Author Archives: Soccer America

If Alex Ferguson’s assistant Carlos Queiroz leaves Manchester United to coach Portugal, former forward and current youth academy director Brian McClair could be his replacement.

With one year left on his current contract, Chelsea’s German midfielder Michael Ballack says he’s in no rush to sign a new one.

Everton’s Nigerian defender Joseph Yobo has been allowed an extended leave by the club after his brother was abducted in Port Harcourt at the weekend.

Despite the presence of Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi, the weekend’s Free Kick Masters event at Reliant Stadium, Houston, was something of a lost opportunity, writes Jen Chang in a highly entertaining column.   The organizers, who reported a 45,000 crowd that “was more in the range of 25,000,” weren’t helped by the late withdrawals of […]

Outfield soccer players are generally regarded as being at the peak of their careers in their mid- to late-twenties, so it’s all the more remarkable to hear Colorado Rapids and U.S. midfielder Pablo Mastroeni, 31, announce that at the end of the current major League Soccer season he’ll be heading for Europe.   And it […]

After being knocked out of the U.S. Open Cup by third-tier Crystal Palace Baltimore, the New York Red Bulls celebrated Independence Day with a 4-0 lashing at the Colorado Rapids. Coach Juan Carlos Osorio knew exactly where to place the blame — on the players. And he warned them that once the transfer window opens […]

Freshly crowned European champion Spain is expected to appoint Vicente del Bosque as its new coach this week, writes Ian Hawley. And the former Real Madrid boss could be just the man to lead Spain’s young and talented squad to further titles.   Del Bosque had a reputation for being docile at Real Madrid, because […]

Few people are disputing that we’ve just experienced the most attacking and entertaining European Championships of modern times. Yet Europe’s soccer governing body, UEFA, has decided that even something which isn’t broken must need fixing, writes Paul Wilson. That’s why it has tabled a proposal to extend the championships from 16 to 24 teams, starting […]

But the United States has slipped nine places to number 30.

The roster inclusion of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Atletico Madrid’s Sergio Aguero will make Argentina the team to watch (and beat) at next month’s Olympic Games.

American Joe Lapira made his international debut in New York 14 months ago, playing for his mother’s Republic of Ireland against Ecuador at Giants Stadium. Now he’s turning out for Nybergsund Idrettslag Trysil in the Norwegian second division in front of home crowds of around 700, but he’s not complaining.   The former Notre Dame […]

Newcastle United’s England midfielder Joey Barton this week escaped a second prison term when a lenient court gave him a suspended sentence and 200 hours of community service for a vicious assault on French player Ousmane Dabo. Now Dabo, who was attacked by Barton at their former club Manchester City’s training ground last year, has […]

Another former MLS striker returning from a quick stay in Europe could be Nate Jaqua, reports Bernardo Fallas. According to Houston Dynamo President Oliver Luck, Jaqua has been offered a contract to re-sign for Houston, who would then pass him on to Seattle in time for its debut MLS season in 2009.   Jaqua is […]

Former New England Revolution forward Pat Noonan reportedly wants to return from Norway to Major League Soccer and sign for the Columbus Crew. The Crew would like to have him, is happy to pay a “modest” transfer fee to his current side, and can fit the U.S. international under its salary cap. But such a […]

The French Football Federation has announced that national team coach Raymond Domenech will remain in charge, despite France’s mediocre performance at Euro 2008. France finished bottom of its group with one point and one goal from its three games against Romania, Holland and Italy.   “Domenech’s record is not that bad as coach. It is […]