Campfire Football

I am attending the United Soccer Coaches Convention this week. It is remote so I get to watch amazing discussions, panels, and interviews on a variety of topics related to the game. Today I saw Tyler Adams, Kelly O'Hara, Jordan Morris, and Crystal Dunn talk about adversity and versatility. Then I watched a talk about Dynamic Investment in Women's Football so I'll give my takeaways from each discussion.

I forgot to spare a thought for Shalke, who snapped one of the worst winless streaks I've ever heard of, Chelsea men and ladies won, and FA Cup magic from Marine, Crawley Town, and Spurs.

Football from all over today. Ligue 1, La Liga, Bundesliga, FA Cup, Serie A. I watched a lot of football and stuck with teams that are my "neutral's picks." Here are a few teams from different leagues that I recommend looking into if you are trying to broaden your horizons. There are also some feel-good stories that we can all use right now.

Here's another while I'm on Recordinho mode. If you don't watch the Bundesliga and missed the match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Bayern Munich to watch Liverpool's first team thrash the Aston Villa kids, I've got you covered. The reality is that even though the Bundesliga seems like a formality because of Bayern's annual dominance, the football is fantastic between them and other quality sides.

The FA has made this story more noteworthy with a statement released this morning regarding Edinson Cavani and the ban he received for his Instagram post that caused a lot of controversy.

Anybody who was offended by his post, I have no issue with that.

I just wanted to offer a perspective on why we should be more sensitive to cultural differences before taking punitive action against somebody who has misspoken or was unaware of cultural sensitivities. As I said, we live in a tense time, so less confrontation and more conversation is the best approach.

Society is a tinderbox. We are living in a glass house with a pile of rocks. It's up to us to decide if we want to pick them up and toss 'em. I started this podcast to bring a positive and measured voice to the sphere. Who's with me?

Some of the cautions we see these days are nothing short of bizarre. The actual laws of the game are rarely enforced in some cases and overly litigated in others. Are the bookings doled out by referees actually befitting of the crimes?

Deena Rahman is a downright heroine and inspiration. Her dedication to football has led her to drastically grow the girls game in the Middle East. She has also broken 5 world records and used football as a binding agent for goodness in humanity. Brilliant. Read the story by Kathleen McNamee on ESPN and FIFA's exclusive as well.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/blog-espn-fc-united/story/4277337/rahmans-mission-smash-guinness-world-records-and-challenge-soccers-gender-equality-problem

https://www.fifa.com/womens-football/news/deena-rahman-s-love-of-special-challenges

https://news.lenovo.com/equal-playing-field-deena-rahman-womens-soccer-football/

It seems as if every manager in the league gets their turn being under immense pressure to keep their job. They all have to walk a plank and hope their executives don't knock them off before turning things around. Yet most of them seem to do it, given the time. So are we that patient?

Atleti's Kieran Trippier was hit with a 2 month ban and a 75,000 Pound fine for allegedly breaching betting rules and regulations. This whole story is bizarre, especially after news this morning that the ban has been suspended until appeal. I ask some questions about what is going on here.