A Football Report

By Eric Beard

Today, along with his wife Lindsay, Bob Bradley joined the thousands of mourners in Cairo’s Sphinx Square to express his sympathy to the victims and families affected by the clash between rival fans of Al-Ahly and Al-Masry in the Egyptian city of Port Said. (the two are pictured above, via @Radwancfc) Egypt has just experienced a national tragedy, an unspeakable day that will be remembered by Egyptians for decades to come. Dozens and dozens of young men have been left dead. Beyond that, over one-thousand have been left injured from the riot that occurred. 1000. A number like that sounds like sheer hyperbole, but now we are left with a very real, yet ineffable sadness for fans, Egyptians, and any human being with an ounce of emotional capacity. 

Bradley, the former coach of the United States Men’s National team, is now based in Cairo serving as Egypt’s manager. Despite being American, Bradley has been accepted by the Egyptian people, and the feeling is mutual. From day one, Bob Bradley wanted to connect with Egyptians. He turned down living in a bourgeois gated-community because wanted to immerse himself in Egyptian culture and understand how the Egyptian people think. This evening, Bradley conducted a heartfelt interview with the Egyptian media. He mentioned that he’s not thinking about his job or what comes next; rather, his thoughts lie with those grieving for the lives that were lost. 

Bradley proclaimed that the Egyptian people “must be strong. They must always feel hope for the future and realize to accomplish great things for Egypt, as a country and again as a football team, the strength comes from the unity of all the people.”

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By Saf Hossain, writing hours after returning from Craven Cottage

Attending a live match is, obviously, an entirely different experience to watching on TV. When you are free of the director’s control, you might choose to follow an individual on the field for long periods of the game. This happened as I was sitting in the Putney End of Craven Cottage as Fulham took on Juventus in the Europa League. Seventy-one minutes had elapsed, and the sign went up to signal that Clint Dempsey was coming on. I tracked everything Dempsey did after entering the game for ten minutes. Ten minutes later he floated the winning goal over the ‘keeper’s head, slaying a giant of the European game. Since then, I’ve been singing Deuce’s praises to any football fan who will listen.

Only now are the British football audience truly waking up to Dempsey’s quality. It isn’t a surprise that they are finally doing so, since the Texan today completed a brace of hat-tricks in January. Moreover, Dempsey has become the all-time American top-scorer in the Premier League and Fulham’s record scorer in the top flight of English football. Impressive titles, and the notion that a larger, richer, possibly Champions League-playing suitor will come in for the attacker seems an eventuality. How do (all due respect) smaller clubs’ fans rationalise one of their superstars moving on? Even as the most casual of Fulham followers (I support Liverpool, go figure) I’ve romanticised that Dempsey would stay loyal to the little club on the banks of the Thames. However, from what I know of soccer in the US, it certainly sounds like Dempsey has earned his place in the limelight.

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By Eric Beard

Say what you will about Playoffs, but the road to the 2011 MLS Cup has created insurmountable drama. From Rafa Marquez starting a fight after LA won in New York to the Seattle Sounders nearly coming back from a 3-nil deficit, the Playoffs have ensured a level of entertainment any fan can embrace. The Los Angeles Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo face off in the MLS Cup Final on November 20th (it’s actually kicking off on the 21st at 2am UK Time), but until then we’re provided with a little grace period to reflect on the past season.

A great American pastime is reflecting through award ceremonies, or “TROPHIES! FOR YOU, AND YOU, AND YOU, AND YOU!” as our friend Miriti (@NutmegRadio) put it. Yesterday, the “2011 Major League Soccer Awards” were released, so it’s time to let my opinion be heard loud and clear. Picks are in bold.

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