Rory Smith
Posts
Messi, Ronaldo and Soccer’s Golden Sunset
This year’s World Cup will be the last for some household names, meaning soccer will go into the tournament with one elite and emerge with...
World Cup Hangs in Balance for U.S., Mexico and Cristiano Ronaldo
A week of high-stakes games will fill out the field for the winter’s World Cup. Not everyone gets to go.
Ada Hegerberg Wants to See How Good She Can Be
The world’s best women’s player lost nearly two years to injury. Now she’s back and eager to get herself, Lyon and maybe even Norway to...
At P.S.G., Kylian Mbappé Has to Go
Mbappé is a generational talent who deserves a bigger stage on a weekly basis than the one Paris St.-Germain can offer.
Poland Refused to Play Russia Once. It May Have to Do So Again.
Poland’s stars cornered FIFA by threatening to boycott a World Cup qualifier. Now, as Russia appeals the decision, Robert Lewandowski, Wojciech Szczesny and their teammates...
Roman Abramovich and the End of Soccer’s Oligarch Era
Stripped of its Russian benefactor, Chelsea now faces a reckoning. Soccer’s will come next.
Real Madrid Rally Leaves P.S.G. Chasing Goals and Ghosts
Karim Benzema’s second-half hat trick delivered a familiar disappointment to a star-studded French champion.
City Thumps United in Manchester Derby Stripped of Its Tension
The Manchester derby has changed, mostly because United can no longer keep pace and City no longer has anything to prove.
The Artist Who Painted a City
As Jesse Marsch takes over Leeds United, he faces the difficult task of replacing Marcelo Bielsa, who was equal parts coach and icon.
Russia, Soccer and a Line Drawn Too Late
Soccer did not have to allow itself to be the field in which geopolitical rivalries played out, or the stage on which oligarchs sought power...