Posts by Ricardo Bernard
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Paris Is Rising: The Elephant and the 19 Mice of French Football
There is an elephant and 19 mice in French football. L’Equipe, France’s largest sports daily, was the one to coin that phrase but it seems players and managers agree. In a recent survey 85 percent of players picked the same team to win Ligue 1 this season. In another poll 100 percent of the managers […]
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![Zlatan Ibrahimovic]()
Paris Saint-Germain Welcome Barcelona to the Parc des Prince and Begin a New Era
I arrived at Parc des Princes at about 3:45 on Saturday afternoon to watch Paris Saint-Germain take on FC Barcelona. I took the 9 train from the Champs Elysées to Porte de St. Cloud and exited the station with a compilation of ’80s music pumping through my headphones. When I reached street level I bought […]
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Euro 2012: What Happened to France?
Former France national team manager Raymond Domenech believes in things that you and I do not. Using astrology to help pick his team, for one. But here’s one thing Domenech believes that seems to be right on: Karim Benzema, Hatem Ben Arfa, and Samir Nasri are not good enough for France. When Domenech was manager […]
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Euro 2012: The Two Sides of Russia’s Andrei Arshavin
Andrei Arshavin came to my attention at Euro 2008 the same way a man might find a beautiful woman in a dimly lit bar shortly after a breakup. Back then he got my mind off all that was wrong with Arsenal and offered the promise of something better. And as I watched him on Tuesday, […]
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Why You Should Root for Denmark in Euro 2012
International football tournaments follow a fairly predictable script. The two most predictable scenes, after England failing to live up to the hype and the Dutch being eliminated on penalties, are the precocious young player who impresses and the small country that captures the hearts and minds of casual fans. When Euro 2012 kicks off this […]
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With Barca Out of the Way, Jose Mourinho’s Moment Arrives
Real Madrid hired Jose Mourinho to do two things: Knock FC Barcelona off their perch and deliver the club’s 10th Champions League title. With this weekend’s 2-1 victory over Barcelona, Mourinho took a significant step toward delivering the first part of his mandate, as Madrid now have a seven-point lead in La Liga with four […]
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Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets: The Lovable Cheater
When Pep Guardiola took over as manager for FC Barcelona in 2008, he brought a little-known gangly 20-year-old midfielder named Sergio Busquets with him from the Barcelona “B” team. At first he appeared surplus to requirements, as the team was already well served in his position with experienced internationals Yaya Touré and Seydou Keita. By […]
