December 30th, 2009 at 11:43AM

Here are 10 stories that impacted the soccer business in 2009 (in no particular order):

  1. The purchase of a Portuguese footballer with rock-hard abs by Real Madrid for more than East Timor recorded in gross domestic product for 2008
  2. The tragic loss of Robert Enke and the continued stigma surrounding mental illness in professional sport and society at large
  3. The continual shift in football from a prevalence of oily men on the pitch to oilmen off it
  4. The rise of Twitter and its (mis)application by professional footballers such as Darren Bent, Jozy Altidore, Jimmy Conrad and more
  5. The historically unparalleled enthusiasm surrounding the 2010 FIFA World Cup draw, previously a non-event (at least in North America)
  6. David Beckham blah blah blah AC Milan blah blah blah Beckham blah blah blah MLS blah blah blah Beckham blah blah blah Posh Spice
  7. The re-launch and re-branding of women’s professional soccer, as Women’s Professional Soccer
  8. Corruption, controversy and cancellation of domestic football in Argentina
  9. The revolving debate about whether and how much technology should play a role in football
  10. The fragmentation of the United Soccer Leagues into a series of evolving and competing acronyms

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