Americans George Gillett and Tom Hicks have nearly finalized a refinancing plan for the $700 million debt incurred when they took over Liverpool last February. The loan deal involving the Royal Bank of Scotland and U.S. investment firm Wachovia is set to be completed early next week, provided Gillett and Hicks agree to the terms. […]
Author Archives: Soccer America
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Settled U.S. Squad to Face Sweden
ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle says the national team mood ahead of this weekend’s friendly against Sweden is decidedly calmer than it was at this time 12 months ago. For one thing, the relationship between coach Bob Bradley and the team is on firmer ground, as Bradley was an “interim” coach last January. “I think we know […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Soccer-Bashing’s Political Undertones
Guardian writer Steven Wells supplies a scary, if humorous snapshot of that uniquely American sports institution known soccer-bashing. Many of us, blinded by the growing support and awareness of soccer in the U.S., will be unaware that there’s a whole online world devoted to hating the world’s most popular sport. One of the most popular […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
MLS SuperDraft: As it Happens
As Section 2 went to press, the first 10 picks in the MLS SuperDraft had been revealed. UCLA defender Chance Myers, 20, went No. 1, chosen by the Kansas City Wizards. FC Dallas went next, choosing 17-year-old Brek Shea, whose official affiliation is with the U.S. U17 national team. UCLA defensive midfielder Anthony Beltran, 20, […]
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Soccer on TV
The first round of the MLS SuperDraft will be televised live Friday on ESPN2. Further rounds will be streamed at mlsnet.com. The Mexican league Clausura 2008 kicks off this weekend. The USA faces Sweden in a friendly on Saturday. European action includes relegation threatened Fulham, with Clint Dempsey leading the American contingent, taking on Arsenal.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“I thought about Europe, but I felt that MLS would be a great place for me to develop and gain experience, and then we will see what is in store in the future.”
— Ghanaian Patrick Nyarko, touted as a No. 1 pick in Friday’s MLS SuperDraft, on his decision to join MLS after his junior year at Virginia Tech instead of heading to Europe. (Washington Post)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
International Weekend TV Schedule
All 10 English Premier League games being played Saturday-Monday will be available on American television, included relegation-threatened Fulham hosting Arsenal on Saturday morning. All nine games from Mexico’s Clausura 2008, which kicks off Friday night, will also be available on U.S. outlets. La Liga action features the Villarreal-Valencia derby.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Women’s pro league unveils name
Paul Kennedy updates WPS’s launch plans
After more than three years of work on the startup, a new women’s pro league moved one step closer to reality with Thursday’s announcement that it will be called Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS). “Today’s a day for celebration,” said Tanya Antonucci, the WPS commissioner who has overseen the project since being talked into it at a gathering of Stanford soccer alumni — she played for the Cardinal in the mid-1980s — shortly after she left Yahoo!, where she served as general manager of its World Cup partnership with FIFA. For details on WPS …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS SuperDraft Primo Picks
Ridge Mahoney’s pre-draft analysis
Kansas City head coach Curt Onalfo, who holds the No. 1 pick in Friday’s MLS SuperDraft (TV: ESPN2, live, 2 pm ET), believes this year’s pool of players is relatively solid, yet readily admits his rival coaches might not share that opinion. For a look at what teams might take whom with the top picks …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS Offseason Player Moves
Zach Thornton, waived by Colorado after the 2007 season, has returned to New York, where he began his MLS career in 1996. For all the team-by-team MLS offseason player moves …
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Real to Maintain Cristiano Ronaldo Pursuit
Spanish champion Real Madrid says it will continue pursuing Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo, despite firm rebuttals from Old Trafford. United officials maintain they would not sell the reigning PFA Player of the Year under any circumstances, but the Merengues insist they will never give up hope of landing the Portuguese star. “Ronaldo is an […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
African Nations Cup Preview
The AP has a lengthy preview of the African Cup of Nations, which begins this weekend in Ghana. Cameroon and Ivory Coast are the favorites to land the continent’s top prize. The 2008 tournament features some of the world’s biggest stars, from Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon to Didier Drogba of the Ivory Coast. Eto’o, in […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Capello Warned FA Over Tax Probe
Barely a week into his new job as England coach, Fabio Capello has been accused of tax evasion in his native Italy. According to the Guardian, Capello alerted the English Football Association to the possibility of such an investigation while he was being interviewed for the job. However, the Italian guaranteed that neither he nor […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Best Buy-Fire Sponsorship is ‘Huge’
The Chicago Sun-Times’ Nick Firchau has a story on the impact of Chicago’s new sponsorship agreement with electronics retailer Best Buy. As part of the deal, which is worth between $2.5 million and 4 million per season, the company’s brand name will now be pasted across the front of the Fire jersey. ”This is huge,” […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Feilhaber Switch to MLS Now Possible
American Benny Feilhaber will not be making the switch from Derby County to Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to the midfielder’s employer. Rather, a move to Major League Soccer looks more likely. The 22-year-old midfielder traveled to Israel for negotiations with the Tel-Aviv club, but the parties couldn’t come to an agreement about a transfer price. […]
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Dorrance suit ends with settlement and apology
Almost 10 years after the lawsuit was initiated, University of North Carolina women’s head coach Anson Dorrance settled a sexual harassment suit filed by former Tar Heel Melissa Jennings.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
NCAA Division I Men’s & Women’s Coaching Changes
Tom Carlin (Villanona), Gareth Elliott (Siena) and Ralph Polson (Wofford) landed NCAA Division I men’s head coaching positions. On the women’s side, Hershey Strosberg (Virginia assistant) was named Clemson’s new head coach, and Ball State head coach Michelle Salmon filled the Cincinnati vacancy. For all the coaching moves …
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Collegians attend under-23 women’s camp
Five first-team members of the 2007 Soccer America MVPs head the players called into the first-ever U.S. under-23 women’s camp being held this week at the Home Depot Center.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Yamaguchi takes Women’s Hermann Trophy
Florida State’s Mami Yamaguchi won the 2007 Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy, edging UCLA’s Lauren Cheney and Texas A&M’s Ashlee Pistorius.<
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
UConn’s White wins Hermann Trophy
Connecticut’s O’Brian White became only the second who had not previously resided in the United States before entering college to win the Men’s Hermann Trophy.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Division II Concord adds men’s soccer
Concord University is adding men’s soccer and women’s golf, starting next fall. CU women’s soccer coach Steve Barrett will take the reigns of the fledgling men’s program.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Soccer Job Openings
[EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES] Soccer America provides the latest on employment opportunities for soccer-related positions: college coaching opportunities, positions in the pros, youth soccer, the soccer industry, even television.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Team-by-team MLS SuperDraft Preview
Ridge Mahoney on the MLS SuperDraft
How can MLS teams give themselves a boost from Friday’s draft? Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney provides analyses of each club’s needs, their options and the possible moves they might make before the SuperDraft Friday in Baltimore. Here are the teams listed in reverse order of their regular-season finish in 2007, starting with the expansion Quakes, which Tuesday traded the top pick to Kansas City in exchange for defender Nick Garcia.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS Offseason Player Moves
The Kansas City Wizards continued to clean out their backline when they dealt Jose Burciaga to Colorado for a second-round pick in the 2009 SuperDraft. The trade follows the deal that sent Nick Garcia to San Jose for the No. 1 pick in Friday’s SuperDraft. For all the team-by-team MLS offseason player moves …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Giants fall in domestic cup competitions
[EUROPE] It was a bad night for European powerhouses in domestic cup competitions.