[CRIME & PUNISHMENT/VIDEO] Colorado Rapids midfielder Ciaran O’Brien was fined $500 and suspended for two games for his foul that injured Los Angeles Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz, who underwent knee surgery and is out for four to six weeks. Galaxy defender Abel Xavier was fined a total of $1,600 and received an automatic one-game red card suspension for his actions in the game on Saturday.
Monthly Archives: April 2008
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Blanco and Fire host rampant Revs
[PREVIEW] In kicking off its 2008 broadcast schedule with a doubleheader, ESPN2 couldn’t do much better than trot out a double feature, complete with heroes and villains and subplots and themes, linked by a live intermission.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Houston blows home-field advantage
[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP] MLS champion Houston Dynamo settled for a scoreless tie against Saprissa in front of 10,260 fans at Robertson Stadium in Texas despite out-shooting the Costa Rican club 17-8. They meet in the second leg of the semifinal series next Wednesday in Costa Rica.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Mexico and Canada romp in openers
[WOMEN’S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING] Captain Evelyn Lopez scored four goals in the first 53 minutes to lead host Mexico to an 8-1 victory over Jamaica in the opening game of Group A play at the Concacaf Olympic women’s qualifying tournament being played at the Estadio Benito Juarez in Ciudad Juarez. As expected, Group B favorite defeated Trinidad & Tobago, 6-0.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Deivid slays Goliath
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] In a little more than an hour, Brazilian Deivid went from goat to hero, leading Fenerbahce to a 2-1 win over mighty English club Chelsea in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series. Deivid overcame his own goal in the 13th minute to score the winning goal late in the game after Colin Kazim-Richards scored the equalizer for Fener 16 minutes earlier.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Arsenal’s Wenger blasts no-penalty call
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Dutchman Kirk Kuyt scored a precious away goal in Liverpool’s 1-1 tie at Arsenal on Wednesday but almost cost Liverpool the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series when he pulled down Arsenal’s Alexandre Hleb in the penalty area.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“The way Everton are playing they are never going to attack down the right … they are attacking down the right now, sorry to confuse you.”
— BBC Radio 5 Live commentary during the Liverpool-Everton game. (BBC).
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
The Perils of the MLS Skill Gap
Just what the Los Angeles Galaxy needed: Carlos Ruiz out of action for four or more weeks. His injury, courtesy of a primitive tackle from Colorado rookie Ciaran O’Brien, should ring some pretty noisy alarm bells for MLS and for MLS referees.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
National High School Spring Rankings
Led by tournament MVP Thomas Wollersheium, South Carolina’s Spring Valley won the 2008 Palmetto Cup and is the top-ranked team in the NSCAA/adidas high school boys national spring rankings. Spring Valley beat Bishop England, 4-1, in the final of the tournament that was hosted by Brookland-Cayce High School and featured teams from Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia, in addition to South Carolina. Defending Georgia Class 5A champion Parkview is No. 1 in the girls rankings.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. Soccer Development Academy Results
Two MLS clubs are tied for first place in their respective divisions in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s U-17/18 Age Group. The New York Red Bulls, led by Haitian U-17 Johnny Exantus, are tied for first with the Baltimore Bays in the Mid-Atlantic, while the Columbus Crew are tied with the Michigan Wolves in the Great Lakes. In the U-15/16 Age Group, the top MLS clubs are D.C. United (second in the Mid-Atlantic) and Chicago Fire (third in the Mid-America). For all the weekend U.S. Soccer Development Academy results and goal scorers …
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Man. United Earns Roma Praise
Thankfully, the violence was kept to a minimum in Rome Tuesday night as Manchester United defeated AS Roma, 2-0, in Champions League quarterfinals. In fact, Guardian correspondent Ed Vulliamy points out that by the end of a match that United thoroughly deserved to win, the Roma fans had “sung, chanted and saluted the losers at […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
TFC to Sign Derby County’s Robert
Derby County midfielder Laurent Robert is on the verge of signing with Toronto FC, The Star reports. The 32-year-old practiced with the team on Tuesday, wearing the No. 30 jersey. TFC business managers Paul Beirne and Mo Johnston were also on hand at the training session; afterwards, the reporter spotted the pair conversing with a […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Revs Lose Ralston, Twellman for Several Weeks
The first week in MLS produced major injuries for the New England Revolution. Taylor Twellman, the Revolution’s all-time leading goal scorer, will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery after suffering an injury during a training session last Thursday. Twellman, named to the starting lineup against Houston, was a late scratch because of the injury that should keep […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Lalas: I’m the Ringmaster of This Circus
In an interview that was obviously conducted before L.A.’s 4-0 opening day drubbing in Colorado, Los Angeles Galaxy General Manager Alexi Lalas says he’s “very happy” with the team’s progress, although he admits its “experiencing some massive growing pains.” Lalas doesn’t elaborate, but one would assume he means on the field. As several columnists have […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Deep Revs re-group for Chicago
[MLS] If any MLS team might be well-prepared to lose two of its best players, it’s New England, which takes on Chicago Thursday in the first game of the ESPN2 doubleheader (7:30 p.m. ET) minus Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Ruiz injury adds to Galaxy woes
[MLS] The life of Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit isn’t going quite the way he hoped it would. At the tail end of a 4-0 thumping in Colorado Saturday night that marked Gullit’s coaching debut in MLS, the Rapids’ Ciaran O’Brien crashed into Carlos Ruiz from behind. The tackle removed both players from the game; O’Brien with a red card and Ruiz hobbling from a knee injury that Tuesday required arthroscopic surgery.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS champ Houston has some holes to fill
[PREVIEW] The 2007 MLS champion has yet to hit its stride and is in the midst of a stretch that would be tough for any team, even one that has all its players healthy and available. The Dynamo is missing a few bodies for its semifinal, first leg encounter with Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica in the Concacaf Champions Cup Wednesday (10 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel), but it could have two players added from the squad that lost in feeble fashion to New England, 3-0, in its MLS opener last weekend.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
D.C. downed in Mexico
[GAME REPORT] If Luis Montes isn’t a regular starter for Pachuca, D.C. United players and coaches would like to know why. In the Concacaf Champions Cup Wednesday night at Estadio Hildago, he came on as a halftime substitute and proved to be the perfect focal point for an attack that couldn’t stop squandering chances.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Raw beef not good idea for Korean team
[OFF THE POST] A K-League game was postponed after players from Gwangju Sangmu suffered severe food poisoning from a dish of raw beef mixed with rice served at a popular restaurant in Gwangju during their team meal. “This is the first time an incident like this has caused a delay in games,” said a K-League official.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“I think we should welcome all peaceful people to our country. They get to pursue the ‘American Dream’ and we get to benefit from all the wonderful things that immigrants bring to our country — like good old fashioned soccer. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.”
— Drew Carey, TV star and part owner of the Seattle franchise that will join MLS in 2009 (REASON.TV)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Teen Bojan, a pleasure to watch
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] True to its principles, Barcelona went to Germany with the idea to attack Schalke 04, and, sure enough, scored an early goal by 17-year-old Bojan Krkic that held up for a 1-0 victory in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series on Tuesday. His goal made him the second youngest player to score in the Champions League.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Cristiano Ronaldo, a man for all situations
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Whether he plays wide or in the middle, whether it’s up front or in midfield, whether it’s on the ground or in the air, there’s no stopping Cristiano Ronaldo. The 23-year-old Portuguese star scored his 10th goal in his last 11 appearances in Europe and 36 goals in all competitions this season to lead Manchester United past Roma, 2-0, in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series on Tuesday in Rome.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. Youth Soccer Girls ODP Rosters
[YOUTH] U.S. Youth Soccer ODP girls teams are participating in an international tournament, beginning Thursday in San Jose, Costa Rica. The four regional teams are made up of U-15 and U-16 players to compete against the U-17 national teams of Trinidad & Tobago and Costa Rica and the U-20 national teams of Chile and Honduras. For complete rosters …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Soccer Job Openings
[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.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Record 13 Americans begin Norwegian season
[AMERICANS ABROAD] The 2008 Norwegian season kicked off last weekend with a record 13 Americans on the rosters of pro clubs in the top two divisions. In the Eliteserien (First Division), keepers Troy Perkins (Valerenga) and Adin Brown (Aalesund) squared off, and Perkins emerged victorious with a 1-0 win in his Norwegian debut. The only other American to play in the First Division last weekend was recent Molde signing Willis Forko. The latest signing is 2006 Hermann Trophy winner Joe Lapira of Notre Dame. He signed Tuesday with Nybergsund of the Adeccoligaen (Second Division), which begins next weekend.