Monthly Archives: March 2009

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Seldom in its four seasons of play has the Houston Dynamo shown any reluctance to attack, but like any team, it has struggled through periods of slack finishing. That won’t be an option if it wants to prevail in the quarterfinal, second leg with Mexico’s Atlante in Cancun on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel, Telefutura).

[MLS] In his first MLS preseason as head coach, Schellas Hyndman is learning some vital lessons of the pro game. Among them is a reminder that each year is whole new ballgame.

[U.S. WOMEN] Former Norwegian star Hege Riise has joined the U.S. women’s national team staff as an assistant coach.

[MAKING A LIST] The cutback in MLS roster sizes has created opportunities for USL-1 clubs to sign players with extensive professional experience. Steve Cronin, who started 22 games for the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2008, became the latest player to move to the USL-1 when he signed with the Portland Timbers. For 2008 MLS players headed to the USL-1 …

Rangers and Celtic remained tied at the top of Scotland’s Premier League, while Anderlecht and Standard Liege and Porto and Benfica are both separated by two points in Belgium and Portugal, respectively. For all the results and standings of Europe’s major leagues and Mexico …

[AMERICANS ABROAD] The ranks of American executives at major European clubs were reduced with Friday’s announcement by AS Monaco that its French-American president, Jerome de Bontin, was heading home for family reasons less than a year after taking the post.

[GERMANY] Hertha Berlin went back on top in the Bundesliga with a 2-1 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday and held the top spot when last week’s leader, Hamburg, fell at home to Wolfsburg, 3-1. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich’s troubles continued when it slipped to fifth place following its 0-0 tie at Werder Bremen.

[ENGLAND] Third-string goalie Ben Foster was the hero as Manchester United beat defending champion Tottenham Hotspur, 4-1, on penalties Sunday to win the English League Cup, its second trophy of the season.

[ITALY] Inter Milan twice rallied from two goals down but had to settle for a 3-3 tie with Roma that left the Serie A leader seven points in front of Juventus with 12 games to play. David Beckham played an ineffective 68 minutes as AC Milan fell.

[SPAIN] Barcelona’s lead over Real Madrid, which was 12 points two weeks ago, is down to four points after Atletico Madrid twice came from behind and beat Barca, 4-3, on Sunday.

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Michael Bradley scored his third Bundesliga goal of the season in a losing effort that keeps Borussia M’Gladbach in last place. Landon Donovan‘s fifth appearance a sub failed to spark Bayern Munich and he got harsh reviews from the German press. Maurice Edu made his first Scottish Premier League appearance since September. For a wrapup of Americans abroad. …

[MLS PRESEASON] The Canadian and American representatives still alive in the Concacaf Champions’ League merged their schedules to play a testy, 70-minute preseason game on Saturday, with the MLS Houston Dynamo beating USL-1 Montreal, 3-2, before about 2,000 fans in Robertson Stadium.

[MLS PRESEASON] They aren’t likely to set any scoring records, but the Earthquakes – who netted a league-lowest 32 goals last year – are hitting the net consistently in preseason while retaining a solid defensive record.