[VIDEO] American teenager Freddy Adu didn’t need to wait long to make his European debut, but it was another offseason acquisition, veteran Portuguese midfielder Rui Costa, who rescued Benfica with both goals in its 2-1 victory over FC Copenhagen Tuesday in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League third-round qualifying series.
Monthly Archives: August 2007
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Galaxy Looking Like Cosmos
The Los Angeles Galaxy is beginning to look a lot the New York Cosmos of the NASL, says J Hutcherson of USSoccerPlayers. First Becks, then the media, then the red carpet at Home Depot and the celebrities, and now, the team is getting to charter its own flights. Soon, Galaxy members and staff will have […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
ESPN Criticized for Too Much Becks
ESPN’s Beckham coverage is out of control, say soccer critics across the blogosphere. The Washington Post Soccer Insider’s Steven Goff coined the term “BSPN” to refer to the network’s coverage of Becks. The New York Times soccer blog also went off on ESPN’s irksome “Beckham Obsession”: “Close-up of [Beckham’s] facial expressions. Shot of him […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
The Beckham No Show
There’s this old media adage that any press is good press. As long as people are talking about you, right? Well, the merits of that claim are now being tested to the limits after the limited number of appearances made by David Beckham in his first month in MLS. The Beckham backlash is evident in […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Injury Woes Pile Up for England
Wayne Rooney’s fractured foot, David Beckham’s questionable left ankle, Michael Owen’s perennial injury problems, and some seven other England internationals are awaiting the green light to return to full fitness for Coach Steve McClaren. And the timing couldn’t be worse, as his Lions are three weeks away from two must-win Euro 2008 qualifiers. England […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Riquelme: I’m Staying at Villarreal
It looks like the Juan Roman Riquelme saga is now over. According to Sporting Life, the Argentine wizard won’t be returning to Boca Juniors, he won’t be going to Atletico Madrid, and no, he won’t be going to MLS, either. Instead he’s going back to Villarreal, where a tenuous relationship with Coach Manuel Pellegrini caused […]
Posted inGrassroots Soccer Biz, Story
Soccer Advocacy 101
The good news is that every non-for-profit soccer organization can (and in many cases should) lobby, within limits!
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS’s Red Bulls name Montgomery to head youth program
MLS club Red Bull New York named long-time Adelphi coach Bob Montgomery as its Director of Youth Development to oversee its player development system.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. under-15 girls national team roster
The U.S. under-15 girls national team will play its first-ever full international matches, facing the Japanese U-16 girls national team twice at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. For the complete U.S. roster …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“Adu has only had seven days of training, but he has enormous potential and he is available. But we have to be careful with him under these conditions.”
— Benfica coach Fernando Santos on 18-year-old American Freddy Adu, who could make his debut for the legendary Portuguese club on Tuesday against FC Copenhagen. (AP)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Bradley players held in death of teammate Danny Dahlquist
Four young men, including three members of the Bradley men’s soccer soccer team and roommates of Dahlquist, were charged with setting a fire that led to the death of their Bradley teammate, Danny Dahlquist. The 19-year-old Dahlquist, a sophomore, died Sunday of smoke inhalation after the four men allegedly set a fire in his bedroom in their West Peoria, Ill., house by lighting a roman candle under his bedroom door that started a fire.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Freddy Adu’s European adventure begins
Freddy Adu will suit up for Portuguese club Benfica’s first official match since it recently signed him from MLS. The 18-year-old Adu will be available to come off the bench in Benfica’s UEFA Champions League qualifying match against Denmark’s FC Copenhagen on Tuesday at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon (TV: Setanta-PPV, live, 3:15 pm ET).
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
USA-Brazil, battle of the Americas champions
So it won’t be Mexico-USA at Azteca on Sept. 9.
An even better treat is in store for U.S. fans: USA-Brazil at Chicago’s Soldier Field. The game, to be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Univision, will pit the 2007 CONCACAF champion against the 2007 South American champion. Both teams are repeat champions.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
USL First Division & Second Division Results
With two shutouts in USL First Division action, Rochester’s Scott Vallow tied and surpassed Billy Andracki as the all-time regular-season win leader in Rhinos history. Vallow was just back after missing four months with a biceps injury. The shutouts ended a club record streak of 12 games without a shutout. Josh Wicks also had two shutouts in a pair of scoreless draws for Portland, which needs just one point to clinch a playoff berth.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Houston-Pachuca, the rematch
[SUPERLIGA PREVIEW] The roles have reversed, somewhat, since Houston and Pachuca met in a riveting CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal five months ago. Houston hosts Pachuca Tuesday night in the semifinals of the SuperLiga. This time around, the Dynamo is the team in the midst of its regular season. Yet it has lost its last two league games by 1-0 scores after running through its SuperLiga first-round group against D.C. United, Club America, and Morelia unbeaten.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS Statistical Leaders
Los Angeles (22,586), D.C. United (20,940) and Toronto FC (20,089) all average more than 20,000 fans per game and the league average is up to 15,382 fans a game. Never have three teams averaged more than 20,000 fans in a season. Three times — 1996, 1997 and 2001 — two teams surpassed 20,000 a game.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Becks Does His Job without Playing
He was there and yet he wasn’t, says the Boston Globe’s John Powers. David Beckham may have been on the field at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night, but — and many of the 35,000-plus fans who showed up just to see him didn’t know this — his name wasn’t even on the team sheet. Beckham’s […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Despite Injury, Becks May Travel with England
L.A. Galaxy midfielder David Beckham made it sound like he might join up with Steve McClaren’s England squad for the friendly with Germany on Aug. 22 even if he can’t play. “I spoke to Steve [McClaren] about my fitness and how it has been over here,” Beckham said. “He said he is looking forward to […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Rest Does the Bulls Good
In the middle of a season, it’s not often that you’ll hear talk about a 16-day layoff as being a good thing for a soccer team, but it certainly looks as though rest and recuperation have done a world of good for Coach Bruce Arena and the New York Red Bulls, who stormed back to […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Real Adds Two Dutchman Not Named Robben
Fresh from a 1-0 loss to Sevilla in the first leg of the curtain-raising Spanish Super Cup, Real Madrid on Monday completed the signing of Dutch pair Royston Drenthe and Wesley Sneijder. Drenthe, a left winger, cost $19 million from Feyenoord, while Sneijder cost a hefty $37 million from Ajax. “To play for Real Madrid […]
Posted inSoccer America Magazine, Story
U.S. Soccer: Why the Development Academy?
Whether to pursue entry into U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy wasn’t an easy choice for many of the nation’s top clubs, particularly in areas like North Texas and Southern California, where clubs are already entrenched in highly competitive leagues.
Posted inSoccer America Magazine, Story
MLS Midseason Report
The Eastern Conference is loaded, but the best team(s) may be out west. Houston, New England and D.C. United look like the most likely champions with one half of the season to be played, yet a few others are impossible to dismiss.
Posted inSoccer America Magazine, Story
U.S. Men’s team: Summer Lessons
Some players dazzled, others stumbled as U.S. teams played 14 matches in three countries during a trio of international tournaments. Amid the results emerged the next crop of candidates for the 2010 World Cup squad, with the fortunes of many players partially dependent on next year’s Olympic Games.
Posted inSoccer America Magazine, Story
Youth: Gottschee Embraces New Era
Members of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy for its inaugural 2007-08 season are mainly suburban clubs that grew out of the late 20th century’s youth soccer boom. But New York City’s BW Gottschee has been fielding youth teams for 50 years. Ben Boehm isn’t your typical Director of Coaching. He doesn’t earn tens of thousands […]
Posted inSoccer America Magazine, Story
Rennie: Dean of College Coaches
Duke coach John Rennie is still going strong in his fourth decade of Division I coaching. Legend has it that Chatham High School in New Jersey had abandoned its football program early in the last century because the mayor’s son had broken his neck on the gridiron. So back in the 1960s, top young Chatham […]