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An MLS Moment: What the Chivas USA Controversy Tells US About the State of US Soccer

March 6, 2013 — by Ryan

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In a recent podcast for Grantland, Roger Bennett and Roger Davies reflected on MLS’s current fortunes. After nearly two decades, they argued, the league had made it through the leanest years intact, financially healthy, and ready to expand its market share. Indeed, soccer remains one of the nation’s most popular youth sports and perhaps more importantly, among 17 – 24 year olds, as was widely reported last year, soccer ranks second just behind American football in popularity. Undoubtedly, as evidenced by their recent success in the English Premiership, American players, most of them former or current MLS standouts, have become increasingly common. From grunge era throwback Brek Shea’s recent debut for and Geoff Cameron’s starting role in Stoke City’s side, Clint Dempsey and Stuart Holden’s (when healthy) long standing runs, and Landon Donovan’s past successes at Everton not to mention Jozy Altidore’s 24 goals for AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands, the skill level of American players in MLS has risen to the extent European clubs now see promise. Indeed, if one watched the raucous March 3 Portland Timbers/NJ Red Bulls home opener, a cracker of a 3-3 draw, one would think MLS had arrived.

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Yet, during halftime of Sunday night’s fixture in Portland, ESPN soccer analysts Taylor Twellman and Alexi Lalas delved into one of the few non-Landon Donovan controversies/talking points of the new season: Chivas USA and their apparently pro-Mexican/Latino recruiting model. The two former US national team members highlighted Chivas’ recent commitment to building the team’s ties to Mexico by openly recruiting and signing Latino, often Mexican, surnamed players. Lalas lamented to Twellman that though the policy fell short of racism it remained “exclusionary.” Though league President Don Garner supported Chivas’ efforts – “We need teams that look and feel different,” he told Lalas – the two analysts clearly disagreed with the commissioner’s policy. “Here’s my question for Don Garner.” Lalas began. “If you were a young boy playing soccer in Southern California and you don’t have Mexican or Hispanic heritage, do you have an equal opportunity to play for both your teams in Los Angeles and right now the answer is no and I don’t know if this is the message the league wants.” As Cultfootball co-editor Suman Ganguli commented in an email exchange with fellow football bloggers, “I think Lalas just played the white man’s burden race card …. Amazing.” Ganguli along with fellow CF editor Sean Mahoney sketched out the perfect film treatment for America’s first MLS oriented movie:

Johnny Football (Futbol?) toiling away in the hot SoCal sun on beautifully manicured fields (thanks to those illegal landscapers working the sprinklers), housekeeper washing his training kits. Just hoping to make it to the big leagues someday (or at least one of the local MLS sides). Maybe use his signing bonus to buy his parents a (2nd) house, say a nice little ski cabin in Mammoth.

As noted by Ganguli, the film’s narrative arc already had its trademark song lined up, Frank Ocean’s “Sweet Life”: “You’ve had a landscaper and a house keeper since you were born/The starshine always kept you warm.” Can we get Ryan Gosling in the lead?

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One might also note a bit of irony in Lalas making such statements. Remember, after a star defensive turn in the 1994 World Cup, the flamboyant long-haired, guitar-strumming ginger signed with Padova of the Serie A. Now if everyone is honest, they will acknowledge that Lalas was never even remotely an elite defensive back, just a really good American athlete who scrapped, fought, and competed really hard. If anything, Padova signed the guitar-slinging jugador (his band the Gypsies put out two albums and even opened for Hootie and the Blowfish in the 1990s) because of his novelty: a prototypical American athlete that could play football in the Italian professional league. Padova signed Lalas because of his nationality, not, at least by international standards, because he was good. Sure, he anchored their defense and scored three goals, but Padova barely survived relegation.

Still, despite any implicit irony, others noted that Lalas’s comments and Twellman’s overly enthusiastic agreement held some merit. Fellow Cultfootball editor Sean Mahoney defended Lalas’s comments to some extent: “A club shouldn’t focus on just one ethnic group to recruit,” he noted, “But his delivery was as deft as you’d expect coming from the likes of him.” After all, soccer, in Europe, Latin American, Africa, and Asia, often comes draped in nationalism and ethnocentrism. Sure, it might be the world’s most popular sport and international football leagues contain some of the most diverse locker rooms around the globe, but it also remains rife with racial and ethnic prejudice. One need only look at reference books like How Soccer Explains the World or witness frightening displays of anti-semitism and racism in European leagues to see how these issues often manifest themselves among fans and players. One does not exaggerate when they claim football matches have sparked civil wars and international conflicts. So the fact MLS seems devoid of these tensions, thus far at least, should be seen as a positive, therefore some could argue Chivas’s policy to be a can of worms the league wants to reseal.

While others have highlighted Chivas’s new direction, some writers have noted the strategy isn’t new. According to blogger and broadcaster Jonathan Yardley, Chivas’s recent front office decisions actually reflect a return to previous incarnations. “[T]hey are basically re-starting the club and returning to its original intent: to be an American version of Chivas Guadalajara, playing a Mexican style and fielding a mix of Mexican-Americans, Mexican players on loan, and Californians,” he noted in a recent post. According to Yardley, rumors abound that all front office staff are expected to know Spanish and Chivas jettisoned English-language broadcasts. Still, though he expressed reservations, Yardley also admitted that if Chivas succeeded in putting a superior or at a minimum a very different style of play on the field, it might increase interest as American (though it remains unclear just what “American style” soccer is) and Mexican approaches to the sport “clash.” Moreover, considering the amount of antipathy between Mexico and America’s national teams – between players themselves and fans – Chivas might serve as a the “heel” of the league. A 2013 version of the Detroit Piston Bad Boys of the 1980s, an effective but hated opponent: “They could be a hated rival for every team with a fan base that loves the U.S. national team.” Then again, one wonders if this might slip into unhealthy jingoism that painted every game as some sort of battle between an invading Chivas’s Mexican “other” and whatever random MLS team they play against. While Mexican immigration has dropped precipitously in recent years, to the extent that Asians have replaced Mexicans as the largest group immigrating to the US, tea partiers, birthers, minutemen, and others continue to blow nativist dog whistles and ring xenophobic bells. Soccer as foreign scourge threatening US values may be a diminishing trope (google “soccer” and “socialism” and see what you get), but it persists. Perhaps, Chivas’s new direction might exacerbate this tension.

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Of course, one needs to consider Chivas’s financial situation. Professional sports remains a business and when competing with the L.A. Galaxy – even if devoid of the magically inconsequential David Beckham – drawing fans has proven difficult. Remember, the second largest city in America still doesn’t even have an American football team, having failed to keep both the Rams and Raiders. Only 7,121 fans attended Chivas’s home opener this year; the smallest home opener in league history. Even worse, numerous observers alleged that the real attendance may not have even reached 4,000. Granted, league wide attendance for opening weekend declined by nearly 10% but 4,000 spectators at the Home Depot stadium does not spell success. When one considers that NBC recently fell behind Univision in network television ratings, maybe all-Spanish broadcasts of their games makes more sense. In this way, can anyone blame Chivas for trying to capitalize on the millions of Southern California Latino Americans in the Los Angeles and yes, Orange County area (Latinos make up 1/3 of its population and Asian Americans another 1/4)? In its initial years the MLS played with ethnic affiliations in cities like Chicago, purposely placing Eastern European players on its roster in hopes of drawing more Polish and other Slavic residents to home games. Currently, the national team under Jurgen Klinsman has been openly courting American players of German descent to the point that some simply call them the Von Trapps (see Sound of Music). The aforementioned Davies and Bennett frequently joke about the illegitimate offspring of U.S. G.I.s and Germans as the life blood of American national team hopes. If Chivas’s move is so offensive then why does no one complain about a national team that focuses on its German American descendants?

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Some of this has to do with MLS’s audience and the league’s grasp of it. This greatly complicates matters. In late January, Lalas provided some water cooler talk with the following tweet: “You’re not a true American soccer fan if you ignore MLS, you’re part of the problem.” Whatever you think of Lalas’s line in the sand, it gets at a core issue: what does MLS mean to American soccer fans? Mahoney expanded on this, pointing out that while the dominant cultural sport in most of the world, soccer’s popularity in America stemmed in no small part to its outsider status. Being a soccer fan in the US, for a particular segment of the audience, includes an aversion to other American “big time” sports. Less generous observers describe these followers as sort of “sports hipsters,” interested as much in a statement about aesthetics and politics than just sports. “In part, the situation is this sort of ‘hip’ subculture that exists as a group of people who are anti-big American sports (which is really anti-all that goes along with big us sports culture, e.g. big fat sweaty (white) guys who are usually some combination of racist, sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic),” noted Mahoney. Unfortunately for the MLS, most of this demographic prefers La Liga or the EPL to MLS. The key, argued Mahoney, lay in finding a connection between this “’underground cred’” and MLS. However, not everyone sees this as a realistic enterprise. “Manufacturing Cred,” fellow football blogger and CF writer Ron Kirby argued, “So you cultivate credibility, and then kids who abhor stadium commercialization will attend? Better to pair underage booze with underground [football] in illegal nightclubs.”

Competing with European and Mexican league sides places the MLS at a disadvantage. No matter what league officials say, the MLS remains a solid but middling league, perhaps on par or near parity with Mexico’s professionals but still greatly apart from the EPL and many other European associations. Convincing white hipsters, immigrants, and others that MLS has the better product continues to be a dicey proposition. Lalas never said ignore those other leagues, but getting people to fill a Brooklyn pub or San Diego beer hall to catch the latest clash between Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids in the same way they do for national team games, the Euros, World Cup, or even EPL derbies, continues to be one of MLS’ greatest challenges. Grantland founder and editor Bill Simmons frequently highlights the fact that Americans like soccer, but they want to watch it at the highest level, no matter where it happens, rather than what some, perhaps incorrectly, perceive as an inferior MLS product.

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If you’re wondering about the league’s racial makeup in terms of players, coaches, and administrators, MLS does quite well regarding gender and race. A November 2012 report by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDES) gave the MLS a B+/A- for “racial hiring practices” an A+ for its diversity initiatives and the multi-ethnic/racial background of its players. It also improved representation in management circles. However, it should be noted, while the league went from a D to a B- regarding general managers, it also dropped to a C+ in terms of head coaching positions. Though the percentage of assistant coaches rose from 18% in 2011 to 19% in 2012, last year, Chivas and Colorado were the only teams led by minority head coaches. In the end, the league improved its overall gender and racial diversity enough to move from an overall B in 2011 to a B+ the following year. Honestly, when one thinks of recent incidents in the EPL – John Terry and Anne Hatheway look alike Luis Suarez – the MLS seems a bastion of tolerance.

In America, for better or worse, soccer continues to be a largely suburban sport punctuated by white faces. One of the ironies of Twellman and Lalas’s angst is the way in which they ignore the infrastructure that radically favors these players. Sure, suburbs are changing – more Latino, black, and Asian families have put down stakes in suburbia and by extension this infrastructure. However, under 17 tourneys, regional ODP teams, or local club soccer requires time and a parent willing to chauffeur and pay for this development. MLS officials, thus far, are not delving into working class Mexican American enclaves or inner city communities for footballers. No, for American players, the pipeline to the MLS still travels through the land of soccer moms and SUVs. For Lalas and Twellman to pretend otherwise misses the MLS’ far more complicated, if also promising, predicament.

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International Wednesday Roundup, Part 2: The Hex!

February 7, 2013 — by Suman

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The highly anticipated (at least in this quadrasphere (?)) CONCACAF Hex started yesterday, with three very compelling matches: the USMNT went down to Honduras and lost 2-1, Costa Rica battled back for a 2-2 draw in Panama City, and perhaps most surprisingly Jamaica left the usually forboding Estadio Azteca with a point after battling Mexico to a scoreless draw.

(Each of the 10 matchdays between Wednesday and October 15 will consist of three matches featuring the six teams in the Hex, for a full home-and-away round robin among the squads. Actually that’s not quite true–for some reason Jamaica-Mexico’s return fixture in Kingston is scheduled on its own on June 4, and there are only two matches on June 18. See here for the full schedule.)

We asked our team of correspondents to send in their thoughts on the matches.

Here are Coach Larry’s in-game observations on Honduras-USA:

Worse it’s Ray Hudson. And it’s like they never tested for sound levels.

USA very narrow. Honduras working to switch fields quickly. USA backline SO inexperienced, and doesn’t Cameron play right back for Stoke?

Some nice one touch from each side, but USA definitely sitting back. Pitch very slow. Tempo very slow.

First real chance at 28th minute, quick counter from the US. Michael Bradley collected a Cameron header at top of box, dribbled away from pressure, laid into Clint(u) Dempsey in circle, couple dribbles toward right side, dropped off to Jermaine Jones (?) who one-touch passes through to Eddie Johnson. Cross just tipped over by Jozy Altidore’s reaching foot.

USA back line keeps presenting Honduras with opportunities from their general nervousness and ragged-iness.

Jones through ball chip for Dempsey to volley across into far post: 1-0 for USA in 35′.  Good presence from Bradley and Jones in the transition. Final two touches reminiscent of Alex Song to RVP last season for Arsenal.

And that bicycle kick [by Juan Carlos Garcia in 40′] doesn’t need any explanation, except USA couldn’t clear a corner and gave the corner away unnecessarily.

USA switches to two up front. Match played in bursts as neither team seems happy with weather conditions.

USA surrenders possession easily again, but two just barely offsides despite continued ragged-iness keeps Honduras off board. Kljestan and Edu come on to try and solve that possession issue.

Honestly like a couple of times there has been quality one and two touch moves from the US.

And then USA back line and their problems finally gives Honduras their second [via Oscar Boniek García, of the MLS’ Houston Dynamo]. Cameron beaten on speed to a through ball and Gonzalez did not cover at all, actually looking to see if a player was nearby.

Disappointing, but really what is gonna happen paying that back line in the first road match in the Hex?

Here is our man Professor Simon‘s post-match open letter to Klinsmann:

Sorry Jurgen, but that was a starting XI that should have been tried out in a friendly, not the first round of the hexagonal! Benching Bocanegra??? The back 4 were saved several times by offsides and mis-hit final passes. And the final third is still as much a disaster as ever, but that group of MF sure didn’t help, with 3 guys that are holding MF. And I just don’t think Dempsey pairs well with Johnson–Gomez or even Altidore is a better match.

Better step it up Jurgen, b/c El Tri is going to really spank you if the squad continues to play like this!

and a followup clarification:

I’m not disrespecting the Hondurans at all, I thought the US would get a tie, and I think they are a bit better than “horrible” much less “not deserve” to be in the hexagonal. Mexico is clearly the class of CONCACAF. And while Bocanegra is OLD, his experience in organizing the back line and coordinating with the holding midfielder(s) would have been extremely helpful in this setting–precisely BECAUSE the Hondurans are strong in the attack particularly in their home park. Moreover, Klinsmann “claimed” he was going to install an aggressive, attacking style, but that starting XI seemed to be the opposite of that with 3 holding MF’s essentially and then Dempsey and Johnson up top–it looked to me to be playing for the draw.

Larry follows up on Simon’s comments regarding Klinsmann’s starting XI:

Simon, don’t forget about Altidore in the starting lineup. However, clearly, Klinsmann saw he had erred, cause he brought on experienced, control players in Edu and Kljestan right after the Hondurans had a goal disallowed. Sure they were offsides, but the horrendous loss of possession that led to it was the problem. There were a couple of moments of the football everyone likes to see, but Simon is right, opening match, on road is not the time for the a back line with 10 caps between the four. Plus the center backs had never played with each other. Plus Cameron doesn’t even play there for Stoke, nor does Stoke even play the style Klinsmann wants from the US.

Tommy chimed in with some colorful commentary:

Where is our Forlan, Suarez, or Chicharito (I won’t even dream of a Messi, Rohaldhino, or Ronaldo)? Probably playing in the NBA or NFL. Donovan has been a class player, Dempsey serviceable, but until the US finally has someone that can own a match verytime they step on the field, they’ll be playing for scraps.

That came after some even more colorful commentary:

Ima pull a Denny Green here about Mexico, “If you want to crown them, then crown their ass!” The Mexican side I watched suck out a tie with a physical but not terribly skilled Jamaican squad doesn’t instill much fear in me away from Azteca. Could have easily been a 2-0 game w the Boyz taking the 3 pts. Defense was spotty during its best run, more often was pukey. Offense had zero flow and looked disinterested outside of a couple decent through balls into the box. Midfield was disconnected, unorganized, and listless. But things will get sorted out and settled down by October, w US, Mexico, and Honduras or Costa Rica taking the top 3 spots.

 

Also worth listening to is Beyond the Pitch’s podcast on “The Honduran Standoff“.  But we’re looking forward to seeing if the USMNT and Klinsmann can sort stuff out for the next Hex Matchday–Friday, March 22, when the US hosts a talented Costa Rica side in Colorado. In fact, our Rocky Mountain High man Tyler will be at that match, and the NYC CultFootball crew plan to get together to watch that together, so look for extended coverage from us next month.

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Extreme Makeover Football Edition: What Michael Vick, John Terry, and Joey Barton Tell Us about Media Rehabilitation in 2012

July 30, 2012 — by Ryan

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Recently, Michael Vick appeared on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption (PTI).  Vick appeared on PTI to plug his new book, Finally Free: The Power of a Second Chance. In his nearly eight minute interview, the Philadelphia Eagles star openly acknowledged his problematic past and while contrite and thoughtful he also admitted the book was also an attempt to end the conversation about his history. “We can talk football, we can talk other personal things but let’s not talk about my past, let’s leave it where it is.”

Vick’s career and life provide insights into several aspects of sport including race, and media rehabilitation.  After serving hard time in prison for dog fighting, Vick’s efforts in rehabilitating his career, image, and persona have been notable.  Finally Free is really the last leg in a Michael Vick public relations campaign to undercut those who see Vick as little more than a talented, underachieving, amoral mercenary dog torturing athlete.

For years, Vick has worked with the Humane Society filming PSA’s and making appearances in the name of animal rights. Yet, as Vick seems to becoming full circle, this summer a prominent English footballer finds himself regarded as a talented but maligned influence.  Much like Vick, the trial of John Terry provides insights into many of the same issues, but knowing Terry’s character (as will be explained) a reversal of Michael Vick proportions seems unlikely.  Instead of the thoughtful, long term, self-reflective, and honest effort by Vick, Terry should go for the superficial answer much like his manic violent Newcastle peer Joey Barton.

The Trial of the Century?

In the second week of July, one of the most anticipated summer trials in all of England ended with a predictable acquittal. John Terry, Chelsea’s stalwart defender and starter for the English national team, was found not guilty of racially abusing another player.   Accused of directing a racial profanity toward QPR defender Anton Ferdinand (Terry allegedly called him a “black cunt”), Terry professed his innocence, even taking the stand to relate to the court how soccer players interact on the pitch.

The trial itself played out in tragic-comic fashion via the New York Times.  Needless to say, the language exchanged between opposing players at any level can reach rather dicey levels as insults directed at one’s family members prove quite common.  In college, I roomed with a female soccer player who admitted to once using a remark about child molestation to get under the skin of the forward she was marking and that was Division III soccer.  Between amateur and professional male athletes, mothers, sisters, girlfriends and wives bear the brunt of such insults, just ask Zidane who sacrificed France’s 2002 World Cup to defend his sister’s honor (Italian Player Marco Materazzi later admitted to more or less calling her a whore).   The Daily Mail quoted Terry pointing out that “players routinely tell each other they ‘s***’ each other’s partners.” It got even worse, as during testimony Terry further admitted “that conversations between players descend to degrading levels during the heat of battle in the Barclays Premier League.” Do tell?

Remember when you liked me?

Of course anyone who uses the Times as a source for such prurient details was disappointed argued the Atlantic’s Alexander Abad-Santos. Abad-Santos pointed out that the Times policy of neutering language to avoid controversy had turned “a NSFW cluster-cuss into the most sterile argument ever,” he noted.  At least the Times gave us all stateside some new slang: handbags as in “this whole thing is handbags” or much to do about nothing as Chelsea teammate Ashley Cole described the whole affair.  Terry portrayed his interaction with Ferdinand similarly. “As the argument on the field became more heated, Mr. Terry at one point compared Mr. Ferdinand to male genitalia, and then to female genitalia, in consecutive sentences.  Most of these constituted ‘handbags,’ or ‘normal verbal exchanges between the players,’ reported the Times.”  In the end, though damaging, the Times coverage remained so awkward, one could be forgiven if distracted.  Again, this played to Terry’s favor, as the ridiculousness of this aspect of the trial overshadowed its more serious themes. Remember, Luis Suarez received an eight game ban for a racial outburst toward Manchester United’s Patrice Evra and then inflamed matters when he refused to shake Evra’s hand several weeks later when the two teams met in competition. By contravening pre-match tradition, Suarez reignited questions about his character and apparent racism. It got worse last week when Suarez blamed his ban and subsequent controversy on Man U’s “political power.” Is Suarez the Richard Nixon of the EPL, constantly and unfairly under siege, abrasive and contentious but oddly talented and always the victim?  Who’s to say?

Granted some might argue, John Terry’s alleged racism though vile, doesn’t hurt anyone or thing physically while Michael Vick’s actions resulted in mutilated animals and disturbing levels of violence.  Others might point out that discursive racism can lead to violence against ethnic, racial, and religious groups accordingly, John Terry needs to be punished for contributing to such discourse.  In Vick’s case race played an important role, but secondarily. Race played a role in perceptions or how people viewed him.  Most people – black, white, brown, yellow etc – were rightly horrified when the stories of his dog fighting facility emerged. The reaction to this might have been racial but the underlying facts of the case were not. From established press, (ESPN The Magazine published a controversial article titled “What If Michael Vick were White?”) to the attentions of more academic bloggers, numerous outlets have reflected on what Vick’s career and image mean.   Sure Vick’s case involved very volatile emotions regarding animal rights, but plenty of non-white folks feel strongly about their animal brethren.

In regard to John Terry, his case shows that lingering pockets of racial tension persist in the EPL and more widely, Europe. Though numerous ex-coaches and current teammates vouched for his impeccable unbiased nature, others remained silent on the issue including Rio Ferdinand, Anton’s brother. Racism has been a recurring problem in soccer across “the continent” and internationally.  Franklin Foer demonstrated sectarian, ethnic, and racial hatreds perpetuated by soccer fans and players in various parts of Europe in his book, How Soccer Explains the World.  More recently, Italy’s Mario Balotelli accused Croatian fans of making racist taunts during the two teams’ encounter at this summer’s European Championship.  Go to present day Poland and Ukraine where some clubs’ fans openly employ Nazi salutes and make references to the holocaust.  When the Times noted that the trial revealed divisive schisms in “the close-knit world of Premier League soccer,” it seemed unsurprising.  After all, though Chelsea won the Champion’s Cup this year, they struggled through their domestic campaign.  Rumors floated around that the team’s Spanish and Portuguese speakers supported doomed coach Andre Villas-Boas (AVB) while the older English speaking players resisted the European tactics he brought to the table.   Soccer’s swirling mix of cultures and styles, though enormously beneficial on the whole can sometimes clash.  Terry probably deserved some credit/blame for AVB’s departure mid-season.

Of course, the efficacy of such trials and the FA general policy deserve some scrutiny. The FA has rightly targeted racism to be squashed; undoubtedly a noble and worthwhile effort.  However, the effects of this policy seem less clear.  Suarez remains unchanged by his punishment, should we expect any different from Terry?  Add to it, that following the trial, Rio Ferdinand fell under FA investigation for replying in the affirmative to a tweet that Ashley Cole (who is black) amounted to “choc ice” (basically meaning black on the outside, and white on the inside) for testifying in Terry’s favor.  Ferdinand responded to accusations of racism, how else, via twitter: “What I said yesterday is not a racist term. It’s a type of slang/term used by many for someone who is being fake. So there.” Should Ferdinand be reprimanded? Does the FA want to adopt the heavy handed tactics of Roger Goodell’s NFL?  When Emmanuel Frimpong of Arsenal (on loan to Wolves) responded to a hostile posting by a Tottenham Fan with “Scum Yid”,  Frimpong promptly removed the comment from his twitter feed, but shouldn’t he be punished too?  Add to it, the complexity of Tottenham’s identify, which Foer documented. Having once been home to a large Jewish fan base, many Tottenham fans adopted the term Yid as a means to undercut the term’s viciousness. “Instead of denouncing the Jews as pollutants to the nation, chunks of the working class have identified themselves as Jewish, even if only in the spirit of irony.” (Foer, 85) While an improvement on anti-Semitic violence, it still leaves Jews as cartoons, outsiders, or “others” in European minds. The point is the FA policy and its ramifications can be dizzying.

With that said, the fact that Terry had to sweat it out on this, makes this writer feel better. Yet, enough doubt remains regarding his true racial beliefs that it might be good to consider the full man.  When one does, you find a man guilty of much more than racism. Outside his significant soccer talent, consider his other claims to fame. On 9/11 he drunkenly mocked American tourists at Heathrow Airport. In January of 2002 Terry assaulted a nightclub bouncer resulting in his suspension from the English national side thereby forfeiting his shot at that year’s World Cup. In November of 2006, Terry allegedly racially abused Tottenham’s Ledley King.  A 10,000 pound fine was levied for “inappropriate conduct.” He cheated on his fiancé Toni Pooole with a 17 year old girl in a London parking lot in 2007. Three years later, Terry famously slept with the girlfriend and of his best friend and English teammate Wayne Bridge.  This led opposing fans to chant “Oh wherever you maybe, don’t leave your wife with John Terry!”  Sure there are other incidents but really, you get the point.

No handshake for you!

Even if John Terry needed a Michael Vick sized make over, I’m not sure he could pull one off. Intellectually, Vick’s pretty sharp, John Terry reminds this writer of Kevin Kline in A Fish Called Wanda.   So how does the former captain of the English national team rehabilitate his image? Well first, play well and win; avoid being sent off in critical Champion’s Cup matches for openly kneeing people in the back.  After that it is simple really, John Terry needs to open a twitter account and grow a mustache: the superficial answer for a superficial man.

John Terry, Joey Barton, and the Future of Football Public Relations

Does that seem flippant? Perhaps, but new social media like twitter, not around when Vick returned to professional athletics, enables athletes to escape the “filter” of the traditional media.  Certain stylistic accoutrements like wild haircuts or distinct facial hair do well to draw attention away from volatile personalities.  Vick’s earnest and hard won second chance came as result of jail time, open contrition, athletic success, and persistent attempts – through PSA’s and now his book – to change the conversation about his image.  The example of Joey Barton provides the 2K12 route to “rehabilitation.”  Be assured, as evidenced by Barton’s season finale, the route remains skin deep, but are there more apt words for Chelsea’s 31 year old defender?

Much like Terry, Barton’s personnel history vibrates with the controversy, but perhaps more disturbingly than his Chelsea counterpart. In 2002, Barton extinguished a cigar in they eye of his teammate Jamie Tandy.  In 2007, a fight between himself and teammate Ousmane Dabore ended with Dabore bleeding from the ears. Speaking on the issue four years later, Barton expressed little remorse: “Frankly, Ousmane is a little pussy. Where I come from, when you fight there is no rule. You fight ‘til it’s over.'”  Soon after the Dabore exchange, Barton assaulted a man outside a Liverpool McDonalds, punching him twenty times in the head.  Barton served 77 days in prison for his crime.  Yet, if not for a psychotic outburst in his team’s season ending match this year, in much of the public’s eyes Barton had been rehabilitated.  Granted, his bizarre antics against Manchester City (resulting in a 12 game suspension next year) poisoned much of the work he had done in rebranding himself, but his example would serve John Terry well.

Sometime in 2009, Barton opened a twitter account and began randomly posting philosophical twitter messages. His tweets ranged from quotes by George Orwell  (“In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act.”) and Fredrich Nietchze (“Whoever feels predestined to see and not to believe will find all believers too noisy and push; he guards against them.”) to political diatribes (“Why are British troops in conflict zones risking their lives, on America’s behalf? Supporting a fascist regimes ideologies? Bring them home.”) to an homage to the Smiths (“There is a light that never goes out”………The Smiths! Best song ever written. Thanks marr / mozza for getting me through that drive….”) He visited art galleries and told soccer fans all about them.

Then in 2010, Barton glommed on to one of the oldest tricks in the book: the mustache. The midfielder promised not to shave his newly acquired mustache until Newcastle recorded a victory.  It didn’t take too long, by August 22, Barton and his Newcastle teammates had thumped Aston Villa.  Still, by this point, Barton had tapped into his inner Magnum P.I.  His twitter feed and mustache drew attention away from his clearly unstable nature.  Sure we used to equate mustaches with totalitarianism (has their ever been two more famous mustaches than those of Uncle Joe Stalin and Adolph Hitler), but today even Michael Jordan rocks a mustache that many argue looks very similar to that of a certain genocidal German.  Today’s famous mustaches range from the conservative American Patriot Ron Swanson (“Parks and Rec”) to the businesslike Stringer Bell (The Wire) to ubiquitous “ironic” or  hipster mustache (really a character like Swanson and Bell unto itself – see Jude Law here for celebrity example).  People began talking about the quirky, mustachioed twitter happy Barton, not the thuggish freak that served over two months in prison.

Barton in a long line of football hipster ‘staches

Joey Barton’s angled masterpiece was a combination of Brooklyn Flea artisan and Toledo used car salesman; in other words, “creative everyman”, if everyman only sold tricked out El Caminos that came with a free Rites of Spring discography.  With a mustache, Joey Barton’s previous violent outbursts became ironic acts of cognitive dissonance.  “I beat that man senseless because of how futile I think violence is, don’t you get it?  I tweet Nietchze!” In the same way, Terry needs to grow a mustache and maybe tweet out some obscure Foucault quote about bio-politics or something.  Then his acts of racism become nothing more the deadening affects of governmentality.  See you aren’t even sure what that means and honestly neither am I. That’s the point.  Terry’s set the bar so low, even a spark of intellect promises a wildfire of good publicity.  Besides, all that talk of salty language at the trial reinforced the idea that players say such inappropriate things, John Terry’s outburst, whatever it really was, simply reflected this.  All Terry needs to do is back that up with some reference to the power of discourse and he’ll have an army of anthropologists looking to complete their dissertations on the culture of profanity in football.

One might suggest fellow alleged racist Liverpool’s Luis Suarez grow his own mustache. Yet, as Roger Bennett and Michael Davies of the Men in Blazers podcast are found of pointing out, Suarez has Anne Hathaway sized teeth: the kind you see in nightmares about the dentist or eating carrots.  No, a mustache on Luis would leave him resembling one of those caricature drawings you get at theme parks.  Mr. Suarez will have to discover some other way to hide his unpleasant personality and casual bigotry.

Suarez’s choppers

In today’s over saturated media, nobody reads books.  Vick deserves credit for a well earned climb back to respectability.  Some will forever see him as a torturer of animals and this is how it must be.  Actions have consequences, in addition to jail, there will be some people he will never reach. Vick served two years in Leavenworth.  That’s real time alone, in a very bad place.  So even if you hate him, you must admit he’s done some thinking on his crime. John Terry, Luis Suarez, and Joey Barton are different sorts who lack the sincerity of Vick and in Suarez’s case any sense of responsibility. Likewise, John Terry thinks his trial “handbags”, so a real conversion appears unlikely.  Say what you want about Vick, but the man has suffered for his crimes and reflected upon them honestly. If we must settle for mealy-mouthed P.R. campaigns dedicated to scrubbing John Terry’s history clean let it be one as entertaining, hirsute, and schizophrentic as that of Joey Barton. That way fans will know it’s all a show and won’t be disappointed when Terry, Suarez, Barton or some other EPL lug decides to travel down the rabbit hole of racism.

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What to Watch Today: Everton vs Fulham – Donovan vs Dempsey

January 27, 2012 — by Suman

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There’s a whole slate of FA Cup 4th Round matches this weekend, kicked off by a match today that is especially interesting for viewers on this side of the pond. Everton hosts Fulham, which means it’s also a faceoff of the two best American players of this generation: Landon Donovan vs. Clint Demspey.

England FA Cup, Everton vs Fulham (3pmET, USA TV: Fox Soccer Channel)

Grant Wahl has a SI column up today previewing the matchup between “the two best American field players of their generation” which is worth reading in its entirety. Some excerpts:

Who’s done better with the national team? Donovan. Who’s had a better European club career? Dempsey. Who’s got more endorsements? Donovan. Who’s been better overall the past 18 months? Dempsey. Who’s done more to grow MLS? Donovan. Who’s got the better chance to be the U.S.’s first European superstar? Dempsey.

Donovan just rejoined Everton earlier this month on another short-term loan from MLS champions LA Galaxy.  He had a successful loan spell with the Merseyside club two years ago, for three months at the beginning of 2010.  Indeed, Everton wanted to extend the loan, but the LA Galaxy refused, and Everton manager David Moyes would have liked to have bought him–but Donovan’s valuation was too high (£10m) for the cash-strapped Everton.

On the other hand, Dempsey has been in the English Premier Leauge full-time for almost exactly five years. He joined Fulham on a $4million transfer from the New England Revolution during the January 2007 transfer window, and made his Fulham debut on January 20, 2007.  He’s since scored 42 goals in 169 appearances for Fulham–setting records for not only most goals by an American in England, but claiming the record for most Fulham goals in the Premier League era (since 1992).

More from Wahl’s SI piece:

Donovan has played well since joining Everton on a short-term loan, often leading the attack and making Toffees fans wish he would stay permanently. Dempsey, meanwhile, is in the best form of his life. Think about this: the only Premier League players with more goals in all competitions this season than Dempsey (15) are Arsenal’s Robin van Persie, Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and Manchester City’s Sergio Agüero — a trio worth a quarter of a billion dollars on the transfer market.

Even then, as recently as last spring, English columnist Georgina Turner wrote a column for SI headlined “Dempsey still underrated Despite star performances at Fulham“–and inevitably Donovan came up:

[Dempsey’s] quality seems forever caught in soccer’s peripheral vision. In part, he has suffered from the constant comparison to Landon Donovan; up against the U.S.’ wholesome, twinkle-eyed star, Dempsey’s brooding demeanor makes him an unlikely poster boy. Donovan’s injury-time goal against Algeria at last summer’s World Cup is seared on to the nation’s memory — even people who aren’t that interested in soccer could probably describe it to you. That it was Dempsey’s run and shot that created the opportunity, leaving the box open and the goalkeeper on the floor, is merely a footnote.

Some related posts from our own archives:

On Donovan: see this post from December 2010, about Donovan deciding to pass on a similar loan deal to Everton last season, and this video of that aforementioned most famous goal in US soccer history.

On Demspey: see this post from last October about him claiming the record for most goals scored in England by an American, and this post from August 2010 speculating about how Dempsey might or might not combine with Belgian youngster Moussa Dembélé.  Fulham has since added yet another cook that we like to watch into its attacking midfield kitchen–Costa Rican Bryan Ruiz.  We wrote this just over a month ago, for a pre-Christmas edition of “what to watch”:

two [Fulham] players to watch: Costa Rican attacking midfielder Bryan Ruiz, who arrived from FC Twente over the summer, and seems like he’s only now adjusting and fitting in; and Belgian striker Moussa Dembélé, who also came over after success in the Eredivisie, with AZ Alkmaar, the previous summer.  We wrote at the time that perhaps Fulham might have to choose between playing him and American Clint Dempsey–but they combined rather well last year, and from what we saw in their draw versus Liverpool a couple weeks ago, Bryan Ruiz is starting to combine well with the two of them.

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U.S. Youth System Fired

January 10, 2012 — by Rob Kirby

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We’ll keep you posted. More on this at 5.

Wait, start from the beginning.

Out of seemingly nowhere, the U.S. Soccer Federation has cleared house. Today, the power that be announced U.S. U-17 coach Wilmer Cabrera will leave his post at the end of January.

The Colombian, 44, was appointed U-17 coach in 2007, and led the side into the second round at both the 2009 and 2011 World Cups. Not nearly enough, apparently.

His dismissal follows that of Thomas Rongen, coach of the U-20 team; Mike Matkovich, manager of the U-18 side; and Jim Barlow of the U-15 team.

What the French, toast?

Without other info, perhaps it stems from the appointment of former U.S. international Claudio Reyna as youth technical director of the U.S. Soccer Federation in April. If he were queen, we imagine him saying, “We are not amused.” Or perhaps it’s totally unrelated. Whatever will be, whatever was, is/will be.

That made perfect grammatical sense to me.

CommentaryUnited States

American Expats in Europa

December 13, 2011 — by Rob Kirby

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As the final matchday of the Europa League group stages approaches Wednesday and Thursday, so does the best chance to see Americans in action overseas on a TV near you. And with some of the Americans’ teams in danger of crashing out of Europa, it may be the last chance for a while. That is, unless your cable package comprehensively covers the Portuguese, Dutch, German and Belgian leagues, in which case you’re really spending way too much for cable.

The two Fox Soccer Channels offer regular viewing of Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and Brad Friedel in England and occasionally Michael Bradley in the Serie A, and GolTV shows some of the Bundesliga exploits of Steve Cherundolo and the German-Americans in the national team, but to see Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon), Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht) or Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City) in a non-streamed format, Europa’s the ticket. Furthermore, with the Manchester teams now surprisingly in the impending mix, there could be some great matches ahead.

Some players, like Onyewu, Kljestan and Jones earned early admission to the knockout phase, as Sporting Lisbon, Anderlecht and Schalke 04 each clinched the top spots in their respective groups and secured berths in the last 32 with a game to spare. Others are less likely, but as it stands, everyone’s got a shot, even if mathematical probabilities aren’t as rosy as they might like.

Dempsey, the all-time leading American goal scorer in the Premier League, has been firing for Fulham this season, both domestically and in the Europa League, where he will always be remembered for his chip into the Juventus goal in 2010. But Fulham jeopardized their shot at the round of 32 when they slumped to a 1-0 loss in the 89th minute against group leaders FC Twente, down to 10 men. However, if Krakow lose to or draw with FC Twente, Fulham are through. But Dempsey & Co. are in charge of their own destiny. If they win, second is theirs. If Fulham lose to or draw with Odense and Krakow pull off the upset, however, Krakow takes the spoils.

Friedel has proven integral to the Tottenham first team, but he usually sits out Europa nights. For Spurs to progress, Rubin Kazan would have to lose and Tottenham have to win and overcome a goal difference of 5. Good time to have a proven shot-stopper, so Redknapp may choose to select him against Shamrock Rovers. However, one school of thought says exiting the competition would help Spurs finish in the top 3 or 4 in the Premier League, not playing weekend matches on the heels of Thursday nights in Europe, so perhaps the bald-pated American will again see some rest. Many betting sites tipped Tottenham to win the cup. Few expected they’d fail to pass through the group stage.

Spector and Birmingham may soon be crashing out, unless they’ve got some goals in them. They need first-place Braga to down second-place Brugge, while they themselves beat Maribor and hope it all works out such that they overcome the 4 goal deficit separating them from Brugge. Doable if they’ve got their shooting boots on (and Braga, theirs).

Altidore, whose career has witnessed a resurgence since joining the Dutch champions, will likely lead the line again for AZ Alkmaar, but the team must get a result against group leaders FC Metalist. Win and they clinch second. If they lose and Vienna defeats Malmo, they crash out. Draw and they squeak through, unless Vienna beats Malmo by 7 goals, which one would have to consider a tad unlikely, as they have conceded almost a third more goals than they’ve scored in the group stages. Altidore has 9 goals this season.

Onyewu, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s long-lost shorter, stronger brother, has similarly returned to form with Sporting Lisbon. In fact, he scored the lone goal in last weekend’s 1-0 victory over CD Nacional de Madeira. And with former club PSV Eindhoven still in the Europa mix, he may have a chance to exact some revenge for their lack of faith in him that led to selling him off this past summer.

Schalke 04 midfielder Jermaine Jones has been seeing more first team action and will live to see another Europa day, as the Schalke tops its group and is certain to go through.

Anderlecht is similarly a lock, and barring injury so is Kljestan, who has excelled at Anderlecht this season and must be wondering why he’s seen so little time with the national team. The midfielder has started 23 matches and scored 2 goals this season.

Hannover 96 captain Cherundolo and his team look favorites for second. Win or draw with last place Vorskla and they go through.

Americans guaranteed passage:
Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon, D)
Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht, MF)
Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04, MF)

Possibles:
Clint Dempsey (Fulham, MF)
Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96, D)
Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City, D)
Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar, F)

Highly unlikely:
Brad Friedel (Tottenham, GK)

Wednesday, December 14

Besiktas v Stoke City    1:00 PM (DirecTV)
PSG v Atletic Bilbao    1:00 PM (GolTV)
Fulham v Odense    3:00 PM (GolTV)

Thursday, December 15

Hannover 96 v Vorskla Potlava  1:00 PM (GolTV)
Shamrock Rovers v Spurs   1:00 PM (DirecTV)
Atletico Madrid v Stade Rennais  3:00 PM (GolTV)
Birmingham v Maribor   3:00 PM (DirecTV)
Udinese v Celtic    3:00 PM (DirecTV)

CommentaryUnited States

U.S. Best Brazil in U-17s

December 5, 2011 — by Rob Kirby

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The U.S. Under-17 team took on Brazil in Lakewood Ranch, FL, and never looked outclassed in the slightest, defeating Brazil 3-1. Having drawn 2-2 with France midweek and beaten Turkey 2-1 on Friday, they won the Nike International Friendlies trophy with three first-half goals and an impressive second-half defense.

As for witnessing the emergence of the “next Neymar” or “next Clint Dempsey” in the crop of U-17 players, the latter certainly seemed more the case. (“New Pelé” Neymar played in the tournament in 2008.) U.S. attacking midfielder Junior Flores displayed outstanding playmaking abilities and looks a huge prospect for the future. Involved in each of the U.S. goals, he outmaneuvered defenders at will, as Rubio Rubin charged down the right flank, providing excellent service to forwards Corey Baird and Wesley Wade. Meanwhile, right back Shaquell Moore and centerback Tyler Turner looked solid, both in attack and defense. Rubin, Flores and the back four played in every match of the tournament, consistency evidenced in the group’s chemistry and cohesiveness.

Kellen Gulley, former U.S. U-17 standout, sat beside this intrepid reporter in the stands in the second half and said, “The Brazil team two years ago would have killed this [Brazil] team. And last year’s was almost as good.” Gulley, 17, scored the equalizer against Brazil in the 2009 tournament for a 1-1 draw. He currently plays for the Chicago Fire youth team.

Brazil’s number 10 Gabriel repeatedly put in dangerous crosses on which forwards Joanderson and Bruno failed to capitalize. However, captain and center half Eriks definitely seemed one to watch in the coming years. Going against type, though, the side produced more fouls than flair. And when themselves fouled, the theatrics came out, eliciting jeers such as “Get him a binky” and “Get him a pacifier” from the capacity crowd. Right back Abner, in particular, made a meal of every challenge, prompting even Eriks to bark at him to get up and on with it as they chased to close the goal gap in the second half.

Right winger Rubin knocked in a back-to-the-goal strike at just two minutes in, the first shot of the game. Off a free kick from the dynamic Junior Flores that got headed his way, Rubin flick-volleyed the ball over his right shoulder to the surprise of everyone, not least Guilherme, the Brazilian goalie.

In the 12th minute, Brazilian midfielder Matheus Queiroz attacked a poor clearance and blazed in a power strike into the upper right corner to level the proceedings. On a night when the U.S. served up the majority of the ball control and goal-scoring flair, the strike had Samba written all over it.

U.S. captain Turner picked up the ball and created space after a scramble from Flores’ delivery into in the six-yard box in the 31st minute, striking to make it 2-1. The celebration between players and fans actually resulted in a section of ad placards and pitch barriers getting knocked over. The goal was Tyler’s second of the tournament (third, if you count the own goal in the France match-up).

As half-time approached, Flores weaved through midfield and centered for Wesley Wade, who beat his defender and sent the ball past Guilherme into the far corner, doubling the lead and Wade’s tournament goal tally, making it 3-1 at the break.

Brazil pressed for a second goal in the second half, to no avail. Despite firing off many shots, most attempts proved easy saves for Paul Christensen, the U.S. ‘keeper. On the other end, Flores nearly scored in the 75th minute, only to hit the outside netting.

In the earlier match of the day, France drew 3-3 with Turkey to take third.