Miguel Salazar
@salazar.bsky.social
writing and fact checking @ NYT Books, editing Golden Goal
For @goldengoalmag.bsky.social, I wrote about Lamine Yamal's misunderstood #WorldCup, Spain's new iteration of tiki-taka, and, of course, the baby photos. goldengoal.world/2026/07/19/t...
The Passion According to Lamine - Golden Goal
Baptized by Messi himself, Lamine Yamal has tailored his individual brilliance to fit Spain's collective style
goldengoal.world
I wrote about being at the FIFA World Cup final and the entire sordid scene. I spoke to a few people who bought five-figure tickets. I tried to make sense of the senseless. @defector.com (This is a gift link, but you should subscribe to Defector, the rare outlet that would commission this.)
FIFA Got What It Came For | Defector
A WELL-KNOWN VENUE IN THE MEADOWLANDS THAT FIFA WOULD THANK YOU TO CALL “NEW YORK NEW JERSEY STADIUM” BECAUSE IT DIDN’T GET PAID BY THAT STADIUM’S CORPORATE SPONSOR — The grass told the entire story. ...
defector.com
Alejandro Chacoff with an insightful article comparing this 2026 Brazil to the oft-criticized 1994 champions for @goldengoalmag.bsky.social
Ahead of today's Argentina game, Sergio Levinsky has a great essay on the complex and long-running fight over the future of the country's powerful football association, involving Javier Milei, Mauricio Macri, Chiqui Tapia and, of course, a lot of corruption goldengoal.world/2026/06/22/o...
Argentina's Old Boys' Club - Golden Goal
As the Albiceleste defends its World Cup title, a fight over the future of Argentine football continues in the shadows
goldengoal.world
The great Hamid Ismailov wrote about the heyday of Uzbek football for @goldengoalmag.bsky.social! goldengoal.world/2026/06/17/u...
Uzbekistan: Nothing to Sneeze At - Golden Goal
An exiled novelist remembers the heyday of Uzbek football ahead of their World Cup debut against Colombia
goldengoal.world
Hua Hsu! Hamid Ismailov! Dimitry Ed Park! Elias Léger! Salar Abdoh! Francesco Pacifico! Aaron Timms! Elle Hardy! Zito Madu! Laurent DuBois! Merve Emre! Many more!
Golden Goal@goldengoalmag.bsky.social · 2mo agoHere’s one last peak inside our print magazine, which ships next week. Preorder on our website: goldengoal.world
If, like me, you lie awake at night puzzling over the poor state of Belarusian football, here’s a piece for you. On a serious note, I interviewed two journalists, Yauhen Merkis and Maks Berazinaki, who stood up to Lukashenko’s regime and paid the price. Their courage and good humor are remarkable.
Lukashenko and the Decline of Belarusian Soccer
The country's beautiful, ascendent soccer has since been crushed by a regime intent on silencing players and fans at all costs.
goldengoalmag.substack.com
Golden Goal launch party on June 11 at Threes Brewing! Please RSVP!! www.eventbrite.com/e/golden-goa...
Golden Goal@goldengoalmag.bsky.social · 3mo agoThe Golden Goal launch party will be on June 11 at Threes Brewing! Join us as we celebrate the start of the World Cup and our beautiful new magazine. RSVP here: www.eventbrite.com/e/golden-goa...
I'm talking to Simon Kuper about the World Cup and his latest book World Cup Fever now open.substack.com/live-stream/...
LIVE NOW: World Cup Fever: Live with Alex Shephard and Simon Kuper
Alex Shephard on Substack
open.substack.com
For the @goldengoalmag.bsky.social newsletter, I wrote about the rise of Gianni Infantino and examined how his priorities are shaping FIFA, the World Cup, and global soccer. I also made fun of him for looking like a dumbass at the World Baseball Classic goldengoalmag.substack.com/p/what-was-g...
What Was Gianni Infantino Doing at the World Baseball Classic?
The FIFA boss's attendance offers a window into his relationship to power and the priorities that really shape the World Cup and global soccer.
goldengoalmag.substack.com
In this week's newsletter @salazar.bsky.social examines Inter Miami's White House visit, which wasn't really about Messi or Trump. Instead, it was about the team's billionaire owner Jorge Mas—and his family's decadeslong push for regime change in Cuba goldengoalmag.substack.com/p/theres-mor...
There’s More to Messi’s White House Visit Than Meets the Eye
To really understand Inter Miami's awkward trip to Washington D.C. you have to look at the team's owner, Jorge Mas.
goldengoalmag.substack.com
Why was Messi really at the White House? For this week's @goldengoalmag.bsky.social newsletter, I wrote about Trump, Cuba, Inter Miami president Jorge Mas and the legacy of his father, Jorge Mas Canosa, the godfather of Cuban American politicians. goldengoalmag.substack.com/p/theres-mor...
There’s More to Messi’s White House Visit Than Meets the Eye
To really understand Inter Miami's awkward trip to Washington D.C. you have to look at the team's owner, Jorge Mas.
goldengoalmag.substack.com
Went on @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social and Daniel Alarcón's indispensable and fun new World Cup podcast with @salazar.bsky.social to talk about @goldengoalmag.bsky.social and why we're still excited about the 2026 World Cup in spite of, you know, everything open.spotify.com/episode/0kaB...
Episode 8: Creators of Golden Goal Magazine join The Away End, Daniel talks Japan, and Storytime with John
open.spotify.com
For the @goldengoalmag.bsky.social newsletter I wrote about the 1998 World Cup game between Iran and the United States and the upcoming tournament goldengoalmag.substack.com/p/the-mother...
'The Mother of All Games:' Iran, the U.S. and the World Cup
Revisiting one of the most politically charged games in World Cup history as Iran's 2026 tournament hangs in the balance.
goldengoalmag.substack.com
Give the good people at @goldengoalmag.bsky.social all your money: www.kickstarter.com/projects/mag...
Golden Goal
A World Cup magazine
kickstarter.com
"Golden Goal is a magazine about understanding and untangling this messy, chaotic jumble at the heart of the World Cup, with an internationalist vision that doesn’t shy away from the sport’s growing corruption but also resists cynicism and myopia." open.substack.com/pub/goldengo...
Why the World Cup?
On why we're starting Golden Goal
open.substack.com
"The World Cup is now less than four months away. Has that sentence ever felt more deflating?" We'll be sending out a newsletter every Friday through the end of the World Cup! Read the first installment and sign up here
Golden Goal@goldengoalmag.bsky.social · 5mo agoEach week, we’ll share a short original reporting, commentary or a short interview along with a quick roundup of what we’ve been reading, watching and listening to about the competition. Our first installment is an introduction to the magazine: goldengoalmag.substack.com/p/why-the-wo...
Infantino got you down? Not sure how to feel about this year's World Cup? Want to read writers from around the world make sense of it all? Follow us: @goldengoalmag.bsky.social
Alex Shephard@alexshephard.bsky.social · 5mo agoSome exciting news! I'm working with a bunch of talented editors, illustrators, and writers to put together Golden Goal, a one-off print magazine about the 2026 World Cup. If you're interested in supporting us, we're currently doing a small fundraiser www.kickstarter.com/projects/mag...
Infantino got you down? Not sure how to feel about this year's World Cup? Want to read writers from around the world make sense of it all? Follow us: @goldengoalmag.bsky.social
Alex Shephard@alexshephard.bsky.social · 5mo agoSome exciting news! I'm working with a bunch of talented editors, illustrators, and writers to put together Golden Goal, a one-off print magazine about the 2026 World Cup. If you're interested in supporting us, we're currently doing a small fundraiser www.kickstarter.com/projects/mag...
fwiw it’s been about six weeks since Trump pardoned the former president of Honduras who had been convicted of trafficking drugs into the US
So for months they have tried to blame the entire fentanyl crisis on Venezuela and the indictment only mentions cocaine, which they pardoned a different guy for weeks ago
A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
we talk too much about the male loneliness crisis and not enough about the male suckerfication crisis maxread.substack.com/p/prediction...
The Oregon Republican Party tried to help Donald Trump make the case for military intervention in Portland with an image of a fiery protest — but since Portland is calm, they had to fabricate one by merging old photos of police in Ecuador and protesters in Brazil www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Republicans post fake image of Oregon protest – using photos of South America
A federal judge had blocked Trump’s request to deploy California national guard to Portland
theguardian.com
BREAKING: Our client Mario Guevara, an Emmy-winning journalist detained by ICE in retaliation for livestreaming law enforcement activity, will be deported tomorrow to El Salvador. Mario and his family are being punished for his reporting. This cruelty is meant to stifle our free press.
Quick reminder: most of ICE is deemed “essential” during a shutdown, but of course ICE agents (like most other essential gov employees) are working without pay right now and hoping Congress will eventually fill in back pay. www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/what-go...
What a Government Shutdown Means for the Immigration System - American Immigration Council
This is how a government shutdown in 2025 may impact ICE, immigration courts, USCIS, and the immigration system at large.
americanimmigrationcouncil.org
Whatever country you are from, the officially approved way to avoid getting grabbed off the street is to have pale enough skin. chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
Feds in military gear flood downtown Chicago; top border chief says people arrested based on ‘how they look’
The immigration agents were spotted making arrests in downtown Chicago and River North neighborhood early Sunday.
chicago.suntimes.com
