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An American Football Coach in London
It’s not Thursday or Friday. However, that won’t stop a Tuesday Throwback from 2013.
Boom (as said by Andy Bernard, Cornell class of ’95)
There are a lot of soccer fans in the United States of America. And some of whom are casually watching the 2018 World Cup. Many American fans are drawn to teams overseas that they are connected to via a family heritage connection, or because of a favorite player, coach and/or style of play.
Example: The United States is my number one team (of course), but I have always been drawn to the fluid and creative total football stylings of the Dutch. Family wise, my lineage is heavily German. Since the U.S. and Dutch failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, I am cheering for Germany. Add in the fact that my favorite club team is Bayern Munich and its star German players are anchoring Joachim Löw’s squad.
Although, be wary of the French as they have built a great team of veterans and young guns alike. They also play exciting soccer.
However, there are still many Americans who are not particularly fond of the beautiful game, don’t have a dog in the fight or are apathetic because they prefer American football.
Fair enough. For you, I recommend Coach Lasso.
Huh. I actually thought that was behind-the-scenes footage of former USMNT coach Bruce Arena preparing for last year’s World Cup qualifying matches.
A 3-3 Win for the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Today’s match between rivals Spain and Portugal fulfilled all the drama–before and during the game–short of a game-winning goal. And let’s be honest…this is one of those games where I should just point you to the highlight of the night.
Click PLAY, then click “Watch this video on YouTube” (FIFA stuff) and then please return to Jimmy’s Daily Planet.
Instant Reaction:
Spain will view the 3-3 tie as a loss as they were pre-game favorites. They had the chance to win the game, collect three-points and sit atop Group B in pole position.
Portugal will likely view the 3-3 tie as a win as they were pre-game underdogs. Led by superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat trick that served as the scoring bookends for the day (4th and 88th minute), the Portugeuse now have an opportunity to sincerely challenge Spain to win Group B.
Slightly More Reaction:
It’s a little difficult to tell if Spain and Portugal will continue at this pace, both in style and proficiency, throughout the tournament. Was this performance by both nations more of an isolated rivalry game that, like Ohio State and That Team Up North, just ignites an unexplainable fire that fuels players to accomplish the spectacular? Time will certainly tell, particularly outside of Group B against comparable top competition.
Either way, the hype is real–and was heart-poundingly real in Spain vs. Portugal–for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
From Russia with love for the beautiful game.
The FIFA World Cup Is an Unforgettable Experience
The 2018 FIFA World Cup has kicked-off with host Russia defeating Saudi Arabia 5-nil. And with President Putin present, at least the Russian players can be confident in drinking the water after the win…
While tomorrow’s post will feature a few predictions for this glorious tournament, today’s post will focus on a particularly well-done ad by Hyundai.
Yes. Hyundai.
Nothing may ever top Nike’s airport commercial featuring Brazilian stars for the 1998 World Cup. It’s brilliant. However, a commercial spotlighting World Cup champion–and the ever-cool–Thierry Henry doing his own show-and-tell of personal soccer memorabilia is pretty awesome.
I’ll never forget seeing Thierry Henry in-person play for France in the 2006 World Cup against South Korea in the incredible Leipzig Stadium on June 18 that resulted in a 1-1 draw.
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Henry doesn’t run. He glides and plays with world-class precision.
That’s my World Cup memory as a fan of Thierry Henry.
U.S. Soccer Is Acting Like Biff, Not Marty
That feeling when winning sort of feels like losing.
The United States, partnering with Canada and Mexico (United 2026), won the bid to officially host the 2026 World Cup. Beating Morocco, this victory is a long-distance–yet still unsatisfactory in the short-term–solace for missing this summer’s World Cup in Russia.
It’s great news on the surface, yet there are rumblings underneath that fuel discomfort.
The first discomfort is the reminder of no American team in the World Cup that kicks off tomorrow with host Russia vs. Saudi Arabia. The second and equally important discomfort stems from the list of cities submitted by United 2026. Of the 17 American cities, Columbus, Ohio is noticeably absent. Cincinnati made the list, which makes perfect sense since the city was awarded its MLS promotion, what, a week ago?
Unreal.
Plus, the rumored location for the 2026 World Cup final by United 2026 is the greatest soccer venue in the United States:
MetLife Stadium with an estimated capacity of 82,500. Remember this figure for later on in this article).
Unreal.
It is my analytical judgment that Columbus is The soccer capital of the United States of America. This is supported by extensive evidence both practical and philosophical. I don’t have time right now to dive into my dissertation on this subject, but it’s far beyond a mere opinion.
Anyways, the Columbus omission had to be due to lack of interest or just a failed bid.
The former seems implausible because of the 20+ year history of the Columbus Crew–including games and critical players to the USMNT–and its famous Dos-a-Cero matches, along with other USMNT friendlies and USWNT World Cup matches. I don’t have any information concerning the latter, but the fact nothing has come to light for that matter is not an encouraging sign for thinking Columbus simply failed to win a bid as one of the top 17 soccer cities in America.
Add in the 2016 friendly at the Horseshoe between European giants Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in front of more than 86,000 fans by comparing it to the 2014 World Cup final between Germany and Argentina, which was attended by just shy of 75,000 people.
Just an FYI. History, fandom, and infrastructure (stadiums, hotels, restaurants, attractions, security, etc.) are all here and ready in Columbus.
Right now, I’m as happy about the U.S. winning the bid to be the primary host country for the 2026 World Cup (40 of 60 games in the U.S.) as I am about FC Cincinnati entering MLS next season. If one addition is at the expense of the other, which happens to carry with it unrivaled historical weight, then no, I’m not all that happy.
It’s a double-edged sword. If Columbus wasn’t being schemed against as an MLS team and as a leading soccer city nationally, then today would be one of much happier celebration. Sadly, that’s just not the reality. It seems, at least at this point, that Columbus is a primary target for removal by MLS and U.S. Soccer akin to Marty McFly’s family photograph in ‘Back to the Future.’
I thought the USMNT missing the 2018 World Cup was an embarrassing low-point.
I was wrong because this 2026 “win” feels like another massive loss for the identity of American soccer.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 