[REF WATCH] An Italian bank manager with the misfortune of resembling referee Mauro Bergonzi was beaten by men believed to be Juventus fans upset over two controversial penalties Bergonzi awarded in Napoli’s 3-1 win over Juve last October.
Bergonzi has since gone into hiding with police protection.
Jose Mourinho’s name popped up almost immediately following Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini’s decision to step down at the end of the season. Mancini’s announcement came in the wake of Inter’s ousting from the Champions League at the hands of Liverpool last night. Mourinho’s personal adviser Eladio Parames played down the link, saying that the […]
The US U-23 team started Olympic qualifying in frustrating fashion on Tuesday with a 1-1 draw against Cuba. Soccer blogger Ives Galarcep panned the 4-2-3-1 formation deployed by Coach Peter Nowak in the first half and then derided his decision to take New York Red Bulls striker Jozy Altidore off at the start of the […]
Domestic success remains elusive for Liverpool, currently fourth place in the English Premier League, but perhaps that’s because the English league is the strongest in the world. Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson both hailed the EPL as the best league in the world following Liverpool’s qualification for the Champions […]
Claudio Lopez is a household name to fans who have followed the global game for the past decade, but to most Kansas Citians and casual soccer fans, the Kansas City Star’s Bob Luder says it may take a while for them to get to know the man known as “El Piojo” (the Louse) in his […]
A disappointing 1-1 tie with Cuba in the opening game of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifiers leaves the Americans tied with the Cubans in second place and pondering changes borne by practicality more than necessity. Freddy Adu marked an opening period of USA dominance by curling home a shot in the 14th minute but a Cuban revival and a moment of laxity in the American defense enabled Yordany Alvarez to drive a low ball that Roberto Linares redirected past keeper Chris Seitz three minutes before halftime.
[USA-CUBA GRADES] Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. U-23s players’ performance in their 1-1 tie with Cuba in Olympic qualifying on Tuesday.
[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP] After stopping in San Antonio to play MLS opposition, including each other, in the Texas Pro Soccer Festival last week, Houston and D.C. United begin play Wednesday in the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals sporting very different lineups than they did last year. In United’s case, the look is drastically new.
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Liverpool made it 4-for-4 for English clubs in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League when it beat Inter Milan, 1-0, on Fernando Torres‘ goal and moved into the quarterfinals with a convincing 3-0 victory on aggregate. The Reds join Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea — the three teams ahead of them in the EPL standings — in Friday’s draw for the quarterfinals. Barcelona of Spain, Fenerbahce of Turkey, Roma of Italy and Schalke 04 of Germany round out the final eight.
Defender Hendry Thomas‘ goal in the 90th minute gave Honduras a 1-0 win over Panama and the lead in Group A at the Concacaf Olympic men’s qualifying tournament in Tampa. For all the results and complete TV schedule …
[SCOUTING REPORT] Group B in Concacaf’s Olympic men’s qualifying begins on Wednesday at the Home Depot Center, where Mexico is the heavy favorite. Led by Marvin Avila, who scored two goals against Mexico’s national team in October, Guatemala could provide the Tri’s most difficult test. Lack of preparation is an issue for the other two teams in Group B, Canada and Haiti.
“This is one of the theories. But when you have so many people drunk, drugged up and looking for a fight, sometimes it’s hard to find out what really started it.”
— Diego Cardona, secretary for sport for the Colombian city of Cali, on the theory that a brawl at the America-Deportivo derby that injured 83 people was sparked by a jealous boyfriend angered that his girlfriend was flirting with another man. (AP)
[OFF THE POST] FIFA has moved the World Cup qualifier between North Korea and South Korea from the North Korean capital of Pyongyang to Shanghai after North Korea objected to the playing of the South Korean anthem, instead demanding that a folk song popular in both countries be played. FIFA stipulates that each national anthem must be played.
[REF WATCH] Referee Jose Henrique de Carvalho has been suspended for 15 days for showing Guaratingueta midfielder Magal two yellow cards in a 2-0 loss to Corinthians without sending him off.
[EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES] Soccer America provides the latest on employment opportunities for soccer-related positions, They include college coaching opportunities, as well as opportunities in pro soccer, youth soccer, the soccer industry and television.
The Guardian reports that Manchester United coaches Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlos Queiroz could face sanctions from the Football Association following comments the pair made about referee Martin Atkinson following United’s 1-0 FA Cup defeat by Portsmouth. Ferguson accused Atkinson of favoritism before launching a scathing tirade against Keith Hackett, head of the Professional Game […]
The New York Times’ Jack Bell has another story on the season ahead for Claudio Reyna, which will be closely scrutinized following a poor first season in MLS last year with the New York Red Bulls. Despite another injury-hit season, Bell says Reyna “often looked confused, out of place and languorous on the field,” in […]
Swiss prosecutors opened their court case against ISL/ISMM, FIFA’s marketing partner for almost two decades, on Tuesday by alleging that six executives of the now-defunct company left an estimated debt of $300 million when it collapsed in 2001. The executives, who cannot be named due to Swiss privacy law, were charged with embezzlement, fraud, fraudulent […]
As it turns out, goal-line technology will not be introduced into the modern game anytime soon. The technology, which had been given the provisional go-ahead by the International FA Board last year, will not be used, the Board opting instead to experiment with two additional linesmen. Line-technology such as the Hawk-Eye system is widely used […]
Goal.com editor Marc Connolly, a voter for the National Soccer Hall of Fame, says he’s “embarrassed” at the outcome of yesterday’s results that only saw Anson Dorrance, the UNC women’s coach and former U.S. women’s national team coach, and Hugo Perez, a former NASL and U.S. men’s national team standout, inducted into U.S. Soccer’s Hall […]
So spoke Galaxy president and general manager Alexi Lalas in January, while David Beckham trained with Arsenal and speculation swirled regarding his possible selection for a friendly against Switzerland and possibly his 100th cap:
Former England star Paul Gascoigne was released from a psychiatric health clinic after being held under the Mental Health Act since Feb. 20, when his antics included wandering around a hotel with three battery-operated plastic parrots that said “Give us a kiss” to other guests.
[REF WATCH] At its Annual General Meeting, the International Football Association Board, which oversees FIFA’s Rules of the Game, has suspended the pursuit of goal-line technology and agreed to experimentation with two additional assistant referees.
[MLS] When Kansas City hired Curt Onalfo as head coach a year and a half ago, he promised to implement at least two elements not always present in past Wizards’ teams: a commitment to attack and score goals, and Latin flair. Kansas City scored 45 goals last year, fifth-best in MLS, and unveiled Argentine playmaker Carlos Marinelli and Colombian winger Eloy Colombano. Long before the move of Eddie Johnson to English Premier League club Fulham became official in January, Onalfo and technical director Peter Vermes had begun work on landing replacements. They officially announced the signing of Colombian striker Ivan Trujillo last week but for months had been chasing a much bigger prize.
Hugo Perez starred in the NASL and MISL, represented the USA at the 1984 Olympics and 1994 World Cup, and played a key role in successful qualifying campaigns for the 1988 Olympics and 1990 World Cup. He has been elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame on the Veteran Player ballot, while Anson Dorrance, the nation’s most successful women’s college coach and a world championship winner, was elected on the Builder Ballot. However, in the 2008 Player election no individual exceeded the required 75 percent of ballots cast to gain entrance into the Hall of Fame.
