Courtside Post

By Raphael Perahia

In his final installment, Raphael Perahia explains why even the world’s best can bore us to sleep, how fans’ dreams of hoisting the Cup can be lived out by their countrymen, and has some parting words for El Pulpo Paul wrapping up this tremendously entertaining World Cup blog.

By Raphael Perahia

Following hot on the heels of the cruelest losses that I have seen in any football tournament, I was hopeful that Saturday would be better. Ghana’s heartache reminded me of my last blog post and how cruel football can be. Unlike most American sports, the better team does not always win. Like life, football can be “the best of times and the worst of times”. Bet you never thought I’d hit you with a Dickens quote. Booyah.

by Leon Walker

Forget Manchester, Milan and Madrid. These are the homes of European soccer powerhouses that you will have heard of. But with the neo-feudal division of wealth between teams, no draft system to level the playing field and the ever-present threat of relegation, most Europeans blindly follow teams with absolutely no hope of winning a title, let alone putting a chink in the gold plated armor of the Champions League.