Monthly Archives: February 2007

Last September, Brazilian referee Silvia Regina de Oliveira was suspended for allowing Santacruzense’s game-tying goal to stand even though the ball was stroked home by the ball boy. (video) Earlier this month, another Brazilian ball boy committed a more egregious but less effective transgression when he smacked Botafogo-Riberao Preto goalkeeper Marcao with an iron bar. […]

By Ridge Mahoney He may be flush with a new contract, yet Revs’ striker Taylor Twellman is thinking of how to reward the lowest-paid players in MLS and ratchet up the intensity of league competition. Twellman signed a new four-year contract earlier this week that will pay him more than $300,000 per year. Yet Twellman […]

"Flamengo pulled off an heroic draw against Real Potosi in unsporting and inhumane conditions. … We want to make it public that … we will not take part in matches at an altitude above the limits recommended by sports medicine. … It degrades the human condition and puts the life of the athletes at risk." […]

Surprise Reading faces one of the biggest tests of the season when it travels to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the round of 16 of the English FA Cup on Saturday (TV: PPV-Setanta, delay, noon ET). The Royals are sixth in their first season in the Premier League and gave United a stuff […]

So you think there’s no money to be made in soccer? Scottish champion Celtic announced profits of 17.9 million pounds (almost $36 million) for the first six months of its fiscal year. Celtic benefited from its participation in the UEFA Champions League, where it has reached next week’s round of 16, and long-term sponsorship deals […]

Barcelona and Real Madrid aren’t the only Spanish clubs with player discord. One of the closest La Liga races in years has been overshadowed by problems at Barcelona (where Cameroonian star Samuel Eto’o criticized Coach Frank Rijkaard and teammate Ronaldinho) and Real Madrid (where David Beckham spent a month off the first team). Fourth-place Valencia […]

As expected, Honduras claimed the 12th and final berth in the 2007 Gold Cup with a 9-1 victory over Nicaragua Thursday in the fifth-place game at the UNCAF Digicel Cup. Veteran Wilmer Velasquez had four goals, and former MLS and A-League striker Saul Martinez added three for the Catrachos, who join Digicel Cup semifinalists El […]

After opening with Argentina (June 28), the USA will face Paraguay (July 2) and Colombia (July 5) in group play at the Venezuela-hosted 2007 Copa America. “I think quite obviously we have been put in a very competitive group,” said U.S. coach Bob Bradley. “When we decided that we wanted to enter Copa America, we […]

“He was complaining I elbowed him in the head. So I said: ‘Look at where your head is, I can’t help it if you’re so short you only come up to my elbow.’ He smiled and said ‘You’ve got a point there’.” — Newcastle’s 6-foot-4 America defender Oguchi Onyewu on his clash with Liverpool’s 5-9 […]

American goalie Brad Freidel could do nothing about a sublime finish by German international Bernd Schneider that gave German club Bayer Leverkusen a 3-2 win over Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday in the first leg of their UEFA Cup round-of-32 series in Leverkusen. Schneider back-heeled a cross from Gonzalo Castro to give Leverkusen the win after […]

Arsenal was given a scare at Bolton Wanderers before prevailing, 3-1, in overtime Wednesday to advance to the round of 16 of the English FA Cup. Swedish sub Fredrik Ljungberg scored the winning early in the second overtime after Bolton had tied the score on a 90th-minute equalizer from defender Abdoulaye Meite. Togolese striker Emmanuel […]

By Ridge Mahoney American keeper Tim Howard has made the same determination as American teammate Kenny Cooper: Manchester United is one of the world’s greatest clubs, but it isn’t the right place for him. Everton has reached an agreement to convert Howard’s loan from Manchester United into a transfer, effective in the summer. The club’s […]