Monthly Archives: November 2006

Arsene Wenger is furious that his striker and captain, Thierry Henry, has been snubbed from FIFA’s World Player of the Year award. The list is now down to three, with Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro, retired France captain Zinedine Zidane, and Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho all vying for soccer’s top individual prize. Wenger has repeatedly claimed that […]

Amid Criticism, Defender Cannavaro is All Smiles with European Prize

Italy and Real Madrid defender Fabio Cannavaro said he’s unconcerned by the criticism that’s come his way since France Football awarded him with the Ballon d’Or, or the European Player of the Year award, given annually to Europe’s top performer. Interestingly, most of the high-profile complaints came from Frenchman, including France coach Raymond Domenech, Olympique […]

2. MLS: College players invited to combine

MLS has named the first 58 players — from 44 Division I schools — who will attend a combine in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Jan. 5-8 to be viewed by MLS coaches in preparation for the 2007 MLS SuperDraft Jan. 12 in Indianapolis. Last year, 23 of the 48 players selected in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft […]

1. WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

“Juergen has told me that nothing has been decided. So, there’s no news. … It is possible that he will do it. But it’s also possible that he won’t. And Juergen does not feel he’s under time pressure.” — Roland Eitel, a spokesman for Juergen Klinsmann on chances that the former Germany coach will become […]

4. OFF THE POST: Cruel and unusual punishment for Argentine

Argentine attacker Carlos Tevez stormed out of the stadium after being subbed by his West Ham coach Alan Pardew. Tevez quickly apologized but Pardew insisted that the 22-year-old must be punished for the tantrum and allowed Tevez’s teammates to choose the penalty. They have suggested that Tevez be forced to wear the jersey of Argentina’s […]

Notre Dame-Florida State women's semifinal preview

Soccer America continues its preview of this week's Men's and Women's College Cup semifinals. After yesterday's look at the North Carolina-UCLA game, we preview the second women's semifinal game on Friday in Cary, N.C., between top-ranked Notre Dame and Florida State. The Irish combine experience on defense with an explosive attack led by the nation's […]

SPAIN: Two coaches fired in 24 hours

In the space of 24 hours, two La Liga clubs fired their coaches. Last-place Gimnastic Tarragona dropped Julio Cesar Sunday evening after its 3-2 defeat at home to Real Mallorca. On Monday, Athletic Bilbao dumped Felix Sarriugarte after its 3-1 loss at home to Sevilla left it third from last in the La Liga standings. […]

CLUB SOCCER: Michigan, San Diego State take titles

Michigan and San Diego State won the men's and women's Championship divisions, respectively, at the NIRSA National Soccer Sport Club Championships held in Tempe, Ariz., Nov. 16-18. After opening with a 3-0 loss to North Carolina, the Wolverines swept their next five games — all by shutouts — to capture the men's title. In the […]

BY THE NUMBERS: D1 Women's Semifinalists

(APPEARANCES IN 25 YEARS) 23 North Carolina 10 Santa Clara 8 Notre Dame 8 Portland 7 Connecticut 6 Massachusetts 5 UCLA 5 Colorado College 4 George Mason 3 Florida State 3 California 3 Penn State 2 Florida, UCF, N.C. State, Wisconsin 1 Duke, Hartford, Missouri-St. Louis, Princeton, SMU, Stanford, Virginia

4. CLUB SOCCER: Michigan, San Diego State take titles

Michigan and San Diego State won the men’s and women’s Championship divisions, respectively, at the NIRSA National Soccer Sport Club Championships held in Tempe, Ariz., Nov. 16-18. NIRSA Tournament Awards After opening with a 3-0 loss to North Carolina, the Wolverines swept their next five games — all by shutouts — to capture the men’s […]

2. BY THE NUMBERS: D1 Women’s Semifinalists

3. TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: College Cups

MEN’S COLLEGE CUP Schedule Semifinals Dec. 1 in St. Louis Virginia (17-3-1) vs. UCLA (13-5-4) 5 pm CT/6 pm ET (TV: ESPN2, live; ESPNU, delay, Dec. 2, 2 am ET) Wake Forest (18-3-3) vs. UC Santa Barbara (16-7-0), 7:30 pm CT/8:30 pm ET (TV: ESPNU, delay, Dec. 2, 12 am ET; ESPN2, delay, Dec. 2, […]

1. Notre Dame-Florida State women’s semifinal preview

Soccer America continues its preview of this week’s Men’s and Women’s College Cup semifinals. After yesterday’s look at the North Carolina-UCLA game, we preview the second women’s semifinal game on Friday in Cary, N.C., between top-ranked Notre Dame and Florida State. The Irish combine experience on defense with an explosive attack led by the nation’s […]

3. SPAIN: Two coaches fired in 24 hours

TELEVISION: College Cup Schedules

MEN'S COLLEGE CUP Schedule Semifinals Dec. 1 in St. Louis Virginia (17-3-1) vs. UCLA (13-5-4) 5 pm CT/6 pm ET (TV: ESPN2, live; ESPNU, delay, Dec. 2, 2 am ET) Wake Forest (18-3-3) vs. UC Santa Barbara (16-7-0), 7:30 pm CT/8:30 pm ET (TV: ESPNU, delay, Dec. 2, 12 am ET; ESPN2, delay, Dec. 2, […]

UCLA-North Carolina women's semifinal preview

The countdown to the College Cups begins. The men's and women's finals will this year take place on the same weekend. Each day this week, Soccer America will preview one of the matchups. We begin with the opening women's semifinal game on Friday in Cary, N.C., between UCLA and North Carolina. Both are No. 1 […]

MLS: Roster purges; Chivas USA moves; another Arena acolyte steps up

For MLS coaches, the Thanksgiving holiday is split between enjoying turkey with the family and finalizing which rostered turkeys need to be sliced, because contracts are either renewed or terminated Nov. 30. There are also college games to be scouted. And this offseason, barely two weeks old, is further crowded by a new team entering […]

CONCACAF: Champions Cup & Youth Qualifying Draws

CONCACAF held the draws for three regional competitions Friday during the CONCACAF executive committee meeting in Los Angeles. Two MLS teams are competing in the CONCACAF Champions Cup — the regional equivalent of the Europe's Champions League or South America's Libertadores Cup. U.S. youth national teams will take part in qualifying early next year for […]

HERMANN TROPHY: Davies, Lapira, Needham named men's finalists

Boston College's Charlie Davies, Notre Dame's Joseph Lapira and SMU's Jay Needham are the three finalists for the 2006 Men's MAC Hermann Trophy. The winner will be announced at a press conference at the Busch Center on the campus of Saint Louis University on Saturday, Dec. 2, between the NCAA Division I men's semifinals on […]

In Defense of G14, Europe’s Club Union

At Soccerex, BBC News points out that Arsenal vice chairman David Dein was also forced to defend G14, the union that represents Europe’s clubs before FIFA in matters of finance. Its members include Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, AC and Inter Milan, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Porto. “G-14 is a friend of the game,” […]

Kenyon Defends Chelsea’s Fat Pockets

After a presentation from Sepp Blatter at the Soccerex business convention in Dubai, during which the FIFA president said professional clubs should field no less than six domestically produced players per game in their starting eleven, Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon felt the need to defend his club. The Chelsea executive stated that the club […]

Nowak: Freddy Shouldn’t Go to Man United

Peter Nowak, whom we all know has had a tumultuous relationship with 17-year-old Freddy Adu at D.C. United, warned the teenager against moving to Manchester United, saying he had already departed for his training session at Old Trafford on bad advice. Nowak said the Premiership would overwhelm him, as the Ghana-born teenager is not physically […]

MLS Forces Premiership Clubs to Dig Deep for Dempsey

History says that Premier League clubs don’t like to pay big transfer fees for Major League Soccer’s field players. Tim Howard, a goalkeeper, fetched $3.6 million when he left the MetroStars for Manchester United, but Fulham paid the most expensive transfer fee to MLS for an American field player when it shelled out $1 million […]

Dein Offers an Olive Branch to FIFA over Player Compensation

t would seem that FIFA and the domestic organizations that govern soccer in countries across Europe are perennially at odds, desperately in need of some peacemaking. Yesterday, at Soccerex, the sport’s annual business convention, Arsenal vice chairman David Dein staked his claim to be the man to bridge that gap. For one thing, he suggested […]

YOUTH: National youth team updates (Thanksgiving Interregionals)