Search: ' Brad Friedel'

Will the home triumph at the 1999 women's World Cup be a real breakthrough for football in the USA, or just a one-off? Ethan Zindler weighs up the evidence

With no goals scored, the women’s World Cup final at the Pasadena Rose Bowl had delivered as ignominious a conclusion as the men’s final at the same venue in 1994. Yet none of the ecstatic 90,000 red, white, and blue supporters seemed troubled by the injustices of penalties. The tournament was over. But America’s love affair with its soccer divas was just getting started.

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I would doubt strongly whether any Premiership player was contractually permitted to be described as “underrated”. Ken Gall

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Like it or not, more foreigners are on their way. Guy Osborn and Steve Greenfield explain the new work permit rules in the pipeline

The argument that too many foreigners are ruining British football often revolves around quality rather than quantity. By common consent the likes of Ginola, Zola and Stam have made a positive contribution to the Premier League but there are many others who could be regarded as journeymen. It is this influx, the critics argue, that is devaluing the national character of the game and denying domestic players opportunities. Changes now being considered by the Department of Education and Employment may result in even greater numbers of overseas players coming into the country.

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He may have excellent shot-stopping ability, but Robert Fordham wonders if David James' occasional moments of madness have cost him his place at Liverpool

So, farewell David James. Consigned to the subs’ bench after over 200 consecutive appearances for Liverpool, and at a time when papers were still writing about you as an outside England contender, given the injuries to Walker and Seaman. A tale that begs a question: how on earth did the archetypal "dodgy keeper" last so long?

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Graeme Souness made quite an impression in Istanbul. David O'Byrne reports

Draw up any list of controversial managers and the name Graeme Souness is sure to figure. At Rangers he had been presented with carte blanche to do whatever he wanted to achieve the desired success. At Liverpool, his fortunes took a dive. There were people there who had their own ideas about football and weren’t about to be steamrollered. More importantly, money for new players wasn’t in unlimited supply and the competition was harder than in Scotland. With one FA Cup and a lot of bad feeling, Souness departed and dropped out of football circles. It was, he was later to admit, a difficult time. He needed the thrill of a big job to lure him back into the game.

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