One of the better-written stories about new USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinnsman's deliberate effort to create an onfield identity for the US Men's National Team that somehow matches the culture of the United States of America, by Brian Straus of AOL Sporting News.

The money quote by Klinnsman:

“One of my challenges will be to find a way to define how a U.S. team should represent its country. What should be the style of play? Is it more proactive and aggressive, a forward-thinking style of play? Or is it more reacting style of play,” Klinsmann asked shortly after his appointment.

With some of the biggest professional soccer leagues in the world finalizing their squads this week, it got me wondering about how this frentic marketplace effects the average fan and supporter. Let me explain, this is what many English pundits call "silly season." Unlike most American professional sports where trades and salary caps regulate a teams personnel, soccer is dominated by transfer markets, where clubs buy and sell the contracts of a player at what is deemed fair market value for the player's services. Often time the media and fan base can have a large influence on who goes where or the terms of the deal.

This brings me to my point: why do we care? Are we so invested in a sport and their stars that our sole focus throughout the "silly season" is on the market? Do we really become the Wall Street traders of soccer? Yes and no. Fans and supporters do keep a close eye on "commodity trading," but more so the everyday fan and supporter care about the club and the promise for something better. Each year we all believe our club will win it all. Few actually do. Barcelona FC has recently become the exception to the rule having won every title it competes in. The reality is that putting our faith and hopes into clubs is much like the ambition to have a better life we all strive for. And through our obession of following transfers we somehow feel more in control over our own situation. While Americans have the opportunity reflected by the pursuit of the American dream, the rest of the world can see it in their soccer club's push for success; and it's during the transfer season when this becomes most transparent to each of us.

Editor's Note: I believe there is a third-level answer to "Why do we care (about silly season)?" that, as Aaron suggests, goes beyond obsession with our favorite clubs, and fascination with the trading of players as commodities.  The most intrinsic factor that compels us to football transfers might be that there is no cultural parallel for it in any other sport, labor market or maybe even sociology.  The idea, for example, of a 30 year old Cameroonian being sold by a global powerhouse Italian club for a reported 28M Euros to an obscure Russian club that commutes by plane to its own home games from the safer confines of suburban Moscow...it's so culturally mind-boggling that it at least adds a layer of complexity to our annual obsession with the transfer window.

Author: Matthew Spitz, Founder & Editor, USFutblog

One of my favorite soccer memories came when I was living in a little Costa Rican town called La Paz. I was staying with a family down there and their 9 year old son wanted to have a soccer pass. So, we walked outside their shanty home to the dirt road street and started to mess around with the ball. Before I knew it our one on one pass turned into a 8 v. 8 street game. Kids just flocked toward the ball; it was really unbelievable. To witness first hand the impact soccer had in brining this miniscule community together was a crazy experience. I never realized the significance the sport could have until that moment. Pure bliss is the only way I can describe it, as time stood still. 

Years ago, there use to be a pub on a college campus (which for the sake of anonymity will remain anonymous) that we use to drink at. It was a small, cramped place. But it was ours. The pub was the hub for all the soccer players, fans, and aficionados on campus. From undergrads to masters and PhDs, we all came together to share stories. Some came from Barcelona, others from Liverpool. We spanned the globe, with Argentinians, New Zealanders, Chinese and many others. But what brought us together wasn't the beer or the questionable food, but soccer....

The stories of our father's teaching us the game, and mother's consoling us after loss were prevalent in almost any conversation. What made these experiences unique and colorful were how different we all dealt with the same issues and that at the end of the day, playing or being a part of a community that embraced us for who we are was all that we needed.

I'll always remember a friend from Barcelona telling me to stop eating fries because it was bad for me, and a Liverpudlians and a Münchner then stuffing their face with the fries and telling the Catalonian...."This is how you eat fries!" The bond we share is based on soccer, the memories we have are based on coming together, as one global soccer community. It's what binds us...

President, Compton United Soccer Club

I was standing in my garage amazed. Just three hours ago this place had been a disorganized mess – bins teeming over with used cleats, boxes of t-shirts and donated uniforms cluttering the floor, dust and soccer balls wedged in between it all. But now, after just a few hours of steady work, the place had been transformed into a tidy, organized, workable space. And Luis’ beaming smile testified that he had done it all himself.

I was smiling too, and not just because of my newly tidied garage. In the few years I had come to know Luis, I was seeing changes in him. His life was slowly being “reorganized” and put into place. We were seeing him become the kind of “space” where God could work as well.

When I first met Luis, he was struggling – at school, with his family, and with himself. He was a talented soccer player, often leading his Compton United team in scoring. But CU is as much about excelling OFF the field as on – and Luis was not doing that.

Like many teens, Luis’ most obvious problem was his attitude. He was a likeable kid, as long as things were going well. But when his teammates played below his expectations, he yelled. When the refs made calls he didn’t like, he argued. When teachers made decisions he didn’t agree with, he rebelled.

When Luis joined the club, he had the opportunity to spend time with men who were willing to invest in his character as well as his playing ability. His coaches and I put in a lot of time with Luis – hanging out, talking about life an soccer, digging into topics like anger and attitude – and yes, even cleaning out garages. Changes were slow but Luis was growing. It was clear that he was full of leadership potential.

In 2009, Luis was chosen as one of 4 guys to be a part of our most intense leadership development program – the Crash Elite. These 4 students, chosen because of their outstanding leadership potential, were placed in mentoring relationships with the pro players that volunteer with Compton United. (One of my main objectives for my chaplain work with the professional LA teams, Chivas USA and the Galaxy, was the recruit Christian players to work alongside our guys. The Crash Elite is the program that we created as a result!) Throughout the MLS season, the Crash Elite players meet weekly with the players (currently Justin Braun and Micheal Lahoud) for a private soccer training sessions. After those sessions end, the players take the boys out for dinner, where the mentoring really happens. Over a sandwich they discuss life, faith, school, relationships, future plans, college, girls, soccer, and anything else that comes up!

It has been during this period of time we have seen the most growth in Luis. His grades have shot up, his attitude at home has changed. He builds up his teammates and controls himself from yelling at the refs. He has become a very positive role model.

Several years ago, college was never on Luis’ radar. Now he actively participates in our College Advisory Group and is making plans to apply for college after he graduates high school.

As Luis wrote about his time in Crash Elite, “As each day passes and I am learning new stuff from Michael and Justin, I see them not just like professionals or friends – I see them like family. I know that if I ever need good advice about school, house problems, or family problems, Michael is the perfect guy. Now if I need advice about girls, soccer, or forward skills, Justin is the perfect guy. Being with them has changed my life. They taught me how to respect women, everything takes time, don’t hurry thru things, and always listen to my parents and take care of my family.”

It is evident to all of us that a new Luis is emerging. His grades have shot up, his attitude at home has changed (as noted by his parents!), and he’s active in our College Advisory Group as he makes plans for his future. He has become a leader among his teammates, building them up on the field and controlling himself with the refs. He has become a very positive role model for all of Compton United.

*Please support Compton United Soccer Club and Mike Herman's tireless efforts to improve the soccer and life experiences of youth in his community!

The saddest thing about Grant Wahl's candidacy for FIFA President- recapped here in a great Wahl story about his last 6 weeks of campaigning- isn't that he didn't secure an FA nomination.  Even if he had, he'll readily admit he likely wouldn't have won. 

And it's not that the USSF wouldn't nominate him- even though the United States might've had the best rationale.  I don't know what Sunil Gulati's relationship is with Blatter, but even if most large FAs fear political backlash in nominating an alternative candidate like Wahl, Gulati had the most legitimate basis for nominating Wahl; he could have said:

"He's a passionate American journalist who really has no chance to beat you, Mr. Blatter, so we can make a good faith gesture to a raucous US fan base that has supported Mr. Wahl- after all, we are the country that started this whole "Freedom of the Press" thing- and since you have nothing to hide in how you've manipulated, er, lead FIFA these last 8 years, then you'll actually look like a champ if you applaud USSF's hopeless nomination of its own journalist."

And the saddest thing isn't even the saddest and most conclusive sentence Wahl - after immersing himself in the merciless FIFA political muck for most of two months - wrote this: "...an outside candidate is doomed to fail in the world of FIFA politics, where the old men in the navy suits have all the power."  In other words, even our brilliant and independent scribe didn't find a glimmer of hope.

The saddest thing is UEFA's apparent bloc plan of continuing FIFA's status quo.  According to an unnamed "official from a World Cup-winning FA" that Wahl met with, UEFA President Michel Platini (of France) plans to run for FIFA president in 2015, when Blatter has said he won't seek yet another term.  In the meantime, all 53 European soccer nations- representing the most powerful, collectively wealthy, and best represented FIFA region and a full 25% of ALL FIFA nations- is apparently paralyzed in fear of supporting ANY opposition to Blatter.

Fear. Leaders of soccer nations are utterly afraid of...well, themselves, basically, and would sooner throw away FOUR years (a full World Cup cycle, 2 Gold Cup cycles, a collegiate career, an absolutely critical time period in the era of digital media and political transparency) than do what's right and open up FIFA, saving it from an, abysmal legacy of corruption and secrecy. They would rather bide their time for a chance to continue the tradition of secret ballots, locked documents, mysterious payments and ridiculous leadership than make a change, ensuring that soccer's most powerful and global governing body maintains a laughable disconnect with what actually happens when 22 men or women throw a ball onto a field and play. 

I wish I could convince my favorite college journalism professor Ted Gup, former Washington post investigative report and author of CIA bestseller The Book of Honor, to dive in and report the hell out of what goes on in the clouded world of FIFA.  But more importantly I hope that Grant Wahl doesn't give up and that he, or someone with equal care for the sport, steps up to defeat the long line of stuffy suits that hold this office. 

Except that I shared the story with my coworker, a great guy that I shared an office with at Google.  He was a brilliant business guy with an MBA from UCLA and an impressive resume.  I learned a lot from him in our 2+ years working together. And I knew that he had substance- a great family man who loved soccer and great up in Brazil (but had roots in other nations, too).  What I didn't know until sharing the Renken story: my friend grew up in a small Brazilian town playing soccer with wadded up plastic bag balls. 

I had to look no further than 2 feet away to know someone who had experienced a very different soccer upbringing that I did in a well-run suburban youth league.   

-jeff

Our way of sharing these stories - the core of what FCearth wants to be all about - is the Soccer Storytellers Project.  It's simple:  remember a story that influenced your understanding of soccer's place in this world, and share it with us.

We'll simply collect and share them for now. And we'll see if there's something else we need to do with them in the future. 

Arguably one of the reasons soccer has become the world's game, is it's accessibility. All you need is some space and something roundish, and the game's fluid nature can adapt to your local geography and architecture. We found a beautiful set of photos that.

O Campo is a photography series by Joachim Schmid, concerning irregular Brazilian football fields. These organic invented fields are resulting products of vacant/waste lands together with a rising demand for playgrounds. A pure example of contextual urbanism, where the built existing context is the one who fixes the rules.

As the photographer states: the desire for playing the game has clearly surpassed and ignored the limitations of natural topography and FIFA’s laws.

[all images> joachim schmid photographing brazilian football fields via multicipios brasil]

+ Via Deconcrete