Robert Hay

What do we want in the owner of our favorite soccer club? We want someone who cares and whose primary interest is the success of our club. We want them to spend whatever it takes to win, whatever that means. Fans prefer them to be local and to have gone on the same emotional roller […]

Brazil is to soccer what New Orleans is to jazz – the most beautiful form it can take. Brazil is always a contender to win the men's World Cup or any other competition it plays in. The national side sacks managers for only reaching the quarterfinals but no further. A last-eight finish is a waste […]

Chelsea’s season reached a new low with the recent 3-1 loss to Arsenal. In a way, this was a changing of the guard in London. The ascendant Arsenal battered a Chelsea squad breaking barriers in regard to futility. New ownership and continued investment have led to a putrid product. For the third time this season, […]

It's easy to get lost in the juicy details of the Gregg Berhalter and Gio Reyna drama. The constant statements from those involved are hard to ignore. But what they obscure is a sadder, scarier reality. We are three years from a North American World Cup. Yet, US Soccer has no plan for how to […]

Don Revie was Jose Mourinho, Sam Allardyce, Kenny Dalglish and so much more wrapped into one. Yet, today, many younger soccer fans cannot name him or point to why he is relevant. Except, of course, that he was played masterfully and villainously by Colm Meaney in The Damned United. To many fans, especially those supporting […]

Fans of Italian soccer, if you don't know about Helbiz Live, you're missing out. In the soccer streaming wars, established players dominate the scene. Depending on your preferences, many of us subscribe to a combination of ESPN+, Peacock and Paramount+, among others. Yet, there is a universe of league-based streaming services that are more niche. […]

Due to the myriad ethical, moral, and logistical issues, the 2022 World Cup left one very important question unanswered: was the World Cup an appropriate celebration of Middle Eastern soccer? Seeing Morocco advance to the semifinals and Saudi Arabia giving Argentina its only blemish suggested that, yes, the World Cup was a coming out for Middle Eastern […]

How do they do it? When confronted with a dramatic situation for our favorite club or a stressful moment in an engaging match, we usually regress to unintelligible sounds or a series of annoying semi-connected syllables. Broadcasters, conversely, not only need to keep their cool and convey the moment, but transmit the gravity of what is going […]

Street art is an increasingly appreciated form of expression, especially in the United States. Artists modify buildings and surfaces to express opinions on people and events. This unique representation is hard to replicate elsewhere. Painting the face of Lionel Messi with Argentine colors in his hometown is a statement of love and affection. People simply […]

The World Cup is upon us, and whether this is your first or fortieth year of watching the world's greatest tournament, each one has its own unique story. Certainly this one in the winter and in Qatar is historic, but also complicated and controversial. To help the casual soccer fan navigate the Qatar World Cup, […]

When the US Men's National Team roster was announced for the 2022 World Cup, the club names of the players were dazzling: Arsenal, Barcelona, Juventus, among others. The "kids" playing in Qatar in the red, white, and blue are part of a new generation of soccer players. Top clubs covet these names with contributions pouring […]

A few weeks back, American superstar Christian Pulisic made waves in the media with quotes about his relationship with then-manager Thomas Tuchel. Excerpts from his book, Christian Pulisic: My Life So Far, describe his disappointment with alleged promises of playing time in the Champions League, plus highlighting areas of disagreement during his Chelsea tenure. The […]

The beautiful game has an ugly side. This is what soccer fans quickly learn as they grow as fans. They learn about match fixing, the violence, the seamy characters and the political manipulation. It is this last one getting full attention as the first November World Cup takes place in Qatar. Just four years prior, […]

If talent alone won a World Cup, the Netherlands would have at least one, maybe two stars on their crest. Brazil would go decades between losing World Cups. And the Germans, well, they would still be winning on penalties. Joking aside, winning a World Cup takes more than just the most talented 23 players. It […]

Berlin is an interesting place. I remember my first visit a few years back when I went for a work conference. My first reaction was how big of a city it was. In many ways, it felt like a city in Texas: sprawled out, impossible to see all of it, and full of different zones […]

Brentford FC is trying to do things a different way. As fans of the Premier League saw last year, the club operates a little differently than others. Despite 2021/22 being the club's first top-flight season in decades, the club stuck to its scout-and-develop system. The other option tends to be spend freely to build up […]

Fairly or unfairly, women's soccer is about more than just the game. For decades, the sport has been tied into larger cultural issues around women's rights and equity. Whether it is the immediate ask for comments from women's soccer players after the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, or the international interest in the US Women's National […]

The football fan autobiography is a classic genre on our sports’ bookshelf. Soccer, more than any other sport long invited fans and authors to write about their rooting experiences. These develop into valuable recruiting tools in places where European football fandom continues to grow. This author is a fan of Arsenal because of Fever Pitch, […]