Author Archives: Soccer America

Lopsided victories are the norm in the early rounds of World Cup qualifying, as FIFA seeks to eliminate the tiny nations as quickly and as painlessly as possible. But the players of Bermuda didn’t get the memo from Zurich inviting them to roll over and die, and this Sunday find themselves at home defending a […]

Spare a thought for the poor players of Brazil’s national team. Not only were they unable to overcome Argentina during Wednesday’s World Cup home qualifying fixture in Belo Horizonte, they also had to endure the jeers of their own fans, who ended up applauding Argentina’s Lionel Messi instead when he was subbed out during stoppage […]

It was a much more enterprising Russian team than we’ve seen so far that beat Sweden, 2-0, Wednesday to qualify for the quarterfinals of the European Championships. And it was all down to the return of “a wonderfully elusive and subtle playmaker in Andrei Arshavin,” writes Barney Ronay from Innsbruck.   Arshavin, who had been […]

Eight years after the Tampa Bay Mutiny folded and 16 years after the demise of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, professional soccer is expected to return to Tampa next spring with the arrival of a United Soccer Leagues First Division club, write Bill Ward and Mike Salinero.   They quote the team’s spokeswoman Lisa Brock as […]

Two Major League Soccer games Wednesday yielded just two goals, but plenty more controversy involving the league’s referees. In Utah, Real Salt Lake’s Kyle Beckerman had a goal against San Jose overturned for offside even though the assistant referee initially failed to raise his flag. In Boston, New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol had some […]

A much younger U.S. prospect up front is Real Salt Lake’s Robbie Findley who, following a moribund start to the current season, is finding the form that earned him a national team call-up last year. Ever since being substituted into the game against San Jose two weeks ago by Coach Jason Kreis, Findley has been […]

When Chivas USA striker Ante Razov left the Chicago Fire more than three years ago, some Fire fans thought the team made a big mistake letting him go. Others still chastise him “for sulking his way out the door” when the team didn’t meet his increased contract demands, writes Nick Firchau. “Looking back, I don’t […]

France was unable to surmount the three major setbacks in its final Group C game against Italy Tuesday, writes Cedric Rouquette at lequipe.fr. The 10th-minute injury to Franck Ribery, the red card to Eric Abidal, and the deflected shot for Italy’s second goal all reflected “a sort of inevitability that designated them losers at this […]

Thanks to the excitement of the soccer at Euro 2008, many England fans have come to the realization that the tournament is better off without them, writes Oliver Holt. Who knew?   “Being rubbish never felt so good,” he writes. “Maybe it’s because England aren’t there in Austria and Switzerland that it seems to be […]

It’s often asked why more coaches don’t leave college soccer for MLS, and there are usually two easy answers — better money and job security. New FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman, however, has opted to leave what he admits is “the comfort zone” of the college game after more than two decades at Southern Methodist […]