The press is swarming over former England internationals Michael Owen and David Beckham before the upcoming international period, during which the Lions face mighty Brazil in their first international at the new Wembley stadium before traveling to Estonia for a must-win Euro 2008 qualifying match. After being out of action for nearly 10 months, Owen […]
Monthly Archives: May 2007
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Angry Benitez Threatens Liverpool Board
Looks like there’s going to be a summer clear out at Anfield, after all. An angry-sounding Rafael Benitez, still smarting perhaps from Liverpool’s 2-1 loss in the Champions League final on Wednesday, called on Liverpool’s board to release the necessary funds to attract the world’s top talent or the club would risk losing him. Benitez […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Undermanned Red Bulls Strike Again
The New York Post summed it up nicely: “The Red Bulls keep losing players and winning games.” Missing Ronald Waterreus, right back Hunter Freeman, left back Todd Dunivant and captain Claudio Reyna for the fourth straight game (and looking admittedly shaky at times in defense), the Bulls still blanked the Chicago Fire, 3-0, thanks to […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
CSF: Venezuela Not Ready for Copa America 2007
With barely a month to go before the tournament’s opening, the South American soccer confederation (CSF) warned that Copa America host Venezuela might not have its stadiums ready in time. To Venezuela’s credit, the plan to build five new stadiums and host the 12-team tournament at nine different venues was always ambitious, CSF VP Eugenio […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
A’s Owner to Bring San Jose Quakes Back with No Stadium
Oakland A’s owner Lew Wolff is still on the case for bringing the San Jose Earthquakes back to Major League Soccer. In an interview with USA Today, Wolff said he would like to have the team registered for the 2008 season-with or without a new stadium. Wolff and John Fisher, heir to the Gap, Inc. […]
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Soccer On TV
Weekend soccer kicks off Friday with a Montreal-Miami USL clash (Fox Soccer Channel) and the first leg of the Mexican League final (Telefutura). A slate of six MLS games includes Saturday’s clash between New England and Kansas City, who are battling atop the Eastern Conference. Newly crowned Bundesliga champ VfB Stuttgart goes for the double against Nuremberg in the German Cup final on Saturday (Setanta Sports USA). Follow the red hot Spanish La Liga race on Saturday when both Barcelona and Real Madrid, for him David Beckham returns from yellow-card suspension, are in action (Gol TV).
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Colorado downs Real Salt Lake for U.S. Open Cup spot
A stoppage time goal by Jacob Peterson gave the Colorado Rapids a 2-1 home win over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday to qualify the Rapids for the round of 16 of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Peterson also scored the Rapids’ first goal of the play-in, which completed the octet of Open Cup MLS teams. Last year, Colorado eliminated Salt Lake in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup on a Peterson.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Wizards-Revs clash highlights MLS Week 8 action
[TV PREVIEW]. One game this weekend features a clash between to teams with winning records: New England vs. Kansas City. Columbus hopes to recover from a rout when it hosts Toronto, which now has high-scoring Jeff Cunningham. Slow-starting D.C. United and Houston, preseason favorites to MLS Cup, meet in D.C., each with losing records so far. Los Angeles, still in its pre-Beckham phase of the season, looks for its second win in Colorado. Chivas USA hosts FC Dallas. Winless Real Salt Lake meets a Chicago team that has lost four straight. Ridge Mahoney previews all of this weekend’s MLS action:
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Angel soars and Red Bulls romp
Fire fans who believed their team had already hit rock-bottom were proved wrong Thursday night. Chicago conceded two goals in the first three minutes to the New York Red Bulls (5-1-2) in a 3-0 defeat. After opening the season with a four-game unbeaten streak, Chicago (3-4-1) has dropped four straight.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Bob Bradley tackles the big summer challenge
Only a few prominent names are missing from the 23-man U.S. squad named by Coach Bob Bradley for the Gold Cup, and it’s another team nearly evenly divided between players based overseas and those in MLS. It’s at least two deep at every position (assuming a 4-4-2 alignment or something similar) and good enough to win the Gold Cup. At least a few players will also be on hand for the Copa America, which kicks off for the U.S. against Argentina just a few days after the Gold Cup final June 24, but those details aren’t yet known except that Gold Cup keepers Kasey Keller and Tim Howard probably won’t be heading to South America.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“I feel comfortable saying that it’s more than a handful of players – about 8 to 12 – that includes both MLS and European-based players, knowing that there are factors that can change that number. Whether those factors are injuries, or having to return to a club team earlier than expected.”
— U.S. coach Bob Bradley on how many players will represent the USA at the Gold Cup and the Copa America this summer.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Real Madrid says no to foreign tours
Real Madrid, which became famous for its long preseason tours abroad, will not be doing a high-profile pre-season promotional tour to allow the team to focus on its preparations for next season. Under former president Florentino Perez, Real embarked on extensive pre-season tours of the Far East and the United States as part of the club’s policy to develop and expand its image across the globe. Real Madrid played in the United States in 2005 and 2006. David Beckham, who will leave Real Madrid for MLS’s Los Angeles Galaxy in July, was the central figure in Real’s promotion of its Galacticos in recent years.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Riquelme rescues Boca in Libertadores Cup quarterfinals
Argentine star Juan Roman Riquelme scored a goal that began when he collected the ball in his own half to lead Boca Juniors to a 2-0 win over Paraguay’s Libertad and a place in the Libertadores Cup semifinals on Thursday. After being held to a 1-1 tie at home, Boca was in danger of falling to the Paraguayan champions, but Riquelme, who is on loan from Spain’s Villarreal rescued Boca with the deciding goal in the 62nd minute. He picked up the ball with his back to goal just inside his own half, turned inside Victor Caceres, cut inside a defender, worked an opening and scored with a low shot from the edge of the area.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
CSA names basketball exec Nykamp CEO
The Canadian Soccer Association hired Fred Nykamp as its new chief executive officer. Nykamp left Canada Basketball, where he spent three years, to accept the role.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Barcelona aims to get revenge against Getafe in key La Liga match
[TV PREVIEW] Which Barcelona team will show at the Camp Nou on Saturday against Getafe? The team that won at Atletico Madrid, 6-0, in La Liga last weekend? Or the team that fell to Getafe, 4-0, in the Copa del Rey a week and a half earlier?
Barcelona needs to win if it is to have any hope of keeping the Spanish league title. It is tied with Real Madrid with three games to play, but Madrid has already clinched the tiebreaker (head-to-head play).
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Copa Draw an Opportunity for Revenge for D.C. United
It may be a little earlier than he wanted, but D.C. United coach Tommy Soehn says his team’s Copa Sudamericana draw against Chivas de Guadalajara gives D.C. the chance to attend to some unfinished business. United played Chivas less than two months ago in a closely contested tie in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals, drawing […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Liverpool’s American Owners Praise Fans
Following Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to AC Milan in Wednesday’s Champions League final, the club’s new American owners said they’ve never seen anything like the passion exuded by Liverpool’s fans since buying the club in March. “There’s no way either of my two teams’ fans have the level of intense passion that Liverpool has,” co-owner Tom […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
British Billionaire in Line for Newcastle Takeover
Newcastle United looks set to be the next English Premier League club to be bought out after Mike Ashley, “one of Britain’s wealthiest and most secretive businessmen” according to the Independent, purchased a 41.6 percent stake in the club for approximately $110 million. The stake was purchased from the club’s biggest shareholder and life president […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Right Tactics, Wrong Execution for Liverpool
Wednesday night’s 2-1 loss to AC Milan in the Champions League final must have been a bitter pill for Liverpool and its manager, Rafael Benitez, to swallow. Probably the better team in a game where Benitez’s tactics dominated the flow (or lack thereof), Liverpool did a far better job of neutralizing Milan’s attack on Wednesday […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
RSL Trades Cunningham for Eskandarian, a Draft Pick and Cap Room
Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis had to do something. Winless in his first three matches as a rookie coach and coaching the only team left in MLS still without a victory, Kreis decided to trade star striker Jeff Cunningham to Toronto FC in exchange for fellow striker Alecko Eskandarian and a 2008 first-round draft […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
How Much Soccer is Too Much Soccer?
How much soccer is too much soccer? From my perspective as a sports medicine specialist, I know when a player has played too much when various types of “overuse” injuries start appearing.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Inzaghi delivers for Milan in Champions League final
Filippo Inzaghi repaid AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti for his faith in him by leading Milan to a 2-1 victory over Liverpool Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League final. At 33, Inzaghi was considered washed up, having scored just two goals this season for Milan in Serie A, but he matched that total with two goals in the final to give Milan its seventh title in Europe’s most important club competition.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Article 22033
“Alecko Eskandarian is in shock. Just found out I got traded from TFC to Real Salt Lake. Definitely did NOT ask for this so I’m pretty devastated right now.”
— Alecko Eskandarian, breaking the news of his trade from Toronto FC to Real Salt Lake on his facebook.com page before the trade was even made public
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Santos knocks Club America out of Libertadores Cup
Brazilian clubs Santos and Gremio and Colombian champion Cucuta are first three teams through to the semifinals of the Libertadores Cup. Santos came from behind on Wednesday against Mexico’s America to win the second leg of their quarterfinal series, 2-1, and win by the same score on aggregate. Goals by Tcheco and Teco gave Gremio a 2-0 win over Uruguay’s Defensor Sporting to even their series, 2-2, and the Brazilian club went through on penalties, 4-2. Cucuta, playing in the tournament for the first time in its 47-year history, twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 tie at Uruguayan club Nacional on Tuesday and win, 4-2, on aggregate.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Fizzling Fire needs a spark
[TV PREVIEW] If ever a team looked in desperate need of a Designated Player, it’s the Chicago Fire. Stuck in a three-game losing streak, Chicago takes on Red Bull New York (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2) at the Meadowlands Thursday without Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who is playing for Club America in the Mexican League finals and Copa Liberatadores. He won’t be available until mid-June at the earliest.