Monthly Archives: July 2008

Columnist James Lawton says Arsenal’s 21-year-old Spanish star Cesc Fabregas’ declaration of dedictation to his club amid transfer rumors is a breath of fresh air amid the “ingrate football stars sneering at the point of contracts and the loyalty that until now they have always implied.” “Fabregas’s astonishing statement of fealty to the club which […]

The Chicago Fire beat Everton, 2-0, on goals by Chris Rolfe and Tomasz Frankowski. The friendly win over last season’s fifth-place finisher in the English Premier League was watched by 9,125 fans in Bridgeview, Ill. The Fire outshot Everton, 17-7. Rolfe scored in the 42nd minute off a cross from Gonzalo Segares. Rolfe controlled the […]

Jeff Carlisle ranks the 16 men’s Olympic teams and puts defending champ Argentina at the top of the list because the team is “flat out loaded.” “This is especially true in midfield, where Juan Roman Riquelme and Javier Mascherano should dominate,” writes Carlisle. “Up top, things are less certain with Lionel Messi’s participation still in […]

“Lost in the sturm und drang over the Hope Solo affair at last year’s Women’s World Cup was a painful truth: The U.S. was playing ugly soccer,” writes Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl, who looks forward to the American women playing a better brand of soccer under Coach Pia Sundhage, who took over after the third-place […]

Germany coach Joachim Loew and his players have rejected criticism of a public party that drew an estimated 100,000 fans in Berlin to celebrate the team’s second-place finish at Euro 2008. The event was not a victory party, but a way of thanking fans, said Loew after German soccer federation technical director Matthias Sammer said […]

Newcastle midfielder was able to mantain his $141,000 per week salary when Coach Kevin Keegan welcomed him back to the club after his prison stint for violent assault, but Nike has terminated Barton’s sponsorship deal. Leo Sandino-Taylor, a Nike spokesman, said: “While Joey Barton is a talented [soccer player], we cannot condone or accept what […]

FIFA has responded to European clubs that claim they don’t need to release under-23 players for the Olympic Games because the competition isn’t on the international match calendar. Said Slim Aloulou, judge of the players’ status committee, the international calendar “is not of relevance in establishing whether clubs are obliged to release players [for the] […]

The English FA says the problem is not in recruiting referees but in retaining them and has launched the “Respect Campaign” in response to the growing numbers of referees who are quitting the game after receiving abuse. At the grassroots level, reports Paul Maughan, it concentrates on decreasing the abuse given to referees by overzealous […]

For the first time in club history, D.C. United has lost four straight games at its RFK Stadium. It had won the first five games of a 10-game homestand that included U.S. Open Cup and Champions Cup games. The losses include three SuperLiga games and an MLS defeat to Houston. “You treat your home as […]

A year ago, Corey Ashe was red-carded in Houston’s SuperLiga semifinal against Pachuca, which took advantage and won on penalty kicks. On Tuesday night, when the teams squared off again in the SuperLiga semis, Ashe entered the game at the 62nd minute and sealed the Dynamo’s 2-0 win with a headed goal. In the final, […]

In the wake of New Jersey boy Giuseppe Rossi choosing to play for Italy and New Mexico product Edgar Castillo opting to wear Mexico's colors, the U.S. national team program is now in danger of losing the services of former U.S. U-17 defender Neven Subotic. The 19-year-old was rated the German Second Division's top central […]