By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 16, 2021) US Soccer Players - The mere sight of Arsene Wenger can convey powerful imagery to people around the world, even those who don't support Arsenal. For anyone paying the slightest attention to the sport during his long heyday at the London club, the professorial Frenchman was the epitome of evolution and innovation in what became by many measures . . .
CBS reworks the Concacaf qualifying experience
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 10, 2021) US Soccer Players - The final round of Concacaf World Cup qualifying feels a bit different this time around. Delayed many months by the pandemic, it's now packed into three-match windows, expanded from six teams to eight, and leads up to a fall tournament instead of a summer one. It's not just the new schedule. CBS is now the home of the English . . .
MLSPA enters “a new phase” as players’ commercial opportunities blossom
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 2, 2021) US Soccer Players - The gathering was SoCal casual, held in a breezy warehouse space in Los Angeles' gritty Fashion District. With raised garage-style doors and courtyards allowing for airflow and social distancing, a DJ played music across from a jersey customization station. There was a regulation-size goal atop a temporary turf surface, . . .
5 questions about the USMNT’s September window
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Aug 27, 2021) US Soccer Players - The USMNT is finally on the verge of kicking off their long-awaited 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign. USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter named his 26-player roster with all involved well aware of the challenge a three-game international window presents. Here are five key topics of conversation as the final countdown to the opener, . . .
Major League Soccer’s autumn chill approaches
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Aug 20, 2021) US Soccer Players - Major League Soccer's latest "Rivalry Week" kicks off with the San Jose Earthquakes' visit to the LA Galaxy on Friday night. Due to an overlap with All-Star week, it's technically ten days long this time, running through next weekend. That's probably a good metaphor for how much mileage MLS coaxes out of the concept. From the . . .
Gonzalo Pineda to Atlanta
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Aug 12, 2021) US Soccer Players - Atlanta United's just-announced new head coach arrives in Georgia with quite a resume. He holds a UEFA A coaching license, and he's bilingual. He joins the Five Stripes from the coaching staff of a highly successful club that has reached its league's championship final three times in his four years of service there, winning one . . .
Berhalter shows some personality, and so does the USMNT
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Aug 6, 2021) US Soccer Players - Due to safety precautions, direct interaction between teams and the media members covering them has dwindled in the pandemic era. Instead, like so much right now, Zoom calls became the new normal. That was the situation throughout the Gold Cup, the best opportunity to learn about more subtle elements around a team like mood and . . .
Preview: 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup final
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Jul 30, 2021) US Soccer Players - The Gold Cup semifinals reached their most commonly expected outcome on Thursday night. They just took a stranger and more winding path than usual to get there. The USMNT found another gear to down a lively Qatar 1-0 via a late Gyasi Zardes goal in sultry Austin, Texas. Then a couple of hours to the southeast in Houston, Mexico . . .
Preview: USMNT vs Jamaica 2021 Gold Cup quarterfinals
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Jul 23, 2021) US Soccer Players - The USMNT begin their journey through the Gold Cup's knockout bracket on Sunday with a quarterfinal matchup against Jamaica at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (9:30pm ET - FS1). It's a familiar opponent in a familiar circumstance. The Yanks have extended their streak of 16 straight qualifications for the knockout phase of . . .
Four takeaways from the opening phases of the 2021 Gold Cup
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Jul 16, 2021) US Soccer Players - With Thursday's second match night of group B in the books, we're now halfway through the 2021 Gold Cup round-robin stage. The outlines of the knockout bracket are taking enough shape for some general observations can be made about the latest edition of Concacaf's top tournament. Here's four. Issues for Cinderella teams It's a . . .
