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
Get an informed guide to the global outbreak with our daily Coronavirus newsletter. Italian soccer teams and Serie A’s governing body are squabbling with each other about when to play games, with Inter Milan’s chief executive, Giuseppe Marotta, saying the season even runs the risk of being unable to finish. Five games scheduled in the […] More
The most explosive announcement of Major League Soccer’s off-season this year came in the form of an emotional, intimate moment shared on YouTube. Through tears last month, Javier Hernández, the top scorer for Mexico’s national team, called his parents in his hometown, Guadalajara, and told them he had decided to end his decade-long career in […] More
Let it never be said that N.F.L. prospects do not support each other. As Michael Turk, a 21-year-old punter out of Arizona State, approached the bench press at the N.F.L. draft scouting combine in Indianapolis on Thursday, he was cheered on by a crowd of prospects undoubtedly baffled by the sight of the only punter […] More
Enjoying this newsletter every week and eager to tell your friends about it? Good. Send them this week’s edition and tell them to sign up here: nytimes.com/rory. Thank goodness for those 10 minutes, when Gabriel Jesus and Kevin de Bruyne scored, Sergio Ramos walked, the Bernabéu fell silent and Real Madrid fell apart. Until then, […] More
As it enters its 25th season, Major League Soccer has developed a bit of a swagger. “In 10 years, we’ll pass baseball and hockey to be the third-biggest sport in the U.S.,” said Larry Berg, the lead managing owner of Los Angeles F.C. “The league will vault way past Liga MX” — the Mexican first […] More
MONZA, Italy — Filippo Antonelli remembers the days when his calls went unanswered. As sporting director of Monza — a soccer club with a shoestring budget and narrow horizons in Italy’s third tier — he had little clout with his peers. To discuss a player on another team, or to make an offer to sell […] More
