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The lesson behind David Beckham's long-range goal
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Wednesday, November 8, 2023
The normalization of the long-distance goal makes it surprising to remember t ...
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Soccer's Biggest Lies -- A Field Guide
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Thursday, October 26, 2023
"I'm a way better player than what you saw today. I ju ...
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Germany rediscovers 'Spielfreude' -- delight in playing soccer
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Under previous coach Hansi Flick, the team seemed restrained, unsure of itsel ...
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Players, coaches, parents: turn down the volume, or shut up
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Wednesday, October 4, 2023
Why would anyone want to openly behave in a way that mak ...
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Johnnie Lowery's 'Match Fit' -- tackling soccer's many mental health issues
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Wednesday, September 20, 2023
The book covers coaches, referees and fans, but also analyses of t ...
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Soccer's moral stance is clashing with its love of cash
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Thursday, September 7, 2023
Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has received strong criticism from LGBTQ+ organizatio ...
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The repulsive kiss sparking a necessary war
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Thursday, August 31, 2023
What does it take to bring about change? Hard facts have nev ...
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What happens when a team stops yelling at the ref?
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Wednesday, August 23, 2023
In other sports, the punishments for dissent are imposed and players respe ...
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VAR-fetched judgments are not making for a fairer, better game
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Wednesday, August 9, 2023
On-field referees seem serially afraid to contradict their peers in the vid ...
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'Bitter' defeat for Germany is the underdog's delight
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Tuesday, August 1, 2023
Soccer America's Germany-based columnist reports on reactions to Colombia's upset of t ...
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The Soccer Grannies of South Africa: 'Leaving cultural expectations in the dust'
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Tuesday, July 25, 2023
The 'Vakhegula Vakhegula' were a most unlikely bunch of sportswomen from t ...
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Soccer's Rules: What's changed for the 2023-24 season
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Tuesday, July 25, 2023
FIFA's rule-changing arm, IFAB, tends to shy away from necessary changes ...
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'Red Balloons': A soccer book about the real meaning of loss
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Saturday, July 8, 2023
Liam Walsh relies on the anchor of Swindon Town to keep h ...
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Stuff Yer Superleague! Part 2: Chat with When Saturday Comes
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Sunday, June 25, 2023
Even fans of Manchester United and Liverpool didn't like the prospect ...
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A Chat with When Saturday Comes, Part 1: The highs and lows of being an independent magazine
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Founded in 1986 by a group of bored record store clerks ...
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Book Review: Franz Beckenbauer's story, flaws and all
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Uli Hesse has written the best and most focused book about t ...
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Decoding FIFA's Big Sensational (BS) 2026 World Cup Brand Launch Thing
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Saturday, May 20, 2023
The branding for the World Cup hosted by the USA, Canada a ...
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European Champions League is peak soccer. But can a brand have a soul?
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Even the frugal Bundesliga may raise money for the present in exchan ...
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Celebrating success doesn't mean you have to gloat about it too
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Saturday, May 6, 2023
There are good ways to celebrate good play. Spontaneous exuberance is ...
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Ref Watch: Who's lost control?
Youth Soccer Insider, Ian Plenderleith - Monday, May 1, 2023
On finger-pointing when games flare up. Plus: ref news from around t ...
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Digging ourselves into a handball hole. But there's a very simple way out.
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Tuesday, May 2, 2023
I would not deem it fair to punish a clearly unintentional handba ...
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When 'The Club' expelled its Jewish members and 'howled with the wolves'
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Tuesday, April 4, 2023
In 1933, Germany's most storied soccer club at the time ingratiated itse ...
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FIFA's official film: Putting the Sheen on Qatar 2022
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Thursday, March 30, 2023
All the on-field drama should make your skin tingle as much ...
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No vision, no future: soccer faces another four years of Infantino
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Friday, March 17, 2023
Not a single member country or confederation presented a candidate for 20 ...
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Germany wakes up -- more dribbling and touches for young players
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Thursday, March 9, 2023
Why don't we encourage more young players to thrill the stands, rath ...
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Should a 'soft' foul in the penalty area go unpunished?
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Thursday, March 2, 2023
Try to find the 'Laws of the Game' section under the tit ...
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How the German men's national team can regain the love of its public
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Thursday, February 23, 2023
There's more to this than mere results. There's also the question ...
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Everything's good. Really. Everything.
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Thursday, February 16, 2023
A sensitive reader last week lamented the negative tone of this colum ...
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What is the 'spirit' of soccer? And where can I find it?
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Thursday, February 9, 2023
I hate to shatter IFAB's delusions, but soccer is no longer play ...
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Keep the Copa, scrap the Gold Cup
Soccer America Confidential, Ian Plenderleith - Friday, February 3, 2023
Only perennial host USA and Mexico have won the Gold Cup besid ...
