Oslo, Norway – Somewhere in the bowels of the Etihad, a Viking‐sized striker is nursing a foot that apparently decided to mutiny mid-season. Erling Haaland’s “bone stress reaction” has been upgraded from the usual managerial euphemism (“slight knock”) to the more ominous “indefinite,” which in football-speak translates roughly to “buy your fantasy wildcard now.” The…
Across the planet’s bruised time zones, someone is always kicking a ball. While you debate whether to reheat yesterday’s coffee or finally answer that email, 22 souls in Lima are sliding through mud so thick it could double as a spa mask, and a stadium in Lagos is vibrating with the kind of collective delirium…
Liverpool vs. Atlético Madrid: A Timeline for the Age of Perpetual Anxiety By Our Man in the Departure Lounge, somewhere between Brexit and bankruptcy Feb 18 2020 – Madrid, Wanda Metropolitano, 21:00 CET Saul Ñíguez scores after four minutes. The stadium erupts like a hedge fund at bonus time. Jürgen Klopp jogs on the spot,…
**When Gotham Met the Wave: A Tale of Two Cities and One Global Game** The world watched with bated breath last weekend as Gotham FC faced San Diego Wave in what international observers are calling “the match that proved Americans finally discovered football wasn’t just something you throw.” From Tokyo taprooms to Lagos viewing parties,…
Sevilla’s Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium, 21:00 local time, Tuesday. The floodlights slice through Andalusian night like surgical lamps over a patient that keeps insisting it’s perfectly healthy. Sevilla—perennial Europa League addicts and Champions League group-stage escape artists—host Elche, the modest club from Alicante whose greatest international achievement is probably being mispronounced by British commentators (“El-chee? Elsh?…
