At Old Trafford, Daley Blind and Michael Carrick started in central defence. Dutch-U17 international Timothy Fosu-Mensah came on for the injured Marcos Rojo. 18-year-old Marcus Rashford led the line for Manchester United. The signs were all pointing to an Arsenal win, given United's difficulty forming an ...
Last weekend saw a break from premier league action, with the FA cup taking its place. The most intriguing matchup from the fifth round draw featured the last two Premier League champions, Chelsea and Manchester City. What promised to be a highly contested match quickly turned into somewhat of a farce when Manuel Pellegrini, often criticized for being too conservative in team selections, named six teenagers in the starting eleven. Five were making their first team debut. As a City fan myself I had mixed feelings about the line-up. To see talented youth players given the chance to show their talents to the world is exciting for both the fans and other youth players coming through the system. At the same time, the lineup effectively ensured City’s exit from the competition.
When New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio announced the scheduling of a ticker tape parade following the United States women's national soccer team's (USWNT) winning the FIFA World Cup this past summer, New Yorkers were excited. Who wouldn’t want a parade? The welcoming of the USWNT seemed ...
Four years ago, a controversial Mario Balotelli goal derailed Spurs’ momentum. Last weekend, they banished those memories and are marching on. I was holding back on this column until they beat Manchester City. Their victory at the Etihad Stadiumlast weekend required a bit of luck, but they were very ...
At this stage I probably have to eat humble pie.Because all our predictions about Claudio Ranieri and Leicester City when the season first started in August should, quite rightly, be thrown out of the window.What a turnaround it has been. About one year ago, Leicester sat at the bottom of the Premier ...
It seemed like just another international friendly match in which France and Germany were writing yet another chapter in their sporting rivalry. The horrors that struck 83 minutes into the game, however, changed all of that.From inside the Stade de France, located just outside Paris, the blasts could ...
For the second consecutive season, Tufts entered the NESCAC tournament seeded seventh and traveled to face second-seeded Bowdoin. For the second year in a row, the Jumbos were defeated to end their season. They finished with a record of 6-8-2 (4-5-1 within the NESCAC), scoring 14 goals over the course ...
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has not had the best of times. It is hard to believe that this was the same Chelsea squad that romped to the title just a few months ago. It seems that Eden Hazard’s missed penalty is a representation of his own decline in form.If there’s anyone who can turn it around, ...
After wrapping up its regular season last week, the men's soccer team then played in the NESCAC quarterfinal on Saturday, where it lost to Bowdoin. The Jumbos had emerged as the No. 3 seed in the postseason conference tournament after tying the Polar Bears in a scoreless match on Wednesday.The ...
And there I was, wondering if Leicester had lost the plot. When they sacked Nigel Pearson, the man that eventually saved them from relegation with the tweaking of tactics, I was ludicrous.Then Claudio Ranieri got appointed. Tinkerman? Finishing second-best at Chelsea and Monaco, even with the resources ...
In the spirit of staying optimistic, I’m going to highlight some positives from the weekend. Just one negative though: James McClean, celebrating like that against your old club is neither sporting nor cool.Louis van Gaal got it rightI feared the worst coming into this game, especially seeing how ...
It’s the first time in a very long time that I’ve seen the Kop so excited by the arrival of a new manager. He even has his own hashtag -- #KloppforKop. And that's because Jurgen Klopp isn’t as normal as he claims to be.What Liverpool will get is a man obsessed with the idea of a pressing attacking ...
Tufts recorded its first victory in three games as they beat the MIT Engineers 2-0 at the Henry G. Steinbrenner Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. Goals from first-year midfielders Alex Aronson and Sarah Grubman in each half secured the victory for the Jumbos.The Jumbos started the game with a high-intensity ...
For all the agony that Manchester United fans have had with the new way Louis van Gaal has his team playing, we have to admit it is working.So what of this “van Gaal philosophy,” then? Days of the swashbuckling Manchester United running riot down the wings with waves of attacks on the opposition ...
I'm Yuan Jun, but Michael works too. That's the name printed on my Manchester United jersey, along with the number 12, as an ode to the mistake Louis van Gaal made. I'm from Singapore and I'm a huge sports fan. So if you ever need someone to talk tactics to, or to pick your fantasy ...
The men’s soccer team will begin its 2015 campaign in the same position that it ended last season: on top.After winning Tufts’ first national championship of the 2014-15 academic year last fall with a run in the NCAA tournament that culminated in a 4-2 victory against Wheaton College (Ill.), ...
Next weekend’s round of Barclay’s Premier League action will be highlighted by a clash between two heavyweights in English soccer. The Arsenal-Liverpool matchup may not be a title-decider, but it looks like an all-important fight for the chance to play in Europe’s premier competition next ...
It has only been a hobby for a few years, but I can’t stop following soccer. It makes for a lot of fun when it overlaps with Middle East politics.It seems they have found a strange intersection in Qatar. Otherwise known as the beautiful game, soccer now plays a key role in the new Qatari grand strategy. This ...
Perhaps Morocco took its cue from Governors Christie and Cuomo. Unlike the governors, however, Morocco will be made to pay -- literally.On Sunday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) fined the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (RMFF) $1 million for reneging on its commitment to host the 2015 ...
When the field of 64 was set in early November, Tufts was little more than an afterthought for title contender, as the bracket was littered with past national champions, All-Americans and long-tenured coaches. The Jumbos had won fewer NCAA tournament games than some teams had won NCAA titles. They had ...
