Sign up for Rory Smith’s weekly soccer newsletter at nytimes.com/rory. MANCHESTER, England — Every year, on the day of the Champions League final, European soccer’s governing body gathers a handful of coaches, former players and all-purpose grandees to reflect on that season’s competition: the patterns, the trends, the developments, the warning signs. This is UEFA’s […] More
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — With just days to go before N.F.L. players vote on a 10-year labor agreement, one of the most influential members of its union’s executive committee has accused the staff of the N.F.L. Players Association of negotiating the proposed deal in bad faith. Russell Okung, who has been vocal opponent of the […] More
HARRISON, N.J. — One goal separated the United States women’s soccer team and Spain on Sunday. The distance between the American players and the United States Soccer Federation, however, apparently remains incalculable. On the field, of course, neither the team nor the federation that employs it would dispute that their goals continue to align nicely. […] More
MANCHESTER, England — Old Trafford, for a while, was quiet, apprehensive, a place without a voice. Manchester United’s fans watched Manchester City draw its pretty patterns on the field in truculent silence for 30 minutes or so, fretting and murmuring whenever danger seemed imminent. The only noise came from the corner reserved for City’s traveling […] More
Enjoying this newsletter every week? Send it to a friend, or six, and tell them to sign up at nytimes.com/rory. In the space of four days, Liverpool saw its dreams crumble into dust. At Watford last Saturday, defeat ensured Jürgen Klopp’s team lost an unbeaten record it had spent months carefully curating, fiercely defending. It […] More
The luxury homes on a Spanish island and the gleaming yachts moored in Mediterranean ports were all trappings of a life well-lived. They were also, according to the Spanish authorities, the fruits of a multimillion-dollar money laundering and tax-evasion operation controlled by one of world soccer’s most powerful soccer agents, which last month resulted in […] More
FRANKFURT — There is a single black flag where the heart of the Commerzbank Arena should be. All around it, in the stadium’s Kurve, the terraces that are ordinarily home to Eintracht Frankfurt’s most ardent and raucous fans are empty. Exposed, they are just concrete: desolate, silent and gray. The flag, a couple dozen rows […] More
The fate of the N.F.L.’s proposed 10-year labor deal will reach a critical juncture this week. Though the players union’s executive committee and the 32 representatives from each team did not agree last week to endorse the proposal, the entire union membership is expected to begin voting this week on the far-reaching agreement. As in […] More
