Author Archives: Soccer America

Barcelona President Joan Laporta is confident of winning the Spanish club’s case with the Argentine federation and expects star Lionel Messi to join in on its U.S. tour that begins next Sunday against Chivas in Chicago.

Arsenal captain William Gallas apologized for setting a bad example last season and promised to learn from his errors if Manager Arsene Wenger makes him captain again for the upcoming campaign. “You know I learned a lot, you want to be the best captain, give good advice to your players, but sometimes you can make […]

The Manchester United-Portsmouth friendly that drew 30,000 fans Sunday in the Nigerian capital of Abuja underscored a troubling problem for Nigerian soccer. Fans love the EPL, while local clubs struggle to stay afloat. “When you look at the stadiums, you’ll find that the stands are virtually empty,” says Ismaila Lere, sports editor at the Daily […]

American striker Kenny Cooper appears to be one step closer to returning to English soccer with the report that second-level Cardiff City has agreed a fee of around $4 million with MLS. Cooper, who back his pro career in the Manchester United system, scored twice for FC Dallas in its 4-0 win over Los Angeles […]

American Brad Friedel admitted he has mixed feelings over his $5 million move from Blackburn, with which he had played for eight seasons, to Aston Villa. “Making this move was a very easy decision and a very difficult decision to make all at the same time,” he told the Villa web site. “I’d been at […]

Former Czech Republic national team coach Karel Bruckner is coming out of retirement at the age of 68 to take over as coach of Austria for World Cup 2010 qualifying.

At 36, Trinidad & Tobago midfielder Dwight Yorke’s EPL comeback hit a snag when he suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone in Sunderland’s game against Vitoria Setubal in Portugal.

While England and the United States are among the countries expected to bid for the right to host the 2018 World Cup, Israeli filmmaker Eytan Heller is promoting the idea of a joint Israel-Palestine bid. “The original idea came in 2006 during the World Cup when I traveled to Ramallah,” Heller said. “I was amazed […]

Manchester United chief executive David Gill says there wasn’t much discussion about selling Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. He said that a “short, quick conversation” with the Glazer family who own the EPL club took place at the UEFA Champions League final in May. The turning point came when Manager Sir Alex Ferguson met Ronaldo […]

England coach Fabio Capello says he is at a disadvantage because of the lack of English players in the Premier League. Comparing his situation with that of the new Italy coach, Marcello Lippi, Capello said: “I’m worse off than Lippi, than everyone. I have Welsh players, Scottish, Irish. In the Premier League only 35% of […]

Following Reading’s relegation from the English Premier League, goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann took time off to return home to Seattle, where he fished every day. “It was exactly what I needed and exactly where I needed to be after a long season,” he said in an interview with Goal.com’s Matthew Braine. “When you work hard all […]

Canadians Dwayne De Rosario, who scored the winning penalty kick, and Pat Onstad, who played the final 20 minutes in goal, were playing in their second game in the same day when they came on in the second half of the MLS All-Stars’ 3-2 victory over West Ham United on Thursday. Their day began in […]