Monthly Archives: January 2009

David Beckham‘s AC Milan debut in its 2-2 draw at Roma Sunday drew both praise and scathing comment from the Italian media. Gazzetta dello Sport gave Beckham a six out of 10 rating and said that there was “nothing to show as a replay for a Pepsi ad. However, he sacrifices, he crosses, he strikes, […]

One might be skeptical of any story that goes under the label of “exclusive”‘ and appears in London-based tabloid The Sun, but this one is irresistible. After all, a story doesn’t have to be true to be a good story. And so we pass on the paper’s report that the fire alarm that woke Chelsea’s […]

“The FIFA World Player of the Year gala in Zurich today will look like a Jay Gatsby house party in overdrive,” writes Sam Wallace. He says that the award is unnecessary given that we already have the “perfectly adequate” European Footballer of the Year award. The only disadvantage of that award, “in FIFA’s eyes, is […]

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has been involved in word wars down the years with all of the Premier League’s top managers. Kevin Keegan was soundly trounced in the 1990s during his first spell at Newcastle. There seems to be a truce with Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger after several seasons of back and forth. Jose Mourinho […]

Names great and small are swirling about as MLS coaches and executives finish their duties at annual Player Combine in Ft. Lauderdale prepare for the 2009 SuperDraft next Thursday in St. Louis. Some prominent players are out of contract or have had their options declined, and of course, there’s no shortage of foreign players being linked to the American league.

“Before the start of the game and when we were on the field home fans behind the goal defended by Bilbao threw numerous snowballs towards the goal, some of them hitting the goalkeeper.”
— Referee Cesar Muniz Fernandez‘s match report explains that the snow in Spain fell mainly on Athletic Bilbao keeper Gorka Iraizoz, forcing Muniz Fernandez to briefly suspend the Atletico Madrid-hosted Spanish La Liga game. The snow-ball launchers heeded a warning from the PA system and the and Bilbao enjoyed a 3-2 win. (Reuters)

[INTERLIGA] After a frantic Friday night of eight goals concluded group play, Interliga 2009 served up another incredible doubleheader Sunday at Home Depot Center. Both of Sunday’s games were decided by penalty kicks, one of which required 13 rounds. In the other, Guadalajara defeated Morelia, 4-2, after a 1-1 tie to claim the automatic Interliga spot in the 2009 Libertadores Cup.

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Defender Carlos Bocanegra, who has started every French Ligue 1 game since joining Rennes last summer, celebrated a win as Rennes moved within two points of first place. For a wrapup of U.S. players in Europe last weekend. …

France’s Ligue 1 race tightened as seven-time champion Lyon tied Lorient, 1-1, and saw its lead over Bordeaux reduced to one point. Carlos Bocanegra‘s Rennes is third only two points behind Lyon. In Portugal, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon leapfrogged over Porto and are tied for first place. For all the weekend results and current standings …