[U.S. SOCCER] The U.S. U-20 national team will face Jamaica, El Salvador and either Honduras or St. Vincent & the Grenadines in group play at the Concacaf qualifying tournament for the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Trinidad & Tobago March 6-15.
Monthly Archives: January 2009
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U-17 Boys World Cup Qualifying
[U.S. SOCCER] In its quest to continue its streak of being the only nation to qualify for every U-17 World Cup, the U.S. U-17 boys national team will face Canada, Cuba and Honduras next spring at the Concacaf championship in Tijuana, Mexico.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Bradley scores ‘dream goal’
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Things haven’t gone so well for midfielder Michael Bradley since joining Borussia Moenchengladbach last summer. His team sits in last place at the midseason point. But Bradley scored a spectacular goal on Thursday in an exhibition during the team’s midseason training camp in Spain.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
DaMarcus’ Discontent
[AMERICANS ABROAD] U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley says he’s ready to leave Glasgow Rangers if he doesn’t get more playing time. He also says he loves the club he joined in the summer of 2007 but fears that his U.S. national team future will be jeopardized if he remains on the Scottish Premier League’s bench.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Agoos and Fawcett Elected to the Hall of Fame
[U.S. SOCCER] Jeff Agoos, who won five MLS titles and played 134 times for the USA, and Joy Fawcett, who won two Women’s World Cups and two Olympic gold medals, will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Kljestan to train with Glasgow Celtic
[MLS] Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan, a 2008 U.S. Olympian who has appeared 11 times for the full national team, is leaving the USA’s Southern California training camp to train for a week with Scottish Premier League leader Celtic.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“He’s big, he’s fast, his first name should be last, Stern John.”
— A chant from Bristol City fans about Stern John, the Trinidadian striker who starred in MLS before moving to England in 1999. (BBC)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
FIFA announces bidding process
[WORLD CUP 2018/2022] FIFA has announced the timetable for the bid process to determine the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, beginning with the deadline of Feb. 2 for a national association to express its intent to bid. It has been expected U.S. Soccer would wait until after Tuesday’s inauguration of Barack Obama to announce its intention to host.
Posted inSpecial Edition, Story
Wake and Maryland top the charts
The trend in MLS is clear: teams are much more aggressive and confident in drafting players from the top college programs. Three players from Division I champion Maryland were taken in the first round and ACC rival Wake Forest landed two selections.
Posted inSpecial Edition, Story
A solid SuperDraft with real depth
Lacking perhaps a true standout yet well-stocked with promising talents, the pool of 60 players available in the 2009 SuperDraft were distributed among the 15 MLS teams Thursday. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney reports from St. Louis
Posted inSpecial Edition, Story
What They’re Saying
“I just know that [the Sounders have] some good players. I looked over the roster obviously. The main name I saw was Freddie Ljungberg, who played at Arsenal. I grew up watching him play and I’m excited about him. I don’t know yet [how I’ll fit in]. I’m just going to go over there and play. I’m confident in my abilities and what I can do. Obviously, coach [Sigi Schmid] has seen some stuff in me that he likes, and he’s got ideas and we’ll see how it works out.”
— Akron’s Steve Zakuani, a former member of English club Arsenal’s youth program, was taken with the No. 1 pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft.
Posted inSpecial Edition, Story
From the small-college ranks …
Four players from non-Division I schools were taken in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, including two in the first round: Lynn’s Jean Alexandre (Real Salt Lake) and Tampa’s Ryan Maxwell (New England). Only three players from small colleges or JCs had previously been taken in the first round of the first 13 MLS drafts.
Posted inSpecial Edition, Story
MLS SuperDraft selections
An MLS SuperDraft record six Wake Forest players were taken in the 2008 draft held Thursday in St. Louis. They included Hermann Trophy winner Marcus Tracy, taken by Houston in the fourth round. Tracy bypassed the adidas Combine and will play instead for Danish club Aalborg. For the round-by-round SuperDraft picks …
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Touchline Fracas Was Nothing, Says Kinnear
“I don’t know whether my reputation precedes me, but if you look at the video, what I did do was stand my ground, I didn’t do anything else.” Newcastle United manager Joe Kinnear says a touchline encounter with his Hull City counterpart Phil Brown was blown out of all proportion by the press. Newcastle lost […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
MLS Youth In Catch 22
“It’s kind of a Catch 22. The league wants to get more younger players signed, but once they get in, there’s no place for them to develop.” Columbus Crew Technical Director Brian Bliss on the landscape for youth development in Major League Soccer.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
YouTube Clip Helps Defender Land Scottish Job
“It’s been a strange series of events, an incredible week or so and I still can’t quite believe what’s happened.” Former Atlanta Silverbacks defender Martyn Lancaster, 28, who landed a contract with second-tier Scottish side Queen of the South after his wife posted a 10-minute highlights video of him on YouTube.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Huckerby: No Way Back To Norwich
“I love the club as much as the next man, but I am under contract with another club and they went out of their way to get me, they flew me halfway around the world to join them and I have always been a person who believed in loyalty.” San Jose Quakes’ forward Darren Huckerby […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Brechin A Nut With A Rock
The granite-faced Scottish Football Association is threatening to ruin one of Scotland’s smallest but best-run clubs, Brechin City, all because the club’s field width doesn’t conform to UEFA specifications. Third-tier Brechin, needless to say, has never played in European competition, and likely never will. The team faces “crippling fines or huge reconstruction costs” if it […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Palestinian Soccer Players Killed
Two prominent Palestinian soccer players were killed by Israeli forces this week in the Gaza Strip, the Palestine Football Association said Wednesday. It said on its Web site that national team member, Ayman al-Kurd, a 28-year-old with three children, was killed earlier this week by Israeli shelling. It also reported that Wajih Mushtahi, a member […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Kaka’s Style Spoiled By Lazy Ronaldinho
The idea that AC Milan would part with Kaka is not so outrageous, writes Frank Dunne. Not just because of the $133 million porice tag, but for actual soccer reasons. Dunne posits four of them for discussion. First, Kaka and fellow Brazilian Ronaldinho have not gelled as twin forward/midfielders behind the striker in Coach Carlo […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
City Must Learn Success Comes From Patience, Not Cash
Daniel Burnham was the 19th century urban architect who helped shape cities like Chicago and San Francisco, but Lawrence Donegan believes he had a handle on the motivations of those owning English football clubs in 2009. “Make no little plans,” Burnham said. “They have no magic to stir men’s blood.” The same applies to Manchester […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Beasley Should Look At LA Options
As DaMarcus Beasley is unhappy with his lack of playing time at Glasgow Rangers, he could do worse than revive his club career in Los Angeles, writes Grahame L Jones. Either at the Galaxy or at Chivas USA. A move to the Galaxy would reunite him with former national team coach Bruce Arena , who […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Getting Kids To Play On Their Own
No one denies that children who want to excel at soccer should play the game in addition to their team’s practices and games, but today’s children have less unscheduled time than previous generations and more diversions. Getting them to choose soccer over other options — whether it be Guitar Hero or Webkinz – can require prodding from the parents.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Warming and Waldrum take FieldTurf awards
[U.S. SOCCER] Tickets for the USA’s World Cup 2010 qualifying game against Mexico Feb. 11 in Columbus, Ohio go on sale Jan. 28 at noon ET.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
LSU adds top Canadian transfer
Creighton’s Bob Warming and Notre Dame’s Randy Waldrum were among the winners of the 2008 FieldTurf Coach and Team of the Year awards for the 2008 season. For all the winners whose awards will be presented at the NSCAA Convention on Friday in St. Louis …