Nick Lanier: Soccer Writer

For the past few years, we have seen a resurgence from the Belgian national team. Coaching has improved, players have improved, and there is definitely a much bigger fan base than before. However, a team with so many stars ought to be having more success in major tournaments than Belgium currently are. Without wanting to speculate about rosters until the actual squad is announced, Belgium are unquestionably one of the strongest sides heading into the tournament in June. The list of talented individuals is seemingly endless, even with some star players in their domestic league showing great prowess. They have an outstanding defensive unit, hardworking midfielders, and players who can score goals. However this was also the case in Euro 2016, and even a few tournaments preceding that. So why can’t they win? Belgium were in pot 1 for the draw for Russia, thumping many group stage qualifier opponents and rising the rankings quickly. This meant that they avoided many top teams like ...

The SheBelieves tournament is a brief round robin women’s soccer tournament hosted in the US. 2018 will be the 3rd edition of the round of games, featuring 4 of the best women’s national teams from around the world. The mission of the SheBelieves tournament is to raise the popularity of soccer to the female audience. In many nations around the world, women are not able to play soccer for a variety of reasons, from a lack of women’s club teams, to a lack of time or opportunity as a woman. The SheBelieves tournament aims to show the world that the women’s game is every bit as good as the men’s, and tries to empower women to rise up and be their true self. There is definitely a lot of prejudice in the soccer world, with sexism just one aspect. With this tournament, the world can see for itself just how powerful the female gender is, and how many lives can be touched with a few soccer games alone. This years tournament includes reigning champions the USA, 2016 winners France, as we...

Following his sides’ recent Europa League matches, striker Michy Batshuayi tweeted that he was shocked to be the recipient of racist remarks from fans in 2018. He stated that FIFA need to work harder to eliminate this aspect from the game. Racist and sexist ideologies have been present in sports for generations. However in this day and age, with so much talent all over the globe from all different walks of life, there is no room for this anymore. Teams have already begun to work to combat the problem. Players often wear “Say No To Racism” shirts during warm ups, and teams will announce before matches that fans must behave and respect the players or they will be thrown out. Some players have taken it upon themselves to fight and ask questions regarding racism too, be it Batshuayi utilizing social media, or Dani Alves eating a banana that had been thrown at him whilst preparing a corner kick, as a humorous gesture to racists in the crowd. Players have had enough, and FIFA owes it to ...

The EPL is often regarded as the finest league in the world, due to the competition, quality of players, and style of play. Despite this, the England national team has failed to perform or impress at any of the last few major competitions. Rivals Germany, Spain, and France, all of whom have equally talented domestic leagues, have experienced success. Why is this? Despite winning the cup back in 1966, England have tripped up during key moments, costing them games in recent time. Being as consistent a qualifier as they are, more should be expected of a team with quality players such as Harry Kane. The issue seemingly is that the EPL is so popular and such a critical money maker, many domestic players struggle to compete with similar talent from abroad who are electing to choose the EPL as the league from which they want to emerge. Moreover, the academies at EPL teams, whilst outstanding, seem to churn out fewer players that reach stardom compared with the likes of Barcelona or Schalk...

Reports emerging from Spain suggest that a group of Spartak Moscow “ultras” were to blame for the violence that erupted before yesterday’s Europa League clash in Bilbao; this violence sadly claimed the life of a police officer. This is not an isolated incident. Soccer fans in Eastern Europe especially, often have fan groups called “ultras.” These people are difficult to describe, but generally they provide atmosphere in stadiums, and create tension before and after games by any means necessary. Unfortunately, this all too often involves provoking the opposing fans and instigating violence. Granted, the atmosphere at games is important, and showing passion for ones team is awesome. Iceland fans at Euro 2016 showed the world their “Viking clap” chant; a truly haunting experience, and one that I’m sure almost every fan watching live, and at home, are extremely excited to witness again in Russia. Noisemakers, and to a certain extent flares, are other ways to build a great atmosphere at...

Over the past few years, Messi and Ronaldo have essentially had the Ballon D’or, the award for worlds best player, wrapped up between the two of them. The closest players to snatch the award from the grips of the pair, as of recent, have been goalkeepers such as Manuel Neuer and Gianluigi Buffon. It is wonderful that goalkeepers are finally getting more recognition for their heroics, however I feel they deserve even more credit. The task of the goalkeeper is simple; prevent the other team from scoring by any means necessary. Many state that it is one of the easier positions on the field to play. This is most definitely not the case. Many forget how much of a mental game that soccer is, and the tasks of the keeper is a perfect example of this. The number of technical skills as well as cognitive tasks that a goalkeeper must master is greater than any other position. Akin to a quarterback, the goalkeeper must analyze all of the game, organizing the team from the back. He must also be ...

When a nation is chosen to host the World Cup, it is an honor. Nations work hard to ensure that their tournament runs smoothly and is a great success. Behind the scenes, new infrastructure is built, new stadiums are erected, and many cities genuinely improve for the better. Of course, there are some instances where things go downhill after the tournament. For example in Manaus, Brazil, where the new stadium built for the 2014 World Cup has largely been unused since. We can also analyze how the Qatari’s are preparing for 2022 in a somewhat controversial manner. Overall though, cities and nations as a whole, can look back on major sporting events as a way that they helped people smile, and helped their towns grow.  On the soccer side of things, host nations need not go through the qualification process, meaning that they will not have a competitive game for around two years prior to the start of the tournament. This is often presented as a bad thing. Players are not in the right...

Yes yes, I know this isn’t about international soccer, but it has a point to it. For the past few years, Arsenal fans have been split down the middle. Half are Wenger In, half are Wenger Out. This is of course in reference to coach Arsene Wenger, who has been there for around 20 years, and his tactics, transfer activity, and general method of coaching. Before I mention why I think it is time for Wenger to move on, I believe it is important to recognize the man for dedicating so much to one club. The man has brought success to Highbury, and now the Emirates Stadium, and has made most fans memories to cherish forever. Many will look back on “the invincibles”, the season where Arsenal went unbeaten as one highlight in particular. Many who state that he should stay argue that Wenger is irreplaceable.  However wasn’t Sir Alex the same way? As mentioned, I think it is time for Wenger to depart. This is for a number of reasons. For one, Arsenal have become stagnant, finishing...

For decades, FIFA has announced a ranking of nations after each week of international fixtures, compiling an order from best team in the world, to worst. They believe this to be a very accurate way of deciphering who should best who in any given game. Naturally, this is never the case. It is a well known fact that anyone can win on any given day. This is commonplace in virtually every sport on the planet. Some teams could have an off day, others might be up for the challenge. Stating who is “better” than who relies on statistics. And a lot of them. But soccer isn’t a game ruled by statistics. Of course, the team with the most points will advance, and scoring the most goals will help in winning games. But using statistics as the sole way of figuring out who will come out on top is foolish.  Moreover, the average soccer fan is likely more educated in the realm of the beautiful game than many executives at FIFA realize. This is simply due to the game being so popular everywher...

In unprecedented fashion, Brazil coach Tite has named 15 players to his roster for the World Cup already. Coaches need not confirm a provisional roster for a couple of months, yet Tite has listed players who will be on the plane to Russia.  The players, stated by Tite during an interview, include a host of PSG players; Neymar, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, and Dani Alves. Also making the team are Willian, Roberto Firmino, Gabriel Jesus, and Fernandinho from the Premier League. Coutinho, Paulinho, Casemiro, Marcelo, Allison, Miranda, and Renato Augusto round out the selection.  Brazil were the first team (besides hosts Russia) to qualify for the tournament. The South American nation, who hold the most trophies, also have a deep pool of players to select from, making Tite’s announcement even more baffling. Naturally, he knows his players better than anyone, and with a team like Brazil, all of the selected players are stars in their own rights, meaning that he isn’t really g...

Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero has been announced as eligible for the World Cup, after managing to get his ban for substance abuse shortened from a year, to six months. The Flamengo man missed some of Peru’s late qualification games, and you could tell that they missed him. Qualification from CONMEBOL was unpredictable to say the least. But perhaps the biggest shocks came from a gutsy Peru side, who often bested teams from their work ethic alone. Key for them, at least in scoring goals, was Paolo Guerrero, and once it was announced that he would be missing numerous games, very few thought that Peru could do what was required to qualify for Russia. However, what we witnessed was almost the opposite. It almost looked like Guerrero’s absence galvanized the squad, and it looked like they were playing for him. They definitely found it difficult to score goals, but they didn’t concede many either, with Pedro Gallese (a contender for golden glove, in my eyes) appearing unbeatable at ...

Russia hosted the Confederations Cup in 2017. This is a competition between the teams who won the international championships in their respective regions in the previous few years. For example, 2016 Euro champions Portugal were present. The competition is a small, World Cup like format, with a group stage and then a knockout phase. Germany won the contest, with Chile finishing runners up. Portugal came 3rd, and Mexico 4th.  Often in tournaments such as this, we see players express themselves on the field, and see new stars in the making. It is up to each participating nation to decide on the type of squad they wish to take to the tournament. They might choose youth to give them a chance to prove themselves, or experience to try and get into a winning mindset before the World Cup the next year.  In the 2017 Confederations Cup, Germany elected to use inexperienced players at the national level, but those who have had success at the club level. Players like Lars Stindl an...

After Sunil Gulati confirmed he would finally be stepping down as president of the soccer federation in the US, many were hopeful that this would be the time where significant change could take place. Many former players ran for the presidency, however the winner of the election was a close official to Gulati; Carlos Cordeiro. Uproar has surrounded the election, with many stating that Cordeiro isn’t enough of a change from the Gulati years. The Indian born Colombia native is a businessman and soccer fanatic. Formerly working for Goldman Sachs, Cordeiro will certainly bring some financial stability to the helm, not that this was at the top of the necessary agenda. By being so money minded, it may however be difficult to see how he will improve the grass roots program in the US. Soccer, for some unknown reason, is by far the most expensive sport to play at the club level, with some players having to pay upwards of $4000 a season. Oddly, soccer is actually one of the cheaper ...

In almost all of Europe’s top leagues, there is a team running away with the title. In my 18 years of watching soccer, I have never seen a phenomenon like this. Perhaps most interestingly are the events occurring in Spain, where Real Madrid, after winning the Champions League, are failing to compete with, well, seemingly anyone. Just months after winning the grand prize, Madrid lie not only behind arch rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, but are trailing by a vast number of points. Yes, the team with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, somehow, are failing to get results when they need them most. After being frankly exposed in El Classico, since then, Real have dropped numerous points, falling further behind Barcelona, and putting their coach under pressure.  The most interesting part of the whole ordeal, is that in the Real Madrid squad, there have been very few changes in personnel. In fact, the only noticeable change would be the departure of Pepe to Besik...

Video assistant referee (VAR) is sideline technology much like that seen in football or tennis. Recently, it has been making appearances in soccer. There have been instances of good and bad since its installation in various leagues. In March, FIFA officials must decide whether to implement the system for the World Cup in Russia.  VAR has unquestionably made decisions in the world of soccer much simpler. For example, Chelsea were correctly disallowed an offside goal in the Carabao Cup. On paper, VAR solves a whole lot of problems. Referee mistakes have been a centerpiece in the soccer world ever since it was invented, and the officials have been made scapegoats by players and coaches for generations. With VAR, this kind of behavior goes away. Managers and players must critically analyze their performances in order to really see how they won or lost, and ultimately how to move forward. Naturally, VAR has its critics. These people argue that it takes too long to get an analysi...

Due to limited chances for the USMNT, along with the team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup, up and coming talent Jonathan Gonzalez was granted a one time switch from allegiance with the USA to Mexico. The teenager has come under fire for his quick judgement. But can you really blame him? Now, he not only has a chance to breakout in a very talented Mexico team at World Cup 2018, but potentially land a move to MLS or even Europe. The Mexican team has evolved at a much faster rate than the US, with players like Hirving Lozano joining fellow players Hector Herrera and Carlos Vela in some of Europe’s quality leagues. Gonzalez fills a role in the Mexican national team that really hasn’t properly been filled since the retirement of Cuauhtemoc Blanco, and this is a great opportunity for the teen to really prosper and become a star. The US already has talent in that position, and plenty of other up and coming players too. This isn’t to say that it wasn’t blasphemous to completely excl...

With David Beckham announcing his successful bid for a new MLS team in Miami, the legend will no doubt seek to bolster his team by attempting to attract great European talent, as well as grow youth in the US. MLS recently has been quite successful in attracting players who have had success in Europe in the past, but their ailing legs won’t allow them to compete at the highest levels. Is this a good attitude to take, or should MLS teams aim to attract young talent from Europe too? With Atlanta’s capture of Ezequiel Barco from Argentina, it is clear that it is not the youth that believe the MLS to be an inferior league. Instead it is the hierarchy of soccer in Europe itself. With a very different structure, it is fair for key figures in UEFA to be skeptical of a league of such a foreign format. However with the numbers of Central and South American players who have had success in MLS, perhaps it is time for up and coming European players to try and make their mark abroad. After all, ...

USMNT defender Geoff Cameron has recently said in a statement that coach Bruce Arena was key in the team’s poor qualifying campaign, and ultimate failure to miss out on the World Cup. Whilst there is a lot of truth around this statement, many fans have created a toxic aurora around the incident, stating that Cameron and his teammates, not the coach, were to blame for the disaster that occurred a few months ago. To be fair, this is a fair point. With the exception of teenager Christian Pulisic, not a single player in any qualification game looked like they cared whether they left the game with a win, despite the fact that the USMNT were vastly superior, on paper, to their opponents in most of their games. Both Tim Howard and Brad Guzan made errors in goal at key times. Captain, or rather “captain” Michael Bradley had a frankly dismal campaign, however he will likely avoid a lot of criticism due to his poster boy status. He and other senior players should be ashamed of some of their p...