Category Archives: Glancing Headers

It’s the Formation, Stupid…

Torres has been brilliant, and Stevie and Xabi are back on form. But the reason Liverpool is winning again is that the 4-2-3-1 formation allows each of them to play his best game Continue reading

Posted in Glancing Headers | 9 Comments

Why I’m Happy England Failed

Guest Column: Saifedean Ammous may be a passionate England football fan, but he’s glad they were dumped out of Euro 2008 qualifying by Croatia last Wednesday. Here’s why Why I’m Happy England Failed to Qualify for Euro 2008 By Saifedean … Continue reading

Posted in Glancing Headers, Guest Columns | 9 Comments

Cricket’s Coded Conversation

It is with unrestrained joy that I introduce my friend Balaji, a Madras-born scientist currently teaching at Princeton, who, in agreeing some months ago to write an analysis on the cultural and political subtexts of Australian umpire Darryl Hair falsely … Continue reading

Posted in Annals of Globalization, Glancing Headers, Guest Columns | 37 Comments

Back to Reality: Does the World Cup Still Matter?

Golden Boot? 2006 Was About the Golden Shin Guard It was tough defenders with an ability to raid the flanks like Zambrotta, rather than forwards like Totti or Luca Toni, that shone for Italy As a football spectacle, Germany 2006 … Continue reading

Posted in Glancing Headers, Situation Report | 16 Comments

Bend it Like Mahmoud?

Ahmedinajad trains with Iran’s World Cup Squad Having failed so far to get any traction on efforts to impose sanctions on Iran, frustration is creeping in among some of its foes as they seek new, innovative ways to punish Tehran. … Continue reading

Posted in Glancing Headers, Situation Report | 6 Comments

Hamba Kahle, Ace Ntsoelengoe

If you were a white boy in the suburbs of Cape Town during the heyday of apartheid in the early 1970s, you didn’t know any black people. Not only socially, but even as public figures. That was the whole idea: … Continue reading

Posted in From Tony's Archive, Glancing Headers, The Whole World's Africa | 29 Comments

At Least Now England Have an Excuse

Becks, Rooney and Owen: A Bridge Too Far? Yes, of course the loss of Wayne Rooney is devastating to England’s imagined World Cup prospects, but to be frank, those prospects were hopelessly over-imagined by the English media. Rooney’s injury, and … Continue reading

Posted in Glancing Headers | 4 Comments

What We Learn from Adidas

Zidane has a word with his player-coach I caugt Adidas’s hilarious new World Cup “equipo” ad (click here to view as MPG), whose conceit involves two ten-year-old boys in an unnamed Latin American country picking imaginary teams to play each … Continue reading

Posted in Glancing Headers | 13 Comments

Osama, the Gunners and Me

Why Argentina? Yet another OBL photoshop job found on the Web Note to CIA Bin Laden trackers: If you want to catch OBL on Wednesday April 19, find a pub anywhere in Waziristan that has ESPN access, or conversely, do … Continue reading

Posted in Glancing Headers | 27 Comments

Why Germany Won’t Win the World Cup

Mourinho’s white flag: Robert Huth 1. They’re too home-based Most of the world’s best footballers earn their living in one of three domestic leagues: Spain’s La Liga; Italy’s Seria A; and the English Premiership. In other words, Germany’s Bundesliga is … Continue reading

Posted in Glancing Headers | 8 Comments