[WPS] Former WUSA coach Ian Sawyers, husband of Hall of Famer Julie Foudy, has been named the head coach and general manager of the New Jersey/New York team in Women’s Professional Soccer, which begins play in 2009.
Monthly Archives: March 2008
Who Will Own Liverpool at Midnight Tonight?
The Guardian claims that a deal would have to be reached by midnight for Dubai International Capital group to assume control of Liverpool Football Club. DIC CEO Sameer Al Ansari confirmed early Tuesday that investment talks with American owners Tom Hicks and George Gilett are ongoing; the Guardian report says a midnight deadline has been […]
Shevchenko Plays with Chelsea Reserves
Andriy Shevchenko’s career hit a new low on Monday night when the Chelsea striker was picked to play for the club’s reserve team, which means the striker, who cost the club $62 million in the summer of 2006, will not feature at all against Olympiakos in the Champions League second leg at Stamford Bridge on […]
Politicians, Businessmen Influence the Beautiful Game
FIFA mandates that soccer be separate from politics, but Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune argues that “the foreign acquisition of England’s clubs has happened too fast and penetrated too deep for FIFA or UEFA, the governing bodies of world and European soccer, to intervene.” Indeed, in some countries, large investments are sometimes tied […]
Player Dispute Adds to Red Bulls-Fire Feud
The New York Times’ Jack Bell says a player dispute is extending the feud between the New York Red Bulls and the Chicago Fire. The Fire have had a bitter taste in their mouth since losing former coach Juan Carlos Osorio to the Red Bulls at the end of last season, but now, the clubs […]
Who’ll Win the Last MLS Franchises?
Whereas several years ago Major League Soccer had to actively court investors and convince local and state officials that bringing professional soccer to their city was the right move, MLS now finds itself in the nice position of being able to choose “from a variety of solid options” across the U.S. and Canada. “At one […]
Revs romp in Cancun
[MLS] New England ran its warm-weather record to 3-0 Monday by beating Pioneros de Cancun 4-1 with two goals by Khano Smith and one apiece from Taylor Twellman and Kenny Mansally.
Babayaro, Kotschau, Cancela head waiver list
[MLS] Compliance day has come and gone. What is the aftermath, if any, will be known Tuesday, after MLS conducts a waiver draft at 3 p.m. ET. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney explains the significance.
U.S. women’s dominance extends to Algarve Cup
[HISTORY] The defending champion U.S. women’s national team opens play at the 15th annual Algarve Cup in southern Portugal Wednesday when it faces China in Group B play. The USA didn’t win its first Algarve Cup until 2000 but has since won the tournament four more times — an unprecedented three in a row in 2003-05 and again in 2007.
Three-team man busted
[OFF THE POST] Portuguese club Belenenses has been penalized six points for using Cameroon international Albert Meyong in a 2-1 win over Naval in January because he had already played for two other teams this season.
UEFA Champions League TV Schedule
ESPN2 will have live coverage of Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League match between AC Milan and Arsenal. For all the TV coverage of the midweek action …
The new King of Old Trafford
[NAMES & NUMBERS] Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says Argentine Carlos Tevez reminds him of Frenchman Eric Cantona, the King of Old Trafford during his reign at Manchester United in the 1990s. Tevez has already played a key role in the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 series between United and Lyon that concludes on Tuesday. Young attackers Robin van Persie and Kazim Kazim could play key roles for Arsenal and Fenerbahce, respectively, on the road. The team with the longest odds is Scottish champion Celtic, which hopes to end a long drought with a victory at Barcelona.
What They’re Saying
“Goal celebrations are a personal matter and up to the player to decide. No one dictates what the player can do as long as he stays within the [rules] of the game and as long as it doesn’t result in a caution. He is a very articulate young man and will have weighed up the pros and cons and decided to do it because it was a personal and emotional matter.”
— Everton spokesman Ian Ross on the goal controversial celebration by Tim Cahill, who crossed his wrists as if he had been handcuffed in a show of solidarity with his brother, who started a six-year prison sentence in January for grievous bodily harm with intent. (BBC)
Grant’s Chelsea Days Are Numbered
Chelsea manager Avram Grant may be living on borrowed time at Stamford Bridge. The Sunday Mirror claims the Israeli coach will become Chelsea’s director of soccer at the beginning of the summer, making way for the arrival of a new coach — who will most likely be Dutch, according to Goal.com, which names Russia’s Guus […]
Italian Papers: Serie A Race Back On
After 11 months and 31 games without a Serie A defeat, Inter Milan finally succumbed to modest Napoli, 1-0, on Sunday. The result, papers across Italy said, had “officially reopened” the title race. With second-place Roma thumping Parma 4-0 the day before, the loss leaves just Inter six points ahead of the Giallorossi with 12 […]
Earthquakes’ Potential Revealed in Tricolores Friendly
As the San Jose Earthquakes prepare to launch for the second time in team history, they face a familiar challenge: to get the city’s considerable Latino population to rally around the local MLS team. But how big a potential fan base are we talking about? If Sunday’s friendly at Oakland Coliseum is any indication, it […]
Red Bull’s Corporate Clash Turns Ugly
It was a testy, ugly affair when the New York Red Bulls took on the reserves from sister club Red Bull Salzburg earlier Monday at the Salzburg club’s training center near Red Bull’s corporate home in Fuschl, Austria. “So much for corporate harmony,” writes Jack Bell of the New York Times, who described this friendly […]
Television Marketing Executive
Founded in Ireland, Setanta Sports TV now operates in countries all over the world, broadcasting via satellite, terrestrial TV, cable, broadband, and fiber optic depending on the platforms available in each market. Setanta has operated in North America for over 10 years and the 24hr Sports Channel is available on Direct TV and Dish network. […]
Soccer on TV
Midweek action includes European Champions League round of 16, second-leg games and Copa Libertadores and UEFA Cup play.
Heerenveen slide continues; Standard back on top
[AMERICANS IN EUROPE] Dutch Eredivisie club Heerenveen, with Michael Bradley playing the full 90, lost 1-0 at FC Twente. Heerenveen has now lost two straight after a seven-game undefeated streak.
More woes for EPL’s ‘U.S. team’
[AMERICANS IN ENGLAND] Fulham’s 3-0 loss to Manchester United, combined with wins by fellow strugglers Reading and Birmingham, puts the American-laden Cottagers in increased relegation danger. Coach Roy Hodgson, who has five Americans in his squad, says Fulham will have to win at least five, of its last 10 games to avoid the drop – and “maybe even more than that.”
Heath Pearce back thanks to maternity ward call
[AMERICANS IN GERMANY] In December, Hansa Rostock coach Frank Pagelsdorf said Heath Pearce would never play for him again because of a dispute related to Pearce’s late arrival from winter vacation. But on Saturday, Pearce was needed as a halftime sub when defender Dexter Langen left the stadium to be with his wife for the birth of their child.
Work in progress is on the air!
Ridge Mahoney examines the Galaxy’s rebuilding
Growing pains and preseason glitches do not a smooth transition make, but they do make for intriguing television. One sidelight to the Los Angeles Galaxy’s well-hyped Hawaiian-Asian preseason tour is every game is being televised, so the ebbs and flows, and warts and glitches, of a dysfunctional team under a new head coach are there to seen. And dissected. And debated. And analyzed ad infinitum.
Mina doesn’t accompany FCD to Brazil
[MLS] FC Dallas is in Brazil, but forward Roberto Mina is not.
TFC adds to its Canadian contingent
[MLS] The Los Angeles Galaxy shipped one of the two Canadians on its roster to Toronto FC Friday as it trims down its roster to the 18-man limit mandated by MLS. All teams must be roster and salary-cap complaint by the end of business Monday.
