Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

“I’ve heard nothing from anybody. In the next week or so, we’ll talk about planning for next year, so I’ll get a better idea of what [team president Alexi Lalas] is feeling. If people think I’m a bad coach and have coached this team badly, they can say that. But I feel that not all the results were down to coaching.”

— Los Angeles Galaxy coach Frank Yallop on his future with the team, which missed the playoffs. (Los Angeles Daily News)

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Wilmer Cabrera named U.S. U-17 coach; Rongen rehired for U-20s

Colombian World Cup veteran Wilmer Cabrera, who moved to the United States four years ago and has been coaching youth soccer in the New York area, has been named U.S. U-17 boys national team coach and will oversee the U.S. Soccer Residency Camp in Bradenton, Fla. Thomas Rongen, who guided the USA to the quarterfinals of last summer’s U-20 World Cup, has had his contract extended through the 2009 U-20 World Cup. “Wilmer is going to be a great addition to all of our player development initiatives,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “He has played at the highest level of the sport and will bring a unique perspective to our programs. He has been very involved in our youth national teams across the past year, and has done the work at the grassroots since relocating to the United States that make him an ideal candidate.”

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Chicago takes Round 1 against hobbled D.C. United

The regular season’s best team, D.C. United, lost its postseason opener, 1-0, at Chicago in front of 17,834 fans on Thursday and faces a must-win second-leg game at home next week to keep its campaign for a fifth MLS title alive. Chris Rolfe scored the gamewinner with a 15-yard volley while D.C. United’s offense sputtered because of Jaime Moreno and Luciano Emilio‘s foot injuries.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Wizards face rising Chivas USA

The Wizards are back in the playoffs three years after finishing runner-up at MLS Cup; among the veterans of that solid team are defenders Jimmy Conrad and Jose Buricaga Jr., midfielders Sasha Victorine and Kerry Zavagnin, and attackers Scott Sealy and Davy Arnaud. They needed a win on the final day of the season to make the playoffs as the No. 8 seed, and as the fifth-placed team in the Eastern Conference are matched against the Western Conference champion on the other side of the bracket. First-year head coach Preki has upgraded Chivas USA from good to borderline excellent by incorporating a more direct, yet skillful, style of play.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Red Bulls out to ruin another Revs’ postseason

[MLS PLAYOFF PREVIEW] More than few fans and pundits believe this is the season the Revs finally break their jinx and win the whole thing. They lost the 2006 final on penalties, lost in overtime in 2005, and were also beaten in overtime in 2002 in front of the home crowd. They must be due. Maybe. In their first full season under Coach Bruce Arena, the Red Bulls are far from the finished product. But they are potent going forward and have a lot of big-game experience in Juan Pablo Angel, Dave van den Bergh and Claudio Reyna

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WEEKEND PREVIEW: International Soccer Headliners

Arsenal carries a 12-game winning streak into Anfield, where it faces Liverpool in a battle of EPL unbeatens. Two other matches pit Champions League competitors against each other: AC Milan-Roma in Italy and Sevilla-Valencia in Spain. Chelsea looks to continue its winning ways under its new manager, Avram Grant, when it hosts Manchester City, one of the pleasant surprises of the new EPL season.

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UEFA Cup Results

In what proved to be Dutchman Martin Jol‘s last game as Tottenham manager, Spurs fell at home to Spanish club Getafe, 2-1, on Day 1 of the UEFA Cup’s group stage. Jol and assistant Chris Hughton both agreed to leave Spurs just before the game. Tim Howard was the only American in action on Thursday, starting in goal for the Toffees in their 3-1 win over Larissa at Goodison Park. For all Thursday’s UEFA Cup results …

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Philadelphia Unveils Stadium Plans

Philadelphia wants one of the two MLS franchises up for grabs for the 2010 season. The only problem, aside from the cost to taxpayers, is that the proposed new stadium isn’t in the most desirable of neighborhoods. Chester, Pa., a good 30-minute drive from downtown Philadelphia, “is conceivably the poorest, most crime-riddled and poverty-stricken city […]

Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story

Irish cruise as Big East hits crunch time

[UPDATE] Notre Dame remained the only unbeaten team in Big East Conference play with a 3-0 win over Pitt on Wednesday night. Notre Dame leads the Big East’s Blue Division by four points (23-19) over Connecticut. St. John’s is first, one point ahead of Louisville and South Florida, in the Red Division thanks to the Red Storm’s 1-0 win over Rutgers and DePaul’s 2-1 win over Louisville.

Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story

Kings of the clubs take BU by storm

[FEATURE] Icelanders Petur Sigurdsson, Jon Jonsson and Hrafn Davidsson follow in a long tradition of foreign players who have helped make Boston University a national men’s power for more than a quarter century. All three players have been key contributors on the Terriers, who extended their unbeaten streak to six games with a 1-1 tie with Hartford on Wednesday, and they brought with them their fun-loving ways from Reykjavik’s music scene.

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Icelanders in college soccer

[MAKING A LIST] Colleges have been recruiting Icelanders for several decades. With the success of Columbia’s Rikki Dadason (the Lions’ all-time leading scorer with 50 goals) and UNC Greensboro’s Siggi Eyjolfsson (the first Icelander to be named a first-team All-American), a pipeline of players from Iceland to U.S. colleges developed.

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Colombian expected to be new U.S. U-17 coach

Two days after the dismissal of women’s national team coach Greg Ryan, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced that John Hackworth will no longer be head coach of the U.S. U-17 boys national team. Under Hackworth, the USA lost three games and won once at last summer’s U-17 World Cup. The leading candidate to replace Hackworth is former Colombian World Cup defender Wilmer Cabrera.

Hackworth has been named assistant coach to U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley and U.S. Soccer Development Academy Director.

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