The U.S. national team will play its 18th and final game of 2007 when it faces South Africa in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup on Saturday (9 am ET, live on Fox Soccer Channel & Galavision). The Americans have compiled a 11-5-1 in 2007, winning the Gold Cup last summer but exiting in the first round of the Copa America. In a late roster change, Heath Pearce and Jonathan Spector have replaced Eddie Lewis and Landon Donovan.
Monthly Archives: November 2007
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Beckham to sport britches for big bucks
Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham has reportedly signed a three-year $41 million endorsement deal with Giorgio Armani that will have him modeling the fashion designer’s new Emporio SS08 line of underwear. Ads with Beckham in briefs will begin running on billboards and in fashion magazines beginning in January.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Puerto Rico Islanders knocked out of Caribbean championship
Joe Public FC of Trinidad & Tobago knocked the USL First Division Puerto Rico Islanders out of the 2007 CFU Club Championship with a 1-0 win in the semifinals on Wednesday night at Macoya’s Marvin Lee Stadium in Trinidad.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Changes in U.S. Soccer communications department
U.S. Soccer’s longtime Director of Communications, Jim Moorhouse, is leaving his current position at its headquarters in Chicago to take a new role with U.S. Soccer as the Director of Youth National Teams at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“I’m not overly superstitious, but I can be when I need to be and perhaps this is one of these occasions. I understand that, for the Italians, the 17th of the month is our equivalent of the 13th. You should also bear in mind the game kicks off at 17:00 hours!”
— Scotland assistant coach Andy Watson believes luck might be on his team’s side in its potentially decisive Euro 2008 qualifying game against Italy on Saturday. (Telegraph)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. U-15 girls to face international foes at Interregionals
The U.S. under-15 girls national team will play the under-16 national teams of Canada and Chile and the Region I ODP team at at the U.S. Youth Soccer ODP Thanksgiving Interregionals being held Nov. 17-23 in Coral Springs, Fla.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Scotland and Italy set for ‘match of a lifetime’
[EURO ’08 PREVIEW] Ten berths in Euro ’08 qualifying remain up for grabs with games still to be played Saturday and Wednesday. Eight of the berths could be nailed down as soon as Saturday. Here’s look at the key matches …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Lynn Berling-Manuel is new AYSO Chief Marketing Officer
Soccer America’s CEO & Publisher, Lynn Berling-Manuel, who in 1975 became its first full-time managing editor, is leaving Soccer America to be the new Chief Marketing Officer of the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO).
“I have been very happy at Soccer America and hadn’t considered leaving,” said Berling-Manuel. “But when [AYSO National Executive Director] Rick Davis spoke with me about this opportunity, it was a very exciting challenge. I thank the staff and owners of Soccer America for giving me their full support in this move.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
D.C. United’s Luciano Emilio is MLS 2007 MVP
D.C. United’s Brazilian striker Luciano Emilio was named the 2007 MLS Honda Most Valuable Player. The 28-year-old was also MLS’s scoring leader with 20 goals, helping D.C. United to the league’s best regular-season record before falling to Chicago in the playoffs. Emilio arrived in MLS this season from CD Olimpia of Honduras.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Defense to decide MLS Cup?
[MLS CUP 2007 PREVIEW] New England and Houston played a spectacular 3-3 tie during the regular season. In their other match, the Revs won, 1-0. How the defenders and goalkeepers will fare in this year’s final is the topic of our third and final analysis leading up to MLS Cup 2007 (Sunday, noon, live on ABC & Telefutura).
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Argentina’s Most Capped Players
[MAKING A LIST] Javier Zanetti will become Argentina’s most capped player if he plays in Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Bolivia in Buenos Aires. Zanetti won his 115th cap in the 2-0 win over Venezuela in October, equaling the record set by former teammate Roberto Ayala, who quit the national team in July.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Euro 2008 Qualifying TV Schedule
Euro 2008 qualifying concludes Saturday with a full slate of games. Ten qualifiers will be available on U.S. cable or pay-per-view, most notably Scotland-Italy and Israel-Russia.
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
How expectations affect performance
Whether you know it or not, the expectations you form as a coach about players on your team affects not only your own behavior toward them but also the feelings and performance of those players. Having such an influence on your players’ athletic experience and development is a huge responsibility and a process every coach should understand.
Here’s how the process works.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Play in Italy Set to Resume Nov. 25
Players, ex-players and the Italian media will continue to debate whether the shooting death of Lazio fan Gabriele Sandri should result in the indefinite suspension of play in Italy, but Italian soccer federation president Giancarlo Abete says the organization expects play to resume as scheduled on Nov. 25. “We were clear yesterday. We decided unanimously […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Worker’s Strike Threatens 2010 Progress
World Cup 2010 host South Africa suffered setbacks this week as construction workers in Durban, the country’s second largest city, stopped work on the Moses Mabhida stadium in protest over poor pay. Hundreds then marched on the town hall demanding a salary raise. “We must share part of the 2010 pie,” a local organizer proclaimed […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Homesick Schelotto Mulls Argentina Return
Columbus Crew wizard Guillermo Barros Schelotto may not return to MLS next season, according to reports in Argentina. Schelotto, currently on vacation in La Plata, told Radio Provincia that he’s homesick and would consider returning to Argentina to play for either of his former clubs, Boca Juniors or Gimnasia de La Plata. “Columbus offered me […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Twellman’s Road to 100
Taylor Twellman scored his 100th Major League Soccer goal (regular season and playoffs) in spectacular fashion last Thursday: turning his back to high looping deflection, Twellman executed a perfect bicycle kick in between two Chicago defenders. The goal, his 100th in 176 regular-season and playoff matches, was enough to see the New England Revolution through […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Opportunity Knocks, Cobi Jones Answers
After 12 years of being one of Major League Soccer’s most important players, the Los Angeles Galaxy’s Cobi Jones thought it was time for “a long vacation.” But then Dutch tactician Ruud Gullit was put in charge of his former team, and opportunity came knocking. Gullit needed an assistant coach; Jones moved to the front […]
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament Schedule
Play begins Thursday in the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament with two games at the Texas A&M regional: Texas A&M-Stephen F. Austin and Texas-BYU. The other 30 first-round games will be played Friday. For all the matchups …
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
No. 1 Wake Forest gets scare from Clemson
[ACC TOURNAMENT] Wake Forest, ranked No. 1 in the Soccer America Men’s Top 25, needed two goals in the last two minutes to beat Clemson, 3-1, Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament in Cary, N.C. The Tigers finished their season with a 7-11-1 record, their worst record in the 41-year history of the program, but not before they threw the Wake offensive machine off track.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
UCLA remains alive — barely
[PAC-10] UCLA stayed alive — barely. Its 1-1 tie with San Diego in its final Pac-10 game of the season left it with an 8-8-3 record for the season and an outside shot at making the NCAA Tournament. If the Bruins had lost to San Diego State in their regular-season finale, they would have finished with their first losing record in 41 years as an NCAA varsity sport and failed to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a quarter century.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
High-flying Virginia Tech ends Maryland’s unbeaten streak
[ACC TOURNAMENT] Five days after it had its 15-game unbeaten streak snapped, Virginia Tech gave one of its most dominating performances of the season with a 3-0 win over Maryland Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
North Carolina takes must-win game against Duke
[ACC TOURNAMENT] Unranked North Carolina beat No. 20 Duke, 1-0, Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament and kept alive its slim hopes of being considered for the NCAA Tournament. With a 7-7-5 record, UNC must beat top-ranked Wake Forest in the semifinals or lose in a shootout to be assured of finishing with a record of .500 or better and therefore be eligible for consideration for an NCAA Tournament bid.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Boston College ends Virginia’s ACC misery
[ACC TOURNAMENT] Virginia’s miserable ACC season came to an end on Wednesday when regular-season champion Boston College beat the Cavaliers, 1-0, in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. The Cavs slumped badly in the second half of the season and finished 1-5-2 in the eighth spot in the nine-team conference — its worst finish ever.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
FIU stuns SMU, 3-1, in Conference USA quarterfinals
FIU pulled one of the biggest upsets of the 2007 men’s season when it beat SMU, ranked No. 5 in this week’s Soccer America Men’s Top 25, 3-1, in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament on Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala. The win, only their fourth of the season, was the Golden Panthers’ first victory over SMU in 22 years and was revenge for their 6-0 loss to the Mustangs in last year’s conference tournament.