February 10, 2015 at 5:36 PM
Good soccer reads: Wrapping up the African Cup of Nations
The African Cup of Nations is one of my favorite international soccer tournaments, and this story on Just-Football.com hits on all the reasons why.
AFCON might not be the most technically sound, skilled or well-run tournament in the world, but it never fails to entertain.
More than any other continental showpiece, it routinely comes up with the type of human stories that can blow you away. See: Zambia in 2012. And read the story linked above on Ivory Coast goalkeeper Boubacar Barry, for years a scapegoat as CIV always tripped itself up at the last hurdle and, on Sunday, an unlikely, championship-winning hero.
- Prost Amerika has put together a three-part series with the Sounders’ new general manager and president of soccer. All three sections — here are parts one, two and three — are worth your time.
- A rule of thumb: Any time Brian Phillips writes on soccer, it’s likely to reappear in this space. His Grantland story on Steven Gerrard isn’t his longest work but touches on the place of local heroes in an increasingly globalized sports landscape.
- More from the AFCON, as Nick Ames was at the Equatorial Guinea-Ghana semifinal for the Guardian for the tournament’s ugliest scenes.
- Also for SI, Grant Wahl wades into the murky world of FIFA politics and breaks down the implications for U.S. Soccer’s supporter for Sepp Blatter challenger Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein.
| More in Good soccer reads
The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only, and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.