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☆ Premier League Preview: Here We Go Again
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-18 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Premier League, they will say, is back. The Premier League — all club soccer, in fact — cannot be back, as detailed last week, because it never really goes away. Chelsea spent the Olympics signing vast quantities of South American teenagers for reasons that remain moderately opaque. Soccer, club soccer, is a juggernaut, and the thing about juggernauts is that they do not stop rolling. They do not rest up for a few weeks, take the summer off, have a bit of a rest.

Organizations: Premier League, Premier League —, Chelsea, Copa, Soccer

☆ Should Soccer Make Space for Other Sports?
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For almost half a century, the BBC’s broadcast schedule on a Saturday afternoon was both startlingly simple and comfortably unchanging. It amounted, in fact, to just a single word, one that somehow conveyed everything while telling viewers absolutely nothing. That word was Grandstand. From the moment it first appeared in 1958, it was a cornerstone of British broadcasting, a national institution, its bright, jolly theme song burned into the country’s consciousness. Its timings were consistent: “Grandstand” was on (almost) every Saturday, from midday until a little after 5 p.m.Its content, though, was not.

☆ How Norway Became a Powerhouse for All Seasons
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Rory Smith | David B. Torch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As the runners hit the penultimate bend, the racing pulse of the music starts to beat faster. The choice, and the timing, are perfect: Darude’s now semi-ancient trance track “Sandstorm.” But very few of the 15,000 in attendance can hear any of it. Ingebrigtsen, sensing the crowd’s desperation, digs deep and then, at the last, dives forward, feet off the ground, to beat his rival to the line. Norway’s annual celebration of track and field, the Bislett Games, has been a highlight of the country’s sporting calendar for more than half a century. For a long time, though, its headline acts were imported; once, organizers committed a significant portion of their appearance budget to Usain Bolt to persuade him to come.

Persons: Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Timothy Cheruiyot, Bolt Organizations: Bislett Locations: Oslo, Kenya

☆ The Olympic Flame Melts Parisian Cool
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-04 | by ( Rory Smith | Ségolène Le Stradic | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He struts around the sold-out arena, prowling the floor, basking in the noise and the adulation. In that moment, that first flush of victory, Lebrun is not a bespectacled 17-year-old table tennis player from Montpellier. For everyone present — up to and including the French former soccer hero Zinedine Zidane — he is a rock star. At the fencing competition, held in the lavish surrounds of the Grand Palais, fans waving tricolors have produced enough noise to echo down the Champs-Élysées. The sound from the stadium at Invalides, home to archery, has been loud enough to wake Napoleon.

Persons: Félix Lebrun, Lebrun, Zinedine Zidane —, Léon, Napoleon Organizations: Palais, Stade, France Locations: Montpellier, French, Paris, Invalides

For most of the athletes at the Paris Olympics, the accommodations are to be endured, rather than enjoyed. In the name of sustainability, the beds at the Olympic Village feature cardboard frames and inflatable mattresses. To the horror of the French, the British have even complained about the food. They are spending the Games in a temperature-controlled, tastefully appointed housing complex set amid the ornate splendor of Versailles. Life, at the Olympics, should be good for the horses.

Persons: tastefully, Charlotte Dujardin Organizations: Paris Olympics, International Equestrian Federation Locations: Versailles

☆ Marcell Jacobs Has Waited a Long Time to Prove the Doubters Wrong
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The strict security protocols governing the movements of President Sergio Mattarella of Italy dictate that he is not permitted to appear in the same location repeatedly. He is, in this respect and probably this respect alone, like lightning: He is not supposed to strike twice. It seems the Italian president, like the rest of the country, cannot get enough of Marcell Jacobs. Five days later, Italy won gold in the men’s relay. Jacobs ran the second leg.

Persons: Sergio Mattarella, Mattarella, Marcell Jacobs, Jacobs, Gianmarco Tamberi, Jasmine Paolini Organizations: Olympic, Italy Locations: Italy, Rome, Italian, American

☆ The Olympics’ No. 1 Fan
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Some time on Monday night, his head doubtless heavy with sorrow, Antoine Griezmann returned to Madrid. He had stayed away as long as possible, but he was due for his first training session with Atlético Madrid on Tuesday morning. The European soccer season, long and arduous, hangs on the horizon. “Bravo Clarisse,” he wrote on X, in honor of the French judoka Clarisse Agbegnenou, who had just claimed a bronze medal in Paris. Griezmann was not going to let the small matter of distance — or having to go through the grueling preseason training of his coach, Diego Simeone — prevent him from either watching the Olympics or proclaiming each French success to the world.

Persons: Antoine Griezmann, Atlético, “ Bravo, ”, Clarisse Agbegnenou, ” Griezmann, Griezmann, Diego Simeone — Organizations: Atlético Madrid Locations: Madrid, Paris

☆ The Olympics Has a Bad Guy: Anyone in an Argentina Jersey
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-28 | by ( Rory Smith | James Wagner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Olympic Games have long been governed by a tacit code: If fans can’t say anything nice, they shouldn’t say anything at all. As far as the French are concerned, though, there appears to be one exception: anyone wearing the sky blue and white of Argentina. In the opening few days of the Paris Games, Argentina was booed before, during and after a men’s soccer game in Marseille. It was heartily booed for three days straight every time its men’s rugby sevens team appeared at a packed Stade de France. And it was booed again whenever one of those rugby players had the temerity to touch the ball.

Persons: ”, Thomas Bach Organizations: Olympic Games, International Olympic Committee, Paris Games, rugby, Stade de France, South Paris Arena Locations: Argentina, Marseille, Stade

☆ First Up and First Out at the Paris Games
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Rory Smith | The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

It’s really a matter of math. There are 10,000 athletes at the Paris Games, spread across 32 sports. In the space of 19 days, that field has to be whittled down to just 329 gold medals. So, ultimately, someone has to go out first. And in some cases – in fencing, diving, judo, table tennis and rugby sevens, among others - that means the opening day of the Olympics is also the last.

Persons: It’s Organizations: Paris

☆ When the Game Does Not End at the Final Whistle
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The goal prompted a barrage of objects to rain down on the field from the stands, followed by a smattering of fans. In the interests of safety, the referee called the players off the field. The game, however, had not ended; it had merely paused. Morocco played out the final few minutes, the stadium now empty, and won, 2-1. Officially, that is how the game finished.

Persons: Cristian Medina, Javier Mascherano Organizations: Paris Locations: Argentina, Morocco, Argentine

☆ A Post-Euros, Post-Copa Mailbag
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

As promised, this week’s newsletter has been designed as a monument to late-stage capitalism, in that the writing of it has largely been outsourced, but I am still taking credit for it. There are two issues, however, that arose perhaps a little too late in soccer’s month of festivities but which nevertheless warrant our attention. The first is the departure of Gareth Southgate after eight years as England manager, a period in which he not only achieved the sort of success which would have looked like a golden age to most of his predecessors, but managed to do so while also largely embracing the absurd political and social expectations the country places on the role.

Persons: Gareth Southgate Locations: soccer’s, England

☆ Gareth Southgate Quits as England Coach, Leaving Team He Remade
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“It has been the honor of my life to play for England and to manage England,” he wrote. “It has meant everything to me, and I have given it my all. But it’s time for change, and for a new chapter.”Southgate, who made more than 50 appearances for England as a player, joined the national team program in 2013, serving initially as manager of the country’s under-21 team. Three years later, he took over the senior team after Sam Allardyce was fired. Southgate was originally appointed on a temporary basis as the F.A.

Persons: Gareth Southgate, ”, ” Southgate, Sam Allardyce, Southgate Organizations: England, soccer, Football Association, Southgate Locations: England, Spain, Berlin

☆ Are Soccer’s Showcase Games the Riskiest Gig in Music?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-14 | by ( Rory Smith | Tariq Panja | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Even to some of the most glittering names in music, the pitch is compelling. There is a gig. It is a very short gig: a tight six minutes or so. For most, what is likely to be one of the most high-profile gigs of their career might also be the riskiest booking in music, one that comes with a nonzero chance of being loudly, unapologetically, unremittingly booed. There are acts that look back on their brush with soccer fondly, artists who serve as beacons of hope for the (somewhat unwieldy) trio that is scheduled to play just before the final of Euro 2024 on Sunday in Berlin.

Persons: Camila Cabello, Alicia Keys, Fergie, unremittingly, Leony Organizations: Champions League Locations: Berlin

☆ A New Prince Leads Spain as It Rules European Soccer Again
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-14 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

First, Spain’s players had to perform the rituals of celebration. Once those were completed, they gathered by the podium hastily constructed on the field at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. Now, after a flawless tournament and a 2-1 triumph over England in the final on Sunday, the country sits at the pinnacle once more. When Spain’s players were eventually summoned to receive their prize, Yamal went a little too early. He had to be called back by his teammates, greeted not with censure but an affectionate, somewhat paternal, ruffle of the hair.

Persons: Yamal Organizations: England Locations: Spain

☆ A Bleak View of Soccer’s Future Misses the Full Picture
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lesser managers than Bielsa, Uruguay’s philosopher-coach, might have been preoccupied by the looming material reality of a Copa América quarterfinal with Brazil. The picture he painted was emotional, heartfelt and midnight black. “Soccer has more and more spectators but it is becoming less and less attractive,” he said. “What made this the best game in the world is not prioritized today. No matter how many people watch, if you do not make what they are watching pleasant, it will only benefit the business.”Bielsa’s vision of the future is more than bleak; it is ever so slightly apocalyptic.

Persons: Marcelo Bielsa, Bielsa Organizations: Copa, Brazil, Soccer

☆ You Are Cordially Invited to Euro 2024’s Best Party. Please Wear Orange.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Claire Moses | Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It started with an old double-decker bus. About 20 years ago, a group of friends who had met while following the Dutch soccer team around the world decided over beers that it would be fun to buy an old bus. They would paint it orange, the Dutch national color. They would outfit it with a bar and some very strong loudspeakers, and then they would take it on the road to watch their team. But the bus is no longer just a bus.

Persons: ” Organizations: Dutch soccer Locations: Dutch, Germany

☆ A Political Fight Won, France’s Stars Turn Back to a Soccer One
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For once, Didier Deschamps could reflect on a news conference that passed by almost without incident. On Sunday, French voters had issued a stinging rebuke to their country’s resurgent far right in a seismic legislative election. On Tuesday, the country’s increasingly activist soccer team will face Spain in a European Championship semifinal. Sandwiched between the two was an appearance by Deschamps, the coach of the French national team, in the full megawatt glare of the world’s news media. The forward Marcus Thuram called on the French to “fight daily” against the threat of the far right.

Persons: Didier Deschamps, Deschamps, inscrutable, Marcus Thuram, Jules Koundé, ”, Ibrahima Konaté Organizations: French national, National Locations: Spain

☆ Cristiano Ronaldo and the Problem With Too Much Fame
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Rory Smith | Tariq Panja | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As far as the authorities in Gelsenkirchen were concerned, every precaution had been taken. And two imposing security guards stood at the edge of the tunnel that led to the locker rooms. As Portugal’s players trudged to the dressing room after their defeat to Georgia last week, a fan circumvented the additional layers of security by hurling himself over the top of the tunnel and jumping directly into the path of Cristiano Ronaldo. Rather than coming face-to-face with his hero, though, the interloper botched his landing and fell down a set of stairs. Ronaldo’s fame, at this stage, cannot really be overstated.

Persons: trudged, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rather, Ronaldo Locations: Gelsenkirchen, Georgia

☆ In the Basque Country, Muted Cheers for Spain’s Soccer Team
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-30 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He has been avidly tracking Spain’s progress in the European soccer championship, he said, and a work trip was not going to get in the way. He had watched the country’s first two games with his 13-year-old son, back home in Seville. Balconies are decorated with Spanish flags. Spain’s wins have prompted wild celebrations. There were plenty of flags draped from balconies, but they stood for Palestine, or Pride, or, most commonly, the Basque Country itself, in the form of the region’s traditional Ikurriña.

Persons: Miguel Martínez, Martínez Organizations: soccer, Bilbao, Spanish Locations: Bilbao, Seville, Europe, Palestine, Basque

☆ Why Britain’s Murky Election Betting Scandal Is Causing Outrage
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Five weeks ago, the British prime minister bet the house on his belief that a summer election might offer his Conservative Party a better chance of holding onto power than waiting until the fall. Calling a snap election served as Mr. Sunak’s last roll of the dice. Reviewing data from the week before Mr. Sunak’s announcement, bookmakers noticed a spike in bets being placed on the election date. The amounts being staked were small — totaling just a few thousand pounds — but the sudden frenzy of activity was enough to warrant further investigation. It also encapsulates how some parts of the electorate perceive the party that has governed Britain for 14 years.

Persons: Rishi Sunak’s, Sunak’s Organizations: Conservative Party, Conservatives Locations: Britain

☆ At Euro 2024, a Very England Fight Misses the Point
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Unfortunately, that word — the key word in all of this — is not one that can be used here. Or, if you are Gary Lineker, you might use the word on a podcast to describe an England performance at the European Championship. Reduced to its core elements, then, it might be hard — particularly to outsiders — to understand why the word has caused such consternation. Lineker, a respected former player and a judicious pundit, suggested that England had played poorly. Gareth Southgate, the England coach, spoke after the very same game of needing to “hit the reset button.” The players have admitted that they have not performed well thus far.

Persons: Gary Lineker, —, Lineker, Gareth Southgate, “ Organizations: European, Serbia Locations: England, Denmark, Slovenia

☆ Black Shirts and Banned Flags: Ultras Push Politics at Euro 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Rory Smith | Christopher F. Schuetze | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Those hoping to march to the stadium with Hungary’s fans for their soccer team’s first game of the European Championship were expected to report by 10 a.m. sharp, five hours before kickoff. Some could wear black. Others were to stick with red, white and green, the colors of the country’s flag. The Carpathian Brigade has, in recent years, become perhaps Europe’s most infamous ultra group, its reputation forged by clashing with the police, showering opponents with racist abuse and displaying homophobic banners. In 2021, during the last European Championship, it had to remind members to cover up any Nazi-related tattoos so as not to contravene German law.

Organizations: team’s, European, Carpathian Brigade, Hungarian

☆ In Germany, a Tournament Runs Smoothly, but the Trains Do Not
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-23 | by ( Rory Smith | Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Niclas Füllkrug arrived early at the Adidas campus just outside Herzogenaurach, a picture-postcard town in Bavaria that was to host the German national team before this summer’s European soccer championships. The staff had been told that players would start arriving on a Monday morning, a few days before their opening game. He had decided to make the 300-mile journey from his home in Hanover by high-speed train on Germany’s national railway carrier, Deutsche Bahn. But years of failure to invest in rolling stock, upgrade railways and digitalize signal boxes have made Deutsche Bahn notorious for delays and cancellations. He spent the journey fielding their questions about life with the national team.

Persons: Niclas Füllkrug, —, Füllkrug Organizations: Adidas, German, Deutsche Bahn Locations: Bavaria, European, Hanover

☆ For Turkish Germans, Heart Overrules Home at Euro 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Tariq Panja | Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Erkan Aykan does not require a second invitation to share his claim to fame. He grew up in a Turkish family in Gelsenkirchen, an industrial city nestled in the heart of Germany’s Ruhr valley. Somewhat more famously, so did Ilkay Gundogan, the captain of the country’s soccer team. Listening politely, perhaps a touch indulgently, his brother Talha waits for Erkan to finish, and then immediately one-ups him. “He was in my class at school,” Talha said of Gundogan.

Persons: Erkan, Gundogan, “, ”, Talha, ” Talha Organizations: European Locations: Gelsenkirchen, Germany

☆ Finally, a Euros for a Whole Continent
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Edi Rama’s best friend during the World Cup summer of 1982 just so happened to be the one person he knew who owned a color television. So every evening, Rama would find himself crammed into his kitchen with countless others, desperately hoping that the fuzzy, flickering signal would hold. Even communication with the outside world, particularly the West, was limited. Rama and his friends could only follow that World Cup through what he has subsequently called a “dark network” operated by RAI, the Italian state broadcaster. The commentators’ words, he said, “had the indescribable effect on us of not feeling alone in that black hole.”

Persons: Rama, Enver Hoxha, Italy’s Tuttosport, Dino Zoff, ” Rama, “ Organizations: RAI Locations: Albania, Italian, Italy, Madrid, Tirana

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