Should we be surprised by anything Mario Balotelli does?
Italy
Profitable Albion: France’s Soccer Players Flock to England’s Premier League
Though England’s Premier League has long relied on new blood–and rising stars–from foreign nations, binge buying by English clubs in France’s modest Ligue 1 has made French players the top foreign contingent in Albion.
Scoring the Goals That Sank Germany, Balotelli Says it Loud: He’s Black, Italian and Proud
As the first black player to represent Italy at a major tournament, ‘Super Mario’ can’t avoid a confrontation with his country’s racial prejudices
Euro 2012 Superfan Dies from Sleep Deprivation
Jiang Xiaoshan went 11 nights without sleep to watch the tourney
Hair’s to England’s Soccer Success: Wayne Rooney and the Four-Dollar Hair Gel
In which the British tabloids play up every available opportunity to make a pun.
Euro 2012: England-France Clash Reprises an International Soccer Paradox
England’s pro league is far stronger than France’s, yet its national team is far weaker
Racism and Euro 2012: Football’s Ongoing Struggle
The rosters of many Euro 2012 teams are a melting pot – one that modern-day Europe should start getting used to.
Multipolar Dreaming
Japan’s inspiring play last night (and Tony’s post) have me daring to wish for what in any other Cup would have been the impossible: greatly favored sides being shown the door by nominally modest rivals. If France and Italy can both go out in disgrace, and the U.S. finish ahead of England, why not hope for (but not lay lots of money …
All Bets are Off in a Multipolar World Cup!
The unceremonious (and richly deserved) dumping of Italy and France out of World Cup 2010, and the travails of England, Germany and Spain — and arguably even Serbia and Denmark — are a sign that world soccer has gone multipolar. “Multipolarity” was a term coined by French foreign policy wonks fretting over the Bush Administration’s …
What Inter Milan Tells Us About Italy’s World Cup Chances
Tuesday’s appointment of former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez to run Italian treble-winners Inter Milan confirms a trend that signals a problem for Italy’s national team: Last season, under Portugal’s Jose Mourinho — now off to head up Real Madrid — Inter won all there was to win: Italy’s league title and domestic cup competition, …
Brazil? It’s Not ‘Like Watching Brazil’
“Brazil, it’s just like watching Brazil” is what long-suffering fans of lower-league English clubs sarcastically sing when their team of cloggers and journeymen strings together two or three passes. (See the clip from the Barnsley terraces below)
But anyone who’s watched Brazil lately will have the disturbing feeling that watching …
