Monthly Archives: March 2000

The following is the preliminary roster for the U.S. men’s Olympic team that will compete for a spot in this year’s Olympics in April. U.S. coach Clive Charles must cut his roster from 25 to 18 players for the tournament April 23-30 in Hershey, Pa. Goalkeepers: Adin Brown (Colorado), Tim Howard (MetroStars), Andy Kirk (Tampa […]

Creating archenemies in MLS proves to be a work in progress Don Garber sees the day Major League SoccerÆs fiercest rivalries approach the intensity of some of EuropeÆs biggest derbies. So does Ivan Gazidis, who grew up in the midst of one. Thomas Rongen thinks theyÆre nuts. ôI donÆt think it can ever happen,ö says […]

Quotes from the March 21 MLS conference call, the first of the 2000 season: Opening Comments by MLS Executive Vice President Ivan Gazidis “We had a very positive opening weekend, we saw the resumption of some old rivalries between Chicago and Dallas, which was probably one of the best opening games we’ve had in MLS. […]

EASTERN DIVISION D.C. UNITED — OUT: M Micah Cooks (facial fracture); QUESTIONABLE: M Marco Etcheverry (left calf strain); PROBABLE: D Eddie Pope (left knee sprain); D Carey Talley (right foot contusion) METROSTARS — OUT: D Mark Semioli (right calf strain); M Billy Walsh (right knee surgery); QUESTIONABLE: F Adolfo Valencia (abdominal strain) MIAMI FUSION — […]

Foreigners ù how many and what kind ù present an important and controversial issue in leagues around the world. It’s not new, having men from one country play for clubs in another. The first Argentine moved to Italy about 1925. By 1930, Italian clubs sent recruiters to Rio and lured 39 Brazilians in 1931. Paraguayans […]

With all but one series complete, the first round of World Cup qualifying in the TFC’s Caribbean zone is complete. Here’s a rundown of the action: Surinam-St. Lucia (1-0, 3-1 on PKs): A late goal by Alberto Doesburg evened the series at 1-1. The Surinamese advanced , 3-1, on penalty kicks. Surinam’s Benny Kiansi, Orlando […]

Soccer AmericaÆs MLS Team of the Week from the opening weekend of Year 5 Goalkeeper Adin Brown (1) Colorado Defenders Eric Dade (1) Dallas Greg Vanney (1) Los Angeles Ted Chronopoulos (1) New England Midfielders Steve Ralston (1) Tampa Bay Carlos Valderrama (1) Tampa Bay Andy Williams (1) Miami Forwards Hristo Stoitchkov (1) Chicago Ariel […]

USA-Tunisia (1-1) Tony Meola (5). Nearly gave away a goal with a poor clearance in the 24th minute. Some will wonder why he was so advanced on the goal, but he didn’t have support and had to chase the shooter, whose shot was well-placed. Carlos Llamosa (5). The veteran gets exposed too much as a […]

The United States won its first Algarve Cup title thanks to a 1-0 victory over Norway March 18 in Loule, Portgual. The game’s lone goal came on a penalty kick converted by Brandi Chastain in the ninth minute after Mia Hamm was taken down in the Norway penalty area by goalkeeper Bente Nordby. Norway’s star […]

MLSÆs new divisional alignment has weakened the challenge in the West to the Los Angeles Galaxy, which should face little resistance to its reign now that the Chicago Fire and Dallas Burn, its chief rivals, have departed. The Galaxy, MLS Cup finalists in 1999, expects to be better, while its Western Division opposition ù the […]

The following are excerpts from the press conference with Chicago Fire signing Hristo Stoichkov: MLS Executive Vice-President of Player Relations Ivan Gazidis Opening Remarks: We’ve just come out off a press conference and there was a tremendous buzz in the room when Hristo Stoichkov approached the MLS Cup trophy and Lothar Matthaeus said, “No, No, […]

Players Waived Columbus Crew — Brian Winters. Chicago Fire — Kevin Jackson, Paul Dougherty (claimed by New England). Miami Fusion — Saul Martinez, David Wright. New England Revolution — Paulo Dos Santos. San Jose Earthquakes — Adrian Narine. Tampa Bay Mutiny — Ubusuku Abukusumo, Matt Kmosko. Players Claimed Los Angeles — Adan Frye. New England […]

The United States’ earliest exit from the Gold Cup left Coach Bruce Arena without a reading on where the team stands against its World Cup qualification group. Instead, Arena monitored the team’s internal progress and nearly completed his player evaluations. SOCCER AMERICA: What do you take from the Gold Cup experience overall? BRUCE ARENA: I […]

Second-half substitute Mia Hamm scored in the 65th minute against Sweden to give the U.S. women a 1-0 win, the Group A title and a berth in the Algarve Cup final against Norway, which has beaten the USA twice this year. The USA has never won the Algarve Cup despite five previous appearances. Norway, the […]

The Eastern Division looks like a cakewalk for three-time MLS champion D.C. United – clearly the strongest team, if for no other reason than its continuity. With the MetroStars and Revolution undergoing major reconstruction and Miami running amok with attackers, United’s team chemistry alone – forget its wealth of talent – should be worth the […]

John Max Mena St. Louis, Mo. Using the English league divisions, how would you compare the MLS quality? Do you know of any plans of any English team visiting the U.S for a friendly? Ridge Mahoney: A good question, but a tough one to answer, because the style and pace of play, weather conditions, and […]

THE BATTLE FOR RATINGS AND REVENUES. Long, dark, quiet months have enveloped MLS in a shroud of trepidation. Not that the winter was without news, but much of it came over like the ôWeekend Updateö segment on ôSaturday Night Live.ö Cue the studio announcer: ôHi, IÆm Jack Edwards and youÆre not. Our top story tonight: […]

The league has lumped four of its best teams into this quartet, which makes for a fiercely competitive division that is much stronger than the other two. Several head coaches envision a scenario by which all four make the playoffs; if they battle each other pretty much even and whup the weak links in the […]

Doors keep opening for 17-year-old DaMarcus Beasley since Silver Ball win in New Zealand Shortly after his first appearance in a Chicago Fire uniform, DaMarcus Beasley stood behind the team bench, his shoulders barely clearing the black chain link fence around the field at Lockhart Stadium, clutching a nested pair of shinguards. He chatted and […]

The Chicago Fire has finalized a deal to sign Hristo Stoichkov for a reported signing fee of $400,000. To obtain Stoichkov, Chicago acquired an allocation via trade with San Jose. San Jose received an allocation to replace Eddie Lewis, who was transferred earlier today to Fulham of the English First Division. San Jose then traded […]

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Wednesday, March 15, 2000) – The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that Major League Soccer has reached an agreement with Fulham of the English First Division for the transfer of Eddie Lewis, subject to work permit approval in England. “We are sorry to see Eddie depart but we are glad that we […]

The Miami Fusion acquired 36-year-old central defender Francis Okaroh from the Chicago Fire for a second-round pick in the 2001 SuperDraft and a conditional second-round pick in the 2002 SuperDraft. Okaroh played a key role in the Fire’s 1998 Championship season when the club won both the MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup. In […]

Second-half substitute Shannon MacMillan hit a 40-yard bomb late in the game to give the U.S. women’s national team a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Denmark in Group A action in the Algarve Cup in Faro, Portugal. The win was the first for U.S. coach April Heinrichs. A win or a tie against Sweden in the […]

March 12 in St. Louis Columbus 3 Kansas City 2 Goals: Gori (West, Cunningham) 42, Gori (Elcock, Clark), Gori (Cunningham) 46; McKeon (Henderson, Johnston) 14, Brown (McKeon) 65. Kansas City — Snitko (red carded, 29), Vermes, Okafor, Garcia, Klein (Prideaux, 66), McKeon, Henderson ( Brown, 46), Zavagnin (Oshoniyi, 29), Preki (Gomez, 74), Molnar (Bunbury, 46), […]

SA Editors’ Consensus MLS Cup 2000 Champion: D.C. United. Runner-up: Chicago. Regular season Eastern: 1. D.C. United. 2. Miami. 3. MetroStars. 4. New England. Central: 1. Chicago. 2. Dallas. 3. Tampa Bay. 4. Columbus. Western: 1. Los Angeles. 2. Kansas City. 3. San Jose. 4. Colorado. Bryan Alvarez MLS Cup 2000 Champion: Los Angeles. Runner-up: […]