international soccer
James Sands Is Ready for the Bright Lights
The busy life and rosy future of New York City Football Club's youngest player.
Soccer Is Now Too Corrupt for Beer
A Czech beer company is pulling its sponsorship because the Czech Football Association is mired in a corruption scandal.
In a 48-Team World Cup, Something Has To Be Done About Qualifiers
The World Cup will be fun no matter what. But, with an expanded World Cup field, the qualifiers may not.
Cristiano Ronaldo Achieves Lifelong Dream Of Becoming A Human Mannequin
He has found his true calling, not as a soccer player, but as a living statue for us to gaze upon.
Chicharito's Transfer Breaks Leverkusen's Web Traffic Like Whoa
The man brings clout to an oft-hated club.
This Weekend, Refs in Italy's Serie B Will Give Out Green Cards for Good Behavior
It has nothing to do with immigration.
Qatar's 'Efficiency' Praised Amid Ongoing Rights and Bribery Controversies
Qatar is the model of efficiency, but migrant workers, women, journalists, and torture victims would tell a different story. And then there's the matter of FIFA and bribery.
Andrea Pirlo's Beautiful Game
Andrea Pirlo is not just one of soccer's most incisive playmakers—he's a proponent for a specific soccer worldview. Is Major League Soccer ready to hear his gospel?
We Went To FIFA's Movie About Itself, And No One Else Did
What kind of person would go see a 110-minute movie about soccer's disgraced governing body? As it turns out, the answer is 1) nobody and 2) journalists.
The Europa League, an Appreciation
The Europa League is not the Champions League, and that's enough to make it a punchline. But European soccer's middle class tournament is a lot more than that.
Xavi and the End
The end appears to have come for Xavi, the avatar of and prime mover in Spain's tiki-taka attack. These moments are always sad, but nothing ever really ends.
Pep Guardiola's Two Champions League Teams
Pep Guardiola grew up in FC Barcelona, and made them champions. Now he's returning, as the coach of Bayern Munich, to a place that he never totally left.