While The World Watched
The World Cup and Argentina’s “Dirty War.”
Great articles, every Saturday.
The World Cup and Argentina’s “Dirty War.”
Wright Thompson ESPN the Magazine Jun 2014 10min Permalink
A profile of Luis Suarez.
Wright Thompson ESPN Jun 2014 10min Permalink
How coach Jurgen Klinsmann, “soccer’s Alexis de Tocqueville,” is trying to give the US an identity.
Matthew Futterman Wall Street Journal Jun 2014 10min Permalink
“Someone has sliced open soccer’s hourglass, and the sand has come pouring out on to the streets.”
Supriya Nair Roads & Kingdoms May 2014 Permalink
A profile of Bosnian striker Vedad Ibisevic, who has come home after escaping the war more than 20 years ago.
Wright Thompson ESPN May 2014 10min Permalink
Policing Tottenham Hotspur fans.
David Peisner Buzzfeed Apr 2014 30min Permalink
A trip to Turkey for a soccer game between bitter rivals and its accompanying madness.
Spencer Hall SB Nation Apr 2014 30min Permalink
In a Haitian tent city, a referee prepares for a soccer game.
"Almost unconsciously, I began gathering various items from the tent: my official registration card, a couple of Fox whistles, two pairs of black socks, a black undershirt, an armband, two flags, my kangaroo-leather turf shoes, and then three different jerseys that I had so painstakingly preserved. I stuffed all of this into an Agency sack, which I normally used for collecting my ration of nourimil cereal."
Deji Olukotun Guernica Aug 2011 15min Permalink
A trip to the 2022 World Cup host nation.
David Roth SB Nation Dec 2013 1h Permalink
Brazil’s restless youth in the lead-up to the World Cup.
Wright Thompson ESPN Dec 2013 30min Permalink
What did soccer have to do with two brutal murders after a pickup game?
Jeré Longman, Taylor Barnes New York Times Oct 2013 20min Permalink
A journey into the world of Italy’s racist soccer thugs.
Wright Thompson ESPN Jun 2013 40min Permalink
How a longtime gambling addict and a small band of his cronies manipulated both the game and betting exchanges from a tiny Berlin cafe, going as far as buying ownerships of teams in order to insure their failure.
Drake Bennett Businessweek Mar 2013 15min Permalink
In February, Jerusalem’s FC Beitar, the only soccer team in the Israeli Premier League to have never signed an Arab player, signed two Chechnyan Muslims, sparking national controversy and pitting the organization against their ultras fan club La Familia.
Amos Barshad Grantland Mar 2013 30min Permalink
How Singaporean mobster Tan Seet Eng, aka Dan Tan, and a global network of fixers influenced as many 680 soccer matches at the highest levels.
Brian Phillips Grantland Feb 2013 10min Permalink
The story of the 1944 German national soccer championship game.
Noah Davis SB Nation Nov 2012 20min Permalink
In Argentina, where the fútbol underworld controls everything from t-shirt vending to murder, and “rowdy gangs” have turned the stadium into a battleground.
Patrick Symmes Outside Oct 2012 25min Permalink
On the strange relationship between Lionel Messi and his Argentinian hometown.
Wright Thompson ESPN Oct 2012 Permalink
The evolution and economics of English football.
David Conn London Review of Books Aug 2012 15min Permalink
“Calça de veludo ou bunda de fora.” Why Neymar, one of the world’s best talents hasn’t taken the money and run.
Sam Borden New York Times Jul 2012 Permalink
A profile of Italian soccer star Mario Balotelli.
Jeré Longman New York Times Jul 2012 Permalink
The controversy surrounding the death of Uche Okafor.
Kent Babb The Kansas City Star May 2012 15min Permalink
On FIFA’s history of scandal.
Brian Phillips Grantland Aug 2011 15min Permalink
As the head of the CBF, Ricardo Teixera rules Brazilian futebol from the top down, controlling everything from the value of championships to broadcast rights. He needs the pull off a flawless 2014 World Cup in order to set the stage for being elected FIFA’s president, but there’s one hitch; the trail of bribes and scandals he has left in his wake.
Whenever you want him to go on the record, Teixeira shushes you and raises a finger to his lips. He addresses men and women alike as “meu amor,” with an exaggerated Rio accent. “Meu amor, it’s all been said about me – that I smuggled goods in the Brazilian national team’s airplane, that there’s been dirty dealing in the World Cup, all those investigations into Nike and the CBF."
Translated from the original Portugese.
Daniela Pinheiro Piauí Jul 2011 40min Permalink
Why all soccer fans should root for Holland to lose to Spain.
Brian Phillips Slate Jul 2010 Permalink