Three of MLS’s four teams advanced to the semifinals of the first SuperLiga. The Houston Dynamo beat D.C. United, 1-0, to move into the semifinals, and D.C. United finished second in Group B thanks to Club America’s 3-2 win over Morelia in the final group match played Wednesday night at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.
Monthly Archives: August 2007
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Soccer helps Univision in July sweeps bonanza
Buoyed by its strong ratings for the Copa America from Venezuela, Spanish-language network Univision captured the No. 2 network ranking among all adults 18-34 — not just Hispanics — for the July sweeps.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Soccer on TV
MLS Primetime Thursday on ESPN2 features an Eastern Conference clash between leaders New England and Kansas City.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS’s marquee matchup: New England-Kansas City
Praise be given to The Worldwide Leader in Sports for adding the perceived MLS David Beckham debut Sunday against Toronto FC to its schedule, but between the lines, New England-Kansas City at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night is the marquee matchup of the week, if not the month.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. Under-14 Girls Development Program Rosters
U.S. Soccer is running an under-14 girls development camp that concludes Sunday in Pomona, Calif., under the direction of U-14 Technical Director Mike Dickey. There are 100 players attending the weeklong identification camp.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
OBITUARY: Steve Caspers, former NASL executive
Steve Caspers, one of the most influential executives in soccer during the go-go years of the North American Soccer League, has died of a heart attack in Florida.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
USA and Mexico to meet in first friendly on Mexican soil since 1984
The U.S. men’s national team will attempt to do what it’s never done in 23 previous games and beat Mexico in Mexico when the USA and Mexico meet for the third time this year on Sept. 9 at the famed Estadio Azteca in Mexico City (TV, ESPN2 and Univision, live, 4 pm ET).
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
UEFA Champions League Results
Results of the first-leg matches in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
MLS’s Gazidis: We Would Sign Freddy Adu Again
After enduring four difficult, lesson-filled years in MLS, Freddy Adu is off to Portuguese giant Benfica. The New York Times’ Jack Bell reflects on the 18-year-old’s time in MLS with league deputy commission Ivan Gazidis, who concedes that the expectations heaped on the 14-year-old when he joined D.C. United were “unrealistic.” Few would argue that […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Champions League Would Ease Rangers’ Financial Woes
American winger DaMarcus Beasley watched from the sidelines as his new club Glasgow Rangers’ struggled to beat tiny FK Zeta, 2-0, at Ibrox last night, in the first of a two-leg qualifier for this season’s UEFA Champions League. (If Rangers beats the tiny Montenegrin club, it moves into the third and round of qualifying for […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Galaxy, Becks Drive Month to Remember for MLS
Steve Davis of ESPN Soccernet points out that July was a month to savor for MLS — and not just because of David Beckham’s arrival, which has yet to have any tangible affect on the league. Davis points out that now is not typically a stressful time for MLS clubs: those comfortably positioned for the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
MLS Passes Mexican Test but Fails Against USL
Here’s an interesting contrast: Mark Ziegler of the San Diego Union-Tribune points out that MLS teams went a woeful 3-5 against other American soccer teams in the U.S. Open Cup third round, while Ives Galarcep of the North Jersey Herald commends the league’s four SuperLiga participants for finishing 3-1-4 against Mexican powerhouses Pachuca, Chivas, Morelia and Club America.
It’s a bizarre showing of inconsistency: next week’s Open Cup quarterfinals feature five USL teams, two of which come from the league’s Second Division. On the one hand, USL COO Tim Holt says, “the gap between the various divisions of professional soccer in this country is not as great as is typically believed by the average fan.” On the other, Ziegler points out that MLS clubs don’t often take the competition seriously. Indeed, they often agree to play on the road — where they went 1-5 in the third round — so as not to lose money on a small home crowd.
Meanwhile, Galarcep says the L.A. Galaxy, FC Dallas, D.C. United and Houston Dynamo have more than held their own against Mexico’s top teams in the SuperLiga, proving worthy hosts of a tournament that continues to surprise most pundits. And somewhat ironically, perhaps, the best game by far was Tuesday night’s clash Dallas and L.A., which the Galaxy won, 6-5, to qualify for the semis.
Posted inSoccer Business Insider, Story
Soccer Market Clears For Sponsors
For decades the American soccer marketplace was a confusing maze for potential sponsors.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
No Beckham but 11 goals (!) in Galaxy-Dallas thriller
“Have they stopped scoring yet?” Seldom is this heard in a high-class soccer game, but only the final whistle kept the Galaxy and FC Dallas from hitting double-digits — apiece — in their incredible SuperLiga match Tuesday night at Pizza Hut Park. Eleven goals, three of them in stoppage time: That’s entertainment.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Freddy Adu: ‘I am very happy’
The Freddy phenomenon died here a long time ago. It’s only now begun in Lisbon, where a crowd of 100 fans and reporters greeted Freddy Adu upon his arrival at Portela Airport from Washington to finalize his contract with Portuguese giant Benfica.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Soccer on TV
Group play in the SuperLiga concludes on Wednesday. All games of eight-team tournament are televised live by Spanish-language TeleFutura. ESPN2 has added live coverage of Sunday’s Toronto FC-Los Angeles game (blacked out in Los Angeles).
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“Freddy’s been very devoted to working hard, being a contributor. He became a better and more mature player. He’s still only 18. When we step outside world of MLS, a good league with veteran players and put him with his peers on a world stage – and peers that are older than him – Freddy clearly has progressed.”
— MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis on 18-year-old Freddy Adu, who joined Portugal’s Benfica after four years in MLS. (AP)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. Club Soccer National Cup VI Champions
U.S. Club Soccer crowded 2007 National Cup VI champions on Tuesday in Super Group and Premier divisions for U-15 to U-17 girls teams at Bryan Park in Greensboro, N.C. and U-12 to U-14 boys teams at Springwood Park in Burlington, N.C. U-15 to U-17 boys champions were crowned last week in Greensboro.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Dynamo and D.C. play for spot(s) in SuperLiga semifinals
There’s much more on the line than a spot in the SuperLiga semifinals when Houston hosts D.C. United Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, TeleFutura, mlslive.tv) as play concludes in Group B. Tied atop the group with four points, neither team is assured of advancing should this match end in a tie. If Morelia beats Club America (10 p.m. ET, TeleFutura, mlslive.tv), there would be a three-way logjam of teams with five points and tiebreakers would be needed to determine which two teams move on and which one does not.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Beasley’s Rangers opens Champions League bid with 2-0 win
DaMarcus Beasley didn’t off the bench in Scottish club Rangers’ first official match since he was transferred from Dutch champion PSV, a 2-0 win over FK Zeta of Montenegro in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League second round qualifying series.