When Suarez bites it damages the game

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Luis Suarez did the unthinkable. Again. He bit Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder in today's deciding match in group C between Uruguay and England. But where does this leave him, FIFA, and the game of soccer?

For Suarez this should be no coincidence. In 2010 he bit PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal when playing for Ajax of the Dutch Eridivisie. In 2013 he bit Chelsea's Ivanovic when playing for Liverpool FC of the English Premier League.

Clearly, the man is disturbed. Such a childish, hurtful and plain disgusting gesture lies outside of professional sports. Just ask Mike Tyson. Is this what we want to show the quarter-billion children watching this World Cup? These are kids looking up at role models. What should we tell them when Suarez commits such an act? It's certainly not part of the game.

The match ended in a 1-0 win in favor of Uruguay, with the lone goal coming a couple of minutes after the purported bite. Italy was down a man after Marchisio was ejected and had little to show for as they combated the well-poised Uruguayan defense. We can't credit the win to Suarez's bite, as Godin scored a perfect header to put the "Charruas" in front. Still, some measure of psychology has to work itself into the conversation.

Should FIFA act, it will likely be a suspension for Suarez. Maybe a ban for life from international competition. Why not? This is the third offense of this type.

Let's also not forget that most of Africa already harbors a deal of dislike for Suarez for his handball at the mouth of goal, with the goalkeeper already beaten, to deny Ghana the goal and the win. Ghana would have advanced to the 2010 semifinals, the first African team to do so. Instead, they settled for penalties and Gyan missed, sending Uruguay to their first semifinal since 1970. 

And also we should remember his racist remarks towards Manchester United's Patrice Evra, his suspension for this, and, once back, his refusal to shake Evra's hand. So, my friends, as much as I like to watch him score and play for club and country, I have to say this: time to let him go.

Missed opportunity: Liverpool will find it hard to win the Premier League in 2015

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This was going to be Liverpool's year. All the pieces were together: Sturridge and Luis Suarez, with the latter being the poster boy for goalscoring worldwide. A tie last weekend sealed their fate.

There is talk of "next season" and "even better" but is Liverpool likely to have the same opportunity next year? Not without Luis Suarez, and he is likely to leave for a more lucrative future in the summer transfer window.

Brendan Rodgers had it. He had the team on the cusp of its first title in 24 years and bad defending at the end of the game cancelled all his work. That's how tight things can be in the world's best league.

So what can Liverpool do to win next season? Hold on to Suarez is number 1, and unlikely to occur. A replacement will be difficult to get given the price some other strikers are going for at this time. Fernando Torres won't be moving out of Stamford Bridge, according to Mourinho. Maybe an up-and-coming player that succeeds at the World Cup?

Another reason Liverpool is the resuscitation of Chelsea via serious cash to be spent by Mourinho on strikers and general reshuffling of the team. Diego Costa comes to mind. Manchester United will have a rebuilding year in which they will not participate in European tournaments, reopening the door for the once-perennial contenders.

Liverpool has a young nucleus with which to build around as well: Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge and Coutinho have serious talent made exponentially more productive thanks to Luis Suarez. If Rodgers can tap on their energy and athleticism and make the right moves in the transfer market they could still be in contention, at the very least.

Liverpool missed an opportunity this year, however, with the collapse of Manchester United and Arsenal and some of the struggles Manchester City and Chelsea had.

Liverpool Returns and Performs in the EPL

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Liverpool FC, undoubtedly one of the more recognized names in world soccer, has had its long-overdue reawakening. With an unstopabble Suarez, a calm Steven Gerrard and a stout central spine, this team is fun to watch and nearly unstoppable.

Liverpool won't stop scoring. That's the long and short of it. With a league-high 88 goals in favor and all of April and May still to go, and a Luis Suarez primed for a record-breaking streak, it's hard to see how this team can be stopped right now.

Brendan Rogers has finally turned this team around after lackluster performances for almost a decade. The team has not won a major tournament since the Champions League in 2005 and domestically they have not won the league since the 1980s. Back then they had a dynasty. Lately, they were knocked out of the top four for several years until now.

Today's Liverpool is a great respite from the monopolizing Manchester United, Manchester City and Cheslea. And where we might have thought that Arsenal would walk away with the league during the first semester of the tournament, it is now clear that Wenger's team has imploded, paving the way for the Merseyside team.

Anfield deserves a major victory after all the work this team has done. From Skrtel to Sturridge, Leiva to Coutinho, this side has a wealth of dedicated stars to support Suarez in his exploits.

Whatever happens in April, Liverpool deserves where it is right now at the top of the Premier League table. This is going to be a classic finish to the league and all of us fans of the sport are rooting for the team that scores the most and enjoys the game. Right now that is Liverpool.

No Racism in Soccer

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There is a disease in this world more harmful to mankind than any other: prejudice. To this day, its ugly roots tend to go unchecked no matter who our president is or who our idols are. It touches us as nasty afterthoughts and cold stares. And it makes its way into football as well.

A month or so ago, the president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, argued that racism wasn't a factor in football. Whatever was said on the pitch should remain on the pitch and be between players and that was it. Really? I don't think that's the case when Mario Balotelli gets bananas thrown at him in Italy or when Oguchi Onyewu is insulted by players from a different squad, or even when Anton Ferdinand (brother of Rio Ferdinand) is verbally abused by fellow England national team defender John Terry. No, Mr Blatter, there is a serious, unnecessary situation here.

Couple all of the above with the obvious lack of any coaches of African descent in any of the Premier League teams. And then there is the recent altercation between Liverpool's Uruguayan ace Luis Suarez and Manchester United's iconic defender Patrice Evra. Suarez made racist remarks during a marquee match. Evra wasn't pleased and brought it to the FA.

So there you have it. It's distracting, it's a problem and it should be dealt with. You don't hear much about this sort of thing in other sports, at least none as prominent as what has been happening in soccer during the past couple of years. Let's not forget that an incendiary comment by Materazzi caused Zinedine Zidane to flare with emotion and head butt himself out of the final of 2006 and close the chapter for a talented French team that deserved better. Zidane should have known better but certain comments should not be allowed if they interfere with a person's integrity.

We are all guilty of prejudice at one point or another. But we are all capable of restraint even in the most dire of circumstances. It's what separates humans from other animals. Our cerebral cortex is made and meant to supersede instincts that can be detrimental. This isn't meant to be a rant. It's just a reminder that we are capable of more, especially for a game that we love so much.

The Rise of Uruguay in World Football

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If one had presumed that Uruguay would make it to the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup, it would have been considered a long shot. They made it in by winning the half spot play-in game against Concacaf's Costa Rica, a wild card so to speak. But at the World Cup we saw the rise of Luis Suarez and the reaffirmation of Diego Forlan, Eguren, Cavani and Lugano. Only Spain could defeat them in the end--and they ended up winning the cup.

Was it an oddity? No. This past summer we saw the same team knock off host-nation Argentina and win the tournament in convincing fashion against Paraguay. Throw in the fact that they went undefeated in 2011, including an away win at Italy, and you know something special is brewing.

Uruguay has always been about passion and defense. I grew up knowing them as "rageros," a word meaning "foulers." Their style was dirty to the point of intimidation. The Uruguay of old that won two of the first four World Cups had been eroded away. Uruguay's position in South America was up for grabs and this allowed teams like Bolivia, Colombia, Chile and Ecuador to advance to the ecumenical tournament throughout the past two decades. Uruguay sometimes made it in, but just by a hair.

The pushover, ragero days for Uruguay are over. After Suarez' crucial handball stop versus Ghana in 2010, everything seemed to change. Forlan's scintilating possession, Lugano's positioning on the pitch and Luis Suarez' nose for goals are only the tip of the iceberg. They dribble around defenses with precision, score sublime goals and win games in style. Luis Suarez' awareness is so impressive that defenders double or tripple up on him, enough so that players like Dirk Kuyt and Carrol, Cavani and Forlan, have room to create dangerous plays. His game transcends seamlessly from club to country and this is the same for other players like Forlan and Lugano. That's the real key to Uruguay. The players always play well, no matter when or for whom.

It's not inconceivable to asume that Uruguay will top Conmebol's qualifying campaign. Also not inconceivable that they could remain undefeated. And, at the end of the day, it's not inconceivable that La Celeste could win the World Cup, in Rio, all over again.

La Celeste wins the Copa America

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An unlikely final, perhaps. Uruguay and Paraguay would decide where the South American crown would go today. Uruguay won it with style, grit, passion and golazos. When the score is 3-0 you know something special happened.

For Uruguay it was Luis Suarez, perhaps one of the best forwards in the world, that really won the tournament for them. Behind him is Diego Forlan, a classy player and top scorer at last summer's World Cup in South Africa. This tandem, coupled with players like Lugano and Perez and with a solid goalkeeper in Muslera, comprised the most complete team in the 2011 Copa America.

The match was thoroughly controlled by Uruguay from start to finish. A near miss in the first 5 minutes where a Paraguayan handled the ball on the goal line brought back memories of Luis Suarez's game-saving handball against Ghana in last year's World Cup. But Suares is a different person now. His speed, agility and soccer intelligence brought the first goal after he unmarked himself from the defender and sent a shot past Villar. He also had a hand (a head, actually) in setting up Diego Forlan's final goal with a superb pass.

This final was also Diego Forlan's return to the big stage. And he did so in style. Two goals to finish Paraguay and give Uruguay its 15th Copa America title. Forlan was a master in midfield today and his goals came with power (first) and simple placement (second).

The always physical Uruguay defense had a similar foe today in Paraguay (South America's Italy). Perez again showed his knowledge of the defense to break up plays and intimidate the opponent. Arevalo and Caceres were pivotal in their roles and, along with Lugano, prevented Paraguay from settling into a rhythm.

Congratulations, Uruguay. You deserved the Copa America today. You also showed us that South America isn't just about Argentina and Brazil, Messi and Robinho, Neymar and Huguain. Uruguay made the semifinals of the World Cup 2010 for a reason and today they showed why they are the top team in Conmebol. Let's not forget that they won the first World Cup in 1930 and defeated Brazil in 1950. Somehow, the feeling of another "Maracanazo" is quite palpable. They already beat Argentina at their Copa America. Right now, with the way they are playing, this Uruguay team could top Brazil in 2014.

No Austerity: The 2011 Winter Transfer Market

There is no great recession. Not in sport. Not anymore. The Barclay's Premier League shelled out $345 million in order to revamp, reshape and restructure its major financial players: the big teams. It was Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea that ruled the direct deposit channels. Will this really change the way the game is played?

A few things are true: Fernando Torres ($79.5 million from Liverpool to Chelsea) was no longer happy with mid-table dwellers and Abromovich's Chelsea was ready to add oxygen to the fuel of its already-impressive attack (Anelka, Kalou, Drogba). Manchester City unhinged itself from under-used Adebayor only to snag Bosnian phenom Dzeko. We will hear that name more often now. But Liverpool didn't just lose one of the world's best strikers, they also made up for it with Newcastle's Andy Carroll and Ajax's Luis Suarez (yes, Mr. "hand of devil" versus Ghana). A better deal, given Torres' decline.

Real Madrid continued to splash the cash by snagging up Adebayor, but in the process they also lost their prize by falling far behind Barcelona for probably the final time this season. Mourinho, "the Special One" has some walls and isn't invincible.


Who's paying for all this? Abromovich is not the tycoon he once was and Chelsea reported a loss of 75 million pounds on this very day. Liverpool has a larger wallet now in the form of the New England Sports Ventures. A quick interview on Fox Soccer Channel showed just how serious the team was to John W. Henry. A toast to you.

Other "loan" moves included a few familiar names: Altidore (to Bursaspor of Turkey), Michael Bradley (to Aston Villa), Freddy Adu (Rizespor), Jermaine Jones (Blackburn Rovers). A loan implies part of the salary is paid by the lessee and the rest by the owner. In any case, a better chance for some of our compatriots. Other moves included Jefferson Montero (Villarreal to Levante) and Giovanni Dos Santos (Tottenham to Racing Santander). Read up on some other interesting deals here.

So, are we coming out of our austerity period? No, it's still the roaring 20s or surplus 90s.according to the soccer Gods. Is there a limit? MLS tries with its salary cap, but their "designated player" rule allows for 3 overpriced (a.k.a. Beckham) players in each team at their own discretion. This is, after all, a capitalist nation and a capitalist world, right? Sometimes it takes an idea, a special talent, to recognize that excess money doesn't always buy the best. Some teams sit still, sit quiet, spend gently and purposefully, and win championships.