Racism a ‘closed’ matter
In the wake of allegations that some of the top soccer players in Europe are guilty of racist remarks towards fellow players, you would think that this would have the obsessive concern of the FIFA president, Sepp Blatter. However, Blatter insists that racism is not relevant in soccer, and that players should resolve the situation with a handshake. Wait, what?
NHL Jerseys re-invented as soccer kits
There is no doubting the fact that the popularity of soccer is growing in North America. Matt Pratt, a self-taught graphic designer from Toronto has designed home and away jerseys for all 30 NHL teams. “There is a lot of cross-over between hockey and soccer fans.” Read more
Let’s change the game of soccer…
After watching quite a few games this weekend, I was reminded of how annoyed I am with players that dive and simulate fouls. In many of the blogs Goalden’s author’s have posted, we continuously talk about the importance of staying on your feet. For whatever reason, though, players have become experts in diving. Players are falling all to easily in order to win their team a foul. The dramatic falls and cries have become old…in fact I don’t think they were ever in. This is a game built on respect, skill, intelligence and fair play; not whining, diving and faking. Read more
Kicking AIDS Out…using soccer!
Here at Goalden we often voice that one of our main incentives is to blog about topics that will help ameliorate soccer in North America. Ultimately, however, our main goal is to use soccer as an educational tool to help people all around the world not only improve their game, but, more importantly, their lives. Similarly, Kicking AIDS Out is a foundation – or a cause rather – that uses sport as a way of bringing people together to participate in fun and educational games and activities while delivering knowledge and practical skills about how to live a positive and healthy life. In short, they use sports as a means to kick HIV and AIDS out.
Soccer icon comes to Canada
In a bid to become more competitive in the MLS, Toronto FC have retained the consulting services of former German national team player and manager Juergen Klinsmann - along with his company SoccerSolutions. The club wants to reorganize its soccer program and have made sure they find one of the best in the business to help them do so.
Incredible Under 11 Fan Support
It’s obvious that the soccer fan from professional team are passionate but check out the fans in the video below in the under 11 the Lech Cup. The video starts out with simple chanting but quickly escalates into something much more. Remember, we are talking about under 11 boys. This is not the senior teams of Manchester United versus Liverpool or Inter versus AC Milan. Read more
Soccer connections abound in Chilean miners rescue
It was a miracle to learn about Chilean miners who survived over two months trapped in a mine. Yet after all of this, soccer has come to the forefront. In the middle of the rescue process, media, rescuers and on-lookers chanted the famous ”Chi! Chi! Chi! Le! Le! Le!” chant of the national soccer team. Now, the miners are being treated to a retreat to the Greek Islands and tickets to see Real Madrid play in Spain and Manchester United in England. To read more on their new soccer experiences which include signed t-shirts from top clubs around the world and more trips around the works click here. Soccer and globalization definitely go hand-in-hand. What an incredible story!
Is Soccer like Jazz or Bowling?
I recently read a blog by Seth Godin, an American entrepreneur, author and public speaker. In a blog titled Why jazz is more interesting than bowling, Seth discusses dimensions:
“Bowling is all about one number: the final score. And great bowlers come whisker-close to hitting the perfect score regularly. Not enough dimensions for me to be fascinated by, and few people pay money to attend bowling matches.
Jazz is practiced over a thousand or perhaps a million dimensions. It’s non-linear and non-predictable, and most of all, it’s never perfect.
And yet…most of us choose to bowl.”
North American soccer is progressively ameliorating, but it is still too focused on the final score. Rather than developing players and teams with multiple dimensions (dynamic mindsets), we are focused on a trophy or a scoreboard (static mindsets). Soccer is currently too much like bowling.
Like jazz, soccer is naturally and inherintly a game of dimensions. Although there is a final score that is the ultimate goal of each team that plays, the focus needs to be on creativity. The game itself is non-linear and non-predictable. No team is perfect and no player is perfect – but that’s a great thing. Each of us play soccer a different way; each of us is a different instrument. Together, however, we can create a work of art. Do not allow yourself to be another brick in the wall. Develop different dimensions to your game as a player and team. Every time you play, play jazz.
Change is coming
To be the best you have to learn from the best. One of the main reasons soccer in North America – but more specifically Canada – cannot develop into a world class program is because the right people are not at the pinnacle of the soccer pyramid. We desperately need the best people for the job to be in charge because they act as magnets for the best.
To better demonstrate my point, I will use one of the best soccer organizations in the world: Manchester United. The owners of Manchester United have appointed arguably the best manager in the world, Sir Alex Ferguson, as the head of the program. Sir Alex Ferguson sets high standards for his coaching staff, for his team, for his players and for the program as a whole. He has worked very hard to morph the program into one of the — if not the – best . As a result, the best trainers, players and management are all drawn to Manchester United. The program has become immaculate and it can largely be attributed to Sir Alex Ferguson. What should we be learning from this, above all else? Put the right people in charge and everything else will fall into place.
North America has been very slow in accepting that the best need to be at the head of our soccer programs in order for it to grow. The “best” is a wide-open term that can refer to a lot of different things, so by best I mean we must find coaches, managers and trainers with world class knowledge to lead our programs. Once these types of figures are in place, a trickle down effect will occur where soccer as a whole in North America will become increasingly better because we have the best leading us. Although these types of leaders are currently not abundant in North America, there is a handfull of cases where we begin to see the right people taking the right positions. Here is a perfect example: his name is Jose Bento Vieira.
A brazilian star who has been through the ups and downs as a soccer player, coach, manager and leader, but who has co-existed with the best. I have had the priviledge of training in numerous sessions he has held and it is evident he has the capacity to change soccer in North America. Although it isn’t mentioned in his blog, he has embarked on a mission to create a soccer academy in Canada. His intent is to develop true soccer in this country and eventually abroad. Read his blog (click on his name above) and admire what he’s been through and where he aspires to go.
Soccer legends we forget about…
When you ask someone who they think the best players of all time are you will often get answers like Pele, Zinedine Zidane, Diego Maradona, or from the modern crowd you will get answers like Ronaldinho, Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – and rightfully so! But what about players like Marco Van Basten and Johan Cruyff? Do you even know who these players are? Unfortunately, the modern day soccer player does not have these players on their radar. These soccer legends had just as much skill and talent as did Pele, Maradona, Zidane and etc. The soccer legends of today had to look up to someone as we look up to them, and it is these players that they looked up to. These are the players they mimicked; these are the players they learned from. Read more
Soccer on the rise in North America
The New York Red Bulls of the MLS – whether they realize it or not – have embarked on a project that will change North American soccer forever. Earlier this summer they signed French allstar Thierry Henry and recently confirmed that they have added the Mexican legend Rafael Marquez to their lineup. For the New York Red Bull, at a micro-scale, this project involves creating a team that is built to make a championship run. At a macro-scale, they are raising the bar for soccer in North America as a whole. Marquez and Henry are both coming from arguably the best team in Europe: FC Barcalona. Read more
The World Cup Brings People Together
This past weekend while working a promotional event at the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) in downtown Toronto I was able to take part in a very large world cup street party. This street party was part of what has been known as Soccer Day in Canada. Like many cities around the world hosting similar events, this was a fun filled street party. Several streets were closed off to traffic allowing businesses and tents to be set up for the general public. There were a number of sporting companies on site, a large beer tent, a stage for musical performances and several large screen tv’s which showed the Toronto FC game (MLS), the third place between Uruguay and Germany and the finals between Holland and Spain. The entire weekend was a great soccer event that was free of charge and brought together people of all nationalities and backgrounds for one thing: the love of the game. Read more