Everything you need to know about the beautiful game of football.
There is a sort of loyalty in football. However, sometimes it's hard to remain loyal, due to sentiments beyond a person's control. What many fans don't know about the beautiful game, as well as other sports, is that they are a business. Money matters, especially when it comes to the teams. There is a certain amount of money that they can spent, or maybe a certain amount they have put in place for themselves. The players get that; they understand what they've signed up for. They know that their loyalty depends on what their club wants. The art of loyalty in any sport in particular is a wary subject. However, young players might not understand loyalty as much as their elders. Recently, Mahmoud Dahoud of Borussia Mönchengladbach announced that he would be transferring to Borussia Dortmund during the summer transfer period. Gladbach sporting director Max Eberl said that the club told Dahoud they needed an answer. However, the Fohlenelf didn't quite get the answer they wanted. Dahoud is a promising midfielder, playing in the central role. Now, he'll be joining Dortmund to continue his career, which is on the rise. Even though he starred for Gladbach's youth league teams, he decided to switch his allegiance to the fellow "Borussia" club. While Dortmund isn't Gladbach's biggest rival in the Bundesliga, they're one of Gladbach's biggest threats. Dortmund already has plenty of talent, with Marco Rues, Christian Pulisic and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, to name a few. Now, Dortmund has swiped a promising player from their Bundesliga counterpart. So does Dahoud really understand loyalty? The 21-year-old isn't the first young player to leave their squad, right when their career starts to flourish. Brazilian Neymar Jr. left Santos in 2013 in favor for FC Barcelona , and Rues left Gladbach in 2012 in favor for Dortmund. Recently, also, Mats Hummels left Dortmund in 2016, where he signed in 2009, in favor for Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich. Meanwhile, there are clubs that have long-term players. Bayern Munich has the loyalty of Thomas Müller, who has spent his entire career with Bayern Munich (he signed in 2008). Gladbach has the loyalty of Julian Korb and Tony Jantschke, two regular starters, that have been with their club their entire career. However, will it always remain that way? Club loyalty is a touchy subject, and one that is more understandable when you're an athlete. It's a business. Simply put. But loyalty to the club, the fans and the city is important too.
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Michael Bradley has never had a problem making his voice known for U.S. Soccer. Bradley, a midfielder for the United States Men’s National Team and Toronto FC in the MLS, isn’t one of those “shut up, and just play your sport” athletes. Bradley doesn’t mind commenting on issues that others stay quiet about and just push off to the side. He said that came from his father, former U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley, and his mother. “From the time I was little, my parents taught me and my sisters to not be afraid to show people who we are, to be strong in who we are and strong in what we believe in,” Bradley said. “It doesn’t mean to say that everything I say or do is spot-on. But I’m not afraid one bit to be who I am.” Recently, in an interview with Sports Illustrated Grant Wahl, Bradley, who is the captain of the U.S. Men’s National Team, opened up on U.S. Soccer’s new policy that mandates that players must stand for the national anthem. “I think you should stand,” Bradley said. “If you’re choosing to represent the U.S. national team, you are also choosing to respect our country, to respect the flag, to respect the anthem and to represent it all in the best possible way. And so I feel strongly that everyone should stand. If you have that big of a problem with something that’s going on in our country or feel so strongly that you need to protest in that way, then I would say don’t come. Don’t play at all.” However, Bradley wasn’t finished explaining. “Having said all of that, I do not like the idea that it’s now mandatory to stand,” Bradley continued. “People have the right to peacefully protest and express what they think. And in a very simple way, given everything that’s going on in our country, given everything that our president and this current administration has done, everybody has to be very careful about setting certain precedents that in any way start to cross that line.” To stand or not to stand has been a question plaguing athletes in all sports in the United States. Colin Kaepernick spearheaded the movement when he elected not to stand for the national anthem in the 2016-17 NFL season with the San Francisco 49ers. At the U.S. Soccer level, U.S. Women’s National Team midfielder Megan Rapinoe elected not to stand for the anthem. Now, U.S. Soccer has implemented this new rule. It seems reasonable, if you’re looking at it from a broad aspect. The players are representing the United States of America on the pitch. It makes sense, or does it? Doesn’t representing the United States of America also give you the right to speak your mind, or act it out in a reasonable and peaceful manner? Megan Rapinoe did not harm anyone when she took a knee during two U.S. Women’s National Team matches in 2016. Yet, U.S. Soccer implemented a rule that limits the freedom of expression by their national team players. In short, it’s unfair to limit them. U.S. Soccer needs to look at it through a different lens than the one their looking through right now. If a player truly did not like the United States, they wouldn’t be representing them on the pitch. If a person takes a knee, that doesn’t mean they hate the United States; they are just standing up for a cause they believe in. If they really wanted to make U.S. Soccer mad, players could just turn down national team call-ups. While U.S. Soccer might be limiting the freedom of expression on the pitch, players could look toward Bradley as an example. As mentioned earlier, Bradley doesn’t just play his 90 minutes and then go home. He’s vocal about issues surrounding the United States (Bradley was also critical of President Donald Trump’s travel ban). Athletes should remember that they don’t just have to shut up and play their sport. Following Bradley’s steps isn’t a bad idea for an athlete who wants to speak their mind. (This story was originally posted in the California Times student newspaper by myself on March 31, 2017). I'm a diehard fan of the United States Men's National Team. However, I'm nervous for tonight. The USMNT are facing Honduras in their third match of the Hex. The Hex is a stage of FIFA World Cup Qualifying. The United States haven't started off the Hex well; the team lost to Mexico and Costa Rica back in November, which put them in a difficult position to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. They're in dead last in their group to qualify. Things aren't looking good right now. Against Honduras tonight and Panama on Tuesday, the USMNT have a big task. However, they're doing it with an army of 24 players. Some of the best players are missing though. Fabian Johnson, DeAndre Yedlin and Bobby Wood all picked up injuries with their club teams, and will missing the qualifiers. That's a huge blow for the USMNT, especially with the recent successes of Johnson and Wood in the Bundesliga. However, the team got back a major piece to the puzzle in Clint Dempsey. Dempsey, a striker for the Seattle Sounders, had not appeared for the USMNT since the Copa America Centenario in June 2016. Dempsey, who was dealing with a heart problem, is now back with the group after head coach Bruce Arena deemed him able to return. The team also got back Geoff Cameron, who was out with injury and missed the November qualifiers against Mexico and Costa Rica. Cameron is fit, and he's expected to be in the starting lineup for Arena. Arena did a great job in mixing the domestic players with the international players. All of his goalkeepers are MLS players, due to the absence of Brad Guzan (who plays club in England). Tim Howard makes his return from injury, and is expected to be the starting goalkeeper. Nick Rimando of Real Salt Lake and David Bingham of the San Jose Earthquakes are his backups. On defense, Arena brought back DaMarcus Beasley, a longtime veteran of the national team. With the left back spot needing some attention, Arena (who had coached Beasley before back in 2002-06) turned to a familiar face. Joining Beasley on defense is Cameron, Matt Besler, Graham Zusi, John Brooks, Omar Gonzalez, Tim Ream, Michael Orozco, Jorge Villafana and Walker Zimmerman. The midfield is equally as stacked as the defense, with Sacha Kljestan and Michael Bradley leading the way in a veteran presence. Jermaine Jones is also on the roster, despite being suspended for the Honduras match. He'll be available again for the Panama match. They're joined by Kellyn Acosta, who is red-hot for FC Dallas right now, Christian Pulisic, Darlington Nagbe, Dax McCarthy, Sebastian Lletget and Alejandro Bedoya. The forwards is where the concern is at, due to Dempsey's lack of time with the national team and Jordan Morris' potential injury. Morris hasn't practiced much with the national team since his arrival. He went limping off the pitch against the New York Red Bulls (Kljestan's team) last Sunday. However, Chris Wondolowski was called in as a reinforcement, and Jozy Altidore makes yet another roster appearance. So does the team have a chance? Really, it all depends on who Arena picks for the starting lineup. I predict a diamond midfield, which will have the set up stand at a 1-4-4-2 position. Howard in goal, with his defenders being Zusi, Cameron, Brooks and Beasley. In the midfield, Bradley should drop to a diamond defender, with Bedoya on the right and Pulisic on the left. Kljestan or Lletget should star in the attacking midfield role. As for the forwards, I predict that Dempsey will get the start, and Altidore will be right next to him. I predict that against Honduras, in their own home stadium, the USMNT will win 2-0. Panama might be a different story, but I predict the USMNT will win on a 1-0 close win. I can't stand FC Barcelona. Never have, and probably never will. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's because of my immense dislike for Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. I'm sure I Know what everyone is thinking right now: How can you hate Lionel Messi? He's the best in the world! Not to me. Yes, his talent is impeccable and second to none, but to me? He's not even close to being the best. Don't worry though, I'm not team Crisitano Ronaldo either. It's all about Clint Dempsey and Fabian Johnson for me. Throw in Thomas Muller there too, if you'd like. However, Barcelona earned a bit of my respect after beating Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday in their Champion's League Round of 16 match. In their first meet up (the Champion's League plays two games, and combines the score. Whoever wins on aggregate, the combined score, moves on), and in the first, PSG upset Barcelona 4-0. However, Barcelona wasn't quite down and out. They performed a major comeback in front of their home crowd, scoring six goals to defeat PSG on aggregate 6-5. Suarez kicked off the goal scoring in the 3' minute and then Barcelona got a little help from PSG's Layvin Kurzawa, who scored an own goal in the 40' minute. After halftime, Messi extended the lead in the 50' minute, scoring on a penalty kick. Neymar, the Brazilian international, was the star of the show, scoring two goals in the span of three minutes. His first goal came in the 88' minute and his second goal came in extra time, in the 90'+1' minute. Sergio Roberto finished off the goal-fest in the 90'+5' minute with Barcelona's last tally. Even if you hate Barcelona, just like me, you have to give respect after a performance like that. As they've been saying in the football community, "Only Barca." Now, the Spanish club members will sit back and watch to see who they face next in the Champion's League. Respect, Barcelona. Respect. |
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20-year-old football enthusiast living in the United States. I try to get Americans to say "football" and not "soccer." Archives
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