The Run of Play - Attacking Football

The Run of Play is a blog about
the wonder and terror of soccer.

We left the window open during a match in October 2007 and a strange wind blew into the room.

Now we walk the forgotten byways of football with a lonely tread, searching for the beautiful, the bewildering, the haunting, and the absurd.

[contact-form 1 'Contact form 1']

Youth Must Be Served

What makes for a prodigy?
Manchester United v. Chelsea

Or, how to write a preview, by cognitive dissonance.
Your Stupid Rage

Stop feeling it.
On Mind Games

Dissecting Mourinho’s reputation as a master manipulator. By Sam Fayyaz.
The Loser

Alan Jacobs on the feedback loop that’s ruining El Clásico.
Building an American Identity

Reasons for optimism in the CONCACAF U20 Championship. By Noah Davis.
The Velvet Underground and Raúl

Kári Tulinius on discovering you’ve been wrong about a footballer or an artist.
Renaixença

Maxwell Kuhl on Barcelona’s contradictions.
Hello, New World!

Zach Dundas on the Timbers’ home opener and the inevitable fall of the nation-state.