Author Archives: Soccer America

ESPN’s Phil Ball looks back on a weekend in Spain where neither of the league’s two best teams played very well. In the end, Real Madrid ended up ceding ground to second-place Barcelona for the second time in three weeks, losing 2-1 at Real Betis despite scoring in the first six minutes and having more […]

Soccer on TV., Story

Soccer on TV

The knockout stage of the European Champions League begins this week. There’s also Libertadores Cup action in the midweek and the Pan-Pacific Championship, the Hawaii-hosted tournament at which MLS clubs Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles Galaxy face Sydney FC and Gamba Osaka.

Castillo selected for Mexico’s Olympic qualifying squad

[VIDEO] New Mexico product Edgar Castillo has been selected by Coach Hugo Sanchez to Mexico’s U-23 team for its qualifying campaign for next summer’s Olympics. Mexico’s first-round play against Canada, Haiti and Guatemala kicks off March 12 in Carson, Calif. Last week, Castillo scored for Santos Laguna against Chivas Guadalajara on an 18-yard shot after dribbling from near the halfway line.

Adu injured; Jaqua scores in Austria

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Freddy Adu entered for Benfica in the 78th minute against Naval but was subbed in the 90th minute with an injury. Benfica won, 2-0, on goals in the 23rd and 90th minutes. Nate Jaqua scored in his Austrian First Division debut for Altach in a 1-1 tie at Austria Vienna.

Inter Milan extends Italian lead

[EUROPEAN RACES] Inter Milan stretched its lead in Italy’s Serie A to 11 points when it beat Livorno, 2-0, and second-place Roma fell at Juventus, 1-0. In Spain, Real Madrid’s lead over Barcelona fell to five points, while Lyon’s margin over second-place Bordeaux in France is only one point.

DiCicco’s U.S. U-20 women complete Chile sweep

[YOUTH] The U.S. under-20 women’s national team won its first tournament under new head coach Tony DiCicco Saturday when it clinched the Four Nations Tournament with a 5-1 win over host Chile.

Soccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

“A very important result of this game is to reopen the bridge which connects the neighborhood. The bridge, if opened again, will bring back life as it used to be before.”

— Amer Abdullah Sa’di, director of Iraqi club Kadhimiya, a predominantly Shi’ite team that played Sunni club Adhamiya to a 1-1 tie in a clash between Baghdad rivals on Saturday. The two clubs are located on opposite sides of the Tigris river. (Reuters)

Big win for Onyewu; Michael Bradley’s streak ends

[AMERICANS IN EUROPE] Standard Liege, with Oguchi Onyewu patrolling the central defense, beat Belgian Jupiler League leader Club Brugge away, 2-1, to go even on points with at the head of the standings. In the Netherlands, Michael Bradley‘s scoring streak ended in Heerenveen’s 2-2 tie with lowly Heracles. Steve Cherundolo faced Bayern Munich in Germany.

Blatter: International Plan Would Hurt England WC Bid

The English Premier League’s proposal to add a 39th round of international games to its schedule received a massive body blow on Friday when FIFA President Sepp Blatter told BBC Sport that the plan would “never happen.” Blatter added that if the league decided to pursue the idea anyway, it would harm England’s chances of […]

CONCACAF Teams Need to Play Better Opposition

CONCACAF teams need to play against tougher opposition if the region is ever going to effectively compete in a World Cup, says the Houston Chronicle’s Bernardo Fallas. The USA, at least, has the idea, having lined up friendlies against 20th-ranked Poland, 4th-ranked Spain, 11th-ranked England (perhaps), and looking to set up one more against other […]

Altidore on the Up and Up

Associated Press reporter Brian Trusdell asks U.S. soccer players and officials to weigh in on U.S. phenom Josmer Altidore, who recently collected his first international goal for the U.S. senior national team in a 2-2 draw with Mexico. Everyone agrees that the 6-foot-2, 190 pound 18-year-old has loads of potential, but many feel Altidore has […]

L.A. Trades for Vanney as Harden Retires

The Los Angeles Galaxy looks set to bolster its defense by adding D.C. United veteran Greg Vanney, blogger Ives Galarcep reports. Washington Post writer Steven Goff confirms the rumor, adding that Quavas Kirk will be involved in the trade. Vanney would become the second former Galaxy player to return to the team this off-season, striker […]

Galaxy’s Gullit Cracks the Whip

Camp Gullit has begun, and it’s considerably different to what the L.A. Galaxy players were used to under Frank Yallop, says Yahoo Sports’ Martin Rogers. Dutch coach Ruud Gullit has implemented strict guidelines on the players’ eating habits in addition to a new twice-a-day training regimen. David Beckham, for one, approves of the new measures, […]

Soccer on TV., Story

Soccer on TV

EPL leaders Arsenal and Manchester United face off in the FA Cup. Juventus and Roma clash in Italian Serie A play. Gol TV serves up Barcelona and Real Madrid games on Saturday.

UEFA Cup Results

Tottenham, Fiorentina and Hamburg all won on the road in the first leg of the their UEFA Cup round-of-32 series on Thursday. Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich had to settle for a 2-2 tie at Scotland’s Aberdeen. For all the results and goal scorers …

Soccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

“This is abuse. The rich Premier League is trying to get richer and wants to expand the importance of that league. This does not take into consideration the fans of the clubs and it gives the impression that they just want to go on tour to make some money.”

— FIFA President Sepp Blatter, stating his disapproval for an English Premier League proposal to hold a round of games on foreign soil. Blatter said the scheme, which would bring EPL games to U.S. cities, would be nixed by FIFA’s executive committee. (Reuters)

Quakes originals boost new San Jose

[MLS TEAM PREVIEWS] Officially, San Jose added its 13th player yesterday with the announcement of Houston trading Ramiro Corrales to San Jose for allocation money. MLS had purchased Corrales’ rights from Norwegian club SK Brann for a fee of “approximately $150,000,” according to a source, and the Quakes paid about half of that in allocation money to bring him back to one of his former MLS teams.

‘Text-mad’ Cristiano Ronaldo fined $4,000 a message

[OFF THE POST] Ask many big-time soccer players what is their most precious possession, and they will say their cell phone. Ask their coach what is their prime pet peeve, and he will say players using their cell phone. Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo was fined $16,000 for using his cell phone during training — which works out to $4,000 for each of four text messages he sent during a recent training session.

International Weekend TV Schedule

International Weekend TV Schedule

This weekend’s marquee match is the Manchester United-Arsenal clash, a battle of EPL leaders in the fifth round of the FA Cup. The other big match pits Juventus against Roma in a battle of Italian giants. For all the weekend international action …

U.S. U-20 women win second game in Chile

[YOUTH] The U.S. Under-20 women’s national team won its second straight game at the Four Nations Tournament in La Serena, Chile, with a 2-1 win over Norway thanks to goals from the University of Portland’s Keelin Winters and high school sensation Teresa Noyola.

English Clubs Creeping Towards Global Domination

English Premier League clubs are making an assault on soccer’s global rich list, accounting for six of the 20 richest clubs in the world, according to the latest annual report from The Deloitte Football Money League. With the exception of Newcastle, which fell from 13th to 14th in the list, Manchester United (2), Chelsea (4), […]

Ronaldo Could Return in Eight Months

Doctors are optimistic Ronaldo’s career will not be over after the former three-time World Player of the Year severed a tendon in his left knee during a Serie A match against Livorno on Wednesday. Pietro Volpi, Inter Milan’s club doctor between 1995 and 2000, believes Ronaldo can recover from knee surgery just as he did […]

Hicks and Gillett to Sell Liverpool After All?

British tabloid The Daily Mirror claims that Liverpool’s American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are poised to hand over the club they bought just one year ago. Despite denials from both Hicks and Gillett, “sources in New York” tell the Mirror that the pair will sell Liverpool to Dubai International Capital in mid-March for […]

Concacaf President Warner Backs England WC Bid

The United States’ World Cup plans received a slap in the face Thursday as Concacaf President Jack Warner put his support behind England to host the 2018 tournament. ‘It is England’s time,” Warner told Sky Sports News. “The fact is they invented this sport. There are guys in England who have never seen a World […]

Howard earns shutout in UEFA Cup