Monthly Archives: September 2007

Michael Bradley scored twice to lead Dutch club Heerenveen to a 5-3 victory over Swedish club Helsingborg in the first leg of their UEFA Cup first-round series. Bradley scored in the 20th and 60th minutes in the home win. For updates on all the Americans on UEFA Cup entrants …

What They’re Saying

“They’re saying that the ball boy was annoying him from the start.”

— Jose Quispe, spokesman for Peruvian club Cienciano, whose goalkeeper Juan Flores was red-carded and arrested for kicking a ball boy. Flores was apparently upset after the boy tossed the ball on the field instead of handing it to him. (Reuters)

U.S. men to face South Africa in Johannesburg

The U.S. national team will play the third game on African soil in its 101-year history when it faces 2010 World Cup host South Africa Nov. 17 in Johannesburg in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup.

Women’s World Cup Results

Cheryl Salisbury’s goal two minutes into stoppage time gave Australia a 2-2 tie with Canada and sent the Socceroos into the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup and eliminated the Canadians, fourth at the 2003 finals in the United States. Brazil was the only team to win all three games, completing its sweep in Group D with a 1-0 win over Denmark.

OFF THE POST: Player caught in double granny-death lie

So he could leave the Irish national team camp and skip a Euro 2008 qualifier against the Czech Republic, Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland claimed his maternal grandmother, who had helped raise him from age 5, had died. The Irish federation put him on a private plane to return home. When the grandmother announced that reports of her death were greatly exaggerated, the 21-year-old said it had been his paternal grandmother who had died. And if he had known it was that grandma, he wouldn’t have skipped the game. Well, that grandmother was also able to prove her existence – and she wasn’t too pleased to learn her demise wouldn’t warrant a national team absence.

USL First Division All-League Teams

Three players hit significant milestones in USL First Division all-league honors with Montreal’s Gabriel Gervais being selected for a sixth time. Portland’s Andrew Gregor and Rochester’s Johnny Menyongar were named all-league for the fourth time in their career. Montreal and Portland led all teams with four selections each on the two all-league teams. For the first- and second-team selections …

Story, Youth Soccer Insider

The Conflicting Models

Competitive pressures are encouraging elite clubs to professionalize training at younger and younger ages. But is this development good for youth soccer as a whole, or even the kids on the select team?

WWC: Neutralizing Smith the Key to U.S. Victory

ESPN’s Graham Hays says the key to victory for the U.S. women’s national team against England on Saturday is containing Kelly Smith, one of the world’s best strikers. Both Argentina and Japan failed in that regard as Smith grabbed a pair of goals in each game. However, the U.S. could take a page from Germany’s […]

Inter Stunned in CL Opener

One of the more shocking results of the Champions League first round was the loss that Italian champion Inter Milan suffered at the hands of Turkish club Fenerbahce. More shocking, perhaps, than the 1-0 result was the fact that Inter’s usually dangerous attack force of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Suazo and Dejan Stankovic remained quiet for […]

Deschamps to Chelsea; Mourinho to Portugal?

The Chelsea tenure of Jose Mourinho, the “Special One” as he once famously referred to himself, is now over. Let the speculation begin as to who will succeed him. According to Rivals DM, former Chelsea player Didier Deschamps heads the list of possible replacements. Deschamps, who coached Juventus to the Serie B title last season, […]

Heady Times for Arsenal

“These are heady days for Arsenal,” says the Guardian’s David Hytner. Indeed, undefeated at the top of the Premier League, playing some of the most stylish soccer in Europe to a consistently sold-out Emirates Stadium, with a sound financial standing and billionaire-suitors lining up to get a piece, things could not be going much better […]

Penn State women catch fire against Bucknell

[WEDNESDAY ACTION] No. 19 Penn State exploded for five second-half goals to beat Bucknell, 5-1, on the road in a battle of regional women’s rivals. Senior Aubrey Aden-Buie scored two goals. Transfer Melissa Hayes assisted on three goals, and sophomore Katie Schoepfer got the gamewinner, scoring in her third straight game. Ashley Myers and Jessie Davis also scored.

Portland is undeterred by injuries and Women’s World Cup call-ups

[FOCUS] Women’s World Cup call-ups and injuries have depleted Portland, but the No. 3 Pilots have run off three straight shutout victories since losing senior Rachael Rapinoe with an ACL tear 11 days ago in their 1-0 defeat to Purdue.

BYU women remain unbeaten and unscored upon

[STREAK] BYU’s shutout string was extended to 662 minutes when the No. 16 Cougars beat Utah rival Weber State, 2-0, on Wednesday night in Ogden. BYU (6-0-1) is the only Division I women’s team in the nation not to have allowed a goal all season.

Zimmeck ranks among Tribe leaders

[PROFILE] Claire Zimmeck is following in a long tradition of William & Mary women’s greats. Coming off sensational freshman and sophomore seasons, she has been on a tear in the first month of her junior campaign. Zimmeck’s hot streak continued when she scored the winning goal in No. 24 William and Mary’s 2-0 victory over Albany on Wednesday evening — the fourth straight game she has scored the winning goal.

Creighton’s Dacy sidelined for rest of season

[INJURY] Creighton star Byron Dacy‘s comeback bid was short-lived. The junior forward will miss the remainder of the season due to a torn left ACL he suffered during the Bluejays’ exhibition match against Ohio State on Aug. 18. He came back to play two minutes against UCLA on Sept. 8 and played 19 minutes off the bench last Saturday against Loyola Marymount, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime for Creighton, ranked No. 8 in the country.

Struggling Duke and Maryland earn tough wins

[WEDNESDAY ACTION] ACC men’s powers Duke and Maryland rebounded from disappointing losses on Saturday to record wins against tough non-conference foes — tuneups for their big showdown on Saturday night in Durham. No. 17 Duke (4-2-0) needed a penalty kick by Mike Grella in the 79th minute to escape with a 2-1 win over South Carolina. Sophomore Drew Yates scored his third goal of the season to lead No. 18 Maryland past Old Dominion, 1-0.

Virginia’s Barlow brothers are reunited — on the field

by Paul KennedySeptember 20, 2007

[PROFILES] What a difference a year makes. The 2006 season was a largely forgettable one for Virginia’s Barlow brothers, Jeremy and Neil, but they have recovered to lead the fourth-ranked Cavaliers to a 5-1-0 start. Both are starting in midfield, and Neil Barlow scored the first goal in a 2-1 comeback victory over Campbell on Wednesday, his third goal of the season.

Fire in Big D: should be a good one

by Ridge MahoneySeptember 20, 2007

[TV PREVIEW] Since taking over the Fire, head coach Juan Carlos Osorio’s team has posted a 4-2-2 record and edged into the playoff octet. To stay there it will need better performances in its last six games, as no team chasing a postseason spot has a tougher schedule.

Real and Galaxy serve up a tasty tie

by Ridge MahoneySeptember 20, 2007

Forget about the playoff implications of Wednesday’s night Real Salt Lake-Los Angeles showdown. They’re aren’t any and never were any, save for the mathematical madness of possible points accrued minus potential points squandered by bubble teams multiplied by variance in the number of games to be played. Playing for pride and next year’s contracts, and a nice and noisy crowd of 24,633 given fair and sufficient warning of David Beckham’s absence, the Gals and Real swapped penalty kicks and golazos to end up tied, 2-2.

Beasley’s Rangers wins Champions League opener

by Paul KennedySeptember 20, 2007

DaMarcus Beasley became the first American player to play for two different clubs in the UEFA Champion League when he came on in the second half of Glasgow Rangers’ 2-1 victory over German champion VfB Stuttgart before almost 50,000 fans Wednesday night at Ibrox.

A goal for the ages

by Mike WoitallaSeptember 20, 2007

[SPORTSMANSHIP] In English League Cup play on Tuesday, Leicester City allowed Nottingham Forest to take the ball from the opening kickoff and score without opposition. Leicester City came back to win, 3-2, in what was a replay of the match last month that was abandoned at halftime because Leicester player Clive Clarke suffered a heart attack. Forest was leading, 1-0, when the original match was abandoned, but that goal did not carry over into the replay.

Mourinho, Chelsea’s ‘Special One,’ abruptly quits

by Paul KennedySeptember 20, 2007

Three years after Jose Mourinho arrived at Chelsea in a blaze of glory, he quit quietly. Having just led FC Porto to the UEFA Champions League, he delighted reporters at the press conference introducing him as Chelsea manager in 2004 by talking about himself. “Please don’t call me arrogant,” said the Portuguese coach, “but I’m European champion and I think I’m a special one.” Special he was with his flair for the dramatic, concluding with his shocking exit on Wednesday night.

Rijkaard praises much-needed Barcelona goalfest

by Paul KennedySeptember 20, 2007

[CHAMPIONS LEAGUE REACTION] Barcelona took some of the pressure off its coach, Frank Rijkaard, with a thoroughly deserved 3-0 win over Lyon in their UEFA Champions League opener on Wednesday night at the Nou Camp Stadium. Rijkaard had a lot to be pleased about, beginning with Thierry Henry‘s first goal since joining Barcelona from Arsenal. Rijkaard tried to downplay the substitution of Ronaldinho, who had another quiet game for Barcelona.

FIFA forced to move Wednesday’s Women’s World Cup games to Thursday