LONDON — When Zinedine Zidane was presented as the new head coach of Real Madrid on Monday, it had the trappings of a coronation rather than the hiring of a soccer manager. Madrid’s president, Florentino Pérez, briefly stated that the board had decided to dismiss Rafael Benítez, the outgoing coach ...
Read More »Soccer: Chinese Soccer Teams Raid South Korean Clubs for Talent
SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean soccer league is the most successful in Asia, with its clubs winning a combined total of 10 continental championships, five more than any other country. But the last title came in 2012, and a new end-of-season tradition is developing in its place. As ...
Read More »Global Soccer: Unpredictable English Premier League Keeps Us Guessing
LONDON — If uncertainty makes for compelling competition, nothing can rival the English Premier League. While every other major league in the world shut down for Christmas, all 20 English clubs played on Boxing Day. Not too many followed form, although Manchester City’s 4-1 crushing of Sunderland, which is haunted ...
Read More »Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini Are Barred From Soccer for 8 Years
Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, two of the most powerful figures in global soccer, were barred from the sport for eight years on Monday morning after being found guilty of ethics violations. The suspensions were imposed by the independent ethics committee of FIFA, soccer’s international governing body. Mr. Blatter, who ...
Read More »Global Soccer: Questions Begin After Manchester United Is Ousted
LONDON — Manchester United, ranked by Forbes as the third most valuable club in the world after Real Madrid and Barcelona, slipped out of the Champions League without making the cut as one of the 16 teams qualifying for the knockout stage. If there are not yet inquiries into its ...
Read More »Global Soccer: Valencia Pins Its Hopes on England’s Neville Brothers
LONDON — The Neville brothers of Manchester, England, began one of the great leaps of faith in Valencia, Spain, over the weekend. Gary Neville, the television pundit who is being catapulted into team coaching at the highest level, watched from the stands as the players he will assume responsibility for ...
Read More »Global Soccer: In a Time of Turmoil, Soccer Drifts Without a Leader
LONDON — Now, more than ever, sports need to be sure-footed in their dealings with governments. Soccer was among the targets of the terrorist attacks in Paris last month, and with the 24-team European Championships scheduled for next June and July in France and the 2018 World Cup set for ...
Read More »Global Soccer: Barcelona’s Strike Force Shows the Joy of Sharing in Champions League
LONDON — Sometimes, the definition of a true sportsman is someone one who can appreciate the thoroughness of the beating he has just received. Roma goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was that man on Tuesday. He made six saves, but also was beaten six times, and when a television camera was thrust ...
Read More »Leonid Slutsky Juggles Two Demanding Jobs in Russian Soccer
MOSCOW — The Russian soccer federation announced this year that it was toughening one of the rules for teams in its top domestic league: In an effort to bolster the development of young Russian players ahead of the 2018 World Cup, club teams would be particularly limited in the number ...
Read More »Global Soccer: Real Madrid Embarrassed at Home in El Clásico
LONDON — When the white handkerchiefs are waved en masse at the team, the coaches and the club president at Real Madrid’s stadium, it usually has drastic repercussions. It means the coach is on the firing line. The gesture is one of derision, of rejection by Real Madrid’s supporters of ...
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