1.   He stood beside a muddy soccer pitch.

2.   Mind you it was not just any soccer pitch.

3.   Were we Marking out a soccer pitch?

4.   And I remember thinking they were using a perfectly good soccer pitch for what appeared to be slow-motion bowling.

5.   But the soccer pitch is not the only current battleground.

6.   Chalk it up to better defense, which will usually win games on a soccer pitch, a chess pitch or an NFL pitch.

7.   I know how different cultures react to different things, and that has helped me on the soccer pitch.

8.   Just the experience level and the amount of time they spend on a soccer pitch is invaluable.

9.   Most English eyes are fixed on a different patch of grass, the Wembley soccer pitch where their team has reached the semifinals of the European championships.

10.   The kid who can run forever on a soccer pitch moves, off of it, with the careful economy of a tired man.