Fired after falling short at P.S.G. and in the Premier League, Emery has rebuilt his coaching reputation at Villarreal. It may not be long before his phone is ringing again.
Tag Archives: Soccer
Premier League Preview: Has Arsenal Pulled It Together? Will United Fall Apart?
Six contenders (more or less) and five story lines (plus a few extra) as the new season kicks off with everyone chasing Manchester City (again).
Welcome to Soccer’s Strangest Season
The World Cup will split seasons in two in much of the world, including the Premier League campaign that opens this weekend. What is revealed could be fascinating.
Barcelona Spent Its Way Into Crisis. Can It Now Spend Its Way Out?
One of the world’s biggest soccer teams needed to close a $700 million shortfall. Its president, Joan Laporta, may have done it. But the club’s problems are not over.
Coming This Season: Pep Guardiola 3.0
Manchester City will begin defense of its Premier League title with a team that doesn’t (exactly) look like its predecessors. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
‘Wagatha Christie’ Trial: Judge Finds No Libel
The High Court in London ruled against the plaintiff, Rebekah Vardy, putting an end to a legal feud that turned into a reality-show-style event.
Does Soccer Still Need Headers?
New rules, new science and new tactics are already beginning to push heading out of the game. But doing so could have unintended consequences.
The Problem in Coaching Style Without Substance
England’s 8-0 thrashing of Norway was a stunning triumph. But it also exposed a failure of leadership.
Saudi Arabia Bankrolls a Challenge to the PGA
Saudi Arabia is investing in sporting events, like an upstart golf tour, as part of a yearslong drive to turn the country into a hot spot for business and tourism and to blunt criticism of its human rights record.
Chelsea F.C. Shaken by Concerns, Complaints and a Suicide
When Chelsea’s new owners paid billions for the Premier League club, they also inherited accusations of a toxic culture inside its offices.
Scott Vermillion, Former American Soccer Pro, Had C.T.E.
Scott Vermillion, a former college star who played four seasons in M.L.S., died in 2020. He is the first American professional soccer player with a public case of C.T.E.
An Israeli Soccer Team’s Success Puts Its Arab Village on the Map
Established in 2016, Maccabi Bnei Reineh is the talk of Israel’s top division after completing a quick rise. Its founders say its presence represents something far more important.
Once an ‘Easy Way Out’ for Equality, Women’s Soccer Is Now a U.S. Force
After Title IX passed in 1972, administrators found soccer to be a cheap way to comply. And participation rates soared in high schools, universities and at club levels for girls and women.
The Day the Supreme Court Crashed the Title IX Party
Celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX was dampened as female athletes were saddened — and angered — by the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade.
Paulo Dybala, Juventus and the Problem With Italy
The travails of Dybala, whose contract with Juventus runs out this month, are emblematic of a soccer ecosystem that is often a world apart.
Title IX 50th Anniversary: We Need a New Deal for Women’s Sports
We must dismantle the grandfathered-in systemic advantages that male athletes and male-dominated sports infrastructures continue to enjoy.
Erling Haaland, Darwin Núñez and Rediscovering the No. 9
The signings of Erling Haaland and Darwin Núñez were not mere summer coups for Manchester City and Liverpool. They could signal the start of a new tactical phase.
Bad news for cable: A major sports league will stream exclusively on Apple TV
Enlarge / Major League Soccer is coming to Apple TV.
Today, Apple and Major League Soccer (MLS) announced that the Apple TV app will offer streaming video of every MLS match for the next 10 years.
Apple claims that viewers “around the world” can “watch all MLS, Leagues Cup, and select MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT matches in one place—without any local broadcast blackouts or the need for a traditional pay TV bundle.”
This will all be part of a “new MLS streaming service” that will become available in early 2023, with matches offered up through 2032. It will offer both live and on-demand video.
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Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich and the Bitter End
A star striker is eager to move to Barcelona, and his club doesn’t seem to realize it might be its own fault that he wants to go.
At Champions League Final, the Fans Weren’t the Danger
Preconceptions about Liverpool supporters and policing decisions that didn’t prioritize their safety led to the chaos at the Champions League final. That’s dangerous for every fan.
Ukraine Is One Game Away From the World Cup
Ukraine’s players have not shied away from what earning a place in the World Cup would mean to their country. After beating Scotland, they’re one win away.
Luis Díaz Is the Liverpool Star Who Never Should Have Made It
Luis Díaz has become a hero in only five months in England. But his story resonates not because he made it, but because so many others like him never get the chance.
The True Cost of Kylian Mbappé’s New Deal
It is easy to be dazzled by money in soccer, especially as the figures blur into incomprehension. But the numbers matter because of what comes next.
Inside the Chelsea Sale: Deep Pockets, Private Promises and Side Deals
Britain’s government has cleared the sale of the Premier League soccer team. But to win approval, the new owners had to agree to a set of unusual conditions.
Lyon’s Women Defend the Past in a Changing Champions League
The arrival of new money in women’s soccer has come at a cost in Europe: It has separated the sport from its past.
As A.C. Milan and Inter Return to Top, San Siro May Be Coming Down
The soccer teams that share the San Siro, which has hosted two World Cups and four European finals, want to replace it with a more modern arena. Not everyone is ready to see it go.
US Soccer’s Equal Pay and Bonus-Sharing Deal: How It Will Work
New contracts for the men’s and women’s national teams will usher in an era of equal pay at U.S. Soccer. Here’s how it will work.
U.S. Soccer and Players Guarantee Equal Pay in New Contracts
Landmark labor agreements with members of the men’s and women’s national teams will include higher paychecks and shared World Cup prize money.
New Heights and Old Grudges as Turkey Crowns Its Champion
Trabzonspor claimed the title almost two weeks ago. Its team, and its fans, aren’t done celebrating.
EA Sports officially ends FIFA partnership after 30 years of games
Enlarge / Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, but maybe that’s just because it’s new…
EA Sports announced today that the soccer title it publishes in 2023 would be part of the new EA Sports FC brand, doing away with the FIFA name the series has used since the days of the Sega Genesis and Super NES. The announcement marks a significant break for one of the oldest and most popular continuous franchises in video game history.
“We’re thankful for our many years of great partnership with FIFA,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson said in a statement. “The future of global football is very bright, and fandom around the world has never been stronger. We have an incredible opportunity to put EA Sports FC at the heart of the sport, and to bring even more innovative and authentic experiences to the growing football audience.”
EA’s coming FIFA-less soccer game will still have “more than 300 individual licensed partners, giving players access to more 19,000 athletes across 700 teams, in 100 stadiums and over 30 leagues around the world.” Those partners include major international leagues like the Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, UEFA, CONMEBOL, and more.
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FIFA and EA Sports End Their Two-Decade Partnership
The demise of a relationship that produced one of the most popular games of all time will mean risks for soccer’s governing body but few changes for its players.
Group Led by American Will Buy Chelsea F.C., the Team Says
Todd Boehly, a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, leads a new ownership group that is set to buy the club from Roman Abramovich, a Russian oil oligarch, for more than $3 billion.
Andrea Pirlo Is Timeless
With elite soccer increasingly driven by coaches and systems, Pirlo feels as if he belongs to another era. But can a classic ever go out of style?
Russia Is Barred From Women’s Euros and 2023 World Cup
Russian soccer teams and clubs were barred from all European competitions, including the Champions League, for the 2022-23 season.
The Champions League’s Drama Is Worth Savoring, and Saving
The Champions League’s late-stage drama is a feature, not a bug. Let’s hope no one messes that up.
British Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe Bids $5.3 Billion for Chelsea F.C.
The late offer for the Premier League soccer club by Ratcliffe, the chief executive of Ineos, would be the highest price ever paid for a sports team.
Endgame Nears in Bidding for Chelsea F.C.
The American bank selling the English soccer team on behalf of its Russian owner could name its preferred suitor by the end of the week. But the drama isn’t over.
Is Bayern Munich Breaking the Bundesliga?
Germany’s perennial champion can secure its 10th straight title this weekend. Even its own fans are starting to worry that its success is getting a little boring.
Aliou Cissé Has Senegal Ready to Shine in World Cup
Aliou Cissé, one of the best of a new generation of African coaches, has reinvented Senegal’s national team and given the country a new sense of patriotism. His next goal: the World Cup.
The Female Soccer Players Challenging France’s Hijab Ban
France’s soccer federation forbids hijab-wearing women from competing in soccer games, even though FIFA allows them. A collective of Muslim players is fighting what it considers a discriminatory rule.
What to Know About 2022 World Cup Travel to Qatar
Tickets are on sale for the world’s most popular sporting event, but concerns over worker exploitation and laws against homosexuality have complicated the decision to attend for some fans.
You Decide Which Games Matter
The F.A. Cup and the Conference League have meaning not because of tradition or design, but when the players, and particularly the fans, decide they are important.
The Conference League Is the Best European Tournament You’re Not Watching
The Europa Conference League was dismissed as irrelevant when it kicked off last summer. Try telling that to the clubs that can win it.
In a Georgia Mill Town, Soccer Presents a New Opportunity
Dalton, Ga., has not always welcomed the Mexican immigrants who came to work in its carpet mills. But the community is united behind its powerhouse high school soccer teams.
Exiled by Russian Bombs, Shakhtar Donetsk Embraces Its Journey
Shakhtar Donetsk was forced from its home city and then its country by Russian invasions. Its next stop? A series of exhibition games drawing attention to Ukraine’s plight.
Manchester City Ties Liverpool, Defending Its Turf and Its Lead
In a Premier League season of the finest margins, four goals add to the drama but don’t change the title math for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City.
For Liverpool and Manchester City, a Showdown With Consequences
Manchester City and Liverpool meet Sunday in the first of a series of collisions that could decide as many as three trophies. Neither team can be sure of what comes after that.
Soccer’s Focus Needs to Be Product, Not Packaging
A simple rule change paved the way for the modern soccer we watch today. An obsession with Super Bowl-style changes won’t move it forward.
Karim Benzema Carries Real Madrid Over Chelsea
Three goals confirm what should have been obvious long ago: Benzema is Real Madrid’s brain, and its heart.
Can Liverpool and City Win When the Bar Is Set Too High?
The Premier League leaders will compete for three high-profile trophies this spring. But does failing to win them all turn a great season into a bad one?