Sunshine Pumping...Optional

It is liguilla time in Mexico again.

First a quick word on who didn’t make it. Chivas is a mess. 3 coaches, and one general manager later, and they still missed out on the post season. Pumas found magma in the hole they dug for themselves to start the season. And finally, Ricardo La Volpe added another failed campaign to his losng list of misery in Mexican footie. Atlas had enough, and now he’s gone....

I have always been a big fan of Thierry Henry, and I am going to have a hard time seeing him in the same light after what happened in St. Denis today.

I cannot understand why it is that certain teams just seem to get the ref to look the other way when they commit egregious handballs. We all know about la mano de dios, but I’m sure some of you have images of a German handball that Hugh Dallas Missed in Ulsan still burned in your brain. Others might remember some iffy calls last May at Stanford Bridge. Unlike Maradona, though, at least Henry was...

The journey has taken almost three years, and it is finally at an end. When the final whistle blows tomorrow night at the Centenario (which hosted the first world cup final), the 32 team field will be complete. 2 short weeks later, we will all know our respective team’s path to the golden blob (it is certainly not a cup).

But we have a few games left before then. 6 to be exact.

In Europe, Greece did not...

This was supposed to be a week of footie celebration: the world cup field is finally going to be filled up, the Mexican liguilla is gearing up, and the MLS Cup culminates a terrific season for the local league. All of that is still going to happen, and we should all enjoy the festival. I know I will, albeit with a heavy heart.

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Rare is the sight in Mexican futbol of a stadium packed to capacity. It happens in some places with regualrity: the two Monterrey stadia, Santos, and San Luis Potosí seems to have sell outs every game. The big teams, on the other hand, only seem to pack the place when it's either a rivalry game or a late rounder in the liguilla.

That was the case last night in CU. Pumas, who are not having a good season at all, went to a uniform...

With only 3 weeks left in the Mexican Apertura regular season, we can be certain of one thing: we still have no idea who is going to make the liguilla. Some call it parity, others call it mediocrity. I call it chaos.

Only one team is assured of a post season birth: Toluca. Mexican futbol’s cooky, crazy group system, though, offers no guarantees to the other teams that are in the top 8 slots of the table. That is because 5 of those slots are occupied by teams from Group 2. In Mexico, only the top 2 in a group are guaranteed a birth in the playoff, along with the 2 best 3rd...

The bus that carried Chivas’ U17 squad was involved in a collision early this morning on a highway outside of Guadalajara. Four people sustained injuries: the coach, Manuel Martinez, the trainer, Corazein Prado Cepeda, and two of the young players. Some of the team members are visitng with psychologists at the club's HQ. The team doctor, Ricardo Herrera, unfortunately lost his life. QEPD.

The team was on its way back from Torreón, Coahuila, after a league game with Santos’ U17 squad. Chivas are sitting in third place in the league.

I hate to repeat myself,...

Now that the Hex has drawn to a close, we know the three teams that are moving on to South Africa, and which one still has some work to do. CONCACAF always gets a bad rap, from within and without, in regard to its level of play. Regardless, this has been the most competitive hex since its inception in 1998: 5 teams were still alive with 2 matches to go. Compare that to 2006 when 3 teams were in with plenty of games in hand.
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Unless if Gabon or Bahrain qualify, it looks we'll only have one debutante at the World Cup next summer.

Slovakia is in for the first time since they split from the Czech Republic. An own goal by Poland's Seweryn Gancarczyk early in the first half was enough for the Slovaks to break through in snowy Warsaw. They blew their chance on Saturday after losing to Slovenia, who have qualified for the playoff themselves....

I am deeply saddened by the tragic auto accident that took the life of Ashley Roberta and left Charlie Davies and others with serious (although not life threatening) injuries.

I am really thankful to BigSoccer for giving me a voice that is heard by footie fans the world over. One of the appeals of the beautiful game is the tribal nature of the fans. There is plenty of ribbing-- most of it good-natured, some of it contentious, but all of it passionate.

But when something like this happens, it amazes how quickly those squabbles become insignificant. It reminds...