Gamesmanship vs Cheating

Last weekend, an incident occurred in the German Bundesliga in a bottom-half of the table battle between SV Werder Bremen and FC Nürnberg. 

Werder Bremen player Aaron Hunt took a large touch past a Nürnberg defender inside of the penalty area and appeared to stumble before going to ground. The referee immediately stopped play and awarded a penalty kick to Bremen. However, Hunt approached the referee to say a few words and the referee reversed his decision.

Upon closer look at the replay, it looks as if Hunt almost trips or drags his right foot across the ground to simulate a foul just after he is past his defender - in other words, a dive. After the game, Hunt even admitted he had attempted to gain an advantage:

“It was clear to me that I made a mistake. That’s why I did not have to think much about it. We don't want to win like that, not even in a battle for relegation.”

In a sport in which winning at all costs seems to be the motto of the day, Hunt's fair play, as some are calling it, has been deemed "refreshingly honest". 

Jose Reyes: Soccer is more than just a game...

This is the first part of what I hope to be a frequently occurring component to this blog. These articles will feature different guest writers, who will provide slightly different, or even alternate, perspectives on soccer in America. Each writer will have at least one thing in common - a shared involvement in soccer at the grassroots and developmental level in this country. 

I first met Jose Reyes in Carson, CA at the USSF C License course in July 2012. Quiet and unassuming at first, he quickly came out of his shell and proved to be very knowledgeable and collaborative with myself and our other classmates. I got to know him very well in the week and a half that the course lasted, and am happy to continue to have him as a colleague who I can bounce ideas off of and share resources. The following is Jose's response to my request that he contribute to this blog.

Things to come...

It's been a while since I have actually posted anything on this blog. I do have a couple of things I am working on in my spare time that I hope to have out within the next couple of weeks (I know that I keep saying that but this time I mean it!).

However, I do have some exciting news: