iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 4h

Yes, the chop that the Braves fans do is racist. But don't forget that it's also boring and lazy.

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 6h

Wow, everyone who favored Ronaldo over Messi really was on the wrong side of history

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John Muller @johnspacemuller.com · 8h

It's pretty remarkable that the most famous guy in the world, the richest guy in the world and the most powerful guy in the world are all the exact same kind of pathetic loser

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Alexander Abnos @anabnos.com · 11h

Guardian Next Generation time!! See any familiar faces? Generally the way this works is we in the US get 2 nominations for American players and in this case choosing two standout prospects born in 2009 was...not especially hard. www.theguardian.com/football/ng-...

theguardian.com

Next Generation 2026: 60 of the best young talents in world football

From ‘the new Toni Kroos’ to the US’ next big hope, Cavan Sullivan, we select some of the most talented players born in 2009

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Tariq Panja @tariqpanja.bsky.social · 21h

⚽️ 👮 How Infantino’s FIFA ignored own rules on player eligibility to allow DRCongo to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. FIFA found that Congo should have been disqualified but kept ineligible player discovery quiet. Ronaldo, Balogun and now Congo. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/w...

nytimes.com

FIFA Found Congo Player Ineligible, Let Him Play in World Cup (Gift Article)

Officials determined that a goalkeeper from the Democratic Republic of Congo did not have the correct paperwork, documents show. But no action was taken, renewing questions about FIFA’s governance.

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

It's such an indictment of the Democratic Party that they need to say this out loud. And that nobody is really sure whether they mean it or will follow through.

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Funny how someone can be the face of a team for a decade and then they're not around for a bit and nobody even misses them. And corner kicks aren't an automatic turnover either...

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Setting aside the sense that an appointment like this one is for absolutely nobody, why is it always just assumed -- chiefly by what are supposed to be our best schools, oddly -- that any ding-dong can teach a college class? I've seen enough people crash and burn to assure you that they can't.

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

It feels like we're living through this weird blip, in sports and in sports alone, where billionaires are facing some consequences for their misdeeds. Column @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

The ultra-rich face … accountability? Manchester City and Clippers verdicts show it’s possible | Leander Schaerlaeckens

The sports world has accomplished a rare feat: calling out industrial-scale cheating on both sides of the Atlantic

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Alexander Abnos @anabnos.com · 02/10/2026

If your reaction to Wemby saying this is a hearty “hell yeah”, it behooves me to let you know that @theguardian.com does not take business from betting companies, we have a great sports section, no paywall, and a great app. www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/o...

theguardian.com

‘It’s sad seeing players promote it’: Wembanyama says he will never endorse gambling companies

Spurs star says it is ‘very sad’ to see NBA players promote gambling companies and insists money no longer drives his sponsorship decisions

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Feeling cautiously excited about the U.S. men's national soccer team again, after a bunch of children combined to score eight goals in their first two post-World Cup games? Hmm? www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/722130...

penguinrandomhouse.com

The Long Game by Leander Schaerlaeckens: 9780593653876 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

“Engrossing, insightful . . . [The Long Game] pulls no punches when describing the critiques and failures of the U.S. soccer system over the past few decades.” —Miguel Salazar, The New...

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

If Everton got an 8-point deduction for exceeding the Premier League's spending cap by 19.5 million pounds (or a point for every 2.43 million it overspent), shouldn't Manchester City be docked 370 points for exceeding it by 900 million? (Also, Everton cooperated, unlike City...

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Pablo Maurer @mlsist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

USMNT & former Spurs coach Mauricio Pochettino says fans "lived through an era of deception" due to Man City's financial malfeasance, telling me its "impossible to turn back time." "How do you repair everything that's damaged?" Much more on @us.theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

Pochettino: Manchester City verdicts show fans ‘lived through an era of deception’

The former Tottenham, Southampton, and Chelsea manager lamented the situation created by the reported guilty verdicts

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This is the funniest thing I've read in an awfully long time

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Scherzer is one of those ballplayers who would be unemployable in absolutely any other line of work.

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

The USMNT is about to play its first game since the World Cup. How did it get here? And could its World Cup crashout have been predicted? Circuitously. And yup. All the inside stories and long-view trends are in my book. Out now!

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I'm workshopping what to call the Pablo equivalent of the Woj Bomb, when he digs up something old and weird and fun. Pablo Pearls? The Maurer Mire? Maurer Mining? Help.

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Dan Leydon @danleydon.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

* new book announcement * football ARTicles a collection of illustrated articles about modern football 152 pages 32 articles 50x art 40k words

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Maneuvers in the Chelsea ownership confirm what the sales of stakes in Manchester United and Liverpool suggested: the Premier League has entered the final stage of the American ownership model. The bit where billionaires pass chunks of teams around as investment vehicles. Column @theguardian.com

theguardian.com

Chelsea have entered the realm of late-stage American sports capitalism | Leander Schaerlaeckens

The Blues’ lack of success was no impediment to Todd Boehly and Mark Walter recouping profits from the club’s sale. That’s how things work in the US

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

theguardian.com

Chelsea have entered the realm of late-stage American sports capitalism | Leander Schaerlaeckens

The Blues’ lack of success was no impediment to Todd Boehly and Mark Walter recouping profits from the club’s sale. That’s how things work in the US

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Will anybody read a single fucking book? (On exactly how the Great Depression started.)

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

On Cavan Sullivan and trying desperately to resist godding up yet another American teenager because... precedent. @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

Watching Cavan Sullivan, excitement is tempered by memories of hypetrains past

The 16-year-old Union star isn’t the first wunderkind to be feted by the American soccersphere

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The United States men's national soccer team just announced its first roster of the new World Cup cycle. My book, The Long Game, tells the team's weird and wild history. And it helps explain where it is today, for good and bad. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/722130...

penguinrandomhouse.com

The Long Game by Leander Schaerlaeckens: 9780593653876 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

“Engrossing, insightful . . . [The Long Game] pulls no punches when describing the critiques and failures of the U.S. soccer system over the past few decades.” —Miguel Salazar, The New...

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Henry Bushnell @henrybushnell.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Noahkai Banks has picked Germany over the USMNT. He's filed for a one-time switch. It hasn't yet been confirmed by FIFA, but if/when approved, he'll play for Germany's U-21s this month, and will no longer be eligible to represent the U.S. w/ @sebsb.bsky.social:

nytimes.com

Noahkai Banks commits to representing Germany over the USMNT (Gift Article)

Banks accepted one call-up to a senior USMNT camp last fall, but declined to commit his future to the U.S. ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

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Jeff Rueter @jeffrueter.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

NEW: The USMNT aren’t just turning the page after the 2026 World Cup — their stars of tomorrow are debuting en masse. The future is now. Initial analysis of a very frosh roster ahead of four autumn friendlies. Very excited to see many of the newcomers. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

Cavan Sullivan in, Christian Pulisic out: takeaways from the latest USMNT roster

Mauricio Pochettino has called in a youthful group for the upcoming friendlies. Here are the big takeaways

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

penguinrandomhouse.com

The Long Game by Leander Schaerlaeckens: 9780593653876 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

“Engrossing, insightful . . . [The Long Game] pulls no punches when describing the critiques and failures of the U.S. soccer system over the past few decades.” —Miguel Salazar, The New...

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Jeff Rueter @jeffrueter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

NEW: Mauricio Pochettino is readying his roster ahead of the impending four-match window. @mlsist.bsky.social and I submitted our squads with a mix of Poch projection and personal preference. Ended up with a balance of World Cup holdovers, recalls, and newcomers: www.theguardian.com/football/202...

theguardian.com

USMNT roster prediction: a big chance for Cavan Sullivan and other young prospects

The United States’ next World Cup cycle gets underway with this week’s squad selection – here’s who we think will make the cut

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The connective tissue between all the evil mankind has suffered at its own hands, and the men who have perpetrated this evil, consists entirely of daddy issues. Always daddy issues. Hitler. Stalin. Mao. Trump. Musk. Daddy issues.

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

AI can't even tell you definitively whether or not it is actually Christmas.

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Nicolaus De Missuria @deromaaliisque.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Picked this up at our library Looking forward to learning something new from @leanderalphabet.bsky.social

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

It's so funny to see a remake of Robin Hood getting released every few years--twice this year!--in a country where taxing the rich properly is a complete non-starter.

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

My student Bella wrote such a fun little story on being a West Point cadet for a day (every year, they need volunteers to work out the kinks for orientation/induction of new recruits) for @highlandscurrent.bsky.social. highlandscurrent.org/2026/07/17/r...

highlandscurrent.org

Reporter’s Notebook: Cadet for a Day

Helping West Point prepare for 'R-Day'

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Jeff Rueter @jeffrueter.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Topps has announced that this 1/1 autographed Cavan Sullivan MLS debut patch card sold for $324,000, which is greater than the guaranteed compensation of 434 active MLS players.

A Topps Cavan Sullivan rookie debut card, autographed with his debut patch on it.

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Andrew Beasley @andrewbeasleyfootball.com · 02/09/2026

'The Premier League features a match this weekend between the top two teams in Europe for net spend and it isn’t Arsenal v Chelsea. Liverpool’s trip to Ipswich takes the honour.' This and other scarcely believable facts feature in my round up of Premier League transfer spending.

theguardian.com

Premier League transfer talking points: three things we learned from the data

After record spending in the transfer market, England’s top clubs have widened the gap to their European counterparts

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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Honestly fair enough. Would you sign an employment contract when your prospective new bosses are already being weird and suggesting that you're somehow deficient before you've even started there?

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