Interview With Angerhead Guitarist Eric Beard

ANGERHEAD is a San Jose, California based band that was started in Feb 2011. They blend elements of Bay Area Thrash, Metal and Punk into the music they write. They have since shared the stage with Hatriot, Exodus, Testament, Death Angel, and many others. I had the chance to talk with guitarist Eric Beard about their new album, tour and what’s been happening in the world of metal.

XS ROCK:Tell me…

Compiled by Eric Beard

Let's go with a classic scenario. What if you spent the last 12 months fighting for your life on an island after a shipwreck? How would you acclimate back into society? Well, you would probably want to catch up on what you missed. If you're a fan of football and love reading about the game, then you would want to read the best pieces from 2011. That's the idea behind "The Best of Football Writing in 2011" list. We were all figuratively shipwrecked for a few weeks this year. Whether it was work, a personal issue, an addition to your family, or a horrible set of final examinations, life left us isolated from football. But not to worry, now you can catch up.

Compiling a list of everything you've enjoyed in a year is an arduously joyful experience. If there's anything to say about joys and woes of independent football writing, it's that the feelings (as well as the content) come and go. You don't set a blog post up on your bookshelf when you're done reading. No, it goes back into the infinite abyss of the internet. But a year is a long time, and we're proud to share The Best of Football Writing in 2011 from fellow bloggers and writers alongside The Best of AFR in 2011. Intelligence on the web is plentiful, and even though internet writing inherently places a date next to every piece, we hoped to handpick articles that are relatively timeless in their nature. For the sake of simplicity, the Best of Football Writing in 2011 (from outside the confines of AFR) is featured first, followed by AFR's Best of 2011. Without further ado, let's review. And here's to 2012...

The Best of Football Writing in 2011:

January 3rd to October 6th - The Equaliser's "Decade by Decade" project

January 19th - "In defence of the sporting spirit" by Steve Reynolds on The Football Ramble

January 29th - "Sex Discrimination and Football" by Gavin on Two Hundred Percent

February 18th - "The Xavi Experience" by Supriya Nair on The Run of Play

February 28th - "On Soundtracks" by Richard Whittall on The Run of Play

February 21st - "Immanuel Kant's 'Kick and Prush' Years" by Russell Berrisford on Fisted Away

February 21st - "A Moment In Time: The Ball Goes In" by Andrew Weber of Arsenal FC Blog

March 7th to the Present - The Elastico's "Next Wave" Series

April - "Thou Shall Not Worship False Idols" by Miriti Murungi of Nutmeg Radio

April 1st - "The laws of the game: a principled approach" by Steve Reynolds on The Football Ramble

April 18th - "Are You Committing Formation Fraud?" by Kyle Martino and The Shin Guardian

April 29th to the Present - Poetry and Vintage Futebol. Jack Lang's Games Against Nature.

May 2nd - "Jose Mourinho, Slavoj Zizek, Matrix, & the Real Perversion: Us" by Futfanatico

May 13th - "Last Tango in Paris (Saint-Germain)" by Chris Woolfrey on Just Football

May 16th - The "Rough Diamonds" Series by The False 9

May 21st - "4,000 Miles East" by Domm Norris on BackPage Football

May 21st - "Xolos Rising" by Eben Lehman on This is American Soccer

May 31st - "The 50 Greatest European Club Sides" by Miguel Delaney of Football Pantheon

June 6th - "When Will Soccer Stand Up To Homophobia?" by Tom Dunmore on Pitch Invasion

June 14th to August - Twisted Blood's "Gardening Leave" series

July 1st - "Louisa Necib, Algeria, and the Redemption of French Football" by Laurent Dubois of Soccer Politics

June 17th - "Definitevez" by Daniel Colasimone on Surreal Football

June 20th - "It's okay to eat fish because they don't have any feelings" by Andi Thomas on Twisted Blood

June 28th - "Titanic day for Argentine football sinks the unsinkable" by Ed Malyon on FourFourTwo

June 28th - "Of Rivalries and Race" by Dan Wiersema of the Free Beer Movement

July 19th - "The Women's World Cup and English-American Cultural Differences" by Chris Nee on Two Footed Tackle

July 19th - Man Utd 24's "Retrospective" Series

July 28th - "The Dangers of a European Super League" by Ian King on Two Hundred Percent

August - The Futfanatico Book: An Illustrated Guide to Soccer and Spanish by Elliot Turner (aka Futfanatico aka Fakefutfanatico)

August-December - The Oval Log's brilliant "How to fix football" series

August 3rd - "A Farewell to Cannavaro" by Alan Jacobs on The Run of Play

August 26th - "Why the maestro never gets his standing ovation" by Meg Ryan on totalBarca

September 6th - "Searching for the Bobby Fisher Moment" by Wes Pickard of The Other 87

September 7th - The "Why American Soccer" Essays on The Free Beer Movement

September 7th - "A Closer Look At The Marquez Experiment" by Andrew Villegas on The Yanks Are Coming

September 10th - "Style, the Image of Character" by Jason Davis on Match Fit USA

September 11th - "Mad Béticos and Englishmen" by Danny Last on EFW

October 3rd - "Tweeting History: Argentina 0 Colombia 5" by Sam Kelly on IBWM

October 19th - "Picturing Hope Solo" by Jennifer Doyle of From A Left Wing

October 25th - "Andrea Pirlo: A Giant of his Generation" by Michael Cox on ESPN

October 25th - "Reconstructing An Identity: This is Dynamo Dresden" by Jonathan Lines on IBWM

October 28th - "Retro Ramble: Arsenal 0 Fiorentina 1, 27th October 1999" by James Horncastle on The Football Ramble

October 31st - "La Historia de Los Pineyeros" by Rupert Fryer on IBWM

November - The 100 by In Bed With Maradona

November 1st - "Breaking the big three" by Simon McPolin on Lovely Left Foot

November 2nd - "How Mario Balotelli became MARIO BALOTELLI!!!" by Brian Phillips on Grantland

November 2nd - "The Search for 'Objective Truth' in Soccer Analysis is a Fool's Errand" by Richard Whittall on The Score's "The Footy Blog"

November 13th - An Interview with Steve McClaren that turned into a media vs. blogger controversy by Gav of Les Rosbifs

December 1st - "Manchester City: The Masterplan" by The Swiss Ramble

December 4th - "One Gary Speed" by Greg of Dispatches From A Football Sofa

December 9th - "The Herald of Gálacticos" by Fredorrarci on The Classical

December 13th - "The (mercifully) short footballing career of Muammar Gadaffi's son" by Paolo Bandini on The Score's "The Footy Blog"

December 19th - "The New Germans" by James Tyler on The Classical

The Best of AFR in 2011:

January 5th - "One Small Step for Real Madrid, One Giant Leap for Cantera" by Saheli RC

January 8th - "The Return of the King: Kenny Dalglish" by Amy Eustace

January 28th - "Rules, rules, stupid rules" by Darshan Joshi

February 1st - "Is Fernando Torres' name worth £50m?" by Dominic Vieira

February 6th - "Centenary Ambitions Crushed" by Gordon Fleetwood

February 9th - "Where did it all go wrong at Wolfsburg?" by Amy Eustace

February 21st - "Can math determine the best club in football?" by Gordon Fleetwood

February 28th - "A Shandy-Manc* on the Sandy Banks of Marseille" by Oliver Sparrow

March 15th - "Return of La Fabrica; back, and better than ever!" by Saheli RC

March 23rd - "The Ajax Experience" (3 Parts) by Eric Beard

April 9th - "Football and Cricket: Is there room for both in India?" by Saheli RC and Kaushik Lakshman

April 25th - "Fairytale in New York: On superstars, movie stars, Cosmos, and Uniting for a Good Cause" by Tom Goulding

April 27th - "I've Got You Under My Skin" by Amy Eustace

May - "FIFA Elections '11" (3 Parts) by Soraya Soemadiredja

May 19th - "From Colombia With Love" by Dominic Vieira

June 1st - "Edwin Van Der Sar: A trendsetter. A pioneer" by Mohamed Moallim

June 12th - "Egil Olsen, the ingenious Norwegian" by Sindre Trygsland

June 14th - "How Udinese Beat the System and Stands at the Gates of La Liga" by Eric Beard

June 28th - "The Advent of the Squad Player" by Amy Eustace

July 4th - "The Dominant Force in the Women's World Cup? Subjectivity." by Eric Beard

August 3rd - "A Quiet Revolution Brews in the South of Spain" by Saheli RC

August 18th - "The 2014 World Cup and its Price on Brazil" by John Burn-Murdoch

September 9th - "The Ongoing Learning Process" by John Smith-Ramos

September 26th - "Transcending Culture: On Barcelona's Campaign Against Smoking" by Eric Beard

September 29th - "Hype and the monster that is modern football" by Darshan Joshi

October 12th - "To Basque... or not to Basque?" by Elizabeth Hanchett

October 14th - "How to run a football club: a tale of several Americans" by Saf Hossain

November 11th - "What are the Implications of Early La Liga Kickoffs" by Tanuj Lakhina

December 12th - "How The SOPA will stifle Soccer in the United States" by Elizabeth Cotignola

Founded in 2006 by Tom Dunmore, Pitch Invasion remains the cream of the crop of independent football writing on the internet. It has been packed to the brim with quality for five years, which is precisely why a "Very Best of Pitch Invasion" book was compiled by Mr. Dunmore. As an Englishman from Brighton who moved to Chicago to get his PhD at the University of Chicago, Tom has since taken to MLS and even became the chairman of Section 8, the supporters group of the Chicago Fire. The Pitch Invasion book can be ordered in hardcover or downloaded here and you can follow Tom Dunmore on Twitter @PitchInvasion.

In this podcast, we talked with Tom about everything from ultras vs fan-friendly supporters, the history of American soccer, indoor soccer and futsal, the future of MLS, the Montreal Impact and Portland Timbers, the game's role and limits in relation to culture and politics, and the horrible trend of depression in football.

Remember, you can follow us on twitter at or contact us via email. We would love to hear your thoughts. We're still in the process of setting up a new iTunes feed, but until then you can access our podcast on iTunes here. Also, be sure to check out our sponsor 3nil and use 'AFR' as a code to receive a discount on your order.

Oliver Sparrow and Eric Beard had the pleasure of spending an hour with esteemed author and journalist Jonathan Wilson on the AFR Podcast. Jonathan writes for The Guardian, The Independent, Sports Illustrated, World Soccer, and FourFourTwo. He is also the editor of a quarterly publication called The Blizzard, which is filled with content from some of the biggest names in football journalism. The idea behind The Blizzard - available to download online or order as a hard copy - is to allow journalists to tell stories that they normally wouldn't be able to have published in a paper.

Beyond The Blizzard, we talk with Jonathan about his new biography on Brian Clough entitled "Nobody Ever Says Thank You" and we also touch on the pros and cons of Financial Fair Play. We couldn't let Mr. Wilson go without some tactics talk, so we pressed him on everything from the most talented manager in South America to Frank Lampard's role at Chelsea.

By Eric Beard

Say what you will about Playoffs, but the road to the 2011 MLS Cup has created insurmountable drama. From Rafa Marquez starting a fight after LA won in New York to the Seattle Sounders nearly coming back from a 3-nil deficit, the Playoffs have ensured a level of entertainment any fan can embrace. The Los Angeles Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo face off in the MLS Cup Final on November 20th (it's actually kicking off on the 21st at 2am UK Time), but until then we're provided with a little grace period to reflect on the past season.

A great American pastime is reflecting through award ceremonies, or "TROPHIES! FOR YOU, AND YOU, AND YOU, AND YOU!" as our friend Miriti (@NutmegRadio) put it. Yesterday, the "2011 Major League Soccer Awards" were released, so it's time to let my opinion be heard loud and clear. Picks are in bold.

Rookie of the Year Finalists – Winner to be announced Nov. 8

Michael Farfan (Philadelphia Union) Perry Kitchen (D.C. United)  C.J. Sapong (Sporting Kansas City)

Every year, the college-to-MLS path seems to get weaker and weaker, as few "rookies" stand out in their opening season. C.J. Sapong, a product of James Madison University, was far and away the best this year and it only took a few weeks for the 22-year-old to gain a permanent spot in the Sporting KC starting eleven. The young American striker's partnership up top with Teal Bunbury only became more and more dangerous as the season progressed, and next year could be the beginning of a golden era for the Sporting KC attack. 

Xbox 360 Individual Fair Play Finalists* – Winner to be announced Nov. 8 

*Selected by MLS based on objective criteria such as fouls committed, cards received, games & minutes played, as well as subjective evaluation of sportsmanlike behavior. 

Darrius Barnes (New England Revolution) Kosuke Kimura (Colorado Rapids) Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union)

I can't understand how a Fair Play award has a subjective aspect to it. Darrius, Kosuke, and Sebastien are all great professionals, so why not let the stats simply decide the winner?

Xbox 360 Team Fair Play Finalists* – Winner to be announced Nov. 8. 

*Selected by MLS based on objective criteria such as fewest fouls committed, cards received, and on subjective evaluation of sportsmanlike behavior.

Chivas USA  Philadelphia Union  Portland Timbers

Instead of making the same argument again, I'm going to go ahead and give the Timbers some support. Though they missed out on the playoffs, they had an incredible first season in the league and played every single game with passion and an intention to come away with a result. Other squads may have more talent, but if every team played with Portland's attitude that would be fine by me.

Defender of the Year Finalists – Winner to be announced Nov. 9

Nat Borchers (Real Salt Lake) Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy) Jamison Olave (Real Salt Lake)

Giving Omar the nod here was the probably toughest decision I had to make. Nat Borchers and Jamison Olave, when in form, are far and away the best pair of defenders in the league. However, looking at the regular season standings, Omar Gonzalez deserves so much credit for helping LA dominate the league. Surrounded by seasoned veterans, Gonzalez, still only 23 years old, has matured these past few months and has reached a point in his career when it's only a matter of time before he starts making his presence felt in within the US Men's National Team. Towering over opponents at 6 ft 5 inches, Gonzalez has been both dependable at the back and a constant threat on set pieces. This was Omar's year.

MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year Finalists – Winner to be announced Nov. 9

Zak Boggs (New England Revolution) Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo) Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes) 

Placing the value on the moral worth of one athlete's good deeds above another athlete's actions is an impossible task. These three all have made a tremendous impact on their respective communities, and that's enough for me.

Coach of the Year Finalists – Winner to be announced Nov. 14

Bruce Arena (LA Galaxy)                                     Sigi Schmid (Seattle Sounders FC)         Peter Vermes (Sporting Kansas City)

Like all sports teams in Kansas, the Kansas City Wizards were not very good. However, with prolific innovation and a new state-of-the-art Livestrong Sporting Park, an enthralling Sporting KC came into fruition. The image of the club off the pitch was at an all-time high, but Peter Vermes was given the challenge of providing an on-field product to match the investment. Building from the ground up, he thrived, making the most out of the young talent he had in players like C.J. Sapong, Teal Bunbury, Chance Myers, and Seth Sinovic. Against all odds, Sporting KC won the Eastern Conference and finished the season one game away from the MLS Cup Final. With Vermes at the helm in KC, the future looks very bright.           

Comeback Player of the Year Finalists – Winner to be announced Nov. 14

David Beckham (LA Galaxy)

Charlie Davies (D.C. United) Dominic Oduro (Chicago Fire) 

David Beckham came back from an injury that took months to recover from; Charlie Davies recovered from an injury that put his career, and even his life, at jeopardy. This year we didn't really see the Charlie Davies of the 2009 Confederations Cup, but we saw glimpses of brilliance. More importantly, we saw goals. Returning to the game after a lacerated bladder, a fractured right femur and fibula, multiple face fractures, and bleeding on the brain speaks for itself. Scoring 11 goals in 18 games also speaks for itself.

Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists – Winner to be announced Nov. 15

Kevin Hartman (FC Dallas)  Kasey Keller (Seattle Sounders FC)  Faryd Mondragon (Philadelphia Union)

Arguably the best goalkeeper in US Soccer history finished his career on a high. Sure, Seattle crashed out of the Playoffs in the first round, but Keller was instrumental in helping the Sounders win their third consecutive US Open Cup and have the second best regular season record in the league. Always calm and collected, the 41-year-old was a leader on and off the pitch. Kevin Hartman and Faryd Mondragon both had fantastic seasons, but neither keeper impacted their club like Keller did.

Newcomer of the Year Finalists – Winner to be announced Nov. 15

Eric Hassli (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)            Luke Rodgers (New York Red Bulls)        Mauro Rosales (Seattle Sounders FC)

The signing of Mauro Rosales was a season-defining masterstroke by Sounders coach Sigi Schmid. The 30-year-old Argentine international, with years of experience at massive clubs Ajax and River Plate, allowed the Sounders to achieve a new dimension in their style of play. Rosales' technical ability and vision enabled him to get out of tight situations and punish defenders for poor marking. Give the number 10 when he arrived in Seattle, it didn't take long for Mauro to assume the role of playmaker. Unlike other designated players in MLS, Rosales loves Seattle and is adored by the club's fans. If it wasn't for an injury that caused him to miss out on the Playoffs, perhaps Seattle would still be vying for the 2011 MLS Cup.

Volkswagen Most Valuable Player Finalists – Winner to be announced Nov. 18

Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo)                    Dwayne De Rosario (D.C. United)                Brek Shea (FC Dallas)

Dwayne De Rosario was the league's top scorer with 16 goals. Brad Davis was the league's leader in assists with 16. D.C. United were a joy to watch at times this year, but ultimately they disappointed by failing to make the playoffs. The acquisition of De Rosario mid-season by United provided the spark Ben Olsen's side needed desperately, but the stats don't tell the whole story. Brad Davis' left foot became the most valued asset of Houston's season and his ability to consistently take world class set pieces raised legitimate questions as to who had the better delivery: Brad or Beckham. Davis carried the Dynamo week after week, often controlling the run of play and making intelligent decisions that gave his teammates an extra second on the ball. Sadly, it appears Davis will miss the MLS Cup Final due to injury, and no one can be happier about that than Los Angeles Galaxy supporters. Brad Davis is not only MVP because of his stats, but also because of when he performs. Davis has been Mr. Clutch and the Dynamo would not be even close to competing for a title without him.

Two years ago, on July 28th 2009, my brother and I founded A Football Report.

Beyond invites to events and interviews with footballers, this site has allowed me to not only create a unique setting for brilliant young writers from over 30 countries to share their thoughts, but on a more personal level it has helped develop incredible relationships with amazing men and women across the globe. Some wonderful friendships have formed because of the site, and the level of interconnectedness I feel on a daily basis with fans, journalists, bloggers, etcetera is invaluable. Our readership is tremendous and our following has surpassed any initial expectations I had two years ago when we were creating this shocking site design.

Film Review by Eric Beard

Creating an appropriate balance between educating a viewer and watchability is one of the most difficult tasks for anyone putting together a documentary, but the means in which the tragic stories portrayed in Soka Afrika were managed kept true to an equilibrium of fine filmmaking. Not only was I fortunate enough to see the film at the legendary Tribeca Cinema for the Kicking and Screening Film Festival, but I was able to chat extensively with producers Sam Potter and Simon Laub about the art of showcasing the horrifying tales surrounding the world of African football trafficking.

The story is centered around Kermit Erasmus and Ndomo Julien Sabo, two young men who aim to catch their break and live the good life as professional footballers. Both are talented enough to do so, however, the paths they go on to reach their mutual goal could not be more different. 

Kermit and Ndomo's paths to professional football

Kermit is a South African forward that started out at Supersport United in Pretoria from a young age, a club that has a relationship with Feyenoord in the Dutch Eredivisie. He was always the superstar in the squad growing up, knocking in 40 goals in a season before joining Supersport. He was a scout's dream, as his talent was so noticeable and clear. So without any trouble, Kermit joined Supersport and was able to use the club as a way to earn a loan move with Excelsior in Holland. His strong performances overseas also earned him a spot in the 2009 U-20 World Cup, where he was the team's best performer. In short, Kermit Erasmus had it made with a legitimate agent that allowed him to take the best route possible for an African footballer to establish himself.

Kermit's path, sadly, is a one-in-a-thousand scenario in the current recruiting system, as exemplified by the stark juxtaposition of Ndomo Julien Sabo's story. Ndomo was the stand out star for his club in Cameroon, and after one match a scout approached him, promising a tryout with a big club in France. However, Ndomo had to pay the agent for the costs of the flight, the tryout, etcetera before he could have access to the riches to be found in the world of football. Ndomo's family sold their house, sold their plot of land, just to give him this opportunity because they had so much faith in his ability and they saw it as a way out of poverty. What happened next was a scam that has been far too prevalent with young African players.

Ndomo's tryout with a French club was going well, but then he pulled his thigh muscle and had to stop playing. The agent lost hope in Ndomo, so he took the money and ran, leaving Ndomo is Paris with nothing. No money, no food, no one to get in contact with. Nothing. He was forced to salvage for food in the winter on the streets of Paris just to survive. He called his family asking to return to Cameroon, but they told him that if he returned he could not come back and stay with his family because it would bring great shame to them for their failed sacrifice. After months on the streets, Ndomo finally was found by Jean Claude Mbvoumin, a former Cameroon player that had a successful career in Europe with AS Beauvais and a few other clubs. Jean Claude learned about this sort of trafficking and founded the French NGO Foot Solidaire, an organization hoping to save boys like Ndomo, but also prevent young Africans from falling into the same trap. Ndomo, who was still shunned by his family, was able to come back to Cameroon and regain his fitness and football ability under Jean Claude's supervision.

Ndomo joined a club in Cameroon and played well enough to be called up to the Cameroon U20 squad, though narrowly missing out on a spot in Cameroon's squad in the U20 World Cup. He was good enough to be in the squad, but that wasn't the issue. Ndomo couldn't afford the 5,000 Euros the Cameroon FA asked from him to pay for his time in Egypt for the tournament. This sort of corruption runs rampant within African football because of a lack in adequate financing. Amazingly, Ndomo kept going and was able to impress in a trial with Deportivo La Coruña and earn a contract, where he is still playing.

Looking Beyond The Individuals

The irony in following Ndomo and Kermit is that they both were success stories in the end, which is hardly representative of how the average aspiring African footballer's career pans out. An FIFA-licensed agent in the film talks with Jean Claude in Cameroon and tells him that for every one player that has a contract with a licensed agent there are 100 that are dealing with agents hoping to capitalize on their talents, as well as their sacrifices. The main issue Jean Claude sees is that young footballers in Africa see football as their path out of poverty, so they are in awe whenever riches are talked about. Local competitions in Africa cannot compete financially with Europe's competitions, but Jean Claude believes that there is not simply one path to success. You don't have to go to Europe at your first opportunity, but rather you can build your reputation within African competitions and still find a way into a national team and then later into Europe. Ndomo and Kermit are both prime examples of this.

The film's style matches the level of intensity and emotion of the stories being told. When Kermit's U20 side is in Egypt, vibrant film work and heavy-hitting music shows not just the level of skill these players have, but also what these matches mean to them. When the film crew follows Ndomo to tell his story of what happened in Paris, the raw, subtle words coming out of Ndomo's mouth scream to the viewer about how scarring the experience was for the young man. Every moment in Ndomo's career has been do-or-die, and the scintillating, fast-paced film work was able to keep up and show just how much is at stake for these men every day the tie the laces on their boots to go out to train.

Soko Afrika is a film that I would recommend to everyone. It unveils a world that no one has had the courage or the resources to confront on the big screen. The film producer Simon Laub said their mission, more or less, was to capture this severe problem. Solutions, he explained, are not that simple because the whole system is so complex. You cannot blame Ndomo for his belief in himself and hoping to make it big in France. You cannot purely blame the agent that took advantage of him because he is one out of a million others just as horrible. This complexity is perhaps the biggest dilemma African football, and even football at large, will be forced to face with as globalization and corruption continue to control the beautiful game. But finally, the issue has been uncovered from all angles with the masterful planning and storytelling in this production.

By Eric Beard

The road has been a long one, but with an absolutely fantastic Women's World Cup coming to a close there has never been more at stake for the United States and Japan. But perhaps more importantly, there has never been such potential for the growth (or revival or whatever you want to call it) of women's football. TV Ratings will be massive. Twitter will explode over Hope Solo, Alex Morgan, and even the skillful passing of Japan's Homare Sawa.

Asia will be watching. America will be watching. The world will be captivated by the women's game, and whoever comes away as the world champions will provide positives for the game at large. Japan, of course, is playing as a symbol of triumph amongst the catastrophic horrors the nation has had to endure in recent months. Japan's men's team chose to withdraw from Copa América, but the women persevered, not only with wins, but with a gorgeous brand of attacking, pass-oriented footy. 

For a one moment before the final kicks off, let's be greedy. Greed for the women's game, a moment as rare as Mourinho showing a bit of modesty. Let's think, "how can these 90 (or 120) minutes benefit female footballers around the world to the fullest? How can these women create a spectacle that will provide years of inspiration?"

Ideally, we would see the the trend of WWC-branded golazos continue from both ends and attacking, beautiful football would win over the bandwagoners and the winner would become a non-factor. Realistically, a United States victory is a key to progressing the sport for women all around the world. The United States, through Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), has become the epicenter of women's football. WPS has faced its fair share of struggles (financial, support, etc...), but it lives on and has been the primary reason the women's game has progressed.