They wear green and gold instead of red, white and blue, but I am constantly reminded of American soccer when I watch Australian soccer, which I will be doing for a few weeks because Oz is hosting the quadrennial Asian Cup tournament. I am reminded of U.S. soccer for several reasons. Australians call the game […]

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An appealing aspect of the UAE is how compact it is. Both in terms of area and population. The country is the 116th biggest in the world, in size, just behind Austria; if it were a U.S. state it would rank 40th, behind Maine). And the population is maybe 9 million, putting it 91st in […]

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I had forgotten the date. A former colleague sent me an email about it, and yes, he was right. It was 25 years ago today that the U.S. national soccer team recorded the most important victory in the history of American soccer. We can say that without reservation, actually, because soccer was languishing in the […]

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The more I think about this … The most important soccer competition in the region is not really the World Cup. It is not the European Championship (which is followed closely in much of the world). Nor even the Asian Cup, the continental championship. The most important soccer competition in these parts … is the […]

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Beach soccer is a fairly big thing in the UAE. Makes sense. Lots of beaches here. All the major cities, save Al Ain, are on the water. So, a couple of times a year some major tournaments are held here, generally in Dubai. The beach soccer heavyweights are invited. Brazil, Russia, Portugal, Iran … but […]

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On the same night Landon Donovan bid adieu (check the video at the bottom of the link) to international soccer in an emotional evening in Hartford, we were Australia fans for a few hours in Abu Dhabi. The UAE was playing host to the Aussies (or Socceroos, as they sometimes are known, back in the […]

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I predicted this a couple of months ago. How Landon Donovan’s farewell match with the U.S. national team, now less than a week away, would be one of the most awkward moments in the history of U.S. soccer. The ramping up of what is going to be days and days of U.S. media and fans […]

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Two reactions, in quick succession, upon hearing today that Landon Donovan will play a farewell match with the U.S. national soccer team, in October. 1. It’s nice that they are giving him a chance to say goodbye. 2. Gosh, the whole thing could be awkward.

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Modern travel is fairly astounding. When it works, of course, and it generally does.  Far more than it did in the past. Wake up in Abu Dhabi, and two cab rides, one six-hour flight and an 80-minute train ride later … you can be checking into your friend’s hotel in Florence, Italy, in plenty of […]

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Landon Donovan scored a record 57 goals for the U.S. national team. No one else is close, unless you consider Clint Dempsey, trailing by 18, to be close. And given that the U.S. does not play as many friendlies as it did, into the early years of this century, it is hard to imagine someone […]

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