Tag Archives: Soccer

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...