46% of the 736 World Cup 2014 players play in England, Italy, Germany or Spain during the year

Got World Cup fever yet? I bet — even if you are an American. (“That first game is a must-win,” you’re now breathlessly telling all your friends.) Chances are you’ll watch at least a couple of games during this World Cup, see… Continue Reading →

Are hashtags going to become really valuable during the 2014 World Cup?

FIFA is definitely going big-time on social media for the 2014 World Cup, and it appears that brands might be as well. Here’s a quote via Mashable: “Connecting with fans posting through social is a critical opportunity for advertisers, who can engage… Continue Reading →

After Lionel Messi and Neymar, does anyone at the World Cup have more pressure than Manuel Neuer?

Manuel Neuer, the German goalkeeper, had a pretty strong 2010 World Cup — really one of his only blemishes was that Puyol goal above, which ultimately sent Spain into the finals (where they won). Germany finished third. They’re coming back… Continue Reading →

Is Cristiano Ronaldo’s selfishness ultimately going to massacre his legacy?

Gareth Bale — theoretically the most expensive player in the world — scores the truly important goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League Final; Ronaldo doesn’t run over and celebrate with the team. Ronaldo then gets this mostly-meaningless goal… Continue Reading →

Perhaps the Champions League final is a battle for the soul of Madrid (or perhaps that’s melodramatic)

Later today will be the first time two club teams from the same city meet for the Champions League title — Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Some American bars will no doubt be packed, although in reality no one knows… Continue Reading →

This is the time of a given year when everyone starts writing about how Americans really do love soccer. As ever, it’s not completely true.

Today’s May 13. The World Cup begins on June 12 — Brazil vs. Croatia — so technically, we have now crossed over into the “less than one month until the World Cup” time period. With that — always in WC… Continue Reading →

1

With the World Cup draw, an age-old question: does someone like Lionel Messi have to win a championship for his legacy?

I just embedded that video up top because it’s fun, and because it got about 33 million hits in about four days. It’s not really relevant at all to this post; Kobe Bryant has won a championship (five of ’em,… Continue Reading →