The NFL’s international series will now include games at a 2nd Division stadium in London apparently..
English
Adrian Healey
3.9K posts
Adrian Healey
@AdrianHealey
ESPN La Liga coverage. Based in Valencia. Seeking killer through balls and sunshine. Ex-MLS & Austin FC.
Some distance beyond back post Katılım Ağustos 2010
140 Takip Edilen17.2K Takipçiler
The Greatest Final Ever….a brilliant behind the scenes account of the extraordinary #AFCON final open.substack.com/pub/alasdairho…
English
Adrian Healey retweetledi
Release a large and unverifiable number, shout it loud, get some news stories, make people argue about it, use it to try and justify controversial policy making. You can tell where Infantino has been hanging out this year.
FIFA@FIFAcom
Record-breaking 150+ million @FIFAWorldCup tickets requested from 200+ countries! 🙌
English
Alaves v R Madrid for me this w/end with @KaseyKeller18 alongside. Must win? Def a must not lose for Xabi Alonso. Could be 7 pts behind Barca at start of play
@alexkirkland pitchside for us at Mendizorrrrroza. 3ET Sun ESPN Plus
English
RT @henrywinter: World Cup final ticket (cheapest) inflation since Infantino at FIFA. £343 at Russia 2018. £430 at Qatar 2018. £3,129 at Ne…
English
RT @1968Tv: So the World Cup draw has been made, and the competition has increased to 48 nations, which is far too many.
Back in 1982, the…
English
“ Revulsion, anger, shame and disgust”. Yep that about sums it up. Spot on from @henrywinter
Henry Winter@henrywinter
The Adoration of the Maga. A few thoughts. It all felt a step too far by Gianni Infantino. The award of the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize felt more to do with its president’s desire to please powerful politicians as much as Donald Trump’s love of such glitzy, expensive offerings of loyalty last seen in medieval courts. It felt more about politics than sport, a risky game for Fifa to play whenever it wants to bring a national association into line for perceived interference by government in the future. The Trump trophy weakens Fifa statutes. It also distracted from the real trophy, the World Cup, and the group-stage draw, traditionally a celebration about bringing countries together. Infantino took his eye off the balls. A football draw designed to work out who plays who and (eventually) where and when is not the time or place for such politics. Infantino wasn’t speaking for the world in bestowing the Peace Prize, as he claimed. So presumptuous. So out of touch. Many probably agree that Trump has been a force for good in geopolitics, some might disagree. Most would probably feel such decisions should be left to experienced experts like the Nobel Committee and, please, can we get on with a football draw. It’s spectacularly naïve or simply arrogant for Fifa to enter such non-football areas. It feels more and more that this was as much an Infantino initiative as Fifa’s. Infantino was supposed to drain the swamp when he arrived at Fifa in 2016 in the wake of assorted corruption scandals bedevilling the governing body of world football. How fitting that the nadir of Infantino’s propensity for self-aggrandisement as leader of what’s supposed to be a team game came in Washington. It was there that Trump promised to transform politics with his “drain the swamp” rhetoric, also in 2016. The selfie moment was particularly cringe-worthy. Infantino forgets that football is the star of the show, not a 55-year lawyer. A senior football executive, who’s been at the heart of the English and European game for more than 20 years, messaged me during the drawn-out draw with his verdict on Infantino. “I feel revulsion, anger, shame, disgust – how has our sport been taken over by a Swiss ***** and turned into a total travesty???” He also pointed out that ensuring the leaders of USA, Mexico and Canada each somehow pulled out their own country’s name was not a good look for a draw based on chance. Great for the cameras, though. Flash, bang, wallop, what a picture of Infantino's priorities. And who gets the next FIFA Peace Prize? And wouldn't Infantino have gained more respect had he used the money for the Trump trophy to subsidise excessive ticket costs? He's lost sight of what should be the real priorities for the leader of football. The game. It's sad, really. Many sensible people work at Fifa, passionate about the game not their own ego, but it's alarming what happens to the leadership when they take power there. Even the great football manager Arsene Wenger has changed since becoming Chief of Global Football Development at Fifa. He now campaigns for more games, backing the expanded World Cup, which he would have railed against as a widely-admired, free-thinking club manager, fiercely protective of his players' well-being. "I believe that 48 teams is the right number." Arsene, just listen to yourself. Many fans probably won’t lose much sleep that Wenger dances to Fifa's tune or that Infantino cosies up to Trump, Aramco and co. Some probably think Fifa’s a video game. Most just can’t wait for the football. The game’s about Mbappe and Messi, Haaland and Salah, Kane and Dembele, not Infantino and Trump. The game’s about the Tartan Army, the brilliant Mexican following, the ever-hopeful English, the mobile carnival of Brazilians and the millions of other fans flocking to venue cities next summer, only a third with tickets. The USA is prepared for the party. I covered USA 94 and you couldn’t really tell there was a tournament on, certainly where I was in Detroit, Chicago and DC. You will this time, also in Canada. Mexico's total immersion was never in doubt given their passion for the game. Infantino should remember this. He runs a great football organisation, not a political organisation. He needs to re-focus. Fifa is undeniably a force for good in many countries. The Fifa Foundation runs a new community programme that supports 154,924 people in 54 nations. Its new Digital Education Programme works on computer literacy amongst disadvantaged groups, helping them into the workplace. It’s easy to say it’s all about Infantino (Foundation board president), soft power and ensuring he keeps countries onside, voting for him, but the Foundation undeniably changes lives. Infantino needs to look at his Adoration of the Maga and remember what he should be doing for football: serving it, not himself. #FIFAWorldCup.
English
Back in the @ESPNFC saddle today for another go. Look forward to your Extra Time questions…Get them in now for Craig, Shaka, Frank and Jan to answer!
English
Back on ESPN FC tonight. Been a while! Get your Extra Time questions in for Craig, Nedum and Gab
@ESPNFC
English
Not with a bang but with a whimper.
Outclassed in every single dept.
5 yrs in, and a sobering reminder tonight about just how far away ATXFC are from genuinely competing in the upper echelons of MLS.
English
Yes, the required wins and pts were secured over 32 games….BUT
having the vintage car reversing down Congress with hazards on & the back up beep alert blaring would have been funnier…and honest.
Austin FC@AustinFC
Next stop: The postseason. 🛻 With San Jose’s loss to Vancouver, we’ve clinched our spot in the Audi 2025 @MLS Cup Playoffs!
English
I love the smell of a Cup Final in ATX. Big night in 2 young clubs histories. I’m going for a personal TX hat trick. Was there to see Dallas win in 2016 and Houston in 2018…
Vamos Verde!
#ATX #USOpencup
English
Roaring back after the international break. On duty for @RealSociedadEN vs @realmadrid Sat 10.15am ET
ESPN PR@ESPNPR
This weekend, global soccer on ESPN features: ⚽️ #LALIGA stars Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal & more ⚽️ Kasper Hjulmand debuts at #Bayer04 ⚽️ Sergiño Dest back with #PSV ⚽️ Catarina Macario & Naomi Girma try to lead #CFCW toward 7th straight title More: bit.ly/4pk8LVq
English
Adrian Healey retweetledi
It’s nearly that time again! A brand new season of #LaLiga kicks off on @ESPNPlus in about half an hour. What a year it promises to be. First up for me @Athletic_en vs @SevillaFC_ENG on Sunday. Vamos!
English
Rather ironic use of “ Don’t get it yet”. That’s the problem. Not nearly enough people do get it, or will get it. The decision to put a league and sport striving for growth behind a TV paywall….will not be judged very kindly by history.
English
Best #MLSAllStarGame ever. Bayern had 4 players getting off plane from World Cup Final & Lewandowski making debut. MLS had Henry & Donovan farewells. And we had the Pep/Porter pouting match in Portland. It meant something! g.co/kgs/JLpDcre
English