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Football as Art: Gareth Bale Animated

March 23, 2011 — by Suman

This fantastic video was making the rounds of the footy interwebs last week--animator Richard Swarbrick (@RikkiLeaks) with an dreamlike impressionistic rendering of Gareth Bale's Champions League performances vs Inter Milan: This blew up especially after it was listed at #1 among "Our Favourite Things This Week" by Guardian Football--they specifically linked to the Run of Play's post of it, titled "Bones Like Ghost" ("If there were a channel that showed live matches in this style, I might forget what living people looked like"). For those of you that somehow haven't seen the "IRL" version of Bale v Inter, see here. Though that video clip, like most of the hundreds of soccer highlight videos on YouTube, has a jarring soundtrack--which is a regrettable phenomenon that Run of Play addressed in an earlier post: "On Soundtracks": It’s a universal in football that the only people who take the time to find every

Ghana’s Andre Ayew Scores Le Classique Winner

March 23, 2011 — by Suman — 2

Andre Ayew celebrating his winner vs PSG

Our preview of Olympique Marseille's visit to Old Trafford a couple weeks ago focused in large part on their young Ghanaian striker Andre Ayew (and by extension his famous father Abedi Pele). And then we told you to watch Le Classique this past weekend. Well, hopefully you've been listening to us. Although Marseille disappointingly couldn't score against Man U, you would have been watching for Ayew in Sunday's match, and he did deliver, scoring a beauty of a goal OM over their capitol city rivals PSG: Video: Ligue 1 Highlights: Marseille/PSG Ghana SoccerNet has a Ayew-centric match report here. For a review of Marseille's season, see ESPN SoccerNet's Ligue 1 columnist compare OM to French soap opera Plus Belle La Vie. We'll be watching for Marseille's remaining Ligue 1 matches, to see if they can catch Lille at the top

Stuart Holden, You Poor Bastard

March 22, 2011 — by Sean

March has not been kind to the spiky-haired kid from Sugar Land, Texas (by way of Aberdeen). When with Sunderland on trial he was attacked outside a pub and had his eye socket fractured (March 12). Last season, with Bolton and primed to play a big role in South Africa for the US, he had his leg broken by De Jong in a friendly against Holland (March 3). And now his most serious injury just last weekend, when United's Evans came in high and took out the poor bastard's knee. How bad is it? Nobody knows yet. There was a nasty gash and he needed some 26 stitches to close the wound. His teammates were certainly disturbed, and it was said that the knee was "opened", which could only mean you could see bone. Now without any official word on what the problem is exactly, the midfielder has been ruled

What to Watch This Weekend (March 19-20)

March 19, 2011 — by Suman

Saturday, March 19 11am: Manchester United-Bolton (FSC) and/or West Brom-Arsenal (FSP & foxsoccer.tv): Man U seems to have righted themselves, with victories against Arsenal (FA Cup) and Marseille (Champions League) in the past week. Arsenal, on the other hand, have been in a free fall over the past few weeks. From 4 competitions to just 1--and they'll need to keep winning to keep pace with Man U and stay in that one. 1:30pm: Borussia Dortmund-Mainz (ESPN Deportes & ESPN3.com): After a tremendous start, newly promoted Mainz is now in 5th--so still in contention for a spot in Europe. Borussia Dortmund is almost a lock to win the league--9pts ahead of #2 Bayer Leverkeusen. 1:30pm Everton-Fulham (FSC): Americans in action--Tim Howard in goal for Everton, Clint Dempsey in the midfield for Fulham. 5pm: Atletico Madrid-Real Madrid (ESPN Deportes & ESPN3.com): El derbi madrileno. It will be a shock if Atletico win--but

UEFA Champions League: Marseille Visits Manchester

March 15, 2011 — by Suman

Olympique Marseille visits Old Trafford today, attempting to advance to the final eight of the Champions League for the first time since 1993--when they went all the way and won the title--the one and only time a French club has won the Champions League. Marseille held Manchester United to a scoreless draw at home in the Stade Velodrome in the first leg--and hence Man U needs an outright victory in today's match to advance. Look for Marseille to sit back and play a disciplined defensive game--and attempt to score at least one goal via a counterattack.

Commentary

The Game is The Game

March 12, 2011 — by John Lally — 1

So that's where you keep the sugar

**WARNING** - This article - teased a long time ago here - contains spoilers for all 5 seasons of The Wire. If you haven't watched The Wire yet, go to amazon.com; buy the complete set, watch all 60 hours, then read this. You'll thank me for it (probably more for having seen The Wire than for this article, but still). Non-Spurs Fan: "If you know they're going to end up disappointing and frustrating you, why do you keep supporting them? Me: "Got to. This Tottenham, man" As my wife would attest, I have a special way of watching Tottenham's games - leaned forward, literally on the edge of my seat, with a nervous look on my face and the occasional nail being bitten - similar to how I used to sit in the Paxton Road end of White Hart Lane, now transferred to our sofa in Brooklyn.

Adieu, Prodigal Son

March 9, 2011 — by Tyler

May, 1999. I had just experienced three confident days on my own in Madrid. Music, museums, and majesty. The sink in my tiny bedroom was clogged, but my Spanish was up to par. Off to Barcelona! Barcelona: I departed the overnight train from Madrid and realized I hadn't brought enough money with me. Worse, the station concierge told me that all the hotels were full. (A couple days later, I learned that Manchester United and Bayern Munich were in town for a thrilling Champs League Final. So many chubby, pale, sunburnt drunkards, spewing their anthems, separated by black-garbed Spanish military/police carrying machine guns.) I eventually sorted out my funds in the station, and realized that the Catalan language barrier (not Spanish!) had contributed to my confusion. (I was looking for a hostel, not a hotel.) I paid for my room, celebrated, and hit Las Ramblas. As dusk became darkness, I

Will Arsenal Park the Bus in Barcelona Today?

March 8, 2011 — by Suman

Will Arsenal Park the Bus?

The first leg of Arsenal-Barcelona did not disappoint, with the Gunners stunningly coming from behind to win 2-1 three weeks ago at home in London. So the return leg today in Barcelona is even more tantalizing. As Fabregas indicated in his first leg post-match interview, one should think of these home&away aggregate-goal fixtures as a single 180 minute match. So Arsenal lead 2-1 at "half"; do they come out and try to defend that lead for 90 minutes on the road? That is to say, will they attempt to park the proverbial bus? Many believe Wenger is philosophically incapable of doing so, and he has said this week that Arsenal won't do so--which perhaps mean they will? It will be interesting to see the starting XIs Wenger and Guardiola will choose, the formations they deploy, and how they instruct their sides to

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Video

Football as Art: Gareth Bale Animated

Africa Commentary News Video

Ghana’s Andre Ayew Scores Le Classique Winner

England Video

Stuart Holden, You Poor Bastard

Commentary Schedule

What to Watch This Weekend (March 19-20)

Commentary Preview

UEFA Champions League: Marseille Visits Manchester

Commentary

The Game is The Game

Commentary

Adieu, Prodigal Son

Commentary Preview

Will Arsenal Park the Bus in Barcelona Today?