“I would love to. As I always expressed in the past, I am very thankful to this country. It’s the country that gave me the opportunity to go to school, to get my education through a scholarship. Now if one day I am considered, that would be an honor. My kids were born here. We […]
Monthly Archives: April 2009
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Buzzards Swarming at Bayern After Barca Blowout
Things went from bad to worse to abysmal for Juergen Klinsmann and Co. on Wednesday, and all in a matter of just minutes. Allowing four goals to Barcelona in a first half was just part of what led German legend Franz Beckenbauer to call the lopsided loss “without a doubt the worst football Bayern have […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Zizou: Perez the Right Man For Real Madrid
Having Zinedine Zidane in your camp makes it all but automatic to get elected to a Presidential position within soccer, but especially is he’s considering being your running mate. And so things are looking locked up for candidate Florentino Perez in his bid to return to the top spot at Real Madrid, a post he […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Champions League Back to Its Old, Exciting Self
If the UEFA Champions League was ever in a so-called slump after previous years have produced somewhat predictable all-English finals, after “two breathtaking nights and four captivating games have been played out between eight fearless and talented teams,” writes Goal.com’s Sulmann Ahmad, all is back to being right in the world of European soccer elite. […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Mexican Clubs Still the Class of CONCACAF
Mexico’s national team might be a mess at the moment, but the quality of their professional league remains mostly unmatched in the region, as Cruz Azul and Atlante used home-field advantage in the semifinals’ second leg to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League final, making it “yet another all-Mexican showpiece, the third in the last […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Chivas Gets Good Game From Two Newcomers
Fans around the league might be surprised to see Chivas USA atop the Western Conference (and the league, for that matter) with a perfect 3-0-0 record, but the real surprise is that they’ve been able to stay undefeated without a select few of players “that many assumed would make all the difference for the Red-and-White […]
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
USA has plenty of choices for World Cup
Most of the 11 bidders for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup will be happy to show FIFA in concrete or on paper the minimum of 12 stadiums seating 40,000 or more fans. The USA Bid Committee has set the minimum capacity at 50,000 seats and come up with 70 stadiums it has targeted in the initial step of outlining the bid process and criteria for venue selection for public officials and stadium operators.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
USA Bid Committee targets huge stadiums
[WORLD CUP 2018/2022] The World Cup in Lincoln, Neb., or at Green Bay’s famed Lambeau Field? They might be long shots for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, but they were among the 44 stadiums with a capacity of 70,000 or more the USA Bid Committee has identified on its initial list of stadiums. For the complete list of 70 stadiums identified …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Bora returns to coach at Confederations Cup
[IRAQ] Former U.S. national team coach Bora Milutinovic, 64, will coach Asian champion Iraq — the eighth national team he has coached — at this year’s Confederations Cup in South Africa.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Maturana quits T&T’s Soca Warriors
[WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFYING] The coaches of both teams the USA has beaten in the Hexagonal are gone. Less than a week after Trinidad & Tobago’s 3-0 loss to the USA in Nashville, Francisco Maturana quit as the Soca Warriors coach. Maturana’s departure follows the firing of Mexico’s Sven Goran Eriksson a week ago.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Celebrations in Cancun
[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Rafael Marquez Lugo‘s penalty kick in the fourth minute of stoppage time gave Atlante a 3-1 victory over Mexican rival Santos Laguna on Wednesday and a 4-3 win on aggregate that sent the Cancun team to the Concacaf Champions League final against Cruz Azul.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Ivanovic makes most of rare chance
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic — so anonymous that he didn’t play a game for Chelsea last season — was the unlikely hero of a memorable Liverpool-Chelsea showdown, scoring two goals on headers to give the visiting Blues a 3-1 win in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Barca is the team to beat
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Barcelona very much looks like the favorite to win the 2009 UEFA Champions League after putting on a superb show against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. The German champion looked helpless in face of the Barca onslaught and fell, 4-0, with all four goals coming in the first half.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Red Bulls’ revamping is far from done
[MLS] The start of the season doesn’t end the process of altering and adjusting MLS rosters. In New York, master tinkerer Juan Carlos Osorio will probably unveil one new player this weekend when the Red Bulls host Houston and might give another his first start, with another signing still awaiting the receipt of his international transfer certificate at MLS offices.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“The crowds are different, more involved than the old Sounders crowds of the 1970s. They feel more middle class. Soccer in this area used to be an almost elitist sport. Now it feels as if it belongs to everyone.”
— Columnist Steve Kelley on the success of MLS’s Seattle Sounders FC, who have already announced their third straight sellout for Saturday’s game against Kansas City at Qwest Field (and have less than 1,000 tickets remaining for their next two homes games). (Seattle Times)
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Great Goals, Rotten Refereeing in Champions League
Let me dismiss the coaches, for a start. I do not believe that any of the eight coaches involved in the first-leg Champions League games this week played a particularly significant role. The games — and what superb games they have been — were largely controlled by the players.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Clarke ‘Couldn’t Be More Proud’ of Islanders’ CCL Effort
“I could not be more proud of my players and how we did in this competition. Before this tournament nobody had ever heard of the Puerto Rico Islanders, and we made it to the semifinal. I’m disappointed with the performance in the penalties but I don’t think the elimination was a failure. Nobody could have […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Optimistic Sir Alex: ‘Let’s Be First’ English Team to Win at Porto
“You have to think the last goal was one we could not afford to lose. It was a terrible goal to give away when you are 2-1 up and seeing the game out. It is a difficult job now, not made any easier when they tell you no British team has won in Porto. But […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Terry: Only Way to Ease ’08 Disappointment Is to Win Trophy
“I am very determined to go the extra step this year and win the trophy. That burning [disappointment] I suffered last year will live with me forever. The one way I can make that pain ease a little bit is to win this trophy. I can do that with the manager we have in charge […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Arena: Vieri-to-LA Rumors ‘Absolutely False’
“Absolutely false. As most of them are, I might add.” An always chipper Bruce Arena, putting the kibosh on a recent report connecting 35-year-old Italian international Christian Vieri with the L.A. Galaxy and undoubtedly trying to avoid more unnecessary drama involving a high-profile player with Italian ties.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Will WPS Find Different Fate Than WUSA?
If the world’s best female soccer player scores two goals in the tiny township of Bridgewater, N.J. (population: approximately 45,000/game attendance: 6,053), does anybody hear it? That’s more or less the question put forth by Goal.com’s Andrea Canales, who wonders whether WPS, despite featuring a player like Marta that “legitimizes WPS as the highest echelon […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Sonics’ Announcer Switches Allegiance to Sounders
When the Seattle lost the Supersonics but gained the Sounders FC, fortunately for the city’s sports fans one thing remained in place: the well-practiced pipes of play-by-play announcer Kevin Calabaro, who is “as much an icon in the Seattle area as majestic Mount Rainier,” writes goal.com’s John Zielonka. Not wanting to follow the NBA franchise […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Sutton Passed Up Euro Experience For North American Nest
Tempted by offers to play overseas, Toronto FC goalkeeper Greg Sutton is the rare pro athlete that decided to follow the road less traveled, choosing family and country over potential fame and fortune to remain in North America, where he has carved out a solid career and without which he wouldn’t have met his wife. […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Edu In Line For Bigger Role With Rangers
With regular Rangers midfielders Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor serving a two-week suspension after a pair of controversial off-field incidents (a drunk/disorderly bout followed by obscene gesture from the bench) while representing the Scotland national team last week, it looks like it’s time for young Maurice Edu to step into a starting role once occupied […]
Posted inSoccer America Classifieds, Story
Soccer America Classifieds
Welcome to Soccer America Classifieds, Soccer America’s email newsletter connecting soccer companies and organizations to Soccer America members each week. Soccer America Classifieds feature soccer classified advertisements on the latest soccer job openings, soccer products and soccer opportunities. Read Soccer America Classifieds each Wednesday.