The announcement was inevitable. Seeing Landon Donovan score against Bayern Munich in a meaningless game somehow signified a type of finality reserved for movie scripts. When Donovan announced his plans to retire at season’s end, the outpouring of support and gratitude for arguably America’s best ever soccer player was immense. I found it a bit …
Tag Archives: Jurgen Klinsmann
Assessing College Soccer
For players growing up in the United States, the opportunity and possibility of playing for a high-profile and high-calibre university has long been the end goal. During a player’s teenage years either playing high school soccer or for a competitive club, they learn that statistics matter more than performance. Yes, for recruiting purposes, statistics supersede …
Hindsight Is 2018
Hindsight Is 2018 By Jonathan Townsend @jon_townsend3 “Soccer has arrived in the United States! And it’s here to stay… just look at the watch parties, full stadiums stateside watching the United States Men’s National Team play in the World Cup! Check out the television ratings! More viewers tuned in for the game versus Portugal than …
A United Front
This article first appeared on Thesefootballtimes.net on May 23, 2014 Foreign-Born National Stars And A United Front Previously featured on the Guardian Sport Network, Jon Townsend looks at the problems of foreign-born players dominating the USMNT World Cup roster and solutions. By Jon Townsend | 23 May 2014 Fronting, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is defined as: …
Up in the Air
Up in the Air: Is it Time to for MLS to Hit its Ceiling? Since its inception in 1996, Major League Soccer (MLS) has become a league many thought would implode in its infancy. As the 2014 season approaches, the league’s vitality is increasing while the number of teams in MLS has more than doubled. …
American Underdogs
The Brazil 2014 World Cup draw ended the speculation and guessing. The match-ups drawn from each bowl during caused a collective gasp heard globally as the fixtures were assigned and the participating countries learned their World Cup 2014 fate. For the United States, was the fate of a country still struggling to establish itself on …
Far Post Footy 