Mystery still surrounds the decision of Major League Soccer to reject the bid of the Montreal Impact to join the league in 2011. The president of the United Soccer Leagues club, Joey Saputo, said Monday that the Impact had been dropped "without explanation," and that he was "disappointed" by the decision. MLS Commissioner Don Garber […]
Author Archives: Soccer America
SCOREBOARD: NCAA Division I Men
The 16 seeded teams begin action in the second round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament on Tuesday. For the second-round schedule …
What They’re Saying
“There is a concern that people will not come in the numbers we expect from aboard. It’s very important to promote in the next months. Hopefully the soccer people will still travel.”
— Horst Schmidt, FIFA consultant to the 2010 South Africa World Cup organizers, on concerns that the global economic downturn could impact the number of visitors to the tournament. (Reuters)
Competition Changes for 2009
[MLS] The MLS Board of Governors approved changes affecting its competition format, schedule parameters, roster size and playoff format. Concacaf Champions League qualifiers and SuperLiga participants were also announced.
USL hands out 2008 honors
[AWARDS] The Puerto Rico Islanders (USL-1), Cleveland City Stars (USL-2), Ocean City Barons (PDL) and Pali Blues (W-League) were named organizations of the year in United Soccer Leagues’ honors handed out Friday night its annual Hall of Fame and Awards Dinner in Tampa.
Rare Loss For Lyon
Lyon has won the last seven French titles, but suffered a rare loss at the weekend, 1-0 at Paris St. Germain. The team is still five points clear at the top, but lost defender Anthony Reveillere with a suspected torn knee ligament, and forward Juninho to a red card for a violent tackle.
Moore Returns To Play 12 Days After Cancer Op
Australian national team defender Craig Moore returned to action for the Australian A-League’s Queensland Roar at the weekend just 12 days after undergoing surgery for testicular cancer. His team beat Perth Glory, 4-1.
DeMerit Gets A New Manager
U.S. defender Jay DeMerit has a new manager at Championship side Watford. Former Chelsea reserve team manager Brendan Rodgers succeeds Aidy Boothroyd, who left earlier this month. Former West Ham United fullback Frank Lampard Sr., father of the Chelsea and England midfielder, was named the team’s “football consultant.”
All Those Cameras, Yet Where’s The Ball?
“The network will employ 20 cameras, including two super slo-mos and a blimp camera. Its all-axis technology will provide a virtual replay that will enable game analysts to use graphic telestrations to highlight the locations and movements of the players to help explain plays in more detail.” Jack Bell previewed ESPN’s extensive camera technology for […]
Schmid Lauds Danger-Man Marshall
“This year he’s grown by leaps and bounds. His leadership on the field has improved. His willingness to handle the ball and have the ball, his defensive ability has never been in question and now you can say he’s the most dangerous player in the league on set pieces.” Columbus Crew coach Sigi Schmid on […]
South Africa Hosting ‘No Longer A Question’
The question of whether or not South Africa will be prepared to host the 2010 World Cup should now be forgotten, according to a leading FIFA official. Speaking at Soccerex ’08 in Johannesburg Monday, FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke said that although there were still some issues to be resolved, the general feeling was positive. […]
Gallas To Return For Arsenal Against Kiev
The absent William Gallas was a larger part of the story behind Arsenal’s 3-0 weekend defeat at Manchester City than any of the players actually on the field. Now Gallas, suspended from both the captaincy and the City game by manager Arsene Wenger after he criticized Arsenal’s young players, will return to the side for […]
Sao Paulo On Brink Of Brazilian Title
Three years ago, Brazil’s Sao Paulo beat Liverpool in the final of the World Club Cup, prompting legendary Brazilian TV commentator Galvao Bueno to keep repeating the phrase, “You don’t have to be a giant to play football.” It was, writes Tim Vickery, an articulation of Brazilian nationalist sentiment, saying that Liverpool “might have the […]
Donovan In, Podolski Out?
With Bayern Munich clearly interested in the prospect of signing Landon Donovan, the German champion’s unsettled striker Lukas Podolski has stated anew that he wants to leave. The German national team forward has been unsettled at Bayern ever since moving from Cologne in the summer of 2006, and has rarely been a first-choice forward for […]
John Wayne In Yellow Shorts
Michael Arace hails the Columbus Crew’s first MLS title as “the biggest professional trophy ever brought to Columbus.” And Guillermo Barros Schelotto, MVP of both the season and the final, “should now be mentioned with other great athletes who’ve plied their trade in Columbus, including Heisman Trophy winners, Rose Bowl heroes, national players of the […]
Soccer on TV
The Houston Dynamo takes on L.A. Firpo in the CONCACAF Champions League on Wednesday. Midweek action also includes European Champions League and UEFA Cup. Next weekend’s Mexican second-leg quarterfinal games and Fox Sports en Espanol’s weekend schedule will appear in Friday’s Soccer on TV e-letter.
SCOREBOARD: Small College Women
No. 1 Grand Valley State was knocked out of the NCAA Division II Women’s Tournament. Unbeaten Williams heads the field for the NCAA Division III women’s final four, while all the seeds advanced in the NAIA Women’s Tournament. For all the weekend results …
NJCAA WOMEN: Lewis & Clark claims second championship
Freshman Kaylee Neutzling scored two goals to lead Lewis & Clark Community College to a 3-2 win over top-ranked Darton College and give the Trailblazers the NJCAA Division I Women’s championship.
CROWD COUNT: Portland smashes attendance record
The sellout of of 4,879 for Saturday night’s Portland-James Madison game ensured that Portland will lead women’s soccer in both average and overall attendance this year.
SCOREBOARD: Small College Men
Tampa came back from two goals down and won, 3-2, at Tusculum to reach the NCAA Division II men’s final four it will host Dec. 4-6. Amherst knocked off top-ranked Texas (Trinity), 1-0, while Stevens Institute eliminated defending champion Middlebury in a shootout in the NCAA Division III men’s quarterfinals. Five seeded teams fell in the opening round the NAIA Men’s Tournament. For all the weekend results …
NJCAA MEN: Yavapai completes first perfect season
Yavapai completed its first perfect season when it beat San Jacinto, 1-0, and won its seventh NJCAA Division I men’s tournament.
SCOREBOARD: NCAA Division I Men
Five teams — UNC Greensboro, Cal Poly, Harvard, Jacksonville and Ohio State — won on the road in the first round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament. The 16 seeded teams move into action in the second round on Tuesday. For the first-round results and second-round schedules …
What They’re Saying
“We haven’t heard anything from Bayern Munich about Landon [Donovan] going on loan to that team.”
— MLS Commissioner Don Garber at a press conference last Friday. On Thursday, Bayern Munich’s official Web site reported that Landon Donovan had gotten the oral go-ahead from MLS to go on loan to Bayern Munich from Jan. 1 until the beginning of the MLS season in March in a deal similar to Galaxy’s teammate David Beckham’s with AC Milan. The Bayern Web site also cited Bayern coach Juergen Klinsmann as saying he could imagine a longer-term acquisition of Donovan.
Yanks cruise into U-20 quarterfinals
[UNDER-20 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP] The USA moved into the quarterfinals of the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Chile with a 3-0 win over Argentina in Saturday.
USA opens against Mexico in February
[WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFYING] Like it did in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, the USA opens at home against archrival Mexico in the final round of World Cup 2010 qualifying.
