Monthly Archives: January 2009

“I thought about it a lot, and it was the right amount of money and security [with United]. Another thing is, I have a good situation here. I think a lot of guys go from team to team looking for a good situation, for things like playing time, enjoying where they’re living. I’ve obviously had […]

“His [David Beckham‘s] agent is here in Milan. He will first speak with him and then we will meet him ourselves. The good feeling between our club and David is absolute but you all know the situation.” AC Milan Vice President Adriano Galliani reports on the latest installment of the L.A. Galaxy midfielder’s seemingly inevitable […]

“It’s definitely more relaxed than last year. It helps to have had the kind of season we had last year. That’s not being slack, I don’t think, but I have no doubt once we get closer to the start of the season, things will be a bit more serious.” Columbus Crew’s “gritty, grinning Scotsman” Adam […]

“A very rare find. As organized as youth soccer is now, we might not see that again.” Houston Dynamo Director of Youth Development James Clarkson on the team’s 18-year-old generation adidas signing Felix Garcia, who grew up playing soccer in the streets and parks of Laredo, with the benefit of avoiding soccer clubs and their […]

The Cyprus Football Association says that talks with the breakaway Turkish Cypriots to unify soccer on the ethnically divided island have collapsed. The CFA said Friday it considers the matter “over” after the Cyprus Turkish Football Association turned down a FIFA- and UEFA-brokered deal on ending its decades-old exclusion from international  soccer.

Well worth reading in full, Kaveh Solhekol‘s entertaining guide to the worst aspects of the modern game includes a rant about modern squad numbers: “Remember the days when the best player was No 10 and goalkeepers were No 1? Not any more. Thanks to someone at the Premier League watching an American football game, players […]

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill will be pleased that so many people still underestimate his side’s chances of winning the Premier League title this season, writes Kevin McCarra. In fact Villa’s ambitions “are so often overlooked that the team are clandestine contenders,” he says.   But Villa is only a point behind Liverpool and Chelsea, […]

When Chelsea’s Ivorian forward Salomon Kalou celebrated scoring against Middlesbrough on Wednesday, his post-goal choreography in tandem with compatriot Didier Drogba could, it seems, be interpreted in one of two ways. Either he was showing his admiration for WWE wrestler John Cena, or he was making a statement in support of the Ivory Coast political […]

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said Friday that soccer’s world governing body will reject joint bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups if there are other single-country bids with “certain guarantees,” according to the Spanish news agency Efe, citing comments by Blatter at a press conference in Asuncion, Paraguay.   If true, this would already […]

Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan‘s price tag has proven to expensive for Glasgow Celtic, reports Ronnie Cully in an “exclusive.”   He writes that Major League Soccer has “placed a price tag of around £2.5m [$3.6 million] on the 23-year-old. It is understood extra payments based on appearances, plus a substantial sell-on clause, would be […]

“My knees cannot cope with the fact that I play for Aston Villa and for the national team. In this situation, the only real solution is to be available for the club.” Danish defender Martin Laursen quits international soccer to concentrate on playing for his club.

“Criticism should not be expressed in public. That’s why he’s getting fined. We’ve accepted his apology, and that’s the end of the matter.” Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel on the fine imposed on goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, 39, following a TV interview he gave directly after its 1-5 home defeat to Bayern Munich in the German FA […]

“The market is horrendous. The English league is killing everything. Everybody wants to go to England. And you can’t get anyone to leave there. I think what will happen eventually is that it will implode and it will get back to reality.” Glasgow Celtic manager Gordon Strachan predicts a collapse in wage demands and transfer […]

“We think Jeff [Parke] is a tremendous player, and that’s why we were willing to risk selecting him in the expansion draft. We will continue to keep in close contact. We continue to hold his MLS rights and we’re hopeful that he will some day play for Seattle Sounders FC.” Seattle Sounders GM Adrian Hanauer […]

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said Wednesday that it will allow Brazil to stage the 2014 World Cup in 12 cities rather than 10. Soccer’s world governing body had initially said it wanted the tournament staged in 10 cities to minimize logistical problems.   “This country is not a country, it’s a sub-continent, five-times world champions, […]