Friday, October 16, 2015

Club Soccer Returns, Derby d'Italia, Sid Lowe on Gerard Deulofeu, Tottenham vs. Liverpool, Simon Kuper on the Dutch

Derby d'Italia memories...
And...there goes another one! It's Friday and we're pumped! The Klopp era gets out of the gates early tomorrow at White Hart Lane, Internazionale host Juventus, and much more!! Check it.

Everton vs. Manchester United: Rooney in decline vs. Barkley on the rise

Everton have a stylish young Spanish player in the form of Gerard Deulofeu. He and Sid Lowe had a chat. Lovely!

Well, well, well. It would appear that the next Copa América will be played in the U.S. after all. Geez.

Sticking with the U.S., it's almost playoff time in MLS. Here is your Guide to the Weekend.

Everyone wants to talk about Albania now that they've clinched a spot in France next summer. Craig (Phil) McCracken is the latest scribe to tackle the minnows. Enjoy.


Footie economist extraordinaire Simon Kuper shall grace us with his take on the Dutch disaster. Time to reinvent themselves, it would seem.

Italy! Serie A! Juventus go to the San Siro to face Inter in the weekend's biggie. Inter sit in second while champions Juve sit in 12th! Here are some Serie A Talking Points to get you rolling.

Spain! La Liga! Here's your Ultimate Guide to the Weekend.

And finally...There's Only One Raúl.

That'll do, that'll do. Keep it tite.

Onward!!

-SSN

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Scott Murray on Liverpool History, Gentleman Ultra on Inter, Sam Kelly on Argentina, The Search for Ali Dia

We're right there with you, pal.
It's all fairly quiet today as we prepare for the weekend festivities. We're itching with excitement for Saturday's and Sunday's fixtures, but, alas, it's only Thursday. We'll begin in Liverpool where the euphoria of the Klopp arrival has been tempered by the announcement that Danny Ings is out for the season after getting crocked in training. You feel the guy was just about to explode so it's certainly a bit of a wind out of the sails type situation all of a sudden at Anfield. Speaking of Liverpool, friend of The SSN Scott Murray over at the Guardian has been running some pieces to bring the USA audience up to speed - should they be unaware of certain aspects of footie history. Today, he's all Liverpool: A brief guide to … Liverpool's failure to recapture the glory days.


Back in Major League Soccer, Sebastian Giovinco continues to light things up. His sick strike last night means Toronto have made the playoffs for the first time ever. Here's a Recap from last night.

Belgium are now tops in the SPECTRE FIFA rankings. Andy Brassell is wondering if this generation can bag a big prize. On the flip side, without Messi, Argentina have been struggling. Sam Kelly reports from South America. Tim Vickery is also down there, and he's going to tell us who has been lighting up the CONMEBOL scene in World Cup 2018 qualifying. Frank Fabra, for one...

Since 2007, both Internazionale and Milan have won the Champions League, the pinnacle of club competition in football. At the end of the 2015-16 season, the Champions League final will be played at the shared home of the two teams, the San Siro. But, for the first time in 60 years, neither team is playing in Europe. Richard Hall of the Gentleman Ultra attempts to find out what Inter are doing to change matters.

Richard Jolly has an article today. It's about Chelsea. Will they even make the Top Four? Gasp!

Ali Dia. Remember that guy? Yeah, we didn't think so. Some of the older staff members at SSN Headquarters do, however, and some dude named Steve Menary is looking for him.

Hey. That's it! All the previews for the weekend will be up tomorrow.

Onward!!

-SSN

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

USA=ASS, Dutch Disaster, Goals of the Week


What a fabulous Hump Day! The weather is glorious, the international break is OVER, and the water cooler at SSN Headquarters is so fresh and so clean. We'll begin stateside today. Specifically, Energy Drink Arena up in Jersey. The U.S. hosted Costa Rica and...lost. Can we please ditch the Diving German now? Please? The guy's a frickin' joke! Here's the fallout:

USA 0 - 1 Costa Rica: Grant Wahl at Red Bull Arena
USA 0 - 1 Costa Rica: Kyle McCarthy at Red Bull Arena
USA 0 - 1 Costa Rica: Report
USA 0 - 1 Costa Rica: Three Quick Thoughts
USA 0 - 1 Costa Rica: Three Things We Learned

Meanwhile, over in Eindhoven, the Dutch lost to the Czechs and that means they will not be in France next summer. Ouch! The loss was compounded by this lovely own-goal courtesy of Robin van Persie. Here's all you need to know about next summer's showcase:

Holland 2 - 3 Czech Republic: Three Thoughts
Kevin McCauley: Why the Netherlands stink

Premier League Statistics: The good, the bad and the ugly of the season so far

They're already involved in trying to get to World Cup 2018 down in CONMEBOL. Here's a wrap of yesterday's action. Argentina drew and Brazil won.


Interesting piece here on Barcelona and their kiddos not getting playing time. And some people getting upset about it. Interesting. But, we already said that.


And finally...Ronny is the King of the Selfie!

Onward!!

-SSN

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Big Sam in at Sunderland, Lassana Diarra, Dutch Drama



Good grief, people. How long will this international break go? It's been ages, it seems. The light is barely visible at the end of the tunnel, but it is visible. Let's see. Where to begin? Well, eveyone's favorite gum-smacking, earplug-wearing, leader of ankle-kickers Big Sam Allardyce is a gaffer again. He's up at the Stadium of Light trying to right that sinking ship. Good luck with that.

There were matches yesterday. There are matches today. Euro 2016 qualifiers, chiefly. The big question is this: Will the Netherlands make it? Previews? Fine. Here:

Netherlands vs. Czech Republic: Preview
Turkey vs. Iceland: Preview
Italy vs. Norway: Preview

It's Tuesday and that means it's time for Marcotti's Musings. This week, Gab is gabbing that Jurgen Klopp talks sense, Michel Platini must convince, Euro success.

The U.S. play again tonight, but we couldn't care less. Well, perhaps if they lose and The Diving German gets the sack, we'll care. Barf. Grant Wahl calls him out here for tossing Fab Johnson under the bus. The whole thing is just a complete mess.


Lassana Diarra. Remember that guy? Word is, he's tearing it up and back in the French fold. Who new? Julien Laurens, that's who.

That's all.

Onward!!

-SSN

Monday, October 12, 2015

USA Lose to Mexico, Albania Qualify for Euro 2016, Injuries



Howdy! Not the greatest advert for CONCACAF that match, eh? Both the U.S. and Mexico were shit, frankly. We suppose that Mexico were less shit. They won the HUGE match 3-2 in extra time. Here's the fallout from the action in Pasadena, Caaaaaaaaaalifornia:

USA 2 - 3 Mexico: Three Thoughts
USA 2 - 3 Mexico: Three Takes
USA 2 - 3 Mexico: Three Things We Learned
Andrea Canales: Mexico rules again
Jeff Carlisle: Huge tactical gulf

OK, so that's done and dusted. The U.S. loss to their biggest rivals. Now what?

We said it last week and we'll say it again. The biggest thing we hate about the international break is injuries. Bleh.

Euro 2016 Qualifying: Weekend Wrap
Euro 2016 Qualifying: How teams can make it to France
Poland 2 - 1 Ireland: Paul Doyle at Stadion Narodowy
Bosnia-Herzegovina 2 - 0 Walse: Stuart James at Bilino Polje Stadium
Finland 1 - 1 Northern Ireland: Andy Hunter at the Olympiastadion




We're done.

Onward!!

-SSN