As MLS Playoffs begin, league still rewards too much regular season mediocrity
As baseball season nears its end with the World Series, Major League Soccer’s 21st season will also culminate...
Posts by Leander Schaerlaeckens
USMNT wants less CONCACAF, but more would pay benefits over time
Much remains to be done before the United States will be a true and consistent World Cup contender....
What a 48-team World Cup would have looked like in 2014
So Gianni Infantino wants to expand the World Cup from 32 teams to 48. Because Gianni Infantino is...
U.S. Soccer and the women’s national team are headed for a showdown
The United States women’s national team rides in open rebellion against its federation, U.S. Soccer. Or so it’s...
Leicester City enjoying Champions League run while it lasts
In a lot of ways, it was classic Leicester City, even on a new frontier. They traveled to...
Landon Donovan’s return exciting, but reflects poorly on young talent pipeline
Landon Donovan is back – yay! That, more or less, was the sum of national opinion when it...
Christian Pulisic staying at Dortmund is the right move for him and US soccer
With time ticking down on the transfer window, it’s looking for all the world like U.S. national team...
By losing now, U.S. women’s soccer might have ensured more wins later
If you accept that the objective of playing is to win, then it follows that the failure to...
Under huge pressure, Brazil provides relief with win over Denmark in soccer
There perhaps isn’t another country that has wrapped its identity so tightly around a team as Brazil has...
Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t need to win Euro to be an all-time great
Cristiano Ronaldo barely played any part in it. Well, not in the final anyway. But he’s a European...
Portugal, France reach Euro 2016 final with star players sacrificing for team
Soccer, more than just about any other team sport, requires cohesion and conformity of thinking for a side...
Referee Heber Lopes made himself far too visible in Copa America Centenario final
At kickoff, Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain stood on one side of the field. Alexis Sanchez and Arturo...
Could the end of the Jurgen Klinsmann era be nigh?
It’s been a strange summer for the United States men’s national team. A flurry of solid performances in...
Jurgen Klinsmann experiment finally showing results in USMNT victory over Ecuador
Before Germany’s national soccer team finally kicked off the 2006 World Cup on its home soil, the country’s...
Euro 2016’s dilution has made being mediocre good enough
Once Portugal-Iceland was in the books and every team at Euro 2016 had played a game, ESPN’s post-game show...
