Soccer

Columns

Outside of the Boot: The dreaded international break

By Ryan Schneiderman | March 31

As students across the nation return to campus this week, so do the best international soccer players to their respective clubs. However, instead of a week enjoying the sun (and maybe a drink or too), players will spend the week with their countrymen on international duty. As a fan of the Premier League, there are no two words I dislike hearing more than “international break.”

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Columns

Outside of the Boot: Zlatan the Great, where next?

By Ryan Schneiderman | March 17

During his time at Barcelona, Zlatan Ibrahimovic once famously compared himself to a Ferrari. While it was in reference to his lack of playing time, the two certainly have commonalities. Powerful yet graceful. Stylish and precise. But after scoring his 100th league goal for PSG over the weekend, perhaps a more pertinent comparison is fine wine. Since he turned thirty, Ibrahimovic has scored at least an astonishing thirty five goals per season, higher than any other stretch of his career. This season, at the age of 34,Ibrahimovic is having one of his best seasons to date. During PSG's most recent 9-0 dismantling of Troyes, he scored four goals, including a sublime, acrobatic one-time finish and a side-footed volley that darted into the top right corner. With the goals, he raised his tally to 27 league goals on the season and, in doing so, secured PSG their fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title.

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Columns

On the Spot: Why Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea is merely a façade, what needs to be done

By Yuan Jun Chee | March 13

If the Premier League started on Boxing Day, Chelsea would be playing in the Champions League next year. To make it even better reading for Blues fans, if the League started on New Years’ Day, it would have been in a great position to defend its title! Chelsea has been hot since handily beating Crystal ...

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Soccer

Inside the MLS | 21st season of Major League Soccer kicks off Sunday

By Nick Golden | March 4

It was the type of drama befitting a major sports league.The Portland Timbers' 2-1 title-winning victory away against Columbus Crew SC at Mapfre Stadium at the end of last season won the Timbers their first league title. The Timbers, the quintessential hipster team (think Portlandia with soccer), ...

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Columns

On the Spot: Why Arsenal will not win the League this year

By Yuan Jun Chee | February 29

At Old Trafford, Daley Blind and Michael Carrick started in central defence. Dutch-U17 international Timothy Fosu-Mensah came on for the injured Marcos Rojo. 18-year-old Marcus Rashford led the line for Manchester United. The signs were all pointing to an Arsenal win, given United's difficulty forming an ...

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Columns

FA Cup roundup: Manchester City teens and the future of the competition

By Ryan Schneiderman | February 24

Last weekend saw a break from premier league action, with the FA cup taking its place. The most intriguing matchup from the fifth round draw featured the last two Premier League champions, Chelsea and Manchester City. What promised to be a highly contested match quickly turned into somewhat of a farce when Manuel Pellegrini, often criticized for being too conservative in team selections, named six teenagers in the starting eleven. Five were making their first team debut. As a City fan myself I had mixed feelings about the line-up. To see talented youth players given the chance to show their talents to the world is exciting for both the fans and other youth players coming through the system. At the same time, the lineup effectively ensured City’s exit from the competition.

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Columns

Jersey Over Apron: Ticker tape

By Nicole Brooks | February 23

When New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio announced the scheduling of a ticker tape parade following the United States women's national soccer team's (USWNT) winning the FIFA World Cup this past summer, New Yorkers were excited. Who wouldn’t want a parade? The welcoming of the USWNT seemed ...

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Columns

On the Spot: Why Tottenham can win the League

By Yuan Jun Chee | February 22

Four years ago, a controversial Mario Balotelli goal derailed Spurs’ momentum. Last weekend, they banished those memories and are marching on. I was holding back on this column until they beat Manchester City. Their victory at the Etihad Stadiumlast weekend required a bit of luck, but they were very ...

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Columns

Why everyone secretly wants Leicester to win

By Yuan Jun Chee | February 8

At this stage I probably have to eat humble pie.Because all our predictions about Claudio Ranieri and Leicester City when the season first started in August should, quite rightly, be thrown out of the window.What a turnaround it has been. About one year ago, Leicester sat at the bottom of the Premier ...

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Columns

United, we remain

By Yuan Jun Chee | November 17

It seemed like just another international friendly match in which France and Germany were writing yet another chapter in their sporting rivalry. The horrors that struck 83 minutes into the game, however, changed all of that.From inside the Stade de France, located just outside Paris, the blasts could ...

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Soccer

Jumbos graduate just three seniors

By Noah Smith | November 9

For the second consecutive season, Tufts entered the NESCAC tournament seeded seventh and traveled to face second-seeded Bowdoin. For the second year in a row, the Jumbos were defeated to end their season. They finished with a record of 6-8-2 (4-5-1 within the NESCAC), scoring 14 goals over the course ...

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Columns

In defense of the Special One

By Yuan Jun Chee | November 3

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has not had the best of times. It is hard to believe that this was the same Chelsea squad that romped to the title just a few months ago. It seems that Eden Hazard’s missed penalty is a representation of his own decline in form.If there’s anyone who can turn it around, ...

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Soccer

Tufts falls to Bowdoin in NESCAC quarters

By Steven Hefter | November 2

After wrapping up its regular season last week, the men's soccer team then played in the NESCAC quarterfinal on Saturday, where it lost to Bowdoin. The Jumbos had emerged as the No. 3 seed in the postseason conference tournament after tying the Polar Bears in a scoreless match on Wednesday.The ...

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Columns

The rebirth of the Foxes

By Yuan Jun Chee | October 27

And there I was, wondering if Leicester had lost the plot. When they sacked Nigel Pearson, the man that eventually saved them from relegation with the tweaking of tactics, I was ludicrous.Then Claudio Ranieri got appointed. Tinkerman? Finishing second-best at Chelsea and Monaco, even with the resources ...

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Columns

Things we learned this premier league weekend

By Yuan Jun Chee | October 20

In the spirit of staying optimistic, I’m going to highlight some positives from the weekend. Just one negative though: James McClean, celebrating like that against your old club is neither sporting nor cool.Louis van Gaal got it rightI feared the worst coming into this game, especially seeing how ...

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Columns

Jurgen Klopp: The normal one?

By Yuan Jun Chee | October 13

It’s the first time in a very long time that I’ve seen the Kop so excited by the arrival of a new manager. He even has his own hashtag -- #KloppforKop. And that's because Jurgen Klopp isn’t as normal as he claims to be.What Liverpool will get is a man obsessed with the idea of a pressing attacking ...

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Soccer

Jumbos return to form in MIT match

By Yuan Jun Chee | October 1

Tufts recorded its first victory in three games as they beat the MIT Engineers 2-0 at the Henry G. Steinbrenner Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. Goals from first-year midfielders Alex Aronson and Sarah Grubman in each half secured the victory for the Jumbos.The Jumbos started the game with a high-intensity ...

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Soccer

The new Manchester United: Death by possession

By Yuan Jun Chee | September 30

For all the agony that Manchester United fans have had with the new way Louis van Gaal has his team playing, we have to admit it is working.So what of this “van Gaal philosophy,” then? Days of the swashbuckling Manchester United running riot down the wings with waves of attacks on the opposition ...

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Soccer

Premier League this past weekend

By Yuan Jun Chee | September 24

I'm Yuan Jun, but Michael works too. That's the name printed on my Manchester United jersey, along with the number 12, as an ode to the mistake Louis van Gaal made. I'm from Singapore and I'm a huge sports fan. So if you ever need someone to talk tactics to, or to pick your fantasy ...

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Soccer

Men's soccer set to begin title defense

By Steven Hefter | September 4

The men’s soccer team will begin its 2015 campaign in the same position that it ended last season: on top.After winning Tufts’ first national championship of the 2014-15 academic year last fall with a run in the NCAA tournament that culminated in a 4-2 victory against Wheaton College (Ill.), ...

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