Keeper d’Or?: The Case for Manuel Neuer

Since 2008, the Ballon d’Or has been a two-man race between footballing demigods Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Lionel Messi has won the award for a record four straight times between 2009 and 2012, while Ronaldo won it both in 2008 and – most recently – in 2013. This year brings an interesting situation of the third shortlisted player competing against Ronaldo and Messi. He may be regarded as Germany’s best defender, and is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world,  but does he really have the attributes to beat out both Messi, voted Best Player of the FIFA World Cup 2014, and Ronaldo? Let’s therefore take a look into the case of Germany’s and FC Bayern Munich’s number one, and FIFA World Cup 2014’s Golden Glove Winner, Manuel Neuer.

Arsenal vs. Manchester United – A Few Points

A few points about this past weekend’s big match between Manchester United and Arsenal from a die-hard and extremely biased Man United fan:

Jai Ho!: The Future of the Hero Indian Super League

This post was written by Ishaan Mahadevan, a contributor for Power Forward.

India, a population of 1.2 billion people, is primarily known for its cricket team being the number one team in the world and for being the home of the worlds’ biggest film industry: Bollywood.  Yet, India is not well known for its football (soccer). India is only ranked 152nd in the world and only qualified for the 1950 World Cup, to which they refused to play because FIFA did not allow them to play with their bare feet.

If India can produce star cricket players like Sachin Tendukar, then why can’t the second biggest country in the world can’t produce 11 great players to compete at the World Cup?  Though a majority of Indians love the beautiful game, soccer is not as popular as Cricket and Bollywood.  In India, Bollywood Stars endorse Indian Premier League teams (The World’s first club-cricket league, thus increasing the popularity of cricket in India.)  Yet, just started a month ago was a new hope of soccer becoming popular in India: The Hero Indian Super League.

Calcio in Crisis: Why Italian Football Is Dying

This past matchday was momentous in the UEFA Champions League. Records were broken across many of the matches and an incredible forty goals were scored. Yet amidst the 7-0 demolishing of BATE Borisov by Shakhtar Donetsk and the destruction of Slovenian champions FC Maribor at the hands of José Mourinho’s Chelsea, one match stood out as the most imposing of the day:

AS Roma 1 – 7 FC Bayern Munich

Let that scoreline sink in. Upon his return to the Stadio Olimpico, Pep Guardiola and his merry men from Bavaria controlled the match from the kickoff, equalling Roma’s worst ever Champions League result – another 7-1 defeat against Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United team that ended their season as English champions.

Julian Green and the Future of the USMNT

July 1, 2014. It was the 107th minute, USA down 2-0 against Belgium. The World Cup dream seemed to be all but over for the US. Then in extra time, playing what must have been the longest fifteen minutes of their World Cup, someone decided to throw away the script.

History Lesson: The Other “Shot Heard Round the World,” and the Future of USA Soccer

For generations, American youth have been taught that America fired “the shot heard around the world.”  Yet, schools in America are forgetting about another “shot” that the U.S., or rather Paul Caligiuri, against in Trinidad and Tobago, which reverberated through the soccer world.

USMNT defender Paul Caligiuri scraps with Russell Lataby of Trinidad and Tobago. On November 19, 1989, Caligiuri helped Team USA advance to its first World Cup in 40 years. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan