As fans across the world prepare to keep tabs on the twists and turns of the final 90 minutes of the 2011/12 season (perhaps slightly more if Sir Alex Ferguson gets his way), Keeping Score offers a preview of the six games that …
Soccer
Soccer’s FA Cup Final: Liverpool, Chelsea and the Tracks of My Tears
Liverpool and Chelsea will meet in the FA Cup final on Saturday–a clash between two teams moving in dramatically different directions.
Why England’s Appointment of Roy Hodgson Might Be More Forward-Looking than You Think
They call it the Impossible Job. If that wasn’t enough, it’s also been labelled the toughest gig in England, making the role of Prime Minister a veritable breeze. We can only be talking about the role of national football …
Manchester Divided: How a Local Rivalry-Turned-Global Capital Clash Will Decide England’s Soccer Season
English soccer’s Premier League has none of the playoffs or finals common in American sports: A team wins the title by finishing the regular league season with the most points, or the lead on goal-difference (total goals scored …
Why Pep Guardiola’s Still Got It All To Prove
When the fuss dies down, when FC Barcelona’s legions have dried their tears … What then for Pep Guardiola?
Is Spain’s Soccer Following its Economy Down the Toilet? Don’t Be Daft!
Those prone to see national fates reflected in a country’s performance on the football field may have clucked knowingly, earlier this week, at the improbable demise of both Barcelona and Real Madrid to arguably inferior teams in …
After Chelsea Dispatch Barcelona in the Champions League, Is Their Name on the Cup?
Be in no doubt: anyone who witnessed Chelsea’s miraculous victory over Barcelona will attest that their name is indeed on the cup.
Will Olympic Football Prove to be a Success or an Own Goal?
Off the field questions still linger as the draw gets made in London.
Barcelona vs. Chelsea: The Revenge of Soccer’s Short Men
Watch the pre-kickoff handshake between the players of Barcelona and Chelsea ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal showdown and you’d be forgiven for believing the Catalans had sent a youth team to face the big men from …
Soccer Darwinism: The English Premiership’s Survival Clashes
The producers of American reality-TV shows a decade ago figured out what European soccer administrators (and before them, promoters of Roman gladiator bouts) have always known: There’s a compelling spectacle in any clash where …
Messi vs. Drogba: TIME 100′s Class of 2010 Puts One Over This Year’s Star
How a TIME 2010 honoree didn’t quietly cede the mantle of representing the global game
European Champion’s League Soccer: Will a Mourinho Team Best Barcelona?
Jose Mourinho’s obsession with beating Barcelona may have reached Captain Ahab proportions since he took over as coach of Real Madrid two years ago, but — statistically at least — his chances of getting one over his Catalan …
French Bad Boy Nicolas Anelka Takes Over Chinese Soccer Team
Can the controversial Frenchman steer his Chinese club to glory in his first stint at management?
