Author Archives: Soccer America

“It seems indifference towards the national football team is a rare unifying factor [in Belgium]. All of which is curious given that Belgium is blessed with a gifted generation of young players that means the country should be hailing a potential rise of a new European force (rather than fretting about the fact that tonight […]

“In many ways, Giggs is the mirror image of Sir Alex Ferguson, his manager. Different in temperament, separated by 32 years in age, they nevertheless share a philosophy that states that too much is never enough.” Matthew Syed pays tribute to Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs.

“It is a shame because he [Luiz Felipe Scolari] had not been with us for a long time. Of course there was some criticism and we did not get the results we all would have wanted, but that is not the manager’s fault but the team’s.” Chelsea’s German midfielder Michael Ballack pinpoints the blame for […]

“This is a special night for me. I dedicate this award to my mum, without her, I would have been nothing. My father is no more but wherever he is, he will be proud of me.” Arsenal and Togo national team player Emmanuel Adebayor upon receiving the African Footballer Of The Year title Tuesday.

Real Madrid will borrow $90 million from Spain’s largest bank Santander to help finance the purchase of Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.   The station, citing no sources, said the loan will still not be enough to cover the whole fee. “Cristiano Ronaldo already has an agreement with […]

“Never go back,” 1980s psychedelic-surf band Camper van Beethoven once wisely sang, but were Christian Gomez and D.C. United listening? Pat Walsh analyzes the return of the Argentine playmaker to the scene of his greatest days in Major League Soccer,  and wonders whether the 34-year-old, in tandem with Jaime Moreno, 35, can work the magic […]

Wednesday’s U.S.-Mexico World Cup qualifier in Columbus doesn’t just pit Americans against Mexicans. For second-generation Latino U.S. citizens, the rivalry can cut across both family and ethnic lines, writes Hector Tobar. He tells the story of how he and Joel Aceves “were born and raised in Los Angeles. Both of us are sons of Latin […]

North Korea and Bahrain were the winners in Wednesday’s Asian World Cup qualifiers, while Australia stretched its unbeaten run with a handy 0-0 draw in Japan.   On a low-scoring day, North Korea beat Saudi Arabia, 1-0, in Pyongyang when Mun In-guk took advantage of a clever back-heel from Hong Yong-jo to score on 28 […]

Russia coach Guus Hiddink has confirmed that he will take over as Chelsea manager until the end of the season, starting next week. “It’s never enough time to prepare a team in one week but this is an exceptional situation,” he told the news agency. “Chelsea have good players and they should be in top […]