New York, One World Cup Match at a Time

Watching All 64 Games in Bars, on Buses, and Even at My Cubicle Made Me Love the City in a Way I Never Will Again

Zócalo’s editors are diving into our archives and throwing it back to some of our favorite pieces. This week: Medical professional Saba Afshar reflects on his quest to watch all 64 games of the 2010 World Cup, and how it made him admire the way New York City “forces you to interact with the rest of the world’s population.”

Maybe I did expect to be in a New York City bar below 14th Street at 7 in the morning at some point. Doesn’t every newly …

Can the World Cup End U.S. Cultural Hegemony?

Soccer Remains One of the Few Non-American Narratives That Bind the World Together

When I was 17 I spent the summer in France on an exchange program, living with a family in an idyllic town in Normandy, parlando the language of Napoleon and …

Brazil Modernized Soccer. Soccer Modernized Brazil.

Brazilians Made an English Game Beautiful, and in the Process, Helped the Nation Embrace Its Racial Diversity

Brazil—as two recent book titles point out, and almost any kid kicking a ball anywhere in the world can tell you—is the country of soccer. While the modern sport’s actual …

World Cup Rumble in the Amazon Jungle

Brazil Spent $300 Million to Build a Soccer Stadium in the Rainforest. Now They Have to Prove It Was Worth It.

In a competition for most improbable place to host the World Cup, the city of Manaus would surely make the finals. Its Arena da Amazônia sits in the middle of …

Tired of Europeans Scolding the U.S. For Our Inequality? Talk German Soccer.

The NFL Is a Socialist Paradise Compared to the Soccer Leagues of Europe

Don’t let Europeans self-righteously lecture you about inequality in America—especially not Germans. If you compare the American and German professional “football” leagues each society considers truly important, you quickly arrive …

Could Dutch-Style Soccer Unclog L.A.’s Freeways?

I Think It's a Possibility. But It's Not the Only Reason Why I’m Teaching the Game to Young Angelenos.

As a young boy, I spent every free moment playing soccer. Except for the obligatory going to school and eating meals, my free time was spent juggling a ball between …