[NAMES & NUMBERS] There were three East-West confrontations over the MLS weekend, and all resulted in — you guessed it — wins for the visiting Eastern Conference teams. The Western Conference is so bad that FC Dallas, which dropped to .500 with a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake, is the only team that doesn’t have a losing record. It took seven weeks, but MLS stars Juan Pablo Angel, Taylor Twellman, Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario finally got their first goals of the season. For all the MLS weekend action …
Monthly Archives: May 2008
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“I’m starting to see in the MLS there isn’t much consistency.”
— Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham after his team dropped a 2-1 decision at home to the New York Red Bulls, conceding the deciding goal in the 78th minute, a minute after it had tied the game. (Daily Breeze)
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Not a betting man’s sport?
I’ve heard it put forward as a reason why soccer won’t make it in the USA: that betting on soccer is simply too chaotic an affair to capture American interest. Actually, it sounds like quite a good point.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Giggs adds to his United legend
[CHAMPIONS] On the final day of the English Premier League season, Manchester United broke the deadlock at the top when it won, 2-0, at Wigan and Chelsea could only tie Bolton Wanderers, 1-1, at home. United’s goalscoring heroes were Cristiano Ronaldo with his 31st goal of the EPL season and Ryan Giggs, who won his 10th EPL title with United.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Puerto Rico Islanders gain home edge
[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFYING] The USL-1’s Puerto Rico Islanders took a 1-0 lead in their CONCACAF Champions League qualifying series with Trinidad & Tobago’s San Juan Jabloteh thanks to their victory Friday night in Bayamon on Haitian international Fabrice Noel‘s goal.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS Results
The top six teams in the Eastern Conference have better records than the Western Conference co-leaders, Colorado and FC Dallas. For the up-to-date MLS standings and leading scorers, all the weekend summaries and this week’s schedule …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
USA smashes Canada in Concacaf rematch
[OLYMPIC COUNTDOWN] The U.S. women’s national team gained revenge for its only blemish of the year with a resounding 6-0 win over Canada before 9,322 fans Saturday in Washington, D.C.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
USL-1 Results
The Seattle Sounders drew 10,184 fans at Qwest Field for their 0-0 tie with Northwest rival Portland in their 2008 home opener. The Timbers remained in first place in the USL-1, two points ahead of Minnesota, which beat Montreal, 1-0, before only 745 fans in rainy St. Paul. For all the USL-1 results and goal scorers …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
The great escape for Fulham’s American five
[AMERICANS ABROAD] With three Americans in the starting lineup, one more on the bench and a fifth not suited up, Fulham completed one of the most improbable comebacks in English league history when it won at Portsmouth, 1-0, on Sunday to avoid relegation. The win gave the Cottagers nine out of nine points in their final three games to escape almost-certain relegation. Instead, Reading and Birmingham City, both big winners on Sunday, joined last-place Derby in being dropped to the League Championship.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Five Reasons the EPL Won’t Miss Reading, Fulham
Relegation is an unspeakably bitter pill for any fan to swallow, but the Guardian’s Steve Wilson tackles the issue from the neutral or non-fan’s perspective, offering five reasons why the EPL wouldn’t miss relegation-threatened Reading and Fulham, home to seven current or former American internationals. Reading manager Steve Coppell is the first reason the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Ferguson Irate at Bolton Celebrations
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was not happy to hear that Bolton players have been out celebrating after securing their place in the Premiership with a 2-0 home win against Sunderland last weekend. On Sunday, Bolton plays Chelsea in what will be an effectively meaningless match for Bolton. Similarly, United’s opponent Wigan Athletic will […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
D.C. United President Digs into Players After Loss
A disappointed Kevin Payne spoke with Steven Goff of the Washington Post about his underachieving D.C. United side following Thursday night’s 2-0 loss to Chicago at RFK Stadium. “We have a personal accountability issue on the field,” the DCU president fumed. “I hope that the players know; some of them probably don’t, actually. There are […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Conde Out in Chicago; Adu (Possibly) Out in Portugal
Soccer blogger Ives Galarcep addresses a few rumors swirling around lately. Despite recent comments to the contrary, Fire defender Wilman Conde is not happy and wants to leave Chicago as soon as possible. Galarcep says the Colombian didn’t even dress for Thursday night’s 2-0 win over D.C. United at RFK, nor did he step foot […]
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Soccer on TV
Saturday’s MLS action includes defending champ Houston’s quest to pick up its first win of the season when it hosts Colorado. The English Premier League will be decided on Sunday, when Chelsea faces Bolton (Fox Soccer Channel) and Manchester United clashes with Wigan (Setanta Sports USA).
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
The haunted team in need exorcism
D.C. United is haunted; not by the dearly departed, but by those whose recent departures have left great voids in a once-great team floundering and flailing in search of points and answers.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS TV SCHEDULE
Two-time defending champion Houston seeks its first win of the season when it hosts Colorado. … Javier Morales, who has four assists this season, leads Real Salt Lake against FC Dallas. … With a four-game winning streak, Columbus travels to San Jose, which has managed just two goals in five games. … Los Angeles, the league’s highest scoring team with 13 strikes in six games, hosts New York. … On Sunday, Chivas USA, with a four-game winless streak, hosts New England. For all the weekend’s MLS action on TV …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Fire hands D.C. another depressing defeat
[MLS/VIDEO] The momentum and the misery continued for Chicago and D.C. United, respectively, Thursday night at RFK Stadium in a game that included a brilliant long-range goal from the Fire’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Real Salt Lake coach punished for ref railing
[MLS] Jason Kreis‘ largely unfounded tirade against MLS referees in a Deseret Morning News article has cost the Real Salt Lake coach a $1,000 fine and a one-game suspension.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Rijkaard to be replaced as Barcelona coach
[SPAIN] Less than 24 hours after a humiliating 4-1 loss to Spanish champion Real Madrid, Barcelona announced that Coach Frank Rijkaard would be replaced next season by former captain Pep Guardiola.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Club America pulls historic upset
[LIBERTADORES CUP] Mexico’s Club America pulled off one of the most improbable upsets in the history of the Libertadores Cup when it overturned a 4-2 deficit from the first leg of its second-round series with Brazilian club Flamengo thanks to a 3-0 at the famed Maracana Stadium on Wednesday night.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
International Weekend TV Schedule
The English Premier League race goes down to the final day of the season on Sunday with UEFA Champions League finalists Manchester United and Chelsea still tied for the English Premier League. United travels to Wigan, while Chelsea hosts Bolton Wanderers with United holding the advantage on the tiebreaker. Italy’s Scudetto could be decided on Sunday when leader Inter Milan and second-place Roma, three points back, host Siena and Atalanta, respectively. For all the weekend international action on television …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“We want to get paid.”
— Slogan on T-shirts donned by Levante players before their Spanish La Liga game against Deportivo Coruna. Levante players, who are owed millions of dollars in back pay, staged a stand-still kickoff protest at the game’s start, remaining stationary as a Coruna player dribbled the length of the field and shot the ball out of bounds for a goal kick.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
OBITUARY: Francois Sterchele
Francois Sterchele, the leading scorer in the 2006-07 Belgian First Division, was killed Thursday morning after he lost control of his Porsche and hit a tree near the city of Antwerp.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Eriksson in Benfica Talks
Various reports are linking Manchester City manager Sven Goran Eriksson with a return to Benfica, home of American teenage sensation Freddy Adu. A statement from the Portuguese club confirmed that talks had taken place. Eriksson, who has been told by Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra that his job will be terminated at the end of […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Barca Ridiculed After Clasico; Rijkaard to Leave
Headlines across Spain ridiculed FC Barcelona’s players for lying down and letting Spanish champion Real Madrid walk all over them at the Santiago Bernabeu Wednesday night. The day after the 4-1 thrashing, Sport, a Barcelona-area daily, led with a black front cover that read: “You have dishonored the Barcelona shirt”. El Mundo Deportivo, another Barcelona […]