SoccerProse.com

Last Saturday Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta collapsed during a Primera Liga match against Getafe.

On Tuesday, at 22 years old, he was dead.

While Puerta was able to walk off the field under his own power, he collapsed again in the dressing room and had to have cardiac resuscitation before being taken to the hospital. However, he remained in critical condition and could never recover from the prolonged cardiac arrest.

It was a sad day not only for Puerta and his family (he was going to be a father in a month and a half), but also for the football world in general. Having this happen to such a young and promising player is a reminder that while we may put our sports stars on pedestals, they are still fragile and mortal human beings.

But how does something like this happen? It’s not the first time either. Cameroon’s Marc-Vivien Foe collapsed and died in 2003, and Miklos Feher of Benfica died in January 2004. Serginho, a defender for Sao Caetano also died in a match in 2004, while, Hugo Cunha died in 2005.

Soccer players are some of the fittest athletes on the globes and must pass strenuous physical examinations to be able to play. Puerta himself passed Sevilla’s tests before the season began, which is why this tragedy is so disconcerting.

When Wayne Rooney broke his foot, the press called into question the protection that modern soccer shoes provided and blew the event out of the water. Now something much more serious has occurred and I’m waiting to hear the outcry over the loss of a player, not just for a few months, but forever. This isn’t a call to point blame anywhere. I just don’t want to see another athlete never make it back to the field.

Soccer, by nature, is a players’ game.

With no timeouts to stop the action, coaches must get their message across before the game begins or at halftime, and hope their players recognize and adjust on the field. One of the great things about the beautiful game is that it allows for the creativity of the players to come through. While some coaches may instruct from the sidelines, the players are not confined to rigid sets and plays.

While the free-flowing fluidity of soccer is one of its most appealing aspects, coaches must not forget that set plays in dead ball situations can just as easily turn into great goal-scoring opportunities.

Whether it’s a free kick in the field or a corner kick, implementing a variety of “plays” for your team is essential to creating dangerous scoring chances.

Let’s start with your options from a corner kick. Whether the defense opts for zonal or man-to-man marking, there are a variety of ways to spring players free. Bringing a player toward the flag for a short corner (if unmarked) or the illusion of a short corner (to draw a defender out and create more space in the box) is a good opening run. If you can play a short corner that may allow for a two on one set-up on the wing and open up a different angle for a cross. Another variation to the short corner is after making the initial pass, a second pass is made to the top corner of the box. While this is going on, the player who took the corner can be making a back door run along the end line, looking for a pass. I witnessed this very play at a Kansas City Wizards game and the defense was caught off-guard by the variation in the corner kick. […]

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As the end of the summer draws to a close, so starts the beginning of a new soccer season. All across the world, coaches and players are beginning to train for the new season whether they are youth teams, high school teams, college teams or professional teams.

As an assistant coach for the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville men’s soccer program, preparation for the coming season is extremely crucial for the success of our team.

Before practices even begin, it is important that the coaching staff gets together and has a beginning-of-the-year meeting. At this meeting, the coaches need to organize everything. For example, at SIUE we have to make sure that all of the practice shorts, shirts, shoes, socks, and other gear are ready for the first day. This meeting is also a good opportunity to discuss the goals and expectations for the coming season. Setting goals for the season will ensure that you follow an organized and structured path to trying to attain these goals. […]

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With the amazing boost in ratings that Beckham has brought MLS, it’s tough to set your mind to the day that he leaves Major League Soccer. The day that all the Beckham L.A. Galaxy jerseys have been sold and the last of his swerving free kicks have been taken, what happens then?

I’m sure there’s a think tank of America’s greatest marketing minds hidden somewhere in the jungles of Los Angeles pondering this issue right now. Let me throw my idea out there and see if it sticks: Beckham needs an entourage.  Not Tom Cruise. Not Will Smith. Not any A-List actor. He needs to pal around with other MLS players right now. He needs to hang with his boys that play on the same pitch. Why? He’s clearly not in the same tax bracket. Probably lives way outside any of their neighborhoods.

He needs to do it because the American soccer fan has to cheer for more than David Beckham right now. We need to learn about Jozy Altidore, Luciano Emilio, Juan Toja, Landon Donovan and the rest of the guys that really make Major League Soccer tick. There has to be amazing stories and cool personalities among the hundreds of MLS players. Hook Beckham up with them so that his spotlight can share their story. All he has to do is mention the name of another player in an interview and they become the next storyline. […]

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According to many coaches, all excellent teams have excellent goalies.

“To be able to win you need to have a great keeper in soccer today. Simply, a good goalie is half of the team.”

Sir Alex Ferguson spoke those strong words after Manchester United won the Community Shield over its rival Chelsea in penalty kicks, because of the great performance by Manchester United keeper Edwin Van Der Sar.

From those words, from one of the best coaches that will ever teach this wonderful game, we can realize how important the position of goalkeeper is to a team.

In my opinion, the goalkeeper is the most responsible position in soccer. A goalie is the last person that stands between winning and losing. The only one that can make a difference with crucial saves for the benefit of the whole team.

But what goes into the development and selection of a goalie? Today, we will be able to learn at what age ranges goalkeepers are selected and what kind of abilities they need to have to be able to deserve the shirt with the magical No. 1 on the back. […]

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Wayne Rooney breaks a bone in his foot again and the world needs answers.

There’s no way that Rooney is fragile. He is the definition of an English bulldog. There has to be some outside force causing this problem. Well, last weekend that outside force was Michael Duberry of Reading. Many claim the shoes are not protecting the player from impact so that they can be lighter. What kind of shield are soccer players supposed to wear on the top of their shoe to protect them from breaking a bone? Can you imagine the army style boots that would be necessary?  The truth of what happened to Rooney is somewhere between him possibly not drinking enough milk as a child, and Nike not making a soccer shoe that provides protection. The shoes are lighter, but they are also very strong and well tested. Rooney himself put in time with Nike in developing his signature shoe to his specifications. Dozens of professional players wore the Nike Total 90 Laser last weekend and didn’t break any bones. Surely, many of them received a challenge equal to Duberry’s on Rooney (including teammate Patrice Evra who was wearing the same boots when Dave Kitson tackled him). Rooney plays incredibly tough and pushes his body to the limit with every step on the field. He is literally pushing himself to his breaking point. I love to watch him play and I will miss him for the next 6-8 weeks.

Here’s one last interesting point of irony – the bottom of the Total 90 Laser has a graphic of a skeleton foot.  I wonder which one of those bones Rooney actually broke.

With the Barclay’s English Premier League getting underway this weekend it’s time to take a shot at predicting how the season will turn out. Last year’s champions, Manchester United, were all but written off as title challengers before the season began, and Reading was picked to finish at the bottom of the table by many. So much for prognostications. Now after a summer of some lavish spending around the EPL, here is one writer’s feeble attempt to make sense of what will most likely be a wildly entertaining and unpredictable season. Feel free to remind me of all of the crow I will need to eat when the real standings turn these upside down.

1. Manchester United: Ok, so no big surprises right off the bat. It’s hard to bet against the Red Devils after the summer they’ve had. In bringing in Nani, Anderson, Owen Hargreaves and most recently Carlos Tevez, Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has not only strengthened his squad for the EPL, but also to conquer Europe. His signings also signal that United are looking to solidify their future as the careers of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes wind down. The only area where United did not beef up was in defense. While Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand formed a solid partnership in the middle, any injuries (especially if Gabriel Heinze leaves) could leave United a little thin at the back. Like last season a fast start will be key for United to get points early so that they will again be the ones being chased. […]

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It’s a name I never thought I’d know, at least not for another decade, and it’s a name I really don’t want to know right now.

For those who don’t know, Rhain Davis is a nine-year-old soccer prodigy who was recently, and very publicly, signed by Manchester United. The Red Devils discovered Davis, who is from Australia but also qualifies for England through his father’s side, after his grandfather sent them a DVD of him playing. The tape has now blown up on YouTube, being viewed more than three million times already. […]

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