Pocket Roundup: Gooooaaal! It’s the World Cup!
As we compose this post, millions of soccer (or football) fans around the globe are glued to their screens, watching as 32 countries square off in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Whether you’d like to learn more about the sport, get a handle on the buzz around the tournament, or just take a break from the pumping adrenaline of the matches themselves, here are some of Pocket’s top stories and videos to feed your football fever.
Why Did Borges Hate Soccer?
Shaj Mathew, The New Republic
“Soccer is popular,” Jorge Luis Borges observed, “because stupidity is popular.”
Spain, 2014 World Cup: How La Roja Succumbed to the Innovator’s Dilemma
Davin O’Dwyer, Slate
“Spain’s shocking exit this week provided a topical instance of the World Cup narrative neatly mapping to the real world.”
Train in Vain
Brian Phillips, Grantland
Tracking back in Rio, through history, and calculating the cost of the Cup.
Coming of Age
Chris Ballard, Sports Illustrated
The brave new world of American soccer fandom.
Cheating the Beautiful Game
Alan Burdick, The New Yorker
“Exactly how much cheating goes on in soccer, or whether any team or player really does more of it than any other, is hard to quantify.”
Were the Billions Brazil Spent on World Cup Stadiums Worth It?
Victor Matheson, FiveThirtyEight
“With a price tag estimated at $11.3 billion in public works spending alone, it will take more than just a trouble-free four-week tournament to justify Brazil’s heavy investment in hosting the World Cup.”
How to Watch the World Cup Like a True Soccer Nerd
Mike Goodman, Grantland
“The fact is, Nerdy American Sports Fan, you know way more about soccer than you realize.”
Mr. Ten Percent: The Man Who Built — And Bilked — American Soccer
Ken Bensinger, Buzzfeed
“How a swindling suburban soccer dad pocketed millions as he helped make the sport in the U.S. a booming success.”
FIFA and the World Cup (video)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
“Now, I know, in America, soccer is something you pick your 10-year-old daughter up from. But for me and everyone else on Earth, it’s a little more important…”
Why Americans Call Soccer ‘Soccer’
Uni Friedman, The Atlantic
“In May, Stefan Szymanski, a sports economist at the University of Michigan, published a paper debunking the notion that ‘soccer’ is a semantically bizarre American invention.”
Beautiful Game, Dirty Business
The Economist
“Football is a great sport, but it could be so much better if it were run honestly.”
The Burden of Being Messi
Jeff Himmelman, The New York Times Magazine
“In Argentina, the main resistance to Lionel Messi, beyond his uneven play for the national team thus far, is that he isn’t Argentine enough.”
While The World Watched
Wright Thompson, ESPN
“At the same time Argentina hosted the 1978 World Cup, the nation’s dictators were waging their ‘Dirty War’ of repression, kidnappings and torture. As the tournament again draws near, ghastly memories are flooding back.”
It’s Brazil’s World Cup to Lose
Nate Silver, Five Thirty Eight
“It’s really hard to beat Brazil in Brazil.”
Diamonds in the Rough
Brian Phillips, Grantland
“In late May, a Brazil-based memorial-diamond company called Brilho Infinito began selling a series of 1,283 diamonds made from the hair of Pelé, the most celebrated footballer in Brazil’s football-obsessed history, and widely regarded as the greatest soccer player of all time. ”
How Jurgen Klinsmann Plans to Make U.S. Soccer Better (and Less American)
Sam Borden, The New York Times Magazine
“Jurgen Klinsmann knows that winning the tournament is not the only way for him to be considered a success. His time as the leader of American soccer will instead be judged with more nuance.”
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Here’s to “the beautiful game”!
