"The difference between now and when the likes of Pele, Bobby Moore and George Best came over, is night and day. It was almost like a circus then, with players at the end of their careers, but everything is geared to the future now." Former Everton midfielder Adrian Heath looks forward to his first season […]
Monthly Archives: December 2008
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Bayern: Donovan Our Only Winter Signing
"Bayern's only winter signing will be Landon Donovan. We have him on loan until March 15, and we'll take the time to review that. We have a well-rounded, harmonious squad in which I see no great need for changes." Bayern Munich Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge lays out his club's plans for the January transfer window. […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Mido Slams FA Inaction Over Anti-Islam Chanting
Middlesbrough's Egyptian striker Mido has slammed the English Football Association after suffering Islamophobic chanting from Newcastle fans during the weekend's 0-0 draw. He said the same thing happened last season, and the FA's refusal to act caused its recurrence. "It happened again because after the first time the English FA did nothing," he told Egyptian […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Uruguay Resumes Season After Riot
But it's not all bad news — the Uruguayan season, suspended a fortnight ago after a full-scale fan riot following a game between Nacional and Danubio, resumed Wednesday. But even the re-start was surrounded by controversy. Wednesday's game was a rescheduled game from August between Nacional and Villa Espanola, which had been awarded to the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Hard Times For Chinese Soccer
Hard times have fallen upon Chinese soccer, writes Liu Zhen. "Failure for the national and Olympic teams has combined with continuing violence, protests, crime and allegations of corruption on the domestic front to confound the efforts of officials and clubs to arrest the decline of the game in China," he writes. What he describes as […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Keane Quits As Sunderland Manager
Former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane resigned Thursday as Sunderland manager, and the club “reluctantly” accepted his decision. Keane had been in talks with club chairman Niall Quinn and the rest of the board over the past couple of days, resulting in his departure. Quinn said in a statement that Keane […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Murder And Mayhem In Argentine Soccer
Officially, the death toll inside Argentine soccer stadiums over the years numbers 185, writes Joel Richards. According to the organization Salvemos al fútbol (Let’s Save Football) there have been 232 deaths. “The official statistics only include incidents that take place inside grounds,” said Mónica Nizzardo, a lawyer who works with the group. “They ignore victims […]
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
AWARDS: 2008 Women’s Conferences (Mid-American to WCC)
The rest of the the 2008 women’s all-conference teams and individual conference awards from the Mid-American to WCC …
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
AWARDS: 2008 Women’s Conferences (ACC to MAAC)
All the 2008 women’s all-conference teams and individual conference awards have been released. The Women’s College Cup, which begins Friday, will feature All-ACC Offensive Player of the Year Casey Nogueira (North Carolina), All-Big East Offensive Player of the Year Kerri Hanks (North Carolina) and the Pac-10 Player of the Year Christina DiMartino (UCLA). For all the conference awards (ACC to MAAC) …
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
SCOREBOARD: NAIA Men’s National Championship
Top seed Oklahoma City rallied for two goals 11 seconds apart to beat Hastings, 2-1, the quarterfinals of the NAIA Men’s National Championships. The Stars are joined by No. 2 seed Rio Grande, No. 14 Mt. Vernon Nazarene and unseeded Bethel (Tenn.). OCU meets Bethel in one semifinal, and Rio Grande faces Mt. Vernon Nazarene in a battle of Ohio teams. For all the quarterfinal results and semifinal schedule …
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
SCOREBOARD: NAIA Women’s National Championship
Top seed Lindsey Wilson moved into the semifinals of the NAIA Women’s National Championships with a 1-0 win over previously unbeaten Graceland in Daytona Beach, Fla. Jamaican international Kimmia Parker scored the lone goal for the Blue Raiders, who are joined by No. 3 Lee, No. 5 Concordia (Ore.) and No. 10 Trinity Christian in Friday’s semifinals. For all the results and goal scorers …
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
PREVIEW: Upstart Stanford has pieces in place
[2008 WOMEN’S COLLEGE CUP] Stanford, which faces Notre Dame in Friday’s semifinal at the Women’s College Cup (TV: ESPN2, ESPNU, 4:30 PM ET), is the outsider at this year’s final four. North Carolina is playing in its 24th final four in 27 years, Notre Dame is making its 10th appearance and UCLA is returning for the sixth year in a row. Stanford, on the other hand, hasn’t been in the semifinals since 1993 when Julie Foudy was still playing. It lost in its only appearance to George Mason in a shootout.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
PREVIEW: Notre Dame aims for perfection
[2008 WOMEN’S COLLEGE CUP] Notre Dame, which enters its semifinal match against Stanford at the Women’s College Cup with a 25-0-0 record, looks to accomplish what it’s never done before — finish the season unbeaten. The Irish captured national titles in 1995 and 2004 but failed to win the four previous years it entered the final four unbeaten.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
El Tri to open 2008 U.S. tour in Oakland
[MEXICO] The Mexican national team, which plays more friendly games in the USA than on its own soil, opens its 2008 U.S. tour Jan. 28 in Oakland, Calif., against Sweden, the homeland of Mexico coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Cruz Azul thumps Atlante
[MEXICO] Cruz Azul downed Atlante, 3-1, on Wednesday in the first leg of their Apertura 2008 semifinal series. In the other semifinal series, defending champ Santos, with New Mexico product Edgar Castillo, hosts Toluca on Thursday (Azetca America, live, 8 pm ET).
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Ball Boy Shenanigans [VIDEOS]
[OFF THE POST] A Manchester City ball boy hurled the ball at the head of Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who reacted just in time, during Sunday’s derby. The incident, which prompted a halftime warning by Referee Howard Webb to Man City about its fetchers, is just the latest incident of ball boy stunts.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Brazil’s Internacional lifts Copa Sudamericana
[SOUTH AMERICA] Internacional became the first Brazilian team in to win the Copa Sudamericana since the tournament’s inception in 2002. A 1-1 second-leg tie with Estudiantes earned it a 2-1 final win on aggregate.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“When I tell myself that I have already been a pro for five years, I smile saying ‘already, holy cow!’ I have to put to use all that I have learned since the beginning.”
— Freddy Adu, 19, who is struggling to get playing time with French league club Monaco but scored his first U.S. national team goal two weeks ago against Guatemala. (SoccerNet)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Women’s pro combine invites set
[WPS] Women’s Professional Soccer will hold two combines for its seven teams to evaluate players before the 2009 WPS Draft on Jan. 16 at the NSCAA Convention in St. Louis. In total, 144 players will participate in the WPS combines with 72 at each location: San Diego (Dec. 11-14) and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Dec. 18-21). For the complete list by location…
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Tevez batters Blackburn to put United through
[ENGLAND] Manchester United reached the League Cup semifinals after beating Blackburn 5-3, including four goals from Carlos Tevez. Watford and Jay DeMerit fell, 2-1, at home to Tottenham Hotspur.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Onyewu scores as Liege makes next round
[UEFA CUP] In Wednesday’s UEFA Cup group action, American defender Oguchi Onyewu scored for Standard Liege in its 3-0 win over Sampdoria to help his team qualify for the knockout stages.
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Cristiano by a Mile
We now know that Cristiano Ronaldo is the best soccer player in the world. The annual poll conducted by the esteemed French magazine France Football gave him victory by an almost insultingly large number of points — 446 to 281 — over his nearest challenger, Lionel Messi.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Ince: Clubs Need To Be More Patient
"You do need time to build things. That's what annoys me because people do try to tear up clubs and managers early in their careers." Blackburn Rovers manager Paul Ince, whose job is reportedly under threat after nine winless games, talks about how Manchester United's patience with Alex Ferguson resulted in long term success.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Scotland Could Bid For Euro With Wales, Northern Ireland
The Scottish FA has confirmed that it has held “tentative” talks with its Welsh and Northern Irish counterparts over launching a bid to host the 2016 European Championship, the first year that the tournament will be expanded from the present 16 to 24 countries.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Premier League Agrees To Debt Investigation
“Premier League officials have signed up to a voluntary investigation into debt levels among England’s top 20 clubs in an attempt to head off threats of regulation by Europe,” writes Kevin Eason. The new 27-member Association of Professional Football Leagues will examine the “financial governenace” of its member leagues and look to propose a voluntary […]