[MLS] So much for P.G. United. D.C. United’s efforts to find a home in Maryland’s Prince George’s County suffered a setback when Prince George’s County Council voted to oppose legislation authorizing Maryland to study plans for a 24,000-seat soccer stadium.
Monthly Archives: April 2009
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Liverpool-Chelsea, Round 5
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Liverpool and Chelsea meet for the fifth time in the Champions League in the last five years when they open their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series Wednesday at Anfield. Reeling from its 5-1 loss in the Bundesliga on Saturday, Bayern Munich traveled to Barcelona without its two central defenders.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Acrobatic Adebayor gives Arsenal the edge
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Arsenal’s good form continued when it earned a 1-1 tie at Villarreal in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series thanks to an acrobatic goal by Emmanuel Adebayor. The game was costly, though, as the Gunners could have lost two key players — both injured in collisions with Italian-American Giuseppe Rossi — for next Wednesday’s second leg in London.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Man. United’s title defense in jeopardy
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Manchester United hit a road bump on its drive for five, having to settle for a 2-2 tie with Porto Tuesday at Old Trafford in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series. The result means United will probably have to do what no other English team has done and win in Oporto next Wednesday if it is to advance to the semifinals and keep alive its bid for five titles.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS Week 3: Findley and Casey head picks
[TEAM OF THE WEEK] Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake) and Conor Casey (Colorado), who both scored hat tricks, head Soccer America’s MLS Team of the Week for Week 3.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Galaxy falls again to Colorado
[U.S. OPEN CUP] Three days after the Los Angeles Galaxy suffered an embarrassing loss to the Colorado Rapids in MLS action, they met again at the Home Depot Center in a U.S. Open Cup qualifying game. The Galaxy’s defense, pathetic on Saturday, held firm, but its attack was equally abysmal in the rematch, playing with a man advantage for 84 minutes but failing to convert a host of chances, and Los Angeles fell again, this time on penalty kicks, after the game ended in a 0-0 tie.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Islanders’ dream run ends
[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Even in defeat, Puerto Rico put its mark on the Concacaf Champions League competition. The USL-1 Islanders succumbed to Cruz Azul Tuesday night on penalty kicks after being on the verge of moving into the final.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“Prices have come back to earth, and we have to face that reality. Doing something beats doing nothing in this economy.”
— Councilman Sam Liccardo on slashing as much as $43 million from the land deal the city of San Jose has with Earthquakes owner Lew Wolff and Wolff’s partners in order to keep alive plans to build a soccer stadium alongside a commercial development. Instead of paying as much as $132 million for the 75-acre site, the Wolff group would pay $89 million for 65 acres. Wolff plans on building a 15,000-seat soccer stadium on 15 acres and later develop the rest of the site when the economy improves. (San Jose Mercury News)
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Read My Lips: ‘Kaka Not For Sale’
“Perez has not been elected president of Real and cannot therefore make any moves. In any case, I’m certain that if one day Florentino wanted to sign Kaka he would come directly to me. Hence, I am calm. Kaka is not for sale and Florentino will eventually realize this.” AC Milan VP Adriano Galliani, dismissing […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Benitez: Sir Alex is ‘Scared’ of Liverpool
“It is not mind games. I think it maybe is that he is a little bit scared [of us]. I do not have a problem with United. Clearly one of us, either Chelsea or us, will end up focusing just on the Premier League after this. I think Sir Alex [Ferguson] will be supporting Liverpool […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Netherlands World Cup Results ‘Not At All Bad’
“We’ve always produced outstanding players, but for whatever reason, we’ve only once come up with a truly great team. And let’s not forget how small we are compared to the habitual winners, the Brazils, Italys, Germanys and even the Argentinas of this world. Looking at it from this perspective, our record of two runners-up finishes […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Lazio ‘Robbed’ of Macheda By ManU
“All these players are robbed as a matter of course by this club. They are always outside what is normal in terms of etiquette. They go to the parents and give them money and important jobs. These are boys who come from poor families. The families base their choices on economic interests. It’s not moral. […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
McTavish Fighting Crohn’s Disease
Diagnosed with Crohn’s disease while still in high school, defender Devon McTavish has been living with the illness for eight years, but it “hasn’t stopped him from becoming an established member of both D.C. United and the greater Washington, D.C. community.” Building on a “quiet,” “under the radar” college career at West Virginia to a […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Macheda’s Debut Recalls Rooney, Ronaldo
It wasn’t too long ago when Wayne Rooney made a name at age 16 by scoring “to end Arsenal’s 30-match unbeaten run and make him the Premier League’s youngest scorer.” Nor was it long ago that a 17-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo “also made a dazzling United debut off the bench against Bolton Wanderers six years ago.” […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
The Curious Case of Jardel (And Future Fate of Adriano?)
There have been a lot of promising young Brazilian strikers to come through and grab worldwide headlines, but one name has been all but forgotten amid happier tales of Romarios, Ronaldos, Ronaldinhos and Robinhos. Goal.com’s Sulmaan Ahmad digs up memories of a star that shown bright before fading away into obscurity (Jardel) in relating the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
LA’s Tale of Two Coaches
Two faces stared out at the media following MLS matches at The Home Depot Center this weekend, each encompassing the state of his team early in the long 30-game season, but their expressions and words (and fortunes?) were as “different as night and day,” points out LA Times’ Grahame Jones of Bruce Arena‘s troubled scowl […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Steaua president jailed on kidnapping charges
[OFF THE POST] It’s been a tough year for European club bosses. Joaquin Bilbao, president of Spanish club Xerez, was arrested last month following a shootout at a brothel and resigned from his position. Now, Gigi Becali, owner of Romanian powerhouse Steaua Bucharest, has been jailed on kidnapping charges.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Iran replaces coach after shock loss
[WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFYING] With its bid to return to the World Cup finals in jeopardy, Iran has fired Coach Ali Daei and brought back former coach Mohammad Mayelikohan.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
United’s drive for five continues
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Manchester United’s bid for an unprecedented five championships in a season continues Tuesday when it hosts Porto in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series. Red-hot Arsenal travels to Villarreal in Tuesday’s other match.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Sueno finalists head to Los Angeles
[MLS] A field of more than 2,000 players from more than 36 different states has been narrowed to 12 in Sueno MLS 2009. The 12 finalists who participated in regional tryouts organized by the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chicago Fire and D.C. United are headed to the “Final Event,” where the Sueno champion will be crowned Sunday on Univision’s “Republica Deportiva.”
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Coping with ejections tests coaches and players
[REF WATCH] Not often does an MLS team incur an early red card and still go on to win, but by doing so last weekend, the Chicago Fire added another entry to the on-going debate of whether red-card procedures should be changed.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Houston’s slow start is all too familiar
The Houston Dynamo could have believed its lousy fortune had run out. But instead of getting the breaks, the Dynamo is getting beat early in 2009, adding to a recent history of poor starts in MLS.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“We show up in different cities and countries, and people wonder, who are these guys with the orange shirts? After we beat them, they say, ‘I didn’t know Puerto Ricans could play soccer.'”
— Andres Guillemard, president of the USL-1 Puerto Rico Islanders, who take a 2-0 lead into Tuesday’s second leg of their Concacaf Champions League series against Cruz Azul in Mexico City (TV: Fox Soccer Channel, live, 10 pm ET). (New York Times)
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
‘All the Money in the World’ Can’t Rid Bayern of Ribery
“Franck’s current deal expires June 30, 2011, and he’s going nowhere until then. Not even for all the money in the world.” Bayern technical director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, echoing the sentiments of coach Juergen Klinsmann regarding the team’s recent decision to hold on to French striker Franck Ribery for the next two years rather than collect […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Sir Alex’s ‘Gamble’ Pays Off
“In those situations, I gamble. Winning is the name of the game at this club. Risks are part of football and this club has been that way for a long time. I love to see that kind of adventure. Yes, there are times when we don’t defend properly – and we didn’t defend well today […]