Worldcrunch
ENGLISH SOCCER FAIRYTALE COMES TRUE Photo: Tolga Akmen/London News Pictures/ZUMA They were a 5,000-1 longshot to win England’s Premier League at the start of the season, but the fairytale came true last night as Leicester City FC clinched the title when Chelsea and Tottenham drew, making it impossible for the latter to overtake Leicester, with […]
Leicester Mercury — May 3, 2016 They were a 5,000-1 longshot to win England’s Premier League at the start of the season, but the fairytale came true last night as Leicester City FC clinched the title when Chelsea and Tottenham drew, making it impossible for the latter to overtake Leicester with two games left. The […]
nrc.next, March 25, 2016 “J.C. Superstar” reads the front page of Dutch-language daily nrc.next on Friday, paying tribute to soccer legend Johan Cruyff who died Thursday in Barcelona, following a long battle with cancer. He was 68. The newspaper’s headline — a pun on the 1970s Broadway musical Jesus Christ Superstar — conveys the icon […]
KABUL — Inside the Afghan capital’s soccer federation stadium, dozens of Afghan women, some of them recently returned from a training camp in Japan, are practicing their skills. “From 2006 up to now, the Afghan women’s national soccer team has conducted several different trips abroad, for training and matches,” says Zohra Mihree, chief of the Afghan women’s soccer committee. “The team participated in SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) tournaments in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Our team came in third place in 2014.” Currently, more than 100 women soccer players are training in different clubs around Afghanistan, up from just a handful […]
MARCA, Jan. 5, 2015 “The soluZZion,” reads the front page of Madrid-based sports daily MARCA Tuesday, a day after Real Madrid announced that former French soccer star Zinedine Zidane would replace the unpopular Rafael Benítez as team coach. Zidane, 43, is new to the coaching game. A 1998 World Cup winner with France and a […]
Combining kung fu with soccer? This was a fantasy depicted in Stephen Chow’s 2001 martial arts comedy film Shaolin Soccer. But now, in Henan province, home of the Shaolin Temple famous for its superhuman martial-arts monks, we are set to see a real-life attempt to kick some life into Chinese soccer by applying the methods […]
Suspended for three months by FIFA’s Ethics Committee for a 2 million Swiss franc payment from Sepp Blatter, the former French soccer star denies any wrongdoing, and still says he’s the right man to be the next president of the global soccer org
XI IN THE UK Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Britain today for his first state visit to the country, a sign of the current “golden era” between London and Beijing, The Guardian reports. In contrast to Xi’s recent U.S. visit, which was marked by tensions over cyber security, the two countries are expected […]
MATADI — Elie Luemba says her youngest son fooled her and her husband for far too long. “We used to give him a little money every morning to buy himself donuts at school,” she says. “But he was actually using the money to bet on sports results with his classmates.” The irony is that Luemba […]
This week we shine the spotlight on Chile: PACT OF SILENCE Testimony provided by a former army conscript has turned national attention to a nearly three-decade-old human rights case and prompted Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to demand an end to the shroud of secrecy that has covered this and other crimes committed during the 17-year […]
“Sorry, Panama” reads Mexican newspaper Récord on the front page of its Thursday edition, after the chaotic and controversial 2-1 victory of Mexico over Panama in the semifinals of the Gold Cup soccer competition. Mexico’s plea for forgiveness comes after it was awarded what clearly seem to be two undeserved penalty kicks late in the […]
Photo: Li Jing/ZUMA TURKEY TO BOOST SECURITY POST ISIS ATTACK The Turkish government is set to bolster its security along the border with Syria after a suspected ISIS bombing in the town of Suruc killed 30 people, mostly students, yesterday. At a news conference, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said “measures on our border with […]
Sports is at its best when scores are tight, competition is fierce and even the losers can hold their heads proud. Then there are the blowouts, like Tuesday’s 46-0 soccer result at the Pacific Games, where even the winners look down in shame. ONE GOAL EVERY TWO MINUTES Micronesia is not one of the big […]
PARIS — Eternally nostalgic of its past grandeur, France is already dreaming about the prospect out loud: Platini! As an attacking midfielder, he led France to the 1984 European Championship and Italian squad Juventus to club dominance, before turning manager and overseeing the 1998 World Cup organization in France and eventually taking over as head […]
All eyes are on legendary Argentine striker Lionel Messi ahead of Saturday night’s Barcelona-Juventus final of the Champions League. Here’s our world tour of gasps and shouts of amazement for the best soccer player of his generation. Olé! Lionel Messi: Lovin” Leo In 7 Languages par Worldcrunch
Blatter resigns: watch the world react by Worldcrunch
The widening corruption probe into FIFA looks like a devastating earthquake for the “beautiful game,” with the epicenter in Zurich, where police arrested seven senior officials of the world soccer body just two days before the controversial FIFA chief was set to be chosen for a record fifth term. But the reverberations of the U.S. […]
After Swiss banking scandals shook global finance, arrests at the Zurich-based world soccer body shine a light on what’s wrong with business as usual in Switzerland.
WAR AGAINST UKRAINE “UNLIKELY,” PUTIN SAYSPhoto above: Mikhail Metzel/TASS/ZUMARussian President Vladimir Putin has said in an interview with Russian television that war against its neighbor Ukraine was “unlikely,” expressing his hope that this “apocalyptic scenario” would “never happen.” Asked about the Minsk agreement, he said that if fully implemented it would see the situation in […]
UKRAINIAN FORCES PULL BACKUkraine’s government forces began withdrawing today from the eastern and key strategic city of Debaltseve, which has been under siege from pro-Russian separatists, Reuters reports. Semen Semenchenko, who heads the Ukrainian paramilitary battalion, wrote on Facebook that “the withdrawal of forces from Debaltseve is taking place in a planned and organized way.” […]
Chile has the largest Palestinian population outside the Arab world. This neighborhood in Santiago is bound by a singular mix of history, soccer and headlines coming out of Gaza.
Looking to build their branding and attract a more global audience, Chinese companies are increasingly eyeing the major European soccer leagues.
Paraguay’s Ministry of Culture says the real birthplace of the game the English named football, and gave rules to, was not in fact England. The Jesuits may have the proof.
NUREMBERG — Soccer isn’t everything. At least not in the sports equipment business. Adidas is learning that the hard way. The brand with the familiar three-stripe logo used the World Cup in Brazil to its advantage — far better than global leader Nike — but the hoopla died when the games ended. Adidas is in […]
Germany’s 1-0 win over Argentina was front-page news around the world. Here are some highlights: Argentina: Belgium: Brazil: Germany: Mexico: Spain: UK: Uruguay: U.S.: Venezuela:
With Pope Benedict XVI’s historic resignation last year, and the subsequent election of Pope Francis, the Catholic Church has the rare circumstance of two living pontiffs. (In the past, popes had almost always reigned until death.) Now, with the World Cup soccer final set between Benedict’s native Germany and Francis’ native Argentina, Worldcrunch’s photoshopping maestro […]
After the heartbreaking loss to host Brazil, a diehard Chile fan ponders the real meaning of the World Cup in a world with so much else to worry about.
SAO PAULO — Asking “How are you?” in English was the way Igor Mendes, a 26-year-old car dealer, approached Marcela Paes one night in Vila Madalena, the “in” district for Brazilians and foreigners enjoying La Copa in Sao Paulo. Unaware that Marcela is a reporter and fluent in English, he presented himself as a Scot. […]
Gislaine Nunes, 47, is the most prominent soccer attorney in Brazil. From Pelé to Ronaldinho, she has defended many stars, and her success has earned her as much fortune as hostility.
A Latin American call for the global soccer chief to step aside amidst ongoing corruption investigations. Yet even a Blatter-less FIFA would still have a long road to rectitude.
Many outsiders regard Latin America as monolithic about soccer. But as the World Cup begins in Brazil, a closer comparison of the region’s top two teams might surprise you.
TEHRAN — A member of the Iranian Parliament’s cultural affairs committee says he and his colleagues are “firmly opposed” to any Iranian legislator attending the World Cup in Brazil “for any reason” — primarily because the country should save money. In response to chatter about sending certain members to the global soccer event, Hojjatoleslam Seyyed […]
It may have begun as a game, but soccer has become a substitute for so many facets of people’s lives, including politics and war, writes Colombian novelist Jose Luis Garces Gonzalez.
Though it has been taboo to discuss, the top ranks of soccer are rife with players who suffer from depression during and after their careers.
PARIS — There is no doubt among the people at the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Europe’s soccer governing body, that allegations of corruption against UEFA President Michel Platini is a case of paranoia gone wrong. Some there believe that the controversy suggesting Platini was bribed to support Qatar’s 2022 bid may be the […]
After their companions were shot over the weekend in Rome, a visit with ultra soccer fans in Naples, Italy
President Dilma Rousseff’s once widespread popularity is sinking. But if Brazilian protests reignite when the World Cup begins, it could have major consequences on her October reelection bid.
SIALKOT — Mohammad Idrees walks slowly, with the help of his crutches, to the factory where he works in Sialkot, Pakistan. The 35-year-old has been stitching soccer balls here for more than 17 years, earning $3 a day to support his wife and six children. “I don’t have any other skills to earn a living, so I would have ended up roaming around the city or begging on the street if it wasn’t for the football factory in our village,” Idrees says as he sits on a low chair with some 30 other workers inside the factory. “I work for […]
PARIS — A 4G offer? Danger! Bitcoin? Warning! The World Cup draw? It’s a trap! This is the story of a strange country blessed by the gods, with beautiful scenery and heir to a long and rich history. Though full of talented people and worldwide economic powerhouses, everything now seems to be full of peril […]
The disaffected youth and religious radicals in the Muslim world are obsessed with Europe’s top football leagues. Testimony of an Italian reporter, who was held hostage earlier this year in Syria.