The beauty of sports is that they often force folks to confront racial, social and economic issues head-on. An unmatched presence worldwide, Soccer is one sport where the conversations in these areas are ever-present.

Mario Balotelli, by most people’s assumption, would be a fair-skinned Italian. Born Mario Hurwa, he’s actually a black Ghanian whose parents immigrated to Italy and gave him up to an Italian family. At 19 and already a starter every now and then for one of Europe’s premier clubs, Internazionale, he’s the brightest talent Italy has to offer in his age group. Strong, lightning-quick and standing at 6’2,” he’s a physical force to be reckoned with. Read the rest of this entry »

Football talk dominates the headlines now (especially with Vick landing in Philly), but across the pond, the coming weekend brings about the dawn of the futbol season in England. Just last week, the top divisions in both France and Germany also kicked off, with the likes of those in Spain and other countries to follow suit as August winds down.

Besides battling for the championships in their respective leagues, clubs around Europe will also be vying to stay in the top four (or top three in Germany, France, and Russia, and top two in Turkey, Holland, Greece, Scotland, etc.) to qualify for Champions League football in 2010/11 to compete for continental supremacy (this year’s spots obviously have been decided). Here’s a club-by-club rundown of those most likely to nab those coveted CL spots from the three top leagues in Europe.

England (EPL)

*Awash with more Arab money cash than any other league in the world, the Premiership’s Big Four (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United) has now expanded into a wide-open Big Six, with Manchester City and Tottenham looking to deliver on their substantial investments.

1. Chelsea

2008/09 EPL Finish: 3rd

2009/10 Champions League participants: Yes

Bringing in a disciplinarian last season didn’t work out with all the big-name stars in their roster. With ex-AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti in to manage the egos instead of battle them this time around, look for him to coax the best out of the likes of primadonnas such as Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelka.

2. Manchester United FC

2008/09 EPL Finish: 1st

2009/10 Champions League participants: Yes

Wayne Rooney simply can’t compensate for the loss of the best player in the world. But with pure wingers in Antonio Valencia and Nani, as well as Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov upfront, they’ll lack movement but retain the same fixed point system that gave them success with Ruud Van Nistelrooy. The difference between Read the rest of this entry »