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

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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