Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard believes that victory away to Manchester City Saturday could take the Premiership relegation battle to the final day as fellow relegation fighter Birmingham City should be beatable at Craven Cottage next week. “This is a big opportunity. We’ve still got Birmingham to play which is a big bonus in our situation. […]
Monthly Archives: April 2008
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
United Feeling Déjà vu with MLS Start
Steven Goff of The Washington Post says D.C. United’s early-season woes are “eerily similar” to last year’s. “An overcrowded schedule, a sluggish attack, an exposed defense and, most glaring, a dreary record” are all weighing down United’s season. “It feels like we are repeating history,” defender Bryan Namoff tells Goff. “We had hoped for it […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
MLS Should Sign Thierry Henry, Immediately
He’s not exactly tearing it up at Barcelona, but Thierry Henry’s addition to Major League Soccer could only be a good thing for soccer in America, writes Martin Rogers of Yahoo Sports. The France international is unsettled in La Liga and could be poised for a move sooner rather than later, according to reports in […]
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Soccer on TV
MLS action includes the L.A. Clasico: Galaxy vs. Chivas USA. On the international front, EPL leader Manchester United faces Chelsea, which trails by three points. Champions could be crowned in Spain (Real Madrid), Italy (Inter Milan) and Germany (Bayern Munich).
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Chivas USA redefines itself
How tough a battle has it been for Chivas USA to carve out an identity in Southern California?
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Undermanned Revs go deep to beat Dallas
[MLS] As showcases of brilliant soccer go, it wasn’t much, yet New England’s 1-0 victory that knocked FC Dallas off its unbeaten perch at Pizza Hut Park Thursday night typified how a depleted team that knows how to win can beat a stronger team lacking such clarity.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
No booze but shake your ‘popsch’
[OFF THE POST] Vienna-based voice coach Ingrid Amon is offering cheering lessons to Austrian fans ahead of the European Championship, because she warns that improper screaming can cause voice loss – and even permanent vocal chord damage. She says fans should avoid alcohol and caffeine, and, apparently unaware that Austrian fans rarely have something to cheer about, says they should take “quiet breaks” during the game. She also recommends body movement while screaming: “Shaking your popsch [booty] helps the most.”
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Purge in Bulgaria
[REF WATCH] Referee Angel Bekyarov, despite offering to take a lie detector test to prove his impartiality, was among six officials suspended by the Bulgarian soccer federation for mistakes and poor fitness. Bekyarov had been accused of by Litex players of favoring their Beroe foes in a 1-1 tie.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS TV SCHEDULE
East leader Kansas City starts a six-game road trip at Toronto. Winless defending champ Houston travels to Columbus, which has three wins in four games. D.C. United aims to avenge the 4-0 pummeling it got from Real Salt Lake two weeks ago. Two of the league’s top playmakers clash when the Fire’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Colorado’s Christian Gomez meet in Chicago. Chivas USA and Los Angeles Galaxy take identical 1-2-1 records into the So Cal derby. On Sunday, New York hosts San Jose with each team aiming for its second win of the season. For all the weekend’s MLS action on TV. …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“My suggestion is that the judge get a pair of scissors, cut the thing in half and give half to each. It’s certainly not anything that we would ever want to have happen and certainly not anything that David [Beckham] or any of our players who hand out jerseys would have intended.”
— Los Angeles Galaxy President Alexi Lalas upon learning that the parents of two boys have hired lawyers and threatened lawsuits in a battle over the jersey David Beckham gave one of the boys after the Galaxy’s game in Honolulu in February. The two boys, friends ages 9 and 10, brought a sign greeting Beckham to Aloha Stadium. Beckham gave his shirt to the 9-year-old, but parents of the 10-year-old say he deserves it because he held the sign the entire game. (Honolulu Advertiser)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. women kick off tour against Australia
[OLYMPIC COUNTDOWN] The U.S. women’s national team plays its first game since the Concacaf qualifying tournament when it hosts Australia on Sunday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. For the 25-player U.S. roster …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
UEFA Cup semifinals end in ties
UEFA Cup favorite Bayern Munich was held to a 1-1 draw by Russia’s Zenit St. Petersburg at home in the home leg of their semifinal on Thursday. In the other semifinal, Rangers and Fiorentina played to a 0-0 tie in Glasgow.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
International Weekend TV Schedule
Saturday’s Manchester United-Chelsea — a potential preview of the UEFA Champions League final — should decide the English Premier League race. The races in Spain, Italy and Germany could be decided this weekend. Real Madrid will wrap up its 31st Spanish league title if it beats Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu Stadium on Sunday and both Villarreal and Barcelona fail to win their games this weekend. Inter Milan will retain its Italian Serie A title if it beats Cagliari Sunday and second-place Roma loses at home to Torino. Bayern Munich can clinch its 21st German championship if Werder Bremen and Schalke 04 lose on Saturday and it then wins at home to VfB Stuttgart on Sunday. For all the weekend international action on television …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Sigi Schmid aims for 100th win
[MAKING A LIST] Columbus coach Sigi Schmid can celebrate his 100th MLS win if the Crew beats Houston on Saturday. Schmid, 55, collected 79 of his wins while at the helm of the Los Angeles Galaxy, with which he won the 2002 title, in 1999-2004. He would become the second coach, after Bob Bradley to hit the century mark. For a list of Top 10 MLS coach win leaders …
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Sheva, Ronnie Deals Not Straightforward for Milan
AC Milan wants Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko, and Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko want to move to AC Milan. However, Goal.com reports that the moves will not be so simple, as there’s likely to be wrangling over the players’ transfer fees. Already Milan VP Adriano Galliani has indicated that Milan and Barcelona, Ronaldinho’s current employer, are […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Ferguson’s Master Plan Lacks Fireworks
Thanks in large part to the retrenched approach of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, Wednesday’s first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal clash between the Red Devils and Barcelona didn’t produce the attacking fireworks that many had expected. For 90 minutes, Barcelona absolutely camped itself inside the United third of the field but found […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
MLS’s Meaningless Regular Season
What’s the biggest problem with MLS? According to Adam Smartschan of the Cape Cod Times, the league’s problem is the fact that even if the New England Revolution had lost its opening five games, it wouldn’t be out of the playoff picture. “The MLS regular season,” Smartschan writes, “a seven-month ordeal stretching from the last […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
MLS Persists in Bizarre Rule Changes
ESPN Soccernet columnist Doug McIntyre digs into Major League Soccer for what many claim is a “make-it-up-as-you-go-along attitude towards its own arcane set of rules and regulations.” He adds that many of these complaints are justified. Among them: three years ago, McIntyre says the league “strong-armed” FC Dallas into trading an allocation so that Landon […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
How to Get Seen by College Coaches at a Tournament
The opening whistle blows. The ball gets dropped back to you. Your first touch isn’t so good and the ball slips away. You scramble to it just before a defender gets there, but you hit it awkwardly and it bends out of bounds. Uh oh.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Saprissa strikes late to tie Pachuca
[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP] A goal by Victor Cordero in the waning minutes earned Costa Rica’s Saprissa a 1-1 tie with Mexico’s Pachuca in the first leg of the final of the Concacaf Champions Cup, in which U.S. entrants D.C. United and the Houston Dynamo fell in the semifinals.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Post-Wynalda ESPN2 getting into its stride
[TV REVIEW] Less than a month into the regular seasons, MLS teams are far from the finished product, as coaches juggle players and alter tactics to find the right formula. Last year, a lot of juggling took place with the broadcast teams selected by ESPN2 for its MLS telecasts. Some games featured on-site hosts, some didn’t, several sideline reporters were used, and from the third week of the season the cable system used a three-man crew in the broadcast booth.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Clarifying the remarks of Kinnear
Before the Wizards use the comments of Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear to fire up their team and specifically Claudio Lopez, it should be pointed out that he made those remarks strictly in reference to how difficult it can be for a player, any player, to cut it in MLS.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Libertadores Cup Schedule
The 2008 Libertadores Cup, the South American club championship, moves into the second round next Wednesday with the first leg of the second round. Brazil and Argentina lead all countries with five teams each in the 16-team second round. Club America and Atlas of Mexico also advanced. Guadalajara was the only Mexican to fail to reach the final 16. For the second-round schedule and first-round standings …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
D.C. and Quakes boost their frontlines
D.C. United has signed former Red Bull striker Francis Doe and a San Jose deal to acquire former Rapids and MetroStars striker Jean-Philippe Peguero could be completed by Thursday as the Quakes seek to beef up their front line.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Measles risk in Switzerland
[EURO 2008] Switzerland’s Federal Health Office spokesman Jean-Louis Zurcher said fans coming to this summer’s European Championship, which the Swiss are co-hosting with Austria, should check their vaccination status. A measles epidemic has plagued Switzerland for more than a year.