Author Archives: Soccer America

Former Chicago Fire goalkeeper Matt Pickens seemed top be on an upward path when he left the MLS team for England’s Queens Park Rangers last year on a short term deal. But he never made it farther than the second-tier club’s reserve team and was cut at the end of the 2007-08 English season. Where’s […]

The general consensus on the L.A. Galaxy is that last season is best forgotten. But Coach Bruce Arena is still drawing lessons from the poor showing of a team he took over too late to rescue, pinpointing its brittle defense as the core of its problems. “We got pushed around a little bit too much […]

While some potential Major League Soccer expansion franchises are withdrawing their bids or receiving negative messages from league headquarters, the 2009 startup team Seattle Sounders FC is looking like one of the league’s strongest clubs without having yet kicked a competitive ball. Not only is it set to become one of the best supported clubs […]

Europe’s top clubs and its soccer governing body UEFA have started preliminary talks on measures to curb inflated transfer fees and players’ wages, reports Darren Ennis. The European Club Association, which represents clubs such as Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan, has proposed that teams should only be allowed to spend around 51 percent […]

Tottenham Hotspur has signed Wigan Athletic’s Honduran forward Wilson Palacios, for a reported fee of $19.4 million. Real Madrid had also expressed an interest. Palacios moved to Wigan from Birmingham last summer, and has impressed with his sparkling wing play.

You, the U.S. taxpayer, will no longer be sponsoring Manchester United. Insurance giant AIG, bailed out by the U.S. government to the tune of $150 billion, announced as expected Wednesday that it will not renew its shirt sponsorship deal with the EPL and European champion when the current contract expires at the end of the […]

"He was tidy around the ball and his finishing was good. He’s showed a good attitude in training, but strikers are there to score goals and he did that." Leeds United reserve team manager Neil Thompson on 21-year-old American striker and trialist Mike Grella, scorer of three goals for Leeds Reserves in a 4-0 win […]

"A team loses its soul when it loses so many players so often." Former L.A. Galaxy playmaker Mauricio Cienfuegos laments the high turnover of players at his old club.

Spain and Portugal’s announcement that it will launch a joint bid for the 2018 World Cup could be a blessing in disguise for Australia’s hosting aspirations, according to Football Federation Australia Chief Executive Ben Buckley. Australia expects England to be its biggest competitor in the bid to secure hosting rights, but now that there are […]

L.A. Galaxy coach Bruce Arena has 33 names on his roster for the first training session of the new year Wednesday, writes Grahame L Jones, and it includes a couple of surprises — trialists Tony Sanneh, 37, and Venezuelan defender Henry "Leo" Bautista, 25. Former U.S. national team player Sanneh was a starting defender on […]

Soccer pundits gave Real Salt Lake low marks for gambling with every one of its three picks at last week’s MLS SuperDraft, writes James Edward. But the team’s general manager, Garth Lagerwey, said his coaching staff did much more homework than they’re getting credit for. Lagerwey said it would have been safer to grab a […]

Real Madrid has been fined a risible $3,900 by the Spanish sootball federation after a group of its fans were reported by a referee for making fascist gestures and chanting fascist slogans during last weekend’s home game with Osasuna. Referee Alfonso Perez Burrull said in his report that some Real fans were waving flags and […]

U.S. national team midfielder Maurice Edu has said he turned down the possibility of a loan move away from Glasgow Rangers in order to stay at the club and fight for a first team place. Edu has played just twice for the Scottish club since his summer move from Toronto FC, and was also sidelined […]

“The lads at [non-league] Burton [Albion] were better at doing certain things. Any player in the lower leagues would not have made those sorts of basic mistakes. It was a strange experience and I have been in a state of shock for the last 48 hours, really.” Nigel Clough, freshly installed as manager at Championship […]

“The fans must vent their anger, I understand that.” Newcastle United manager Joe Kinnear, who has been known for the odd loss of temper, empathizes with fans frustrated at his team’s 3-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers at the weekend.

Strikers Fabian Espindola and Kenny Deuchar have both left Real Salt Lake. The Argentine signed with Deportivo Anzoategui in Venezuela last week, while Deuchar, who never lived up to his nickname Dr. Goals in MLS, has signed for Scottish Premier League side Hamilton Academical.