Naked Truth
Inter Miami Brazenly Cheated MLS Rules…But Was It So Wrong?
MLS first introduced the designated player rule in 2007 in order to give clubs more flexibility to sign lucrative deals with marquee players. It was informally called the David...
Naked Truth
Championship-or-Bust Expectations Led to the Downfall of Bob Bradley
In a big city like Los Angeles, with its siren-like call of glitzy Hollywood and seductive promises that seem just within reach, it has always been championship or bust...
Anonymous Mailbag
Anonymous Mailbag No. 4: Quitting Corporate America
Here is our latest Urban Pitch Anonymous Mailbag, where we answer your unfiltered questions and replies to our stories or any particular issues and topics in soccer and culture...
Naked Truth
The Key Takeaways From the Kylian Mbappe Saga
It's Officially the Kylian Mbappe Era
We've known for quite a while now that Mbappe was the heir apparent to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. There was a brief moment...
Naked Truth
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Virtue Signaling Cost Coca-Cola $4 Billion While Exposing His Own Hypocrisy
During a Euro 2020 press conference on Monday, Cristiano Ronaldo purposefully moved two strategically placed Coca-Cola bottles out of view. He then picked up a water bottle and set...
Naked Truth
The True Reason Why American Soccer is Lagging Behind and Why Almost Everyone Gets It Wrong
There is an ongoing debate as to why U.S. men's soccer isn’t competitive with the top football countries in the world. Of all the various reasons and criticisms that...
Naked Truth
The Crypto.com Arena Deal Shows How Much the Business of Soccer Still Lags in the US
It was recently announced that LA's iconic Staples Center would be getting a new name in time for Christmas: Crypto.com Arena. The 20-year agreement, thought to be the biggest naming...
Naked Truth
Why Promotion and Relegation is Overrated and a Closed System is Far Superior
The sentimental idea behind promotion and relegation seems fair, good-natured, and based upon a system of meritocracy. In practice, this is a complete fallacy and the stark reality is...
Naked Truth
Boom or Bust: Gareth Bale and LAFC’s Desperate Moment of Truth
Gareth Bale's relationship with Real Madrid and its fans may have been doomed from the start. While his €100 million ($132 million) transfer from Tottenham in 2013 made him...
Naked Truth
EURO 2020 Shows That Even the Highest Levels Aren’t Exempt From Nightmare Soccer Moms
One of the surprise stories coming out from EURO 2020 is the report of the contentious behavior by Veronique Rabiot, the mother of France midfielder Adrien Rabiot, towards other...
Naked Truth
Pay-to-Play is Good for Soccer and the Harshest Critics are Hypocrites
The pay-to-play model is probably one of the most maligned and yet vastly misunderstood and mischaracterized topics regarding soccer in America today. It is often described as being detrimental...
Naked Truth
Are the USL and MLS Headed Towards an Ugly Divorce?
Major League Soccer recently announced the official launch of its third division league, MLS Next Pro. Set to begin play with 21 teams in March of 2022, 20 of...
Naked Truth
FC Barcelona Ditching Luis Suarez is a Disastrous Repeat of the Tom Brady Situation
Luis Suarez’s acrimonious departure from FC Barcelona to Atlético Madrid this past September is eerily reminiscent to what happened with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. While Brady’s move resulted...
Naked Truth
Racial Abuse is Still Prevalent in Football, But Public Outrage is Lacking When Perpetrated Against Asian Footballers
Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Hwang Hee-chan is one of two South Korean players in the Premier League, along with Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur. Last year in August, the Wanderers...
Naked Truth
Lionel Messi’s Historic Run at Barcelona is Over…But Who is to Blame and Where Can He Go?
Speaking at a news conference on Friday, FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta made the shock announcement that negotiations to keep Lionel Messi at the club had ended. Expressing that...
Anonymous Mailbag
Anonymous Mailbag: The Pay-to-Play Debate
We had a lot of comments come in from readers in regards to my most recent article Pay-to-Play is Good for Soccer and the Harshest Critics are Hypocrites. There...
Naked Truth
The Murky Partnership Between US Soccer and MLS is Finally Coming to an End
The United States Soccer Federation announced that it would be parting ways with MLS-owned Soccer United Marketing (SUM) and not renewing their commercial rights agreement. The nearly 20-year partnership...
Anonymous Mailbag
Anonymous Mailbag No. 5: The Suarez-Brady Connection and Zlatan vs. LeBron
Here is our latest Urban Pitch Anonymous Mailbag, where we answer your unfiltered questions and replies to our stories or any particular issues and topics in soccer and culture...
Naked Truth
Corruption, Exploitation, and Death: The Dark Road to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
The controversy began from the onset when Qatar was announced as winning the right to host the 2022 World Cup. In December 2010, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter made the...
Naked Truth
American Professional Soccer is Basically That Cringeworthy, Rich, and Dysfunctional Family
Major League Soccer recently announced the launch of a third division league set to start in 2022. It is being touted as a bridge between MLS Next academies and...
