Author Archives: Paul Kennedy

[VIDEO] American teenager Freddy Adu didn’t need to wait long to make his European debut, but it was another offseason acquisition, veteran Portuguese midfielder Rui Costa, who rescued Benfica with both goals in its 2-1 victory over FC Copenhagen Tuesday in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League third-round qualifying series.

Freddy Adu will suit up for Portuguese club Benfica’s first official match since it recently signed him from MLS. The 18-year-old Adu will be available to come off the bench in Benfica’s UEFA Champions League qualifying match against Denmark’s FC Copenhagen on Tuesday at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon (TV: Setanta-PPV, live, 3:15 pm ET).

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Keeper Marcus Hahnemann was outstanding as 10-man Reading held defending English Premier League champion Manchester United to a 0-0 tie on the opening weekend of the 2007-08 season.

American Benny Feilhaber, the hero of the USA’s 2007 Gold Cup victory, joined promoted English Premier League club Derby County on Thursday when he won his appeal with Britain’s Home Office to get a work permit.

Veteran Brazilian star Roberto Carlos has moved to champion Fenerbahce, which will again battle Istanbul rivals Galatasaray and Besiktas for Turkish league supremacy.

It will be two MLS teams and two USL teams in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals. Behind first-half goals from Andy Dorman and Taylor Twellman, the New England Revolution completed the semifinal field with a 2-1 over the Harrisburg City Islanders of the USL Second Division on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium.

During the summer offseason, 52 players left Argentine First Division teams for teams in Europe, Asia and North America. Here are the top 10 transfers that netted almost $100 million in transfer fees …

There are as many Americans as Brazilians in the Argentine First Division’s Torneo Apertura, which kicked off last weekend. American D.J. Countess (Tigre) and Jadson Viera (Lanus) were among the 49 foreigners listed on First Division rosters. Here’s the breakdown by country …

[U.S. ABROAD] DaMarcus Beasley made his debut for Rangers in a 3-0 win at Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday to open the 2007-08 Scottish Premier League season.

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Oguchi Onyewu scored the winning goal in Standard Liege’s 4-1 win at Zulte Waregem to open the 2007-08 Belgian First Division season. For news on Americans in Germany and Mexico …

U.S. Under-17 men’s national team coach John Hackworth has named the 21-player roster that will represent the USA at the 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup Aug. 18-Sept. 9 in South Korea.

Argentina’s 2007-08 season begins Friday with the opening game of the Torneo Apertura. San Lorenzo won last spring’s Torneo Clausura. Boca Juniors, winner of the 2007 Libertadores Cup, is the favorite, though it begins the season without star Juan Roman Riquelme, who returned to Spanish club Villarreal, which owns his contract. Promoted Tigre has signed former U.S. U-17 and U-20 goalie D.J. Countess, who is believed to be the first American-born and -raised player to sign with an Argentine First Division team.

Celtic and Rangers — no surprise — are the runaway favorites in the Scottish Premier League, which kicks off Saturday. Celtic won a league and cup double last season but faces a fight from Rangers under veteran manager Walter Smith, who took over in mid-season. Celtic paid a Scottish record for Hibernian and Scotland midfielder Scott Brown: 4.4 million pounds ($8.9 million). Rangers made a number of summer signings, including that of American winger DaMarcus Beasley.

Mexico kicks off the Torneo Apertura — the opening of its two-stage season — this weekend. Both its 2006-07 champions — Guadalajara and Pachuca — are coming off play in the SuperLiga against MLS clubs, where they showed off their American talent — Jesus Padilla for Chivas and Jose Francisco Torres for Pachuca. MLS veteran Daniel Hernandez is back for a second stint in Mexico, this time with Puebla. A third American — Noel Castillo — debuted in the Santos first team in preseason. Here’s a look at each club’s offseason moves and its American connections.

Steve Caspers, one of the most influential executives in soccer during the go-go years of the North American Soccer League, has died of a heart attack in Florida.

Three of MLS’s four teams advanced to the semifinals of the first SuperLiga. The Houston Dynamo beat D.C. United, 1-0, to move into the semifinals, and D.C. United finished second in Group B thanks to Club America’s 3-2 win over Morelia in the final group match played Wednesday night at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.

DaMarcus Beasley didn’t off the bench in Scottish club Rangers’ first official match since he was transferred from Dutch champion PSV, a 2-0 win over FK Zeta of Montenegro in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League second round qualifying series.

The Freddy phenomenon died here a long time ago. It’s only now begun in Lisbon, where a crowd of 100 fans and reporters greeted Freddy Adu upon his arrival at Portela Airport from Washington to finalize his contract with Portuguese giant Benfica.

Mexican international Nery Castillo, the revelation of Gold Cup and Copa America, is set to sign a lucrative deal with Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk in a $20.5 million transfer from Olympiakos, the Greek club at which he has been since he was 16.

The Eagles of Southern California won their second title at the US Youth Soccer National Championships in three years when they beat the powerhouse Dallas Texans Red, 3-2, in the U-17 girls final on Sunday at at the Pizza Hut Park complex in Frisco, Texas. Four of the six finals were decided in overtime or on penalty kicks.