Monthly Archives: November 2007

According to Goal.com, Juan Sebastian Veron is on the cusp of sealing a move to D.C. United. Coach Tom Soehn and Technical Director Dave Kasper are reportedly in Buenos Aires right now, finalizing the deal. The Argentine playmaker has been linked with a move to the MLS club for months now, although Veron initially rebuffed […]

MLS Aims for Ronaldinho, Henry

David Beckham’s successful crossover to MLS could pave the way for the arrival of more stars — like Ronaldinho or Thierry Henry, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said yesterday at the Reuters Media Summit. Garber described Beckham as “a home run for us,” but was quick to point out that MLS needs to attract more talent […]

Red Bull Praised for Keeping it Soccer-Specific

USSoccerPlayers’ J Hutcherson talks about the significance of Red Bull wanting to build Major League Soccer’s first “real” soccer-specific stadium. Several MLS teams have their own stadiums, but these are leased out for concerts and other events. According to managing director Marc de Grandpre, Red Bull wanted to move away from the multi-use approach championed […]

Greeks Could Repeat as Euro Champs

Greece can’t seem to qualify for a World Cup, but the reigning European Champion absolutely cruised through Euro 2008 qualifying, and could be considered a favorite to retain that title in Austria and Switzerland next summer. The AP points out that Otto Rehhagel’s men achieved their impressive qualifying run with many of the same players […]

Soccer on TV., Story

Soccer on TV

American Steve Cherundolo and his Bundesliga club Hannover 96 take on Hansa Rostock on Friday. In Mexican league semifinals, Santos (with American Edgar Castillo) must overcome a three-goal first-leg deficit against Pumas. The European Championship draw is televised on Sunday. Fulham (with Americans Clint Dempsey and Carlos Bocanegra) travels to Manchester United on Monday.

Tampa and Franklin Pierce slay unbeatens

[NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN] Both unbeaten teams fell Thursday in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Women’s Tournament in Orange Beach, Fla. Tampa knocked off top-ranked Grand Valley State, 2-1, while Franklin Pierce beat Seattle Pacific, 2-0. The Spartans and Ravens meet in Saturday’s final in Orange Beach, Ala., to be televised live on CSTV (kickoff: 1 pm ET).

NCAA Division II Men’s Final Four Preview

The NCAA Division II Men’s Tournament moves into the semifinals at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Ala., where there will be an international flavor. Lincoln Memorial and Montevallo could start as many as 10 Brazilians between them. In the other semifinal, Midwestern State takes on Franklin Pierce, which could start players from as many as nine difference countries, including Bishara Etienne, who plays for potential U.S. World Cup 2010 qualifying foe Dominica. Sunday’s final will be telecast live on CSTV (kickoff: 2 pm ET).

NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament Schedule

The only matchup of 1-2 seeds in Friday’s quarterfinals is UCLA-Portland in Westwood. The Bruins beat the Pilots, 2-1, when they met in late September. Since then, both teams have been perfect. UCLA has won 14 in a row. Portland has won 11 straight games — the last nine by shutouts — since the return of U.S. national team defender Stephanie Lopez from the Women’s World Cup. For all of the Friday matches …

McCrath backers counterattack in battle for coaching job

Legendary coach Cliff McCrath isn’t about to head into the sunset quietly. Ten days after Seattle Pacific University announced that the 71-year-old McCrath had resigned only nine wins short of tying the college record for wins held by Joe Bean of Wheaton College (where he had gotten his start in coaching in 1958), McCrath revealed he had received almost 900 e-mails of support.

Notre Dame’s Weissenhofer motors again

by Paul KennedyNovember 30, 2007

[ELITE 8 COUNTDOWN] With a team that includes 2006 Hermann Trophy winner Kerri Hanks and two other semifinalists, Brittany Bock and Amanda Cinalli, for the 2007 award, it’s no surprise that Notre Dame is back in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament. The surprise is how the Irish could have gone 3-4-1 in their first eight games. A big reason for Notre Dame’s postseason charge has been the return to form of Michelle Weissenhofer, the 2006 Soccer America Freshman of the Year.

NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament Schedule

For the second year in a row, unseeded Old Dominion has won two games to advance to the round of 16 in the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament. The five other holdovers from last year’s Sweet 16 that are still alive are all seeds: No. 2 Wake Forest, No. 7 Santa Clara No. 10 Notre Dame, No 12 UC Santa Barbara No. 13 Maryland. Play resumes with two games Saturday and six on Sunday.

Massachusetts leads charge into Sweet 16

Paul Kennedy examines the upset of the year
Massachusetts’ 2-1 victory over No. 1 seed Boston College Wednesday night will go down as one of the biggest upsets in the history of the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament, but it certainly wasn’t a fluke. The Minutemen came back from a 1-0 deficit at halftime and owned the second half. The victory was just reward for their coach, Sam Koch, who has preached the team concept and spent wisely.

UNAM stuns Santos in Mexican playoffs

Santos, the overall leader in the Mexican regular season, faces an uphill battle in its bid to make the Torneo Apertura final after being thrashed by UNAM, 3-0, in Thursday’s semifinal first leg in Mexico City.

ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes to broadcast Sunday’s Euro ’08 Draw

ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will provide live coverage of the Final Draw for the 2008 European Championship Sunday at 6 a.m. ET.

Galaxy practice draws 15,000 in New Zealand

The Los Angeles Galaxy with David Beckham drew a crowd of 15,000 to its training session in Wellington, New Zealand ahead of its Saturday exhibition game against the Wellington Phoenix.

The Associated Press noted that the large crowd for a soccer practice is unprecedented in New Zealand, where the sport takes a backseat to rugby.

New Barca teen star Krkic lives a dream

by Paul KennedyNovember 30, 2007

[INTERNATIONAL HEADLINERS] With the emergence of 17-year-old Bojan Krkic, Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard will face the thorny issue of who to play and who to leave on the bench when Barca faces city rival Espanyol on Saturday. High-scoring Juventus looks to extend AC Milan’s Serie A winless streak at home when they meet Saturday at the San Siro. Scotsman Alex McLeish makes his debut as Birmingham City manager at Tottenham on Sunday. Lanus can clinch its first Argentine league title with a win or tie at Boca Juniors.

Hawaii Beckons Galaxy and Beckham

Ridge Mahoney reports on MLS’s expanding frontiers
A more apropos name might be “Becks Does Honolulu” for the Pan-Pacific Championship officially announced by MLS yesterday, but marketing issues aside, this event certainly offers some allure beyond that of David Beckham. The four-team tournament will match teams from MLS (the Galaxy and Houston), J-League (Gamba Osaka) and Australia’s A-League (TBA) in Honolulu Feb. 20 and 23.

Soccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

“We would have the best team if we could go into every household and throw away every PlayStation, Xbox and video game.”

— West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green offers another explanation for England’s national team’s plight. (The Age)

UEFA Cup Results

Helsingborg of Sweden and Greece’s Panathinaikos became the first clubs to qualify for the knockout phase of the UEFA Cup. Tottenham remained unbeaten under new manager Juande Ramos, recovering from a two-goal deficit to beat AaB Aalborg, 3-2. American Dan Califf went the entire game for the Danish club. Ramiro Corrales, Califf’s teammate on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team, also played 90 minutes in Norwegian club Brann’s 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb. For all the results, goal scorers and standings …

Red Bull Park Back on Course

It’s been over a year since ground was broken on Red Bull Park in Harrison, N.J. Since then, design and construction delays have severely hampered the stadium’s progress, leaving the project pretty much where it started 14 months ago. However, Frank Giase of the Newark Star Ledger says the official word from Camp Red Bull […]

Salary Cap Doesn’t Restrict Spending on Coaches

Major League Soccer’s salary cap might be all about keeping close tabs on the books, but soccer columnist Frank Dell’Apa reminds us that the cap has nothing to do with coaches salaries. In the last few months, New York and L.A. have underscored that point by spending big money on coaches — although in NY’s […]

Garber: Becks Will Reach $250 Million

It looks like David Beckham will make his $250 million, after all. When the British tabloids splashed that figure around following Beckham’s landmark announcement to join MLS, the U.S. soccer press was quick to point out that Becks could earn up to $250 million over five years, depending on certain incentives. Despite making just five […]

Ferguson: Ronaldo the Best in My Time

You do a double-take when Sir Alex Ferguson says that Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player the Manchester United legend has ever had. Why? Because here we have Europe’s longest-serving manager for a big club, a man who’s won more domestic titles than any other coach of his era, so when he speaks, he speaks […]

Redknapp’s Disgrace Not a Shock

There’s already a (bad) joke circulating in Britain about Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp’s arrest on Wednesday night. Harry Redknapp got off the plane after watching a Champions League match in Germany and was told he was wanted. “By England?” he asked. No, in the end, it was the British authorities who wanted him to question […]