Author Archives: Paul Kennedy

[ITALY] Days after Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho dissed its main rivals, the Nerazzurri came through with a a 2-0 win over Genoa that kept in in first place with a seven-point lead over second-place Juventus.

[GERMANY] Ukrainian striker Andrei Voronin, a bust at Liverpool, has rediscovered his form since returning on loan to the Bundesliga. He upped his total to 10 goals this season with a hat trick in leader Hertha Berlin’s 3-1 victory at Energie Cottbus that moved it four points ahead of Bayern Munich, Hamburg, Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg, all tied for second place.

[CONCACAF UNDER-20 CHAMPIONSHIP] The USA had a chance to clinch Sunday to clinch a berth at the 2009 Under-20 World Cup in Egypt, but it was badly outplayed by Honduras and had to settle for a 0-0 tie that means it must earn at least a point against El Salvador on Tuesday to qualify unless Jamaica and Honduras tie.

[ALGARVE CUP] The USA advanced to the final of the Algarve Cup for the seventh time in a row thanks to a 1-0 win over Iceland Friday on a spectacular goal by forward Natasha Kai in the last minute of regulation time.

[AMERICANS IN BRITAIN] Maurice Edu earned his second straight start for Glasgow Rangers, which was stunned by Inverness, 1-0, at Ibrox on Wednesday and lost the lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League it had shared with archrival Celtic. In the English Premier League, troubles continued for Brad Friedel’s Aston Villa when it fell at Manchester City, 2-0.

[ALGARVE CUP] The USA got first-half goals from midfielders Angie Wonzuk and Tina DiMartino, the only starters who weren’t members of last year’s Olympic gold-medal team, and cruised to a 2-0 win over Denmark Wednesday in Lagos, Portugal, to begin its bid for its third straight Algarve Cup title.

[CONCACAF UNDER-20 CHAMPIONSHIP] The USA begins play at the the 2009 CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship Friday when it faces Jamaica Friday at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago. The Americans have qualified for the last six U-20 world championships, but they will face three ambitious national youth teams in Jamaica, Honduras and El Salvador.

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

[ENGLAND] When Manchester United goalie Ben Foster dived to his left and stopped Jamie O’Hara‘s penalty kick en route to a 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday’s English League Cup final, he wasn’t guessing. Only minutes earlier, Foster was studying clips on his iPod of Spurs’ penalty-takers prepared by United goalie coach Eric Steele and watched O’Hara shoot to the exact spot in an England U-21 game in November.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[UEFA CUP] If David Beckham is to stay at AC Milan through the end of the 2008-09 season, he’ll only need to worry about Serie A. Milan’s European season came to a shocking end when it blew an early 2-0 lead at home against Werder Bremen, giving up two late goals, both on headers by Claudio Pizarro and exited on away goals.

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] With American Landon Donovan only a spectator, Bayern Munich put aside its Bundesliga problems, pounding Sporting Lisbon, 5-0, in Lisbon in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 series. English clubs Liverpool and Chelsea were also winners on Wednesday, while Villarreal needed a penalty kick from Italian-American Giuseppe Rossi to tie Greek club Panathinaikos, 1-1.

[AMERICANS ABROAD] A goal by Clint Dempsey in the 77th minute started a comeback as Fulham beat League Championship (second division) Swansea City, 2-1, Tuesday night in their English FA Cup fifth-round replay and moved into the quarterfinals, where the Cottagers will host Manchester United on March 7.

[WPS] Women’s Professional Soccer took one more step toward its launch with the unveiling of the Puma uniforms worn by players from the league’s seven teams at a high-profile fashion presentation Tuesday in New York.

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Arsenal survived a bizarre incident when its two center backs were missing at the start of the second half to beat Roma, 1-0, in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 series. The Gunners were the only team to win on Tuesday as the other three matches ended in draws.

[CONCACAF UNDER-20 CHAMPIONSHIP] Coach Thomas Rongen named the 20 players who will represent the USA at the 2009 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship, which will be played March 6-15 in Trinidad & Tobago. For the complete roster …