Monthly Archives: January 2009

[ENGLAND] Manchester United brought on Cristiano Ronaldo late in the game and he almost scored on a free kick, but Man U fell, 1-0, to second division struggler Derby in their League Cup semifinal first-leg clash.

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Freddy Adu, who has played only 100 minutes in nine French First Division appearances since joining Monaco last summer, started against Juventus and helped set up a goal.

“We have to overcome a series of obstacles before advancing to the World Cup. I expect climbing Mount Halla will help players endure tough times ahead.”

— South Korea coach Huh Jung-moo is having his squad climb to the peak of Mount Halla in hopes it will inspire them to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. A 5.5 mile trail leads to the summit. (Donga-A Ilbo)

[U.S. SOCCER] Coach Bob Bradley has welcomed San Jose defender Jason Hernandez and Colorado defender Ugo Ihemelu into the team’s Southern California training camp to replace Clarence Goodson and Cory Gibbs.

[SIGN OF THE TIMES] England’s Football Association is cutting ticket prices by as much as 25 percent for upcoming home matches against Slovakia (March 28), Ukraine (April 1) and Andorra (June 10) at Wembley Stadium.

[U.S. YOUTH NATIONAL TEAMS] New U.S. under-18 men’s national team coach Mike Matkovich is taking 18 players to Sydney, Australia, where they will compete in the Australian Youth Olympic Festival. For the complete U-18 roster …

I have long been a fan of “The Family Circus” comic strip. Perhaps my favorite strip of all time features the family dog barking up a storm in the middle of the night. Dad, irritated that he’s been awakened from a much-needed sleep, clomps down the stairs to yell at Barfy, who dutifully hangs his head. Dad climbs back up the stairs while the cartoonist has a surprise for us. He pans back so we see in the far corner of the yard a burglar retreating.

“I like [David] Beckham a lot and I’m glad he’s chosen to play in our league. But let’s hope [Milan coach] Carlo Ancelotti fields all his big-name players together. I honestly think that could be an advantage for us as the team would be unbalanced.” Roma’s Francesco Totti looks forward to this coming weekend’s Roma-Milan […]

Former FC Dallas designated failure Denilson, 31, is to have a trial with Bolton Wanderers. The player is a free agent (again) after being released by Brazilian club Palmeiras.

English Premier League deal-maker Keith Harris, responsible for engineering club takeovers, has admitted that the days of billionaires bailing out clubs are over, reports David Conn. Harris cites the no-sale of Newcastle United after three and a half months as hard evidence of what the global economic crisis will mean to soccer.   “The problem […]

[MLS] Akron’s Steve Zakuani, Soccer America Men’s Collegiate Player of the Year 2008, is leaving Akron after his sophomore season to enter the 2009 MLS SuperDraft as a Generation adidas player.

[ITALY] The Los Angeles Galaxy’s David Beckham, who is on loan to AC Milan until the start of the MLS season, made his debut for the Rossoneri in a friendly against Germany’s Hamburg SV in Dubai.

[INTERLIGA] Three nights after playing a 1-1 tie in Houston, Superclasico rivals Guadalajara and Club America stayed tied in the standings by routing their opponents, 3-1, Tuesday at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas in front of 17,057 fans.

“I’m a professional. You should respect my work, respect me.”

— What Cameroonian Carlos Kameni of Spanish club Espanyol reportedly screamed at the fan he grabbed by the scruff of the neck before teammates pulled him away. The fan had told Kameni not to renew his contract. Kameni said he regretted the incident. (AFP)

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[MAKING A LIST] Manchester City is the team most often mentioned in January transfer deals and with good cause. Its new owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, is the richest man in British soccer with more than double the wealth of the next English Premier League owner, Russian Roman Abramovich. The Chelsea owner, who topped all five previous lists published by the British magazine Fourfourtwo, is said to have lost more than $4.5 billion since the downturn in the world economy last year.