club soccer stars, maybe the Icelandic model will become the new go-to system.

“A number of national and regional football associations all over Europe have contacted [us],” Smárason said. “Some have visited Iceland. We have no secrets in this regard.”

The draw for the Euro 2016 takes place Dec. 12. Make sure you get your Iceland jersey now before it sells out.

Video of the week

For all of us who try to make moves like Ronaldo and fail, there's this to give us hope.

From the wires

The embattled president of the Brazilian soccer confederation is under investigation for marketing deals with a major carmaker.

The office of former Barcelona star Romario, now a federal senator, confirmed the contract probe involving Marco Polo del Nero on Monday. It is part of an ongoing senate investigation looking into how the sport is run by the Brazilian soccer body.

The investigation involves contracts negotiated with more than 20 state federations when Del Nero was vice president of the national federation.

Senators want to know if awarding those contracts influenced votes from state federations for Del Nero to become president, succeeding Jose Maria Marin.

Sergio Gomes, who signed the contracts as a representative of the automaker Chevrolet, continues to work for Del Nero.

A call to Gomes on Monday from the Associated Press went unanswered.

Chevrolet replaced Volkswagen as the national team sponsor after Del Nero took over the presidency this year.

The newspaper Estado de S. Paulo first reported the investigation into the contracts. Documents it published showed large, lucrative deals were awarded to even small, relatively unimportant state federations.

Del Nero has come under increasing scrutiny and was forced to resign last week from the FIFA executive committee, though he kept his job as president at home.

Del Nero was not indicted in the FIFA corruption scandal, in which Swiss and American authorities six months ago arrested top football officials in a deepening corruption probe.

Brazil has no extradition treaty with the United States, so Del Nero is safer in Brazil than if he travels outside the South American country.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: Never mind love – can money buy you soccer respect?

Tue, 16 Feb 2016 10:24:37 -0500

This year, China has been dominating soccer news during the European leagues’ transfer window.

Jiangsu Suning FC signed Brazilian midfielder, Alex Teixeira, for a reported $55.7 million, and signed another Brazilian international, Ramires, still only 28, away from Chelsea for a reported $31 million.

Those signings were part of a 10-day spree in which China outspent the rest of the world, shelling out $290.5 million while Premier League clubs spent $254.7 million.

This begs the question, Does money make you a player on global soccer pitch?

This is what sources say is the hope of Chinese President Xi Jinping. In an effort to win a World Cup bid and to also win the tournament, the Chinese President put in place a policy that puts cash to work in order to achieve this goal.

Simon Chadwick, professor of sports enterprise at Manchester’s Salford University was recently quoted as saying, “It's a brand positioning statement. It's telling the world, 'We're here, and this is what we're doing.'"

The Chinese government is helping supporters and fans of the game by fostering soccer culture and mandating programs in schools.

The recruiting effort and open wallet isn’t limited to players. Chinese clubs are snatching up top coaches (think Luiz Felipe Scolari and Sven-Goran Eriksson, who has been in China since 2013) and investing in top European clubs.

Chinese interests have purchased stakes in Manchester City and Atlético Madrid – not simply for monetary gain but for access to training facilities and insider knowledge as to the inner workings of a super-successful club.

Of course, reports of match-fixing and cultural differences can make transfers difficult.

"Chinese football historically has had a governance problem," Chadwick has said. "While corruption standards are improving, they are still not good enough. So anyone going to play in China has to be mindful that there may still be some problems. For example, payment of fees – be it transfer fee or wages."

Some players have had problems settling into the culture and environment. Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, for two, struggled to adjust to life in China and left after six months. But the mixture of the generous paychecks and the adoring fans can be very enticing.

You don’t have to go far – witness the MLS – to see that simply buying big name players in order to draw fans is not a winning long-term strategy. It does nothing to elevate the game at the grassroots level.

In this aspect, the Chinese are to be commended. They seek to create a culture by fostering soccer at the youth level and also to learn from the top teams how to best manage a team.

One day the country may be a soccer power and go-to source for top players, as Argentina and Brazil are now.

Will this get them a World Cup trophy and the glory that comes with it?

Perhaps, but let’s not forget the top talent that comes from Portugal year after year, decade after decade, and the prestige of being recognized as a soccer power has yet to win that country a World Cup.

Video of the week

From the wires

Forward Obafemi Martins didn't travel to preseason camp with the Seattle Sounders, who are considering an offer to send him to a team in the Chinese Super League.

The 31-year-old has been with the Sounders since 2013 and scored 15 goals in 21 regular-season games last year. The BBC reported Sunday that Martins has joined Shanghai Shenhua.

Sounders general manager Garth Lagerwey said in an audio statement released by the team Sunday: "Obafemi's not here with us in this phase of camp. We've had an approach from a Chinese club for his services. It could take a while to have that resolved."

Seattle is preparing for its 2016 opener against Mexico's America on Feb. 23 in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.

Lagerway says, "Hopefully we know more by the end of the week."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: MLS takes one step forward, one step back

Mon, 01 Feb 2016 12:08:15 -0500

In a winning stroke for U.S. soccer this week, Chelsea announced the signing of American defender Matt Miazga from the New York Red Bulls to a four-and-a-half-year contract.

The 20-year-old goes to Chelsea having made 38 appearances for the Red Bulls, having been with them since he was 18.

“It's a huge move for [Miazga]. Being 20 years of age and now getting the opportunity to go overseas and proving himself is big," said U.S. men’s team coach Jürgen Klinsmann in an interview before Sunday’s friendly with Iceland.

“It’s big I think for our program,” he told reporters. “It’s big for us when a player moves to a Champions League team, a big team, a big club. We are happy for him, we are pleased but we know also he is just developing.”

“Developing” is the key word here. Another key is the $5 million the Red Bulls receive for a player who has an opportunity to excel and be challenged in a competitive environment. So that when he returns home he can be a greater asset to our national team.

A win-win.

What isn’t likely to prove as much of a winning stroke is the L.A. Galaxy signing 35-year-old Ashley Cole – who, it should be pointed out, hasn’t played a competitive match since March.

So why isn’t it a good thing? After all, Cole has name recognition and will probably sell seats on that basis alone.

The problem was best stated by Juan Carlos Osorio, a former Red Bulls coach and now coach of Mexico’s national team: " I think the time when a player is at his peak performance is to be spent in Europe and not in MLS. I think, at this time, that league is for players at the end of their careers and not for a player who still has a lot to give.”

So Cole may not have the sort of impact on the field that the Galaxy hope.

From always expanding teams without solidifying the talent base of current ones and constantly bringing in aging stars, Major League Soccer behaves like it knows it’s a mediocre league.

Instead, MLS should follow the model of the Portuguese league, Lisa Nos. It isn’t one of the biggest leagues in Europe, but it produces and fosters fantastic talent that it sells to big clubs around the world.

The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Deco and Matic have not only drawn attention to the league but also brought millions of dollars to the clubs that gave those players their start. As a result, the league scouts young talent from all over the world.

I have witnessed many second-division games in Portugal live, and the quality of soccer is very high. Beira Mar versus Benfica B is likely to be a much better game than what you’ll see at most MLS stadiums in the U.S.

This isn’t so much a critique of the MLS, but of the model by which it chooses to populate its teams. Better talent makes a better league. A showcase for young talent rather than for fading stars may be just what the MLS needs.

Focusing on acquiring young talent, honing the player’s skills and selling them would put the MLS on better financial footing – and make it a league players strived for instead of one they think of as a retirement home.

Video of the week

We all love dribbling through a few defenders to score a goal, but this is a bit much.

From the wires

Pep Guardiola will take over as manager of Manchester City on a three-year contract starting next season, with the English Premier League club finally capturing soccer's most sought-after coach four years after failing in its first attempt.

City made the announcement Monday, minutes after current manager Manuel Pellegrini ended a news conference by saying he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.

City is already the richest club in English soccer, with the strongest squad of players and arguably the best academy in the country. Now, it adds one of the world's most decorated and admired coaches, who won 14 trophies in four seasons at Barcelona and has continued to bring in silverware at current club Bayern Munich.

"In recent weeks, (City) has commenced and finalized contractual negotiations with Pep Guardiola to become head coach for the 2016-17 EPL season onwards," City said in a statement. "These negotiations were a re-commencement of discussions that were curtailed in 2012."

Pellegrini said he knew "a month ago" that he was being replaced by Guardiola, who announced in December he'd be leaving Bayern at the end of the season.

"There has been a lot of speculation about things," Pellegrini said, "but they (the club) are not doing anything behind me."

City said the club made the announcement "to remove the unnecessary burden of speculation."

"Manuel, who is fully supportive of the decision to make this communication, is entirely focused on achieving his targets for the season ahead and retains the respect and commitment of all involved with the leadership of the club," the City statement said.

City had been heavily linked with hiring Guardiola. Two of City's top executives — Ferran Soriano and Txiki Beguiristain — worked with Guardiola at Barcelona, where the former Spain midfielder made his name as a coach by guiding a team led by Lionel Messi to unprecedented success from 2008-12.

After taking a year-long sabbatical, Guardiola took over at Bayern in 2013 and won the Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup the same year. He added a German league-and-cup double in 2014, and another Bundesliga title in 2015.

Pellegrini may yet go down as City's most successful manager — he won the Premier League and League Cup in his first season in charge, in 2013, and is in contention for four trophies this season — but has had to contend with speculation about Guardiola for the past two seasons.

Pellegrini signed a new deal with City last offseason to keep him at the club until 2017.

City has long lived in the shadow of neighbor Manchester United, but has been transformed since being bought in 2008 by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi's ruling family.

That changed the landscape of English soccer. City has won two Premier League titles in the last four seasons, as well as the FA Cup and League Cup.

City, however, has failed to progress further than the last 16 of the Champions League in four campaigns in Europe's elite competition.

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The Other Football: Battle over Super Bowl fields reaches fever pitch

Wed, 06 Jan 2016 10:30:37 -0500

Things have heated up in Santa Clara, California.

Fox News Latino recently reported on a David vs. Goliath story: The Santa Clara Youth Soccer (SCYS) has taken on the city, the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL in an attempt to prevent its playing fields from being used during Super Bowl week in February – even going so far as to file a lawsuit in an attempt to level the playing field.

The soccer league's fields are located next to Levi’s Stadium, home of the 49ers, who are hosting Super Bowl 50 next month.

As part of Santa Clara's bid to land the biggest event on the planet, the city agreed to let the NFL use nearby city-owned sites at no cost.

SCYS says the takeover jeopardizes 250 soccer games and threatens to leave lasting damage to the fields, potentially closing the park for months.

The city had previously offered to find a temporary home at the Twin Creeks sports complex along San Francisco Bay in neighboring Sunnyvale. According to SCYS attorney, Gautam Dutta, the replacement field is inadequate because it isn’t regulation size, and it isn’t open on weekends.

Just days before the city was to hand over the soccer park for the Super Bowl, SCYS filed a lawsuit to prevent it.

A petition for a temporary restraining order asked the court to block the city of Santa Clara from “illegally turning over” fields
adjacent to the stadium.

According to the complaint, the soccer park's 2001 conditional use permit allows only one usage on the site – youth soccer. Its organizers contend that altering that, even temporarily, requires holding public meetings.

After an hearing last week at which Santa Clara Superior Court Judge, Joseph Huber, denied SCYS’ request to delay the fields being handed over to the NFL this week, Huber agreed to hold a preliminary injunction hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 6 — keeping alive the turf war.

Jennifer Yamaguma, a spokesperson for the city told Fox News Latino, “The city’s statement following the judge’s order remains the same in that, the City will continue to implement and honor the commitments of the Super Bowl bid that was approved by [the City Council] in 2013.”

In a statement made to Fox News Latino, the NFL, the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee and the San Francisco 49ers said, “We will continue to support the City of Santa Clara and the Bay Area in successfully hosting the most exciting event in this region’s history. We are thankful that the Super Bowl plans and build-out will continue on schedule. We are poised to deliver a great Super Bowl experience and leave a positive, lasting legacy for the community."

They also reiterated that, “The 49ers and the NFL are partnering to replace the two natural grass fields at the Santa Clara Youth Soccer Park at no cost to the City of Santa Clara. Installation of those fields will begin following the completion of Super Bowl related activities, which are scheduled to conclude on Feb. 28.”

Barring a judicial miracle, the fields will be turned over this week, and while the focus in the media has been on the mighty NFL, it is the City of Santa Clara, not the football league, that is under obligation to do its best for the area’s residents and taxpayers.

Undoubtedly, the city will profit from hosting the Super Bowl in town, but that cannot be its top priority. This issue should have been handled from the beginning with better transparency and months earlier so that the best alternatives might have been found.

It’s a shame that the needs of hundreds of kids should have been swept aside so heedlessly.

Now the onus has fallen on the NFL sporting juggernaut to do the right thing after the Super Bowl and live up to its promise to return the fields in top condition.

Video of the week

We watch soccer to see great goals. Here are the 10 best of the Premier League season so far. And there is still half a season to go.

From the wires

Former NBA star Steve Nash and Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver have bought a controlling share of Spanish soccer team Real Mallorca.

The Mediterranean island club announced Monday that Sarver's company, also owned by Nash and Andy Kohlberg, has bought shares worth more than 20 million euros ($21 million).

Mallorca won the 2002-03 Copa del Rey title and had played for 16 consecutive seasons in Spain's top league before being relegated to the second division in 2013.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: A radical recipe for youth soccer – less winning, more skills

Tue, 19 Jan 2016 16:13:34 -0500

In a move to keep up with the rest of the world, U.S. Soccer announced major changes in two areas of its youth soccer program last summer. The rules go into effect in 2017, but many youth programs all over the country are starting to implement them already.

"With these initiatives, we’re more likely to have players better prepared down the road," said Tab Ramos, U.S. Youth Technical Director and the under-20 Men’s National Team head coach, said in a statement.

The first change will be adopting more small-sided games. Mandated to come by August of 2017, this rule will decrease the number of full 11-on-11 competitions and increase 9-on- 9 and 7-on-7 games.

The idea is to make it so that kids get more touches on the ball, have more tactical decisions to make and, hopefully, have more fun. It should allow players to learn tactics quicker, gain experience at different positions, feel more personally involved in games and increase fitness.

All of which should make it a more fun and enjoyable game.

"What we’re trying to do is to help players develop by putting them in an environment where they are constantly involved in the play," Ramos said in the statement. "That could be with the ball and that could be without the ball, but when you make things small-sided, everyone is somehow involved in the play, whether that’s in defending, in cutting angles, in cutting the ball back. You’re always in the play."

The second change will be a shift from a school-year to calendar-year basis for grouping players. Currently, groups are based on the school year, with the cutoff date being July 31.

The U.S. and Canada are the only FIFA members currently using the school calendar; all others go by the calendar year, with Dec. 31 as the cutoff.

Under the new rules players will still be allowed to “play up” in an older age group, if needed.

“The two things this accomplishes are, it makes things easier, and it gets us on the same calendar with the rest of the world," Ramos said. "So now it becomes easier to identify for U.S. National Teams and everything else when it comes to international soccer.”

U.S. Soccer has always been a step behind international football, perhaps due to a stubbornness not to follow someone else’s model – even if it is a winning model.

Critics of the changes complain that existing teams will be broken up because of the age change, and that small-sided games will not mirror the full-sized game.

These detractors miss the point altogether. Players need more touches on the ball, need to play for different teams with different players, different coaches and in different positions. This is how players develop; how they grow as players.

In a culture hell-bent on winning, it seems that fostering good players, with solid fundamental skills becomes a secondary concern.

These changes will cause some headaches in the short term, but they are exactly what youth soccer needs.

Video of the week

Check out this world-class volley by second-division Portuguese player Hugo Firmino for Lisbon's Clube Oriental. Now, that’s technique!

From the wires

A police officer in the United Arab Emirates has appeared in court over filming himself holding Barcelona star Lionel Messi's passport.

Abu Dhabi's state-run “The National” newspaper reported on Tuesday that the police officer appeared in Dubai's Court of Misdemeanors over the posting the video to the mobile phone app Snapchat in December.

The newspaper said the video included the caption: "Shall I burn the passport or just put it back!"

The police officer, identified as J.M., faces a charge of violating Messi's privacy. He said he made the video in jest and had the permission of Messi's bodyguard.

The forward was in Dubai to receive the Player of the Year award at the Globe Soccer Awards. Messi also is a global ambassador for the coming Expo 2020 in Dubai.

The Other Football: Super Bowl forcing youth soccer league off its pitch

Mon, 14 Dec 2015 15:35:24 -0500

Hosting a major sports event is complicated business. Hosting cities and town councils often see the dollar signs the event brings – fan spending, league stipends and so on.

But with this boon comes inconvenience in terms of increased traffic and in the pushing around of the little guys.

A category that appears to include the Santa Clara Youth Soccer League (SCYSL), which is being bumped off its field by the city council and the NFL, according to the group’s president. You see, its stadium is adjacent to the rather larger one where the San Francisco 49ers play and which is hosting the 2016 Super Bowl on Feb. 7.

The NFL has been granted access to the soccer stadium to hold its half-time show and to use as a media center, which could prove to be a big deal if care isn’t taken in how the whole thing is handled.

Tino Silva, president of the SCYSL, spoke exclusively to Fox News Latino.

“They are going to be putting plywood down on the fields,” Silva said. “If you put plywood down on the grass, the grass dies. We [would be] getting back a field that’s dead. And it’s hard to grow grass in the middle of the winter, even in California.”

Silva added, “Since the game is six weeks away, [if] you plan to replace the fields, wouldn’t you have a contractor lined up? We don’t have a contract with anyone to fix it.”

Silva says the league has brought its concerns to city council, which negotiated the rights to the use of the fields with the 49ers and the NFL, but they haven’t gotten answers.

The 49ers have a practice facility adjacent to the soccer park that, Silva feels, could be used for some of the more damaging Super Bowl events to spare the soccer fields. A previous version of this column stated that the practice facility wouldn’t be used at all, but Roger Hacker, a communications executive with the 49ers, contacted FNL via email after publication and said that the facility “will be used for a variety of purposes by the NFL.”

As far as Silva is concerned, it’s the city council’s job to look out for the 700 or 800 kids possibly affected by the field situation, but they were more than a bit lackadaisical in how they did it.

“You would think [they] would say, ‘Hey, you can use this, but you cannot destroy it. We have a multimillion dollar soccer facility here.’” Silva said. “We are wondering why all the city council members aren’t … collectively saying, ‘Be a good neighbor, but protect your assets.’”

“We aren’t saying we don’t want the NFL to use the soccer park,” Silva stressed. “We know this is a big event, and we are not trying to be unreasonable. We are simply asking to be fair.”

An attempt to get a comment from the NFL went unanswered at publication time, but later Hacker stated that, “This is not a case of the NFL coming to the city at the last minute and asking for more land,” noting usage for the soccer park was provided to the league by the Santa Clara City Council back in 2013.

He added, “All involved parties are committed to returning this public property in the same or better condition following the Super Bowl and will do so by completely replacing the natural grass playing surfaces of the soccer complex.”

“The 49ers and the NFL are partnering to replace the two natural grass fields at the Santa Clara Youth Soccer Park at no cost to the city of Santa Clara," a Dec. 8 joint statement from the team and the league said. "Installation of those fields will begin following the completion of Super Bowl related activities.”

Video of the week

The goal always gets the glory, but oh, that pass from Lindsey Horan to Alex Morgan in the U.S. women’s national team 6-0 rout of Trinidad and Tobago.

From the wires

Honduras' foreign minister says ex-President Rafael Callejas has left the country aboard a private plane with the intention of turning himself in to U.S. authorities investigating corruption and kickbacks in FIFA, soccer's scandal-plagued governing body.

Arturo Corrales said Monday that Callejas had made the decision on advice from his lawyers, but would not say exactly where or when the ex-president would turn himself in.
The United States previously requested Callejas' extradition.

Callejas served as president from 1990-94 and is a current member of FIFA's television and marketing committee.

He was one of about 20 soccer officials indicted on charges with bribes and kickbacks in a 92-count indictment.

Callejas was president of Honduras' soccer federation from 2002 to 2015.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: Spurred by lawsuit, U.S. Soccer issues new concussion protocol

Tue, 17 Nov 2015 12:03:05 -0500

Late last week U.S. Soccer released a new protocol attempting to curb concussion injuries in the youth game. One of the measures included banning heading the ball for players 10 and under, while banning it in practice for all soccer players up to 13.

The new steps were the response to a lawsuit filed against the organization over concussions in youth soccer, and they were welcomed by lawyers in the suit as well as by others in the game, including former U.S. men’s national team player and soccer analyst Taylor Twellman.

Twellman’s career ended early due to a concussion injury, and he has since dedicated himself to generating awareness about the dangers of head injuries in soccer.

Twellman told Fox News Latino, “This conversation has been happening behind closed doors for the last couple of years, and it’s wonderful to see it come out in public. This conversation will only continue to evolve.”

While applauding the step taken by U.S. Soccer, one can only wonder: If it weren’t for the lawsuit, would they have implemented anything?

FIFA, which was included in the lawsuit, seemed pleased that they were exonerated in terms of the lawsuit without even having to address the problem. FIFA declined to comment for this column.

However, even with this flurry of change, no one really is saying how we can best keep young soccer players safe.

Fox News Latino spoke with one of the country’s foremost experts on brain injuries, Dr. Robert C. Cantu, clinical professor in the department of neurosurgery at the Boston University School of Medicine and co-director of its brain trauma center. Cantu also advises the NFL on brain injuries.

“There is one particular act in playing soccer that leads to most concussions and that is the act of heading the ball,” Cantu said, “and it isn’t hitting the ball with your head, it’s [heads] and other body parts colliding.”

The problem is not purely as simple as eliminating heading.

“It is true that soccer has [developed] more physical contact through the years,” Cantu said. “I do think kids are getting bigger, stronger, faster and kids in general are getting rougher. And there is no question we are recognizing concussions better.”

The danger posed specifically to youth players is the most scrutinized for good reason. “The young developing brain is particularly susceptible to injury, on a number of fronts and unfortunately if you injure it, you may not reach the genetic potential you otherwise would have,” explained Cantu.

What makes it difficult is that symptoms are not always easy to spot.

Dr. Cantu said, “We are more and more understanding that there are two issues, one is concussion, and the other is just high numbers of repetitive sub-concussive blows that in and of themselves don’t cause symptoms but can cause structural brain damage.”

Few youth coaches have the proper training or history to detect these injuries, Cantu said. “It can be very difficult to recognize initially, and sometimes the trauma doesn’t seem to be that much. A better educational effort toward coaches would be ideal.”

U.S. Soccer is making concussion awareness information available for youth coaches, but it takes a long time to filter into the system considering the staggering amount of youth clubs in the United States.

Soccer players wear less protective gear than players in almost any other team sport, generally just pads that cover their shins.

The growing awareness of injuries has led to some new head gear that probably isn’t as effective as it seems.

Cantu said, “The head gear doesn’t do anything in terms of concussion. It helps in terms of getting a bruised or lacerated scalp. Prevention is a matter of reducing the trauma and preventing repeated trauma.”

Concussions in sports are nothing new. The unfortunate truth is that it takes a lawsuit to bring about real change. The issue of concussions has not changed the popularity of the NFL or the competitiveness of the athletes, but the awareness has certainly begun the discussion.

For the safety of our young soccer players, we should all get more informed and fast.

“Change comes hard,” Cantu concluded, “but I think change is coming.”

Video of the week

Wrong football, but still worthwhile. If you have a kid in sports, go see “Concussion.” It’s not a game.

From the wires

FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein wants football leaders to help him find ideas to fight extremism and terrorism.

Prince Ali asks FIFA member federations "to join me in starting a serious dialogue within our football family to achieve that goal."

The Jordan federation president writes they can lead by "engaging our youth through football and sports" where "healthy competition and lifestyle can give them hope for a better future."

Prince Ali praises fans "who defy the terrorists with their love of the game and life."

Deadly attacks in Paris last Friday included suicide bombings outside the stadium as France played Germany.

Prince Ali says he lost friends 10 years ago when suicide bombers struck three hotels in Amman.

He is among five candidates in the Feb. 26 election.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: The game from the referee's side of the whistle, take 2

Mon, 02 Nov 2015 12:58:59 -0500

Last week, we got a sense from Dr. Joe Machnik, soccer rules and officiating analyst for Fox Sports, about what the biggest challenges are in today’s game for a referee at the professional level.

But what about the youth game?

Fox News Latino spoke to George Klein, a 10-year-veteran ref with experience ranging from U23, high school, travel and U7 recreational-league soccer. While there are different types of concerns at the youth and pro levels, the officiating can be just as challenging.

Fox News Latino: Do parents and coaches know how to enforce rules at this level?

George Klein: Here are two examples.

One, pushing. Not that pushing should be part of the game, but I equate it with speeding. If the speed limit is 35mph and you are going 39, are you speeding? Yes. Is the cop likely to give you a ticket? No. So it’s only when it becomes excessive.

People think all pushing should be called, but if that was the case, there would be constant blowing of the whistle.

Two, handballs. People think anytime the ball and hands touch one another, it’s a handball. It’s not. It could be a bad field and the ball takes a bad bounce. When the ball plays the hand, it is not a handball. It is when the hand plays the ball. It’s all interpretation of the rules

FNL: What are the factors that affect your decision-making during a game?

GK: Did you ever hear of Law 18? Law 18 is the law of common sense. If its 6-0 and there is a handball in the box, I may wave it off. I’m not calling it. If the keeper has one hand outside the box, I’ll tell the keeper, ‘Watch your hands, next time I’ll have to call it.’ If it’s 2 or 3 feet [outside the box], I have no choice.

FNL: What kind of rapport do you have with the younger players?

GK: A ref has to do his/her homework. I show up early, they see me checking the nets. I show up with duct tape and make sure the goals are secure. I look up the teams records ahead of time, so I know what to expect.

I try to show the kids I respect them. I call the boys “sir” and girls “ladies.” I’ll look the coaches in the eye. I’m properly dressed. If I feel I ever get it wrong, I’ll apologize.

At a very young level, after a great save, I’ll say, ‘Goalkeeper, give me a high five.’ Am I supposed to do that? As a professional, no. But sometimes I’ll tie the goalkeepers shoes cause they can’t with their gloves on. The kids need to see authority and respect go hand in hand. I take charge, and I take command. But I always try to be polite.

FNL: I guess you have lots of experience dealing with crazy parents or coaches?

GK: I don’t see it too much. The ref is causing it too, sometimes.

Some parents have way too high hopes for their kids who have limited abilities. In the rec game, you have a combination of travel players and kids that are just picking daisies. And the coaches take it like it is Game 7 of the World Series or the World Cup. Not all, but there are some of them.

The ref has to put his foot down early when the coach begins running his mouth because parents and older players will feed off of that. If the referee doesn’t punish the coach, that makes it harder for the next referee, cause they get away with it.

FNL: What is the best part of being a referee?

GK: When the losing team or losing parents say nice game ref. Or I’ll be at a restaurant and someone will say, ‘Oh, you’re the referee’ and I’ll think, ‘Oh, no. You remember me,’ and they’ll say, ‘You were nice to the kids. My player liked you.’ That is nice.”

FNL: And the worst part?

GK: I don’t know. I have two games today. That’ll make it my 19th and 20th games this week. My assigner has me mentoring two young referees. I’m getting paid to exercise. I’m learning about myself. I don’t have a worst part.

As we were concluding, Klein aptly summed up in one thought: “My greatest wish is that coaches and parents can referee one time … where teams have identical records and it is the tenth and final game of the season. I want them to referee that game. Just once. I want them in the referee’s shoes to see what it is like. Because as you’re processing all that information and trying to make a decision, in the next second or two, so much has happened.”

There are good refs and bad ones. But as I tell my team, the ref is doing his best. You will get good calls and bad calls. Trust that they are doing a tough job and know that that is part of the game. Respect the referee, and they will respect you.

So before you open your mouth to complain about a call, put yourself in their shoes. Just once.

Video of the week

If you’re struggling to get the ball to do what you want, maybe talk to César Martínez of the Venezuelan Zamora club.

From the wires

Spain's main soccer league is fighting back against the commercial domination of England's Premier League and is embarking on an aggressive international drive to introduce its top stars and traditional clubs to a greater audience.

La Liga has the two best players in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. It also has two of the top clubs in Real Madrid and Barcelona. Now it's trying to find new ways to capitalize on the stardom and keep pace with the growing global appeal of the Premier League.

Spanish league president Javier Tebas fears that the spending power of club owners in England could see them buy up all the world's top players.

"We run the risk of having the Premier League become the NBA of football in the next five years, with the rest of European leagues turning into secondary tournaments," Tebas said.

"We all know that every talented basketball player discovered anywhere in the world ends up going to the NBA, and if the European football industry and the Spanish football industry don't react, we will also be losing talented football players."

The Spanish league is doing what it can, from demanding UEFA look closely into the sources of money behind the English teams, to finding its own revenue to be able to compete.

The Spanish league is opening new offices abroad, including in the rapidly growing markets of China and the United States, with its rapidly growing Spanish-speaking population.

"The U.S. is really crucial for our strategy," La Liga's general director, Ignacio Martinez Trujillo, told the Associated Press. "Soccer is going through a revolution there. The market is growing fast and we want to take advantage of this opportunity to do business there."

The league also recently created an ambassador program in which it will use former stars to help reinforce La Liga's presence abroad. Former Real Madrid stars Luis Figo and Roberto Carlos are among the ambassadors.

"We've been creating the tools to be able to compete with the Premier League financially," Tebas said. "Our clubs need to know that their league is making the investments that will help them keep their talents."

The league is trying to add value to its product and improve how it's delivered to fans. It aims to create better audiovisual packages to broadcasters and improve the fan experience.

The league announced this week that the Copa del Rey will be available through pay-per-view on YouTube this season, and it is launching fan-fest sites to bring together Spanish football enthusiasts around the world, with the first one being deployed in Qatar.

"There is no doubt we have the most important clubs and the most important players, people know that," Trujillo said. "Maybe we need to improve the way we communicate about our product, the way we deliver it, but regarding the competition, there is no doubt that we are the most important league."

Tebas took over as La Liga president in 2013 and helped reduce the clubs' collective debt from about 700 million euros ($775 million) to just more than 300 million euros ($331 million). He also negotiated new television deals that more adequately represented the importance of its top clubs and players.

Spanish clubs had been negotiating television rights individually, so the league bought back the rights and renegotiated them at a much higher price, going from about 800 million euros in total ($885 million) to nearly 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion). Tebas said he expects the 2017 deal to reach $1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion), which is still far less on an annualized basis than the nearly 7 billion euros ($8 billion) that the Premier League clubs are receiving on their three-year deal.

Tebas has started working to redistribute the television revenue more evenly to try to benefit the smaller teams. The hope is to give them a better chance to compete with the powerhouses of Barcelona and Real Madrid, which have long maintained a rarely-interrupted duopoly in the title race.

Closer competition and a more entertaining product is also a key to rivalling the Premier League, which has a broader spread of contenders.

Part of the reason the Premier League is a step ahead is because England's pay TV market is much more developed than in Spain, which allows clubs to reach a lot more people and negotiate better TV deals. Tebas said England has about 10 million more subscribers than Spain.

La Liga has a potentially bigger problem going forward as a result of Spain's recent push to crack down on tax irregularities involving players, including top stars such as Messi, who will likely stand trial on three counts of tax fraud. Neymar, Barcelona teammate Javier Mascherano and former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso also have been targeted by investigations which eventually could turn some players away.

Tebas said the league has to accept it might not be able to count on the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, and that makes reform more urgent.

"It's crucial we help our teams keep their talents," Tebas said. "If we can't do that, we will continue to see the Premier League increase its dominance."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: What you should know before arguing a ref’s call

Tue, 27 Oct 2015 12:05:22 -0400

Being a soccer referee has to be one of the hardest jobs in the world. Congress may have a higher approval rating.

If you’re lucky, no one notices you. If you’re unlucky, upwards of 50,000 scream your name with a bloody look in their eyes.

And it’s not just the fans. Scenes of players surrounding and screaming at the ref are common. Every decision is scrutinized and attacked. And not just in the stadium, but potentially by millions of viewers around the globe.

Before anyone berates a referee, they really need to educate themselves on what it takes to the job.

Fox News Latino spoke to Dr. Joe Machnik, an assistant coach with the U.S. men’s national team during the 1990 World Cup, a FIFA/CONCACAF match commissioner, a soccer analyst for Fox Sports and the founder of No. 1 Soccer Camps.

Fox News Latino: What are the major challenges for a ref in the modern game?

Joe Machnik: They way the game has changed, the increase of speed in the players, the size of the players, the increase of quality in the equipment – especially the ball – where the modern player can now deliver accurately 50, 60 yard passes which can put the referee in the position of being caught behind the play very quickly.

So the biggest challenge is to be prepared, understand the teams’ system of play, to read the game, to be in the right place at the right time to get the right angle, to make the right decision.

FNL: What role does fitness play for refs?

JM: At the highest level, referees are monitored as to the fitness and training during the course of the week. Organizations bring them in once a month or even every 2 weeks to measure their fitness. At the International tournaments, they all need to pass stringent fitness tests in order to participate.

FNL: Do refs get respect from players and coaches?

JM: Officiating, not only in soccer, but in all sports, has changed dramatically because no longer is the referee given the benefit of the doubt. The fact that you have 9,10,11 cameras around the field that can dissect the referee’s decision and show … that maybe a decision is not correct.

FNL: Has the behavior of pro players toward the refs gotten worse?

JM: Yes, it has. There is so much more on the line. There is so much money involved in big time soccer. Especially when it comes to promotion and relegation, when it comes to playing in the first or second division. This is huge financially.

There is immense pressure on the referees that [officiate] these games. When a mistake has been made that drastically affects the outcome of the game, these are called ‘match-critical decisions’ – whether it is called goal or no goal, offside or not offside, yellow card or red card. The result of the match is sometimes decided by the referee, and that is part of the game.

He can make or not make the decision. He can be wrong by giving a penalty and just as wrong for not giving a penalty.”

FNL: Are refs under attack?

JM: It’s called “mass confrontation.” The referee can’t just go out when surrounded by 6 or 7 players and show all of them a red card, even if their language is foul or abusive.
This has to be controlled by the team, the league or the governing body of the competition. It’s a big issue in soccer and something that CONCACAF has to get a better grip on – as you saw in the most recent Gold Cup [in which various matches involving Mexico were determined by loudly disputed calls.]

The fines need to be heavy, not only on the players, but on the clubs as well. The club has to put pressure on the players not to behave in that fashion.

FNL: What’s the most rewarding part of being a ref?

JM: Not too many star players become referees, and that’s too bad – officiating extends your soccer life. All of them played at some level. There comes a time when you can’t play anymore at that level, and you still want to be on the field. And you can give something back to the game. There is a great deal of pride that a referee takes when a game is over, and both teams come over and say to him, ‘Really good job.’

FNL: Should fans read the rulebook?

JM: It’s amazing how little the fans are familiar with the rulebook – and not only fans, some players and some coaches, maybe even some broadcasters.

I feel fortunate that Fox has chosen me to help educate the fans. We can educate the fans by explaining what he or she was thinking about when they made that decision ... There are only 17 rules; there are 47 pages of the rules but 77 pages of interpretation.

So if you’re going to complain about a referee, familiarize yourself with the rules first. You can download them here.

No excuses.

Next week, we speak to a youth referee to get a sense of the challenges of officiating at lower levels.

Video of the week

Great training tip from the French U15 team. Oui, oui!!

From the wires

President Barack Obama welcomed the U.S. women's 2015 World Cup champion soccer team to the White House Tuesday, saying the team's victory with class, excitement and style inspired the whole country.

"They've inspired millions of girls to dream bigger and, by the way, inspired millions of boys to look at girls differently, which is just as important," Obama said.

The U.S. defeated Japan 5-2 during the final to collect the top prize in women's soccer for the first time in 16 years. Obama said his youngest daughter Sasha was able to cheer on the team when she attended the game with Vice President Joe Biden and his granddaughter Maisy.

"This team taught all America's children that playing like a girl means you're a badass," Obama said, to applause in the White House East Room. "Perhaps I shouldn't have used that phrase. Playing like a girl means being the best."

Obama singled out midfielder Carli Lloyd, who was named the tournament's most valuable player after scoring three goals in the final. He noted that Lloyd's title on Wikipedia was jokingly changed during the game to president of the United States, a job Obama said "is about to open up."

"What's another candidate in the mix," Obama said. Dinging the 2016 Republican presidential field, he added, "I guarantee Carli knows more about being president than some of the folks running."

Obama also lauded the team for launching the "She Believes" initiative to encourage young fans to believe in themselves. The team presented Obama with a soccer jersey that included his name and the number 44 on the back, before taking a selfie with the president.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: Silence is golden, especially on the sidelines

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 15:52:35 -0400

It’s a wonderful time of year for youth soccer: Summer camps are over, and millions of players kick off the fall season. They are excited to show off new talents to coaches and teammates – but unfortunately, that means too many parents sticking their two cents about the coaching.

Parents complaining, players whining and coaches screaming. It’s a recipe for disaster.

The question is why? Recently U.S. Soccer released new guidelines for developing young players. It’s a fantastic first step.

However, those changes may not matter unless we fix the culture of the youth game.

The parent problem

It isn’t easy being a sports parent. We all want our children to succeed.

However, there’s a line that needs to not be crossed.

Encouragement and support often become yelling, tirades, even abuse hurled at refs, coaches and other parents.

A parent admonishing the referee for making a bad call do so because they are too invested emotionally in the game's outcome or because they don’t know the rules.

In today’s competitive environment, parents use youth sports to gratify their egos or as a form of competition with other parents. This is not a new phenomenon, and sometimes it devolves to violent levels.

Clubs and association from across the globe employ various methods to deal with these situations.

A couple of years ago the New York Times described the experience of an American family whose son had been recruited to La Masia, FC Barcelona’s prestigious youth training program.

"The parents watching the games are much quieter than their counterparts in the United States,” the reporter observed. “Part of that is because Barcelona’s coaches forbid parents to shout out instructions to the players on the field."

James Rodgers coached children in AFC Wimbledon’s Football Community Scheme in England. He told Fox News Latino, "I think that parents should be allowed to encourage their children, but that they should be extremely sensitive to the directions that the players are receiving from the coaches and even from the referee.”

He added, “The most important thing is that the coach should be doing the coaching, not the parents."

On this side of the Atlantic, the "Silent Saturday" movement is pushing for sideline silence when teams play each other.

Coaches and parents alike aren’t supposed to bark orders at the children. They remain silent and observe and save the instruction and comments for half-time and after the game.

The goal is to give players a chance to trust their skills and instincts without sideline interruption and to develop leadership skills on the field. It also fosters a sense of true teamwork as the players must learn to rely on one another.

Training is the time for instruction; games are showcases for that learning.

The coach problem

Note that the silence also applies to coaches.

Too many turn the sideline into a place of incessant screaming. John Ouelette, national coach for the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) and the previous National Coaching Advisory Commissioner has long supported Silent Saturday.

“Because of the yelling from the coaches and spectators, many players had become silent with their own teammates,” Ouelette has observed. “This is detrimental to their development as players.”

One complaint from youth coaches across the country is about the dearth of creative players coming through the U.S. ranks.

Ouelette noted: “During the first stage of soccer development, it is essential that the children are allowed to discover the game on their own terms. High level coaches constantly complain that players come through the ranks dependent on instructions, because they've been bossed around in the early stages – being told where to run and when to pass.”

He added, “They also cite a dearth of truly creative players – the ones with the ability to make the unpredictable moves – blaming the lack of freedom children are afforded during their early years.”

The player problem

The lack of silence also can be an issue with the players themselves.

There’s a questioning that didn’t exist in years past. Young players question coaches about drills, the position they are assigned and, of course, playing time.

This lack of respect is a by-product of the helicopter parent.

This sense of entitlement exists on all playing levels and applies to the whining Landon Donovan did at being omitted from the last World Cup squad.

Practically as soon as Jürgen Klinsmann took the reins of the U.S. men’s national team, Donovan took a four-month hiatus from the game.

Instead of admitting that may have soured relations between player and coach and taking responsibility for his action, Donovan complained to the media.

In the end, James Rogers summed up the situation best: "The biggest challenge is ensuring that the parents’ energies are channeled in a positive fashion. Parents must also have realistic expectations for their children – not every youth player is going to become the next Lionel Messi.

He added, “The sheer enjoyment of the game should be the most important thing."

So everyone just grab a chair, sit back and enjoy the beautiful game.

Video of the week

Kids, do try this at home!

Bournemouth’s Matt Ritchie scores a beauty against Sunderland in Premier League action.

From the wires

Sepp Blatter told his staff he has done "nothing illegal or improper" and has no immediate plans to step down, the FIFA president's legal team said Monday.

Blatter was back at FIFA headquarters three days after being interrogated by Swiss investigators at the scandal-battered governing body's headquarters.

Blatter is expected to hand over power in February when an emergency election is held, triggered by the president's resignation statement four days after being re-elected for a fifth, four-year term in May.

But the 79-year-old Blatter does not appear to be planning any sudden exit despite being the subject of a criminal investigation over his management of world soccer.

"President Blatter spoke to FIFA staff today and informed the staff that he was cooperating with the authorities, reiterated that he had done nothing illegal or improper and stated that he would remain as president of FIFA," Blatter's attorney, Richard Cullen, said in a statement.

Blatter was questioned by Swiss investigators on Friday about why FIFA paid 2 million Swiss francs (about $2 million) to UEFA President Michel Platini in 2011 for work supposedly carried out at least nine years earlier. Blatter denied wrongdoing and Platini, who is also a FIFA vice president, was only questioned as a witness.

"President Blatter on Friday shared with the Swiss authorities the fact that Mr. Platini had a valuable employment relationship with FIFA serving as an adviser to the president beginning in 1998," Cullen said. "He explained to the prosecutors that the payments were valid compensation and nothing more and were properly accounted for within FIFA including the withholding of Social Security contributions."

Platini wrote to UEFA members reiterating Friday's denial of wronging while still not addressing why there was a nine-year gap between carrying out his work and receiving the payment. Platini became a FIFA adviser after running the 1998 World Cup in France until 2002 when he joined FIFA's executive committee.

"It was a full-time job and my functions were known by all," Platini said in the letter. "The remuneration was agreed at the time and after the initial payments were made, the final outstanding amount of 2 million Swiss Francs was paid in February of 2011.

"The income has all been fully declared by me to the authorities, in accordance with Swiss law."

The Scottish Football Association wants answers about why it Platini was paid so long after the work was carried out.

"It is an essential piece of information that still needs to be provided," SFA chief executive Stewart Regan responded to the letter on Twitter.

Scotland was one of the first UEFA members in July to publicly endorse Platini's bid for the FIFA presidency. Oct. 26 is the deadline for candidates, who must pass integrity checks.
Platini's letter did not reference his election campaign, but he wrote: "I am aware these events may harm my image and my reputation and by consequence the image of UEFA."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: To Jürgen or not to Jürgen? That is the question

Tue, 15 Sep 2015 16:45:23 -0400

There has been lots of talk in the soccer media of late about the job U.S. men’s national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann is doing. Some people are out for his blood, with former national team player, Taylor Twellman using the term “tipping point” over and over again during the broadcast of last week’s 4-1 loss to Brazil.

Skeptics like Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl believe that result “will have even more people questioning the direction in which Klinsmann has his team going.”

Klinsmann lacks tactical acumen; he’s experimented too much with the lineup, brought in too many fresh faces, and so on and so forth.

But before we put Klinsmann away to pasture, let’s take a deep breath.

The naturalized American is the most successful coach in U.S. men’s national team history.

His soccer pedigree is unmatched – as a player, he’s won a World Cup with West Germany, a Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich and a UEFA Cup with Inter Milan.

And as a coach he took Germany to the World Cup semifinals in 2006, and last year in Brazil, his U.S. squad exceeded expectations.

To emerge from one of the toughest groups in the tournament and almost beat a highly fancied Belgian side was an amazing achievement.

There are big differences between soccer here in the U.S. and in the rest of the world. Klinsmann has helped pull off that Band-Aid, showing both how far we can go and also how limited we are.

Soccer competes at a disadvantage here, given the three major sports dominance, and MLS, while growing, is still one of the worlds’ weakest big-money leagues.

Klinsmann’s complaints about U.S. athletes playing in MLS are hard to take, but accurate.

“I made it clear with Clint [Dempsey's] move back and Michael [Bradley's] move back,” the coach has said, “that it's going to be very difficult for them to keep that same level that they experienced at the places where they were. It's just reality. It's just being honest.”

If you want to be one of the best basketball players, do you choose to play in the NBA or in Italy? You have to compete against the best.

His lineup experimentation comes from necessity not fussiness. If someone proved they could do the job, they would not lose their roster spot.

But soccer does not live long in the past. José Mourinho who won the Premier League for Chelsea a few months ago is already feeling the pressure for his team to perform just weeks into the new season.

Past accomplishments will only keep Klinsmann safe for so long. Yahoo! Sports’s Leander Schaerlaeckens wrote, “The entirety of Klinsmann’s tenure has resided somewhere between failure to live up to the hype and outright failure.”

The United States is at a crossroads in soccer. The younger generation has taken to the game like never before. Girls and boys alike are filling soccer fields and stadiums across the country.

Where we go from here may be determined by having the right person in the most important job in U.S. soccer.

Is Jürgen Klinsmann that person? Coaches and teams are judged by the “big” games. The match against Mexico on October 10th won’t just determine which nation gets to play in 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.

It may very well be that “tipping point” Twellman was talking about for Klinsmann.

Video of the week

Here is an object lesson in why you play until the final whistle, kids, courtesy of Portugal and Albania in a Euro qualifying match.

From the wires

Major League Soccer's expansion franchise in Los Angeles finally has an official name: the Los Angeles Football Club, or LAFC.

That has been the informal name of the franchise since its deep-pocketed ownership group was granted the expansion team nearly a year ago. The club finally made it official Tuesday on Twitter, saying its supporters demanded the name.

LAFC is owned by Malaysian billionaire Vincent Tan, American venture capitalist Henry Nguyen and a celebrity-studded list of minority investors including Magic Johnson, Peter Guber, Tony Robbins, Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra.

The group intends to build a downtown stadium on the site of the Los Angeles Sports Arena, which will be demolished.

LAFC will begin MLS play in 2018, a year later than originally planned.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: Why does the MLS have playoff fever?

Mon, 12 Oct 2015 11:59:45 -0400

The snobby European Football fan, which I confess I am one, struggles to understand why MLS has a playoff system and tries to compete with the top sports here rather than accepting the Euro model.

Major League Soccer’s executive vice president of communications, Dan Courtemanche, spoke exclusively to Fox News Latino about the new playoff system that MLS has implemented for the 2015 season, and why he believes it is sustainable.

Fox News Latino: Many say the MLS playoff system attempts to “Americanize” the system to appeal to U.S. fans. Does MLS feel the need to make decisions based on competition with other sports in the U.S. or are changes like #DecisionDay trying to attract the same excitement from Europe?

Dan Courtemanche: Major League Soccer plays the game by the same rules as all of the other professional soccer leagues throughout the world. In the early days of the league, there were attempts to make the game more appealing to the American sports fan. In 1999, MLS eliminated any changes to the game – shootout, clock counting down, etc. – that were not the same as the other leagues throughout the world.

FNL: What do you say to the detractors that complain about the MLS having a playoff system as opposed to other leagues all over the world?

DC: The Audi MLS Cup Playoffs provide drama and make our regular season more compelling than many leagues throughout the world ... Regarding playoffs and other North American sports leagues, those leagues are arguably the most competitive in the world. We believe playoffs create a competitive environment, and the current season certainly illustrates that point with 17 of 20 clubs still in the hunt for a playoff berth with only two weeks remaining.

FNL: How do you feel the expansion to 12 teams will affect the playoffs? Is there a concern that having such a large percentage of teams in the playoffs dilutes the importance of the regular season?

DC: With two weeks remaining in the regular season, 85 percent of MLS clubs remain in the playoff race. Even at this late juncture in the season, every match matters for those clubs in playoff contention. Teams are either desperate to contend for a playoff spot or trying to secure a top seed and home-field advantage. Our playoffs are compelling and provide great entertainment for MLS fans. Also, we expanded the number of playoff teams to plan for the future as a minimum of four new expansion clubs will join MLS before the end of the decade.

FNL: For the first time ever all postseason matches will be shown live on national television across the league’s partner networks. This is a very exciting development. How important is this development for MLS?

DC: We are pleased to have all of our postseason matches televised nationally. In addition to playoff matches being televised on ESPN, FS1, Univision Deportes, TSN and RDS, our postseason games will reach more than 120 different countries via our international broadcast partners. We appreciate the passion and commitment by all of our broadcast partners, and the incremental exposure will help grow our fan base and increase the popularity of our clubs. Our goal is to become one of the top leagues in the world by 2022, and television is a significant component in helping us achieve that goal.

While it's all well and good to keep MLS fans and cities interested, a big part of the goal should be to bring new fans into the game. You want to entertain not just your current fan base, but regular sports fans as well. The new broadcast schedule should help attract viewers, but the numbers don’t seem to add up.

Soccer is growing massively in the U.S., so why isn't the MLS?

The big question is where are the soccer fans? Ninety-three thousand attended the U.S. versus Mexico game this weekend, millions more watched on TV. The national teams’ games – both men and women – are very well attended. When clubs and national teams from other countries visit the U.S., they fill large stadiums. Why aren't those fans flocking to MLS games in similar numbers?

The answer may be that by creating its own rules and system, the MLS divides soccer fans rather than unites us. Maybe American soccer should represent the melting pot of the global game, drop the playoffs and introduce a promotion-and-relegation system and then maybe the fans will have something to be more invested in.

Video of the Week

So refreshing. Watch new Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp introduce himself to the English media at a press conference. I can’t remember when the English were so happy to see a German in their midst.

From the Wires

Players in the Albanian national football team have come home to a heroes' welcome after qualifying for the 2016 European Championships — the first major tournament the country has ever reached.

Hundreds of jubilant fans gathered at Tirana's Mother Teresa Airport Monday as players returned a day after beating Armenia 3-0 for second place in Group I behind Portugal.

Prime Minister Edi Rama gave players a red carpet welcome at his office after traveling to the airport and hugging players as they came off the plane. President Bujar Nishani awarded the team the country's highest civilian award, the Honor of National Order.

Much of the capital Tirana remained draped in the national colors, red and black, after a night of street celebrations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: Mourinho to Manchester United? It's a no-brainer

Mon, 23 May 2016 11:01:25 -0400

“Form fluctuates, but class is permanent.”

That is the adage spoken about the top soccer players in the world. The phrase applies to coaches as well.

Manchester United is about to hire José Mourinho as its next manager. They just concluded a disappointing season under Louis van Gaal — he was fired on Monday — and are looking to shake things up. And Mourinho will.

I guarantee that under Mourinho, Manchester United will be back.

We all know he can be controversial, heated – even maddening at times. But no one can argue with his pedigree. Bottom line, he is one of the best managers in the world. So much is written about him and his style that we forget about his resumé. Stop and read it.

After working under Bobby Robson at Barcelona, Mourinho began coaching in Portugal with stints at Benfica and União de Leiria before taking the reins at Porto in early 2002. Within a year, he had guided the team to wins in the Primeira Liga, the Taça de Portugal and the UEFA Cup in 2003.

The next season, Mourinho and Porto did even better, repeating as winners in the league and the Portuguese cup, and taking the highest honor in European club football, the Champions League title.

Mourinho moved to Chelsea and promptly won the 2005 Premier League title, Chelsea’s first in 50 years, and the League Cup. In his second year, Chelsea repeated as Premier League champs, and in 2006–07 he led the club to an FA Cup and League Cup double.

In 2008, Mourinho jumped to Inter Milan, and worked his magic again, winning the Coppa Italia and the Serie A title. Two years later, Inter became the first Italian club to win the Serie A, the Italian cup and the Champions League in the same year. It was the first time Inter had won Champions Leage since 1965, in the process, Mourinho became one of only five coaches to have won the European title with two different teams.

He was named FIFA World Coach of the Year in 2010 – the first time the award was handed out. That year, he signed with Real Madrid, winning the Copa del Rey in his first season. The following year, the team won La Liga, and he became only the fifth coach to have won league titles in four different countries.

After leaving Madrid in June 2013, Mourinho returned to England to manage Chelsea for a second spell, during which they won another EPL title.

Back in 2006, I was lucky enough to spend a week with Chelsea as the team trained in Los Angeles before the Premier League season opener. I saw Mourinho’s training methods first-hand, but, more importantly, saw his relationship with his players.

That is what makes a great coach, and Mourinho is just that.

So when the media frenzy about his appointment at Manchester United quiets down, one fact remains: Chelsea’s loss is Manchester United’s gain. He is a winner and will bring United back to their winning ways.

Video of the week

The Olympics and Copa America promise to make this a great summer of soccer.

But will those competitions be able to compare to this?

Mark your calendar and enjoy the festival.

From the wires

Barcelona says striker Luis Suárez is expected to travel to the United States to join Uruguay's national team for the Copa América despite a hamstring injury.

Barcelona says tests on Monday confirmed that Suárez sustained a right-leg muscle injury in the Copa del Rey final against Sevilla on Sunday.

It says Suárez will begin his rehabilitation in Barcelona before joining the Uruguayan squad on June 1 in the United States, where "he'll continue with the second phase of his recovery."

Uruguay opens in the Copa América on June 5.

Suárez was in tears after being substituted in the 56th minute of Barcelona's 2-0 extra time win over Sevilla at the Vicente Calderón Stadium in Madrid.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: Celebrating the unsung soccer hero – mom

Mon, 09 May 2016 16:32:02 -0400

It’s become an overused, trite term: the “Soccer Mom.”

Years ago, the New York Times even wrote a piece about the term’s political repercussions. But at the moment I only care about its literal meaning.

Professional players have agents – youth players have Mom. They get them kitted up, drive them to practice, soothe the aches and pains of games and help them to grow.

Mom cheers for them as they make teams and hugs them when they get cut.

As a coach, I see their direct impact on the child’s development as a soccer player. I certainly have more conversations with mothers of my players than with their dads.

Think about it. Who drives you to games and practices and sits in the blistering sun or the driving rain and is there every time you look over?

Who’s washing the dirt off your uniform or picking up all the recycled tire from the turf fields that leaves a trail to your smelly wet gear? Who remembers your water bottle and other equipment when walking out the door?

In a Mother’s Day retrospective for MLS Soccer, several players moms shared memories from their kids’ youth days.

Molly Edu, mother of former U.S. National Team player Maurice said, “l remember his first years of club soccer. He was playing two years up and was the smallest on his team. His jersey was always too big for him, and, when he ran, it was like a balloon with the air filling it. All of the boys were way bigger than him, but trying to convince Maurice to play [with kids] his age was a struggle to say the least. He loved the challenge. “

Jennifer Shelton, mom of NYCFC’s Khiry Shelton said, “We drove from Colorado Springs to Denver three to four times a week” – about 1 hour and 15 minutes each way – “for practices, games or team meetings. The boys got good at doing homework in the car, and, boy, did we eat our share of McDonald’s. The best memories are of jamming out to a song and all doing the same seat dance, making the car rock, and taking the back roads. If we were going fast enough, they were hilly enough that it felt like a rollercoaster … The hours were many, but every minute was worth it. “

Janice Wondolowski, mother of San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski, shared how confusing it could get when she would have to switch his baseball cleats or jerseys with his soccer ones when they shifted from one sport to the other.

What strikes me about these and the other stories out there is how simi-lar they are to the stories the mothers of my players tell. All of them will do anything to help their kids achieve their dreams.

And as I stood on the sidelines Sunday, it struck me as I looked across the field to the parents’ sideline: It’s Mother’s Day.

These Moms are not having breakfast in bed with their feet up. They are here, doing what they do best. Being there for you.

You will never have an ambassador for your game like Mom again. Ever.

Video of the week

Manchester United’s Juan Mata is pure class, even after scoring the lone goal in 1-0 win against Norwich.

From the wires

Brazil soccer great Rivaldo is telling tourists to stay away from the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro because of the danger of endemic violence.

Rivaldo posted the warning on his Instagram account and alluded to the case of a 17-year-old woman killed on Saturday in a shootout.

"Things are getting uglier here every day," Rivaldo wrote. "I advise everyone with plans to visit Brazil for the Olympics in Rio — to stay home. You'll be putting your life at risk here. This is without even speaking about the state of public hospitals and all the Brazilian political mess. Only God can change the situation in our Brazil."

The Olympics open in just under three months.

In a recent statement, Amnesty International said at least 11 people were killed in police shootings in Rio's impoverished favelas in April. It said at least 307 people were killed by police last year, accounting for 20 percent of the homicides in the city.

Violence is one in a long line of problems facing South America's first Olympics. Although venues are largely ready, the Zika virus, water pollution, and lukewarm tickets sales are worrying organizers. In addition, Brazil is in its deepest recession in decades and President Dilma Rousseff is fighting impeachment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: In soccer, as in life, it pays to follow the Golden Rule

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 17:55:41 -0400

Spring is slowly on the way and with the budding blooms comes Spring Soccer. A renewed flurry of activity and sense of community that brings smiles to young players on the pitch and their parents on the sidelines. Sometimes it turns ugly, as this writer has stated before on TOF.

While we in the media love to focus on the stolen goals, the fouls and the controversy, this week I focus on a couple of positive gestures and one instance of, well, what not to do if you want to show others what to do unto you.

First up is a story of a class-act gesture by Lionel Messi. Fans already love him for his talent on the pitch, but even a naysayer can’t help tip his hat to the Argentine.

It came out this week that during December 2015’s FIFA World Cup between Messi’s Barcelona and the Buenos Aires club, River Plate, the striker took a shot in the 12th minute that was stopped by opposing goalkeeper, Marcelo Barovero.

Messi helped Barovero up, and the keeper said, “I just completed a dream of my son’s – to stop a shot by Messi.”

Hoping to swap shirts after the game, Barovero found out Messi had promised his to someone else. Instead, Messi gave his boots to the River Plate goalie. “He told me, ‘The boots are for your son.’ I froze. It was a very big gesture.”

In the column of “what not to do” is a story out of Portugal involving Lisbon rivals Sporting and Benfica. Before their derby on Saturday, Benfica players refused to hold the hands of the children escorting them onto the pitch because the kids were wearing their rivals’ kit. So Sporting players doubled up on escorts.

Before we bash Benfica too much, Sporting did the same thing in October when they played at Benfica’s field.

We understand that there is a rivalry here, but come on, people. These are kids who just want to hold the hands of their idols, regardless of what jerseys they are wearing.

But all is not lost in the fiery and ungrateful world of soccer.

The present contract of England manager Roy Hodgson runs well past the Euro 2016 tournament this summer, but Hodgson, who routinely comes under second-guessing in the press, came out and said that if the public no longer wants him after the tournament, he will step aside.

Hodgson said, “If it’s the time for me to walk away and leave it to someone else, then so be it. I certainly won’t be looking to walk away from it. But I won’t be clinging on when most people are wishing I wasn’t there anymore.”

This reaction is not typical of managers who often lash out at players, the coaching staff or other members of the organization – even the team doctor in the case of José Mourinho and Chelsea – when their backs are against the wall.

“Whatever happens, I will be quite satisfied that I’m leaving a foundation and a group of players and a body of work that someone can carry on,” said Hodgson.

Gentility frequently is not the name of the game in soccer. Be it scuffles on the sidelines or on the pitch, more positive examples, and denouncement of poor behavior, is needed to ensure that the youth get the right message.

We are all but players here, and it is a privilege, not a right, to be able to participate in the beautiful game.

Video of the week

There is no discussion of fair play in football without this wonderful Paolo Di Canio moment.

From the wires

The English Football Association has charged Chelsea striker Diego Costa with improper conduct after being sent off in Saturday's FA Cup loss at Everton.
Costa earned a second yellow card after thrusting his head at Gareth Barry before making a biting motion toward the midfielder's neck. Both players said there was no bite.

Costa also confronted the referee and the FA has given him until Thursday to respond to the charge that his behavior after the sending off "amounted to improper conduct."

The FA has also given Costa until Wednesday to provide his observations about "an alleged gesture he made towards Everton supporters while leaving the pitch at half time."

Costa is facing having his automatic one-match ban increased.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: Quality, not quantity, is path to lasting MLS success

Tue, 26 Apr 2016 12:00:00 -0400

Soccer in America continues to grow and grow. It seems like you can’t pass a field anywhere on a weekend that doesn’t have a youth game going on.

With so much grassroots soccer, one would think that our pro leagues would be robust and thriving too.

So are they? All signs point to yes.

Over the last 10 to 15 years, Major League Soccer has doubled in size, going from 10 to 20 teams – and four more slated to debut in the coming years. Its average attendance has grown to more than 21,000 per game. That’s higher than the hockey and basketball games.

Broadcast revenues have increased by 500 percent, and the buy-in for a new MLS franchise is more than 10 times the $10 million it cost a decade years ago.

"It's pretty remarkable where we are today," MLS commissioner Dan Garber said recently. "To think that we have thousands of people coming out for a rally and having a meeting with mayors, politicians, state senators from both sides of the aisle, city politicians on both sides of the aisle, pledging their support for an MLS team, CEOs of major corporations coming in and pledging their support philosophically. That's fantastic."

Garber has stated that he hopes to be at 28 teams in the 2020s.

“In the next six months, we’ve got to come together and develop a plan with our ownership to determine when we go further, because we will,” Garber said at a recent event. “We will expand beyond 24 teams. It’s not an if but a when.”

This laser-focus on expansion, however, begs the question, “Does this focus on size compromise quality?”

Detractors of this expansion model say that the MLS is banking on the “build it, and they will come” philosophy without taking into consideration that quality is as important as access in the world of soccer.

U.S. fans have been accustomed to watching European, South American and other top leagues, so it’s harder for MLS to win them over than fans of other sports. They see entertaining games, quality match-ups and top talent at every level.

This does not exist at the MLS – yet. And the fear here is that without a quality product, no matter how many teams there are, fans will be let down and resist attending or watching.

The ray of hope is that while the league is expanding, talented players are being developed. Youth soccer has never been more popular, and, with a bit of luck, by 2020 there could be a glut of talented players that will have a place to play top soccer without having to leave the country.

Garber certainly seems to think so, and for the sake of soccer in U.S., we hope so.

But American soccer cannot handle another collapse like that of North American Soccer League.

At its peak from 1978 to 1980, the old NASL reached 24 teams and a peak per-game attendance of more than 14,000 fans – numbers not far from those of MLS today. But many of the league’s franchises were in fragile financial footing, and by 1984, the league’s last, only 9 teams remained.

Garber keeps talking about making MLS growing to compete with the best leagues in the world, but he isn’t going to achieve that through expansion alone, and the MLS has never solved its main problem. The level of play simply is not up to par with European leagues – or Mexico’s Liga MX, for that matter.

It’s quality of play that makes those leagues what they are, not the number of teams in them. Fewer teams of better quality would draw more diehard soccer fans into the MLS. Dilution simply drags the process out.

Growth is good, of course, but it is coming at the expense of excellence. Let’s hope the MLS and Garber can understand that, or the future they envision may never come to pass.

Video of the week

There are goal of the year candidates … and then, courtesy of Javi Gómez of the Spanish third-division team UD Socuéllamos, there is the winner.

The Other Football: There’s a youth soccer revolution brewing … in China

Tue, 12 Apr 2016 07:00:58 -0400

A few weeks ago, The Other Football examined the large sums of money being poured into certain teams in China’s top professional soccer league.

Aside from garnering worldwide attention, the resources pouring into the team also provides role models and stars for millions of Chinese kids growing up with the game. It gives something to strive for. The next logical step is for the nation to develop its young players who, in turn, will be the role models of tomorrow.

And where did they look to implement this cultural shift? To an American, of all people.

Tom Byer – whose official title is “Head Technical Adviser for the Chinese School Football Program Office and Official Chinese School Football Grassroots Ambassador,” is tasked with changing the country’s perception of soccer at the most fundamental of levels, the young.

Many international coaches working in China have already experienced the problem. In a 2013 interview, former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who now coaches Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG, said he was struck by how few kids play the game on the streets of China.

"If you go past a park in the city, they're not playing football like they are in parks in Manchester or London or wherever," the Swedish coach said. "Football has never been a big, big sport in China, and one of the problems is that there is no grassroots.”

Byer is trying to change that. He is bringing his belief that kids should be introduced to soccer as young as possible and encouraged to kick the ball around and practice moves as much as possible.

In a recent interview in the South China Morning Post, Byer noted, “I have a very different approach to football development – whereas the traditional thought is, ‘We need more coaches. It’s all about the elites,’ nothing could be further from the truth. It’s really about trying to develop more of a football culture.”

Byer is working with the Ministry of Education to get soccer on the curriculum in Chinese schools. That means teaching the teachers as well as getting parents involved.

"Education is this huge monster in China, and it’s really demanding on the kids," Trevor Lamb, a former U.S. player who now heads a junior coaching program at the Hangzhou club, Sinobal. "Kids of 10 years old are doing three or four hours of homework a night. It's incredibly competitive, and there's not much room for any sport.”

Most foreign-born coaches in China point to the fact that a culture shift needs to happen. Club teams need local support to survive.

Can they pull it off? Is it possible to instill an identity where there wasn’t one before? Hard to say, but I agree with Sven Goran Eriksson who believes the biggest catalyst for change may be the emergence of a local superstar like Yao Ming in basketball.

"China needs a big name in football, who will be a big star internationally,” he said. “Someone who could play for Manchester United, Manchester City or Chelsea. Unfortunately, we don't have one at this time.”

But you never know when one may be on the way and the revolution right around the corner.

Video of the week

Wolfsburg won a huge game this week. They beat Real Madrid 2-0 in their first league of their Champions League quarterfinal clash.

Yes, it’s only the first leg and Wolfsburg was at home, but without an away goal, Real will have to win by three to make sure of making the semis.

From the wires

Diego Simeone needs to find a way to beat Luis Enrique, because only a win will be enough.

Atlético Madrid will face Barcelona in the quarterfinals of the Champions League on Wednesday, a week after losing to the defending champions 2-1 in the first leg.

Simeone's Atlético has lost all seven matches against Barcelona since Enrique took over the club in 2014. The Argentine's overall record as a coach against the Catalan club boasts only one win in 16 games.

Simeone's defensive-minded style has succeeded against most teams across Europe, but not when facing Enrique's Barcelona.

Atlético has lost every league game, and two Copa del Rey matches, after Enrique's arrival in Catalonia. He had not yet taken the job when Atlético eliminated Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfinals in 2014.

The only time Simeone succeeded was when Enrique was in charge of Celta Vigo, winning their two encounters.

Last week's loss was certainly one of the toughest for Simeone, who saw Atlético dominate and open a 1-0 lead at the Camp Nou until Fernando Torres' sending off in the 35th minute allowed Barcelona to mount a comeback.

"We played a fantastic first half up to 30 minutes. In the second half, we tried to stay alive for the second leg," Simeone said. "We are still alive. I imagine the Calderón packed and chanting throughout the whole game with enthusiasm."

Atlético is trying to return to the semifinals for the first time since the runner-up finish to Real Madrid in 2014, when it eliminated Barcelona after a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou and a 1-0 win at the Calderón. Atlético is the only team to have kept Barcelona from reaching the semifinals in the last eight seasons.

Only twice the Catalan club has failed to advance after winning the first leg in its previous 40 attempts in UEFA competitions, but Atlético has to remain optimistic after reversing 2-1 first-leg losses five out of six times it happened in European competitions.

A draw on Wednesday will be enough to keep alive Barcelona's hopes of repeating the treble of Spanish league, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles.

"We are still close to reaching our goals," Barcelona midfielder Andrés Iniesta said. "We depend on ourselves."

Shy of his 500th career goal, Lionel Messi is enduring his worst scoring slump with Barcelona in five years.

He hasn't found the net in 362 minutes, since the 3-1 win over Arsenal in the round of 16 of the Champions League.

But the playmaker has to be upbeat with his chances of ending the streak on Wednesday against Atlético, a team on which he has scored 25 goals in 29 matches, including three hat tricks. No other player has scored more goals against Atlético.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: A fond farewell to a 'Total' legend of the game, Johan Cruyff

Tue, 29 Mar 2016 10:00:50 -0400

Every sport has lots of great players throughout its history. But only a select few get called a legend.

Soccer lost one of those players. Last week saw the passing of Johan Cruyff from cancer at age 68. Newer fans of the game may not know his name or all that he gave the game.

But they should.

The loss of the Netherlands great is a heavy one, and, as the Dutch F.A. said, “Words can hardly be found for this huge loss.”

Cruyff started his career at Ajax and helped that team to numerous national, European, intercontinental and Super Cups. He then moved to Barcelona. He then managed the same teams, taking Ajax to two Dutch cup wins and one European cup, and Barcelona to 11 titles.

But Cruyff’s greatest contribution was “Total Football” – a style of play that he helped start and which he professed throughout his career, and a philosophy that helped create the modern game we know today.

Cruyff once said, “Simple play is also the most beautiful. How often do you see a pass of 40 meters when 20 meters is enough? To play well, you need good players, but a good player almost always has the problem of a lack of efficiency. He always wants to do things prettier than strictly necessary.”

Cruyff believed in keeping the ball when you had it, and getting the ball back as soon as possible when you didn’t.

“If you have the ball, you must make the field as big as possible, and if you don’t have the ball, you must make it as small as possible,” Cruyff said. “It’s a basic concept – when you dominate the ball, you move well. You have what the opposition [players] don’t, and therefore they can’t score. The person that moves decides where the ball goes, and if you move well … the ball goes where you want it.”

Hard to not see this principle in action in, say, Barcelona’s tiki taka.

His role in the evolution of the game has been felt not just on the tactical side but also as player.

Kids (and adults too) are taught the “Cruyff turn” on practice fields all over the world, a maneuver he first showcased at the 1974 World Cup in Munich.

Cruyff’s speed, technique, precision while passing and his scoring of goals, set the standard as a player and made him a delight to watch.

BBC football commentator Barry Davies said of him, “He was so exciting to watch, so full of ideas.”

Vincent Kompany, the standout Manchester City player and captain of the Belgian squad, said, “I don’t think anyone has ever influenced the game as much as he has. Football will miss him, but we will never forget.”

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands said the country had "lost a unique and brilliant sportsman,” and added, “He was a Dutch icon. He belonged to us all.”

Perhaps he was best summed up by Gary Lineker, Former England and Barcelona great, who said: "Football has lost a man who did more to make the beautiful game beautiful than anyone in history.”

Sadness is not the emotion Cruyff would want us to feel at his passing. Let’s celebrate and honor him by going out and doing that wonderful turn he taught us. At least, that’s what my youth team is learning this week.

To learn more about Johan Cruyff, go to: The World of Johan Cruyff.

Video of the week

To honor him, each young player should study this compilation of his brilliant dribbling skills. (The famous Cruyff turn can be found at the 2:15 mark.)

From the wires

United States coach Jürgen Klinsmann added midfielders Graham Zusi and Christian Pulisic to the roster ahead of Tuesday's World Cup 2018 qualifying rematch against Guatemala on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.

The Americans lost 2-0 at Guatemala on Friday, the first loss to Los Chapines in 21 games since January 1988.

Zusi, who played in the 2014 World Cup, has three goals in 32 appearances for the national team. His last U.S. game was in the third place match of the 2015 Gold Cup. He plays for Sporting Kansas City of Major LeagueSoccer.

Pulisic is a 17-year-old who makes his debut on the senior national team roster. He represented the U.S. at the 2015 Under-17 World Cup. He plays for Germany's Borussia Dortmund.

Several U.S. players missed the Guatemala match because of injuries. Defender John Brooks (bruised knee) and midfielder Fabian Johnson (groin) returned to their clubs in Germany and defender Matt Besler suffered a concussion in training Thursday and flew to Kansas City on Sunday for further evaluation. Also, midfielder Jermaine Jones is suspended.

Trinidad and Tobago (2-1) leads Group C with seven points. Guatemala (2-0-1) is one point back. The U.S. (1-1-1) has four points and St. Vincent (0-3-0) is last.

In September, the Americans play at St. Vincent and host Trinidad to complete the regional semifinals. The top two teams advance to the six-nation regional finals.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Other Football: All eyes on Jurgen Klinsmann at Copa America

Mon, 29 Feb 2016 17:26:31 -0500

A country’s national team and its coach are judged by results in big tournaments. The benchmark for the Jürgen Klinsmann era in U.S. Soccer is the team’s fantastic run at the 2014 World Cup, qualifying from a tough group many observers considered the tournament’s “Group of Death.”

The Copa América Centenario draw was held last week, and the U.S. once again landed in a tough group facing Colombia, Costa Rica and Paraguay, but don’t bring up the topic of “Group of Death” to Klinsmann again.

"Obviously it's a difficult group, no doubt about it, but it's doable," Klinsmann said at a news conference after the draw. "We had a similar kind of scenario in Brazil, and we went through, so now we start with Colombia right away instead of Ghana.”

These words of comfort and confidence from the squad leader are good, but is this team good enough?

The U.S. squad has met these three teams before with good results against Costa Rica and Paraguay, less good against Colombia.

"Colombia is one of the top teams in South America, no doubt about it. Paraguay is a strong team. Costa Rica we know," said Klinsmann. ”We start right on our toes with the opening whistle in Santa Clara. It's exciting.”

In addition, the U.S. squad has more maturing to do as a team. They need to sort out their defense and midfield or the result from this tournament will be more like their disappointing 2015 Gold Cup than their World Cup.

At least the prep work can now begin.

“We'll do everything to prepare very, very early for Colombia," Klinsmann said. "It's good to know the teams. Now we can put a scouting plan together."

All eyes will be on Klinsmann, too. The oft-maligned U.S. team coach has sparked controversy almost from the get-go, starting with the Landon Donovan saga and Klinsmann’s outspoken, often critical, views about U.S. Soccer’s business and development model.

Those on the fence about the German great or prone to side with the establishment will look to the squad’s success, or lack thereof, at the Copa América as an indication whether to follow or forget Klinsmann.

Needless to say, the stakes are high for the fans as well the team and its fearless leader.

"They all have to come with their best teams," Klinsmann said. "Would you like an easier group? Maybe on paper. But no group is easy. We'll take it the way it is."

We have been in this tough position before, and this writer wouldn’t want any other coach to lead us into the fray.

Video of the week

If you want to impress your coach, teammates and fans, don’t do what Sunderland’s Wahbi Khazri did in a Premier League match against West Ham:

From the wires

U.S. Soccer unveiled its new crest on Monday, spreading the word via social media.

Players including Carli Lloyd and Mix Diskerud, and celebrities like Robin Roberts, took to Twitter and Instagram to show off the crest, which is simpler and more angular than the previous design. It is the federation's first major rebranding since 1995.

"Loving the new clean crest! #onenationoneteam," Lloyd posted to Twitter.

The crest has a blue "USA" placed above red and white stripes. On the U.S. women's national team uniforms, it will be topped by three stars to signify the team's three World Cup titles.

The federation did not announce the rebranding with a news release. Instead, scarves and other products featuring the crest were delivered to supporters and players Monday morning. U.S. Soccer had teased the move Friday, releasing a video of the old crest being removed from the federation's Chicago headquarters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.