WITH Britain now divorced from the European Union, the early indications suggest it will be a little harder for FA Premier League sides to sign players from some of their traditional markets. At the same time, in the new order, … Continue reading South American appeal may grow in Brexit Britain
INTERNATIONAL perception of Colombia, its capital city and its football was, for many years, negative and the very mention of the country would conjure up images of guerrilla warfare, drug cartels and the Bobby Moore bracelet affair of 1970. Thankfully, … Continue reading Soccer City: Bogotá – do you know the way to Santa Fe?
THEY WERE little more than the token host nation representative to keep local interest alive, but Kashima Antlers are now one game away from the FIFA Club World Cup final. The Antlers won their second game in the 2016 competition when they beat Mamelodi Sundowns in the quarter-final game in Osaka. This follows their previous win against Auckland in the preliminary round. It has been a busy week for the Antlers as they won the J-League only last weekend, beating Urawa Reds in the final. They showed great resilience against a Mamelodi side that dominated the first period and looked … Continue reading Antlers keep Japanese interest high
The nerves are starting to show in Brazil. Scolari looks like he’s getting hot under the collar, Neymar’s fitness becomes national news and there’s the omnipresent threat of violence if things go horribly wrong for Pentacampeões against Colombia. Having predicted that Chile would beat Brazil in the last 16 – actually, they very nearly did – we are going to have another bash at making bold statements. Colombia will beat Brazil tonight in Fortaleza. Why? Because Colombia have looked very good throughout the competition, they have some sparkling talent, Brazil are nervous and, in many quarters, uninspiring. It will be … Continue reading World Cup 2014: Tremors to hit Brazil?
And so, two weeks into the greatest show on earth, 16 teams have gone home and the rest go into the business end of the competition. It’s been a good World Cup so far, not a great one, despite the plethora of young hacks claiming it’s the best since 1970 and in their lifetime. It’s partly been good because five of the last six have been [mostly] dire. It’s comparable to 1998, yes, but it is not a patch on 1970, 1978 and 1986, arguably the better tournaments since 1966. There is a pattern emerging. Modern World Cups in Latin … Continue reading World Cup 2014: Jeux sans frontieres
