Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe, who led streaking George Mason to the CAA title, is the Soccer America Men’s Player of the Week. For all the Soccer America Men’s Team of the Week selections for games played Nov. 10-16 …
Author Archives: Soccer America
What They’re Saying
“A trick? I wouldn’t say so. It’s up to the referee to decide if it should be penalized, otherwise I don’t see where the problem is … Good taste is relative.”
— Pietro Lo Monaco, chief executive of Italian Serie A club Catania, whose coach, the former MLS goalie and coach Walter Zenga, has been accused of using dirty tricks in having his players dropped their shorts to block the sight of the opposing goalie on free kicks. The Sicilian team carried out the maneuver to perfection Sunday when three players dropped their shorts practically to their knees so Torino goalie Matteo Sereni couldn’t see the kick by Giuseppe Mascara, who scored during Catania’s 3-2 victory. (AP)
A bit too fanatic
[OFF THE POST] Fans of Argentine second division club Chacarita, fearing they’d be late to their team’s game against Talleres, hijacked a pair of a couple of buses and pointed knives at the drivers with instructions to drive faster.
Arsenal Fears WPS Exodus
“I told the players that they had until this Monday [November 17] to let me know if they were going or staying. If they decide to go they’ll have to leave for America in January and that doesn’t give me much time to bring in replacements.” Arsenal women’s team Manager Vic Akers has given his […]
Fumbling In The Dark With Maradona
“Having Maradona as our coach creates anticipation like your wedding night. It’s tremendously exciting, and you really hope that it will be wonderful, but you never actually know what’s going to happen.” Julio Grondona, the President of the Argentine FA, knows it won’t be easy going with Diego Maradona as national team coach.
Blame The System For NY Success
“Ten wins in 30 games. A goal differential of minus 6. A team with only one road win in the regular season. Your 2008 MLS Cup winner? It might just be the New York Red Bulls.” Gareth Wheeler says don’t blame New York, blame the system.
Miami Decision ‘Within Next Month’
“We have always stated that one of the conditions for us was starting in March, 2010. We will not negotiate on that, and MLS understands our position. Therefore, because the timeframe is relatively short, we expect MLS will make a decision about our franchise in the very near future … say the next month or […]
Why Beckham Missed England Call-Up
“This is my system. If you are fit and you are playing, it’s possible to be in the squad. He played his last game three weeks ago. If he had played in the [MLS] playoffs, it would have been OK.” England Manager Fabio Capello explains David Beckham’s omission from the England squad to play Germany […]
The Impossible Demands On Flawed Referees
“Premier League managers will never respect referees,” writes Simon Barnes. “Respect is an impossible idea and the worthy campaign intended to inspire it is doomed to failure.” He cites the weekend red card shown to Emmerson Boyce of Wigan Athletic for his foul on Newcastle’s Shola Ameobi, which replays showed was clearly not a foul, […]
Egypt’s Al-Ahly Takes African Crown
Al-Ahly of Egypt won the African Champions League Sunday, beating Coton Sport of Cameroon 4-2 on aggregate. It was a record-breaking sixth triumph for the club in the competition, and followed the Egyptian national team’s victory in the African Nations Cup at the start of the year. After winning the first leg 2-0 in Cairo […]
When Busch Comes To Shove
It all went sour when the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year bumped into the MLS Coach of the Year following Thursday’s Eastern Conference playoff final. But then Chicago Fire stopper Jon Busch and his former coach, the Columbus Crew’s Sigi Schmid, have been at odds ever since Busch complained about the way Schmid traded him […]
Ugly Win Down To Luck And Passion
However you want to analyze the reasons why RB New York has made it to the MLS Cup final, there's no discounting a certain amount of good fortune. Even coach Juan Carlos Osorio acknowledged the role of divine intervention after its opponents, Real Salt Lake, hit the woodwork three times during Saturday's game. "We have […]
Kreis Regrets Not Punishing ‘Negative’ NY
Salt Lake Coach Jason Kreis was a mixture of frustration and stoicism after his team’s 1-0 weekend defeat to New York in the Western Conference Final. On the one hand he’s been in the game long enough to know “that’s just how the game goes.” Referring to his team’s failure to convert pressure and chances […]
Soccer on TV
On Wednesday, the U.S. men (already assured of passage to the final-round phase of qualification play for the 2010 World Cup) hosts Guatemala . Also on Wednesday, the USA kicks off its Women’s U-20 World Cup campaign. Midweek international friendlies include Germany vs. England. On Sunday, Columbus battles New York for the MLS crown. The Mexican playoff schedule will appear in Friday’s Soccer on TV e-letter.
SCOREBOARD: NCAA Division 2 & 3 Women
Unbeaten and untied Grand Valley State advanced in the NCAA Division II Women’s Tournament. Unbeaten Williams, Lynchburg, Messiah and Johns Hopkins moved into the round of 16 in the NCAA Division III Women’s Tournament. For all the weekend results …
SCOREBOARD: NCAA Division I Women
The four No. 1 and No. 2 regional seeds all moved into the third round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament. Top-ranked Notre Dame needed a late goal to beat Michigan State, 1-0, in the second round. Two other No. 1 seeds, North Carolina and Stanford, won their second-round games in convincing fashion. UCLA’s game against San Diego was postponed until Monday night because of the poor air quality in the Los Angeles area. For all the results and schedules …
SCOREBOARD: NCAA Division 2 & 3 Men
Top-ranked Lynn fell to Tampa, 3-2, in the second round of the NCAA Division II Men’s Tournament on Sunday. Three unbeaten teams — Montclair State, Hobart and Trinity (Texas) — are still alive in the NCAA Division III Men’s Tournament. For all the weekend results …
POLLS: Soccer America Men’s Top 25
Wake Forest is No. 1 in the final Soccer America Men’s Top 25 of the 2008 season. Creighton, Maryland, Akron and South Florida round out the top five. For this week’s Soccer America Men’s Top 25 and last week’s results …
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Men’s Conferences
Regular-season champions took it on the chin in men’s conference tournament action over the weekend. Unbeaten Wake Forest (3-2 loser in overtime to Virginia, which fell to Maryland, 1-0, in the ACC final) and Loyola (Md.) (1-0 loser to Fairfield in the MAAC final) were upset. Campbell had its 12-game winning streak snapped when it fell to Jacksonville, 4-3, in the Atlantic Sun final. The biggest surprise was UNC Greensboro’s victory in the Southern Conference. The No. 7 seed Spartans, who began the tournament with a 6-11-1 record, beat College of Charleston, 2-1, in the final. For all the results and all-tournament teams …
U.S. products to face off in playoffs
[AMERICANS IN MEXICO] The quarterfinals of the Apertura 2008 include a faceoff between young American defenders Edgar Castillo (Santos) and Michael Orozco (San Luis). And on the last day of regular season play, Daniel Hernandez received his third red card of the season.
Bocanegra vs. Adu
[AMERICANS IN FRANCE] Defender Carlos Bocanegra went the full 90 for Rennes as it won at home, 2-1, against Monaco, for which Freddy Adu was a a 69th minute sub.
Adu, Altidore called in for USA-Guatemala game
[USA ROSTER] U.S. coach Bob Bradley has called in Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore, two young Americans who are struggling for playing time with their European clubs, for the USA’s World Cup qualifier on Wednesday against Guatemala (ESPN Classic & Galavision, 8 pm ET) in Commerce City, Colo. The semifinal round qualifier has no implications for the USA, which has clinched passage to the final qualifying round. The Guatemalans, however, need a win.
Colorado’s Jose Burciaga named Humanitarian of the Year
[MLS AWARDS] Colorado Rapids defender Jose Luis Burciaga Jr. is the is the recipient of the 2008 U.S. Soccer Foundation-MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year Award.
What They’re Saying
“We have to congratulate all the guys and the posts. I have been disappointed sometimes with our luck. I think we got it today.”
— New York Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio, whose team reached MLS Cup 2008 with a 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake, which hit the post three times. (New York Daily News)
Fred ‘Does A Beckham’
In keeping with the David Beckham trend of heading abroad to stay in shape during the MLS offseason, D.C. United’s Brazilian midfielder Fred is off on loan to … Wellington Phoenix of Australia’s A-League, where he will be eligible to play six games. Fans of Fred’s former team, the Melbourne Victory, are reportedly miffed at […]
