“During the two hours of game time, I live in another world. I forget about the car bombs and feel human again, and what is more beautiful is that the team includes all sects — they are all Iraqis to us and they make me feel that we are united again.”
— Nawfal Hameed, an electric appliance shop owner in Baghdad, where the streets have been empty as Iraqis watch their national team on television in action at the Asian Nations Cup. (New York Times)
Sporting a new 4-3-3 formation, Frank Rijkaard’s new-look FC Barcelona took the field against a reserve squad that was conspicuous by its inclusion of the Portuguese wizard Deco. The first team’s midfield included Andres Iniesta on the left, Xavi on the right and new signing Yaya Toure, who is more of a defensive midfielder, in […]
Mexico striker Nery Castillo, arguably the revelation of the 2007 Copa America in Venezuela, has become the next target for Sven Goran Eriksson in his continued overhaul of Manchester City. According to various sources, Greek giant Olympiakos, the 23-year-old Castillo’s current club, has already agreed to a transfer fee with City representatives worth $20 million. […]
The Carlos Tevez transfer saga is headed for court — though not the court FIFA had in mind following its decision earlier on Tuesday. In a meeting between FIFA, English Football Association and Premier League officials, the representatives from soccer’s world governing body said the Tevez affair would be better handled by the Court of […]
After being linked for months with possible striking partners for Cuauhtemoc Blanco, the Chicago Fire may have finally found their man in Paulo Wanchope. On his blog, The Chicago Tribune’s Luis Arroyave reports that the Fire is close to inking a deal with the Costa Rica striker. Wanchope would be coach Juan Carlos Osorio’s first […]
Following a successful run at the U-20 World Cup, the offers are pouring in for the USA’s young stars. Real Salt Lake’s Freddy Adu might move to Benfica of Portugal, while the Columbus Dispatch reveals that 19-year-old Crew midfielder Danny Szetela is being courted by the likes of Glasgow Rangers, Serie A’s AS Roma and […]
"This is no exhibition. This is a legitimate, athletic competition with serious prize money. It will ensure that the fans can enjoy a high-level, serious competition to see who, on a club level, will have the bragging rights in North America, at least between Mexico and the United States."
— MLS Commissioner Don Garber on the SuperLiga, a competition comprised of four MLS and four Mexican league teams with $1 million of prize money at stake. The SuperLiga kicks of Tuesday. (Reuters)
[STATS] Kansas City striker Eddie Johnson‘s two goals in Sunday’s 2-2 tie with Colorado puts him in the MLS scoring lead with 12 goals and matches his season high of 12 in the 2004 season when he played for Dallas. For MLS stats through July 22 …
The host Rochester Rhinos have a bye into the final four of the W-League playoffs, which they will host. They will be joined by the three conference champions. The defending champion Vancouver Whitecaps did not qualify for the playoffs. The following teams clinched playoff berths: Eastern Conference — Washington Freedom, Jersey Sky Blue, Northern Virginia Majestics, Ottawa Fury, Toronto Lady Lynx, Laval Comets; Central Conference — Atlanta Silverbacks, Richmond Kickers Destiny, Minnesota Lightning, Michigan Hawks; Western Conference — San Diego Sunwaves, Seattle Sounders.
U.S. women’s national team coach Greg Ryan filled out is roster for the Women’s World Cup when he named Marian Dalmy, Angela Hucles and Natasha Kai to the 21-player roster.
The U.S. under-20 women’s national team stunned the full Canadian women’s national team, 2-1, on Monday and will face host Brazil on Thursday in the gold-medal game of the Pan-American Games at the famed Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. UCLA’s Lauren Cheney scored both goals in the win for the U-20s.
[PDL RESULTS] The expansion Hampton Roads Piranhas clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference and captured the PDL regular season title, becoming only the eighth team to finish with an unbeaten record in PDL history. The defending champion Michigan Bucks will host the Central Conference playoff tournament July 27-28. The complete playoff field: Central Conference — Cape Cod Crusaders, Brooklyn Knights, Michigan Bucks, Chicago Fire Premier, Thunder Bay Chill, St. Louis Lions, Hampton Roads Piranhas, Ocean City Barons, Carolina Dynamo, Central Florida Kraze, Laredo Heat, El Paso Patriots, BYU, Tacoma Tide, Fresno Fuego and San Fernando Valley Quakes.
Americans Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley were named to the U-20 World Cup team by FIFA’s Technical Study Group. The 27-player short list was used to pick the player of the tournament. Adu finished sixth in the balloting. Goals by Danny Szetela and Adu remain in contention for the top goal of the tournament.
The U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships begin Wednesday at Pizza Hut Park, home of FC Dallas, in Frisco, Texas. For the complete boys and girls schedule …
SuperLiga, Pan American, Asian Cup and German League Cup games are part of the midweek slate, which also includes New York-Chivas USA on ESPN2’s Thursday Night MLS Game of the Week.
Just as the automotive industry has responded to the need for more fuel-efficiency and produced hybrid cars, youth soccer is facing a similar adjustment.
The SuperLiga, which pits MLS clubs against Mexican league foes, kicks off Tuesday. All games of eight-team tournament are televised live by Spanish-language TeleFutura.
On the day after Beckham’s landing, Cuauhtemoc Blanco made his Chicago Fire debut against Glasgow Celtic, the team the MLS All-Stars beat 2-0 last Thursday. The Daily Southtown’s Nick Firchau says that while Blanco’s unveiling was a decidedly lower-key affair, the Mexican star fared better than the injured Becks in his debut. Easily the best […]
The David Beckham debut spectacle is finally over. Following three hours of all-Beckham pre-game coverage, 19 cameras and the mentioning of his name every 10-15 seconds, the L.A. Galaxy’s new franchise man hobbled around bravely for 15 minutes to oohs and ahs and thunderous applause at his every touch (about 10 in all) before a […]
Colorado Rapids owner Stan Kroenke looks to be on a mission to add more Arsenal shares to his 12.2 percent total, according to the Independent. After a meeting with Danny Fiszman, the English Premier League club’s largest shareholder, the American billionaire is attempting to join forces to mount a full takeover. The report says the […]
Real Salt Lake can’t win a game in MLS, but it blanked American keeper Tim Howard and EPL giant Everton, 2-0, in that other exhibition game on Saturday. RSL’s victory was arguably the standout result of the weekend, especially for a last-place team that’s won just one game in 15 in league play. As the […]
New England and Houston, leaders of the MLS’s East and West conferences, played to a 3-3 tie at New England in a game that saw Houston’s 746-minute shutout streak come to an end. John Wolyniec headed home the winner in the New York Red Bulls’ 1-0 win over D.C. United after Jozy Altidore nodded on a Claudio Reyna free kick. Argentine Guillermo Barros Schelotto scored twice as Columbus downed Toronto FC. Colorado, winless since late May, enjoyed a 2-2 tie with Kansas City.
Iraq, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia moved into the semifinals of the Asian Cup with wins over the weekend. Captain Younis Mahmoud scored twice to give Iraq a 2-0 win over upstart Vietnam and advance to the semifinals of the Asian Cup for the first time since 1976. Iraqis of all backgrounds took to the streets to celebrate the victory by the team of Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish players. Three people were killed and 25 others injured by stray bullets in Baghdad.
“He brings something special to the team. You notice in 75 percent of the times we got in the attacking third, it was through him that we created the better chances.”
— Chicago coach Juan Carlos Osorio on Mexican attacker Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who like fellow MLS superstar newcomer made his debut in a friendly against a British club. But Blanco spent much more time on the field than Beckham and scored in the 30th minute for the Chicago Fire in a 1-1 tie Glasgow Celtic. (USA Today)
Former Portland Timber forward Byron Alvarez helped the Charleston Battery end USL First Division leader Portland’s seven-game winning streak as the Timbers fell 2-0 to the Battery Sunday night at Blackbaud Stadium. The Richmond Kickers became the first team to clinch a playoff berth in the USL-2. For complete results and goalscorers …
