Monthly Archives: June 2009

[U.S. SOCCER] Jermaine Jones, a 27-year-old midfielder who has played in 96 German First Division games, has stated his desire to represent the USA and should eligible despite having played for Germany, thanks to a change in FIFA’s national team eligibility rules. If Jones plays for the USA, he will follow the footsteps of Tom Dooley, who was also the son of an American serviceman and a German mother. Dooley played for the USA at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups.

[CONFEDERATIONS CUP] A big week of international action from the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa begins Monday with USA-Italy and Brazil-Egypt. For the complete television schedule …

[CONFEDERATIONS CUP] Host South Africa, which needs a strong Confederations Cup to build momentum for next year’s World Cup, could only manage a 0-0 tie with Iraq, coached by former U.S. national team coach Bora Milutinovic. The Bafana Bafana were stymied by a combination of Milutinovic’s ultradefensive tactics and bad luck.

[CONFEDERATIONS CUP] Fernando Torres needed only 17 minutes to score a hat trick, connecting with his right foot, left foot and his head, to lead favorite Spain to a 5-0 win over hapless New Zealand in the opening game of the Confederations Cup.

[CONFEDERATIONS CUP] Nearly three years after they tied, 1-1, at the 2006 World Cup, the USA and Italy meet again Monday to open their schedules at the 2009 Confederations Cup (2:25 p.m. ET, ESPN, TeleFutura). Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey, DaMarcus Beasley and Landon Donovan are the only U.S. holdovers who played in that match against the eventual world champion, though keeper Tim Howard watched from the bench. The Americans are missing several regulars for the Confederations Cup, including right back Steve Cherundolo and Pablo Mastroeni, who also played in the Kaiserslautern match that featured an own goal, an equalizer by Alberto Gilardino, and three players sent off.

[MLS WINNERS & LOSERS] D.C. United downed Chicago thanks to a fine free kick by Christian Gomez and moved into first place in the East while Houston climb atop the other conference as Chivas USA faltered again. The Red Bulls set a record for futility but Columbus, which beat the Bulls in last year’s MLS Cup, is riding high thanks to its Argentine veteran.

[WPS] The inaugural season of Women’s Professional Soccer has seen some high-quality play, in part due to success teams has had with their foreign imports, but there has been one problem: a paucity of goals. England international Eniola Aluko‘s goal for the Saint Louis Athletica in its 1-0 win at Boston on Sunday was the only goal in three games, reducing the league’s goal-per-game average to 2.09.

There was a shakeup at the top of both conferences on a weekend that produced no ties — hurray! For all the game summaries, standings, leading scorers and this week’s schedule …

[USL-1] The USL First Division’s bottom three teams all won over the weekend, putting them within striking distance of the pack.

[MAKING A LIST] Real Madrid has been the buyer in all four of the world’s most expensive transfer deals, the most recent being its purchases of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka for a combined $222.5 million.

[MLS PREDICTIONS] Teams bunched closely together in the standings — or by geography — highlight several matches during the 13th weekend of league play, with Eastern Conference leader Chicago hosting second-place D.C. United, and the Wizards and the Revs – two of four Eastern teams locked together with 16 points – set to play at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. For all of Soccer America’s predictions, as well as TV viewing information, and to see how we’ve fared so far this season. …

[WPS] The first-place Los Angeles Sol looks to complete a sweep of its three-game series with struggling Sky Blue FC when it travels to New Jersey on Saturday. For a look at all the weekend action …

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls will open play in the 2009-10 Concacaf Champions League when they face Chalatenango of El Salvador and W Connection of Trinidad, respectively, in the preliminary round.

[CONFEDERATIONS CUP] There should be more pressure on the U.S. national team to get results in the next two months, but there really isn’t. On Monday, Coach Bob Bradley’s men begin Confederations Cup play. As will be the case during the Gold Cup later this summer, determining which players will best serve the World Cup campaign will be of most interest.