Category Archives: featured

pic of the week 5/6-5/12

Image

1

Bayern Munich Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer

Having wrapped up the Bundesliga title ages ago, Bayern Munich finally got around to celebrating the title this weekend after yet another merciless slaughter of an opponent at the Allianz Arena. And as is the tradition in Germany, everyone celebrated by pouring copious amounts of beer on one another… and somewhere, I’m sure the Free Beer Movement is crying because of it. And while it’s customary for the players to drench one another, the coaches or even the team officials in beer, everyone else is usually safe from a sudsy shower.

Well, apparently that’s not the case when Manuel Neuer is on the scene.

The Germany number one — who has become something of a pot-stirrer since making his controversial move from Schalke — decided that the dirndl-dressed girls bringing them the beer to toss at one another would look better if they too were drenched in lager. So the noticeably dry goalkeeper waited for one of the young ladies to pass by, before sneaking up and dousing her with the full load from his giant stein. What a prick. And for those of you who thought that second to last sentence was worded a bit naughty? Get your minds out of the gutter, or your no better than Neuer himself.

About these ads

an interview with professional club executive peter wilt

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

If you were to survey supporters groups from clubs around the globe about their biggest gripe with their clubs, I’d be willing to wager that the leading complaint would be that there isn’t enough communication between themselves and the club’s executives. Take a walk around the American soccer landscape, and you’re bound to hear it too. And while there might be other popular gripes — such as ticket prices or on-field management — the avenue for the fans to have those complaints heard often isn’t even there to begin with.

Peter Wilt of Indy Eleven

while i’m not really the reporter interviewing indy eleven president and GM peter wilt in this picture, i did speak with him on a variety of topics.

So when you see clubs that actively engage with their fans, asking them their opinions and looking for input on a variety of club matters, it’s usually applauded far and wide. The close relationships that exist between club and fans in Orlando, Seattle and Philadelphia are well-known, but until rather recently, were far from the norm. But the lessons learned in those markets isn’t falling on deaf ears, and more and more clubs are slowly starting to reap the benefits of working closely with their most ardent fans to help grow the team’s popularity and stature. But where did the idea come from in the fist place?

The man many would pin as the pioneer of this emerging trend in American soccer: Peter J. Wilt.

Best known as former president and general manager of the Chicago Fire, Wilt has attained legendary status for the transparency with which he runs his clubs and the open communication channels he holds with supporters. A frequent participant in discussions on fan message boards and an ardent Tweet-a-holic, there’s arguably no other executive in American soccer that the average fan has an easier time gaining an audience with.

Case in point? After recently launching the successful bid to make Indy Eleven the latest franchise to join the rapidly growing NASL, I reached out to Peter to see if he might be interested in an interview. He accepted my request in less than five minutes.

So with the Milwaukee native’s ear at my disposal, I asked Peter to dish on his plans for the newly formed Indy Eleven, the state of the game in North America, and even on his hopes for the beer that will be available at the club’s future matches.

Continue reading →

enter the hagdome

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

This is a short excerpt from my second featured post for the acclaimed In Bed With Maradona, an award winning collective voice of some of the world’s best football writers, bloggers, journalists, photographers and artists with more than two million readers. To read it in it’s entirety, please click here or click the link at the end of the post.

WSOTP x IBMW: The Hagdome

dayton might not be much to shake a stick at, but it has one thing that most cities don’t.

Ask anyone familiar with Dayton, Ohio — even those that live there — what they think of the city, and you’re likely to get a response ranging from indifference to straight up loathing. “There’s not much to do”, “Not much going on”, or simply “Meh” aren’t uncommon descriptions either. And for the most part, they’re accurate. Dayton just doesn’t have much to brag about.

Sure, there are some bright spots: there’s the stellar National Museum of the US Air Force, a so-so arts and entertainment hub in the Oregon District, and having the honor of recently being named as the most affordable city in the country. But negative perceptions remain due in large part to the city’s poor job market. Like other cities in the rust belt, the great recession practically evaporated Dayton’s key automotive manufacturing sector and the city has taken a dive because of it. And adding insult to injury, North Carolina continues to wage a campaign to steal the only thunder the Dayton has ever really had: the birth of flight.

But despite all of that, Dayton does have one thing going for it: an incredibly vibrant soccer community. While only 841,000 residents call the Miami Valley region home, that’s more than enough to sustain over 500 youth teams. There’s also a thriving amateur adult league, boasting co-ed, women’s and two men’s divisions, something that the larger, near-by Cincinnati-metro area hasn’t been able to regularly maintain. All five of the city’s indoor soccer facilities are packed year round with youth and adult leagues. There’s even a fully professional side in the USL-Pro’s Dayton Dutch Lions… some else the neighbors to the South can’t boast.

Now most of those are things that probably half a dozen other cities in the Midwest can claim, if not more. But there is one thing that Dayton offers the soccer community that very few — if any — other city can.

Continue reading “Enter the Hagdome” on IBWM. →

pic of the week 4/22-4/28

Image

Reply

Have you ever had one of those moments during one of your Sunday League matches where you realize that you’re taking things far too seriously for an amateur game? You know, where you get way too caught up in the moment and you feel like you’re playing under the bright lights of a Champions League final or in a massive World Cup match… but you’re really just playing at a park 40 yards a way from an under-12 match up.

That must have been exactly the way this unnamed Internacional coach must feel after choking referee Edésio Weber in the amateur Copa Sul dos Campeões tournament final in Brazil. As video of the incident explains (WARNING: Portuguese), Inter’s coach became incised with Weber when one of his players was punched by an opposing player from São Defende, but was shown also shown a red along with his assailant. A perfectly good reason to choke a bitch, right?

No kids. No it isn’t.

But, there is a lesson to be learned by all those referees who think I give them too much stick while playing: just be happy that I’m not taking out my frustrations on you like they do it in Brazil. Punks.

pic of the week 4/15-4/21

Image

3

Beckham's kids at PSG training

Short of the (future) children of the royals, Brooklyn, Cruz and Romeo Beckham (L-R) are most likely the most famous children in England along with their sister Harper. And given their parents’ fame, it’s not so infrequent that the little rascals show up in the news. But are Beckham’s kids really so important that they should get to buzz about a PSG training session and have kick abouts with some of Europe’s most elite footballers? Come to think of it, the little bastards also took the pitch in LA and Madrid, too. Does David make sure there’s a provision in his contracts where his kids can enter the field of play at any time they please?

Now maybe I haven’t been to enough professional level training sessions; maybe it’s pretty normal to see the players’ offspring wandering around the grounds. And it’s possible that I’m just slightly jealous of the access given to Golden Balls’ progeny. But that doesn’t change the fact that it seems just a little unsafe to have your children anywhere near so close to the Zlatan.

This week’s “Pic of the Week” brought to you by… privilege.

the WSOTP shop grand opening and giveaway!

Posted on by
2
it's virtual doors now open, don't miss out on your chance to win a free shirt!

its virtual doors now open, don’t miss out on your chance to win a free shirt from the new WSOTP Shop!

I’ve been writing Wrong Side of the Pond for just short of four years now, and it really is a marvel to see how far the site has come along. No longer just a basic soccer blog, it has slowly morphed into a site where fans of the beautiful game can come to find and watch games with like-minded supporters all across the country. Partnerships with other sites, exclusive scoops and giveaways for readers are just a few of the highlights in WSOTP’s expansion across the web that I could barely have fathomed four years ago.

And today, I’m pleased to announce the next milestone in the site’s evolution: the opening of the WSOTP Shop.

That’s right kids, you can finally get your hands on official blog and soccer culture ‘merch. Not only that, but to celebrate the opening of the shop, I’m giving one lucky reader a chance to win a FREE item from the shop of their choosing!

So, what is it exactly that am I offering in this new store?

The Initial WSOTP Shirt Offerings

the first designs on offer in the WSOTP Shop. (Click the image for a slightly closer look)

Well, to start things off we’re keeping it simple with two t-shirt offerings. The first is a long-requested and reader-suggested official WSOTP Logo Shirt. The second is a design that pays homage to my hometown of Cincinnati’s love of soccer — even though we lack a fully professional club — with a design based off of the city’s official flag. Each design is screen-printed on American Apparel’s Fine Jersey Tee, meaning you’ll be pulling on a high quality shirt with a classic look and feel. And as an added bonus, $5 from the purchase of each shirt will go to the US Soccer Foundation to help develop the game around the country… so you don’t have to feel guilty about buying yourself one!

Pre-orders are now open with delivery expected in early May.

Now, the details and instructions about the giveaway you’ve all been scanning for:

  1. There’s a posting on both the official site Facebook and Twitter feeds about this post. You’ll need to either “Share” this post or “Retweet” this tweet to register yourself. And while you’re there, if you haven’t already, give me a like and/or a follow.
  2. Clever readers will want to know if they’re able to register through both Facebook and Twitter. And I’m feeling benevolent, so yes, you can. That means you’ll be able to register a grand total of twice.
  3. The deadline for registering will be Tuesday, April 16th, 2013 at 10:00pm EST.
  4. One winner will be selected at random from the total list of entries that evening, and will be notified by Private/Direct Message through their social media channel.
  5. The winner will have one week to select a design of their choosing in whatever size they like and notify Wrong Side of the Pond of their selection by email.
  6. Delivery of the shirt will coincide with the first batch from the current pre-order period.

However, if you don’t want to tempt chance and want to score one or both of the shirts — and why not another for your kid/friend/neighbor/girlfriend too?! — you can enter the WSOTP Shop with the link below or in the sidebar to pre-order your shirt today. That’s what I would do at least.

ENTER THE WSOTP SHOP HERE.

an interview with professional shot stopper clint irwin

Featured

Posted on by
Reply
Colorado Rapids Goalkeeper Clint Irwin

the latest player i’ve coerced to answer my questions: the rapids’ clint irwin.

Goalkeepers: they always make for such interesting individuals. If nothing else, there’s something intriguing about a guy that willingly places himself in the line of fire for 90 minutes week in and week out. Diving and throwing himself, sometimes blindly, about through the air, clattering into players and the ground, sacrificing one’s body all just to keep a sphere from going between a pair of sticks. It takes a, umm, special kind of person to be such a glutton for punishment.

Not only that, but often times many goalkeepers do all of that week in and week out in training without much hope of actually getting to see the pitch during the next game. After all, only one keeper per team gets to play each match. Veteran backups and youngsters alike patiently await their opportunity, and for some it never comes.

But every once in a while, an opportunity does come to pass where a new face is given a chance to shine. And it just so happens that such an opportunity just arose for Colorado Rapids rookie Clint Irwin. A surprise starter in the last few matches for the Rapids, Irwin and I had a conversation about his gradual rise to the big time and his breakthrough into MLS.

And as you might expect from a goal keeper, it was definitely an interesting talk.

Continue reading →

i want: cr7 nike tennis classic

Image

Reply

CR7 Nike Tennis Classic

While the hole developing in the toe of my current pair attest I should really be looking to score some new indoor/court shoes, these fresh kicks from Cristiano Ronaldo’s upcoming 2013 Summer Collection now sit atop of my list of wants instead. I haven’t been able to find any information on them at all aside from the brief aside in Nike’s press release on them:

“vintage-inspired Nike Tennis Classic, Cristiano’s favorite sneaker, complete the summer range”.

So in absence of further details, I’ll speculate. the casual shoes look like they feature a perforated all-white leather upper on top of an all-white vulcanized rubber outsole. The only splash of color comes from a burnt orange accent on the heal that adds a touch of vintage class. And while they’d be cool to sport both with a pair of jeans or when wearing shorts, I’m almost certain one should never be caught wearing socks in them… just my 2 cents at least. You’ll be able to pick up a pair of your own on May 11.

CLICK HERE IF YOU WANT  |  nike.com

pic of the week 3/18-3/24

Image

Reply

David Beckham and his underwear

Yo dawg… I heard you like David Beckham’s new underwear, so we put Beckham in with a bunch of Beckham’s underwear so you can help him earn more money while giving him your money.

Sorry, I had to.

Though I was tempted to use a picture from Friday’s epic battle in the snow in Denver, I’ve already devoted an entire gallery post on the US Mens National Team’s now-protested victory over Costa Rica. No need for overkill there. So instead we get a shot of Golden Balls at an unveiling of his new H&M underwear line in Berlin. He even signed underwear at the event, so his fans could have even more David Beckham in their David Beckham underwear. Xzibit, no doubt, approves. How this guy has time to promote his underpants in Germany, slip and fall on his ass while in China as their “Global Football Ambassador” and play for PSG — all in one week — is a bit beyond me.

a mission with a purpose

Posted on by
2

Summers in college are one of those things that stick with you for the rest of your life. The reasons for that are as varied as you might expect, unique to each group and individuals’ personalities.

Dribble 4 Toledo

coming this summer, four locals will be pushing a ball through scenes like this for hundreds of miles… all for a great cause.

While a majority of students spend most of their summer days slaving away at a job or internship, there’s almost always something to look forward to, too. Some kids like to getaway with friends to party their nights away. For others, it’s a few weeks backpacking in Europe. Still yet for some students, it’s a chance to completely veg out and decompress after months of studying and exams. And it’s the experiences had during those special times in the months off from school that we all cherish down the road. I certainly do, at least.

That said, for most of us, those experiences are and were pretty much only self-beneficial. Which is fine both because most people in  the 18-25 age range are naturally a little self-centered, and because it’s good to make time for yourself regardless your station in life. That’s why it’s always so impressive when you see a group of collegiate scholars finding a way to get their memorable summer experience to impact not just themselves, but others as well.

So when I first heard about some guys from my hometown just outside of Cincinnati planning a beneficial summer experience and combining it with soccer, I had to find out more.

Meet Dribble 4 Toledo, a group of four young gentleman plotting a journey to dribble all the way across the state of Ohio.

Continue reading →