“First off let me say how thrilled I am to be involved with the Brigade. The Brigade has the right vision of success and if it’s about making soccer better and doing it the right way, I’m in.”
— Eric Wynalda, 38, who’s coming out of retirement to play for the Bakersfield Brigade of the USL’s Premier Development League. The veteran of three World Cups, whose last MLS season was 2001, is set to make his Brigade debut Saturday against the LA Storm.
The Under-20 World Cup continues on July 4 with four games in Victoria and Burnaby. All four games will be televised on ESPN360.com (broadband) and Costa Rica-Japan will be shown on Fox Sports en Espanol. For the complete Under-20 World Cup schedule …
The USA will be cheering for Mexico to beat Chile or Ecuador to beat Brazil on Wednesday to remain alive at the Copa America. For the complete Copa America TV schedule …
Venezuela, Uruguay and Peru joined Mexico, Argentina and Paraguay in the quarterfinals of the Copa America when they finished 1-2-3 in Group A. Venezuela clinched the Group A title and a place in the quarterfinals — for the first time in Copa America history — when it held Uruguay to a 0-0 tie Tuesday in the final group match. Striker Claudio Pizarro‘s second goal of the game with five minutes remaining gave 10-man Peru a 2-2 tie with Bolivia in the first game, in which D.C. United’s Jaime Moreno scored his second goal of the tournament.
[NORDIC CUP ROSTER] Coach Bill Irwin named 18 players who will represent the USA in Vassa, Finland, at the 2007 Nordic Cup, being held from July 18-24.
The U.S. roster features numerous college stars and others who have completed their college eligibility and are playing in the W-League or WPSL.
New Jersey’s PDA, Pennsylvania’s FC Delco and the Baltimore Casa Mia Bays all had two boys teams crowned champions on Tuesday at the US Youth Soccer Region I Championships. On the girls side, Virginia led all state associations with four champions: VSA Heat (U-12), McLean Freedom (U-16), Richmond Strikers Elite (U-17) and PWSI Cardinals (U-19). PDA added a third Region I title when it won the U-15 girls crown. For complete Region I results and goalscorers …
Its big guns may not be there, but a familiar story is brewing for the USA at the 2007 Copa America: its performances are better than the score line would indicate, but soccer’s a zero-sum game and the final score is all that matters. The USA may have dominated midfield, won the majority of 50-50s […]
The sacking of Coach Fabio Capello at Real Madrid causes Paul Gardner of the New York Sun to revisit an old issue: what’s a contract to a big club, anyways? Years ago, after being fired just three months into his new job, Atletico Madrid coach Alfio Basile (who’s now in charge of Argentina) explained: “My […]
As expected, Sheffield United lost its legal dispute with the English Premier League and West Ham United over the Carlos Tevez affair. The Blades, relegated on the last day of the EPL season nearly two months ago, had two claims dismissed by a sports tribunal, both regarding the legality of Carlos Tevez’s appearances for West […]
The Fernando Torres-Liverpool deal is being sewn up as we speak, according to the Guardian. The Atletico striker cut short his vacation in Polynesia to head to Liverpool to complete a medical exam, which he passed. The Atletico striker will now join Liverpool for $53 million, pending issuance of a work permit. Luis Garcia has […]
Even if it didn’t come out quite right, many in the U.S. soccer industry understood exactly what Los Angeles Galaxy President/General Manager Alexi Lalas was trying to get at when he recently defended MLS against some critical Brits: Beckham is a great signing – but the league is not in need of a savior.
Barcelona’s Giovanni Dos Santos lived up to his billing as one of the players to watch at the U-20 World Cup, scoring on a volley from 25 yards for Mexico to start it on its way to a 3-0 win over Gambia in their opening Group C game. Portugal opened with a 2-0 win over New Zealand thanks to a pair of goals by Bruno Gama. In Monday’s only other game, Austria and Congo tied, 1-1.
[REGION III YOUTH RESULTS] The US Youth Soccer Region III Championships moved on despite early morning rain that pushed back play by an hour in Oklahoma City. There have been 20 consecutive days of rain that broke a 70-year-old record. The Dallas Texans went 7-1 in Monday’s quarterfinals. Its U-19 boys team has already qualified for Tuesday’s semifinals. North Carolina’s CASL Elite was 4-0 in boys quarterfinal action. For complete Region III quarterfinal results …
[REGION I YOUTH RESULTS] Host state Maine is sending its second team ever to the US Youth Soccer Region I Championship finals. The Coastal SC’s U-17 boys beat Connecticut’s South Central, 1-0, on an overtime goal by Eddie Jones to advance to Tuesday’s final in Portland. The Coastal SC, which had been playing down a man since early in the second half, has yet to concede a goal at the regionals. FC Delco defeated the defending national champion Baltimore Casa Mia Bays, 4-1, in a shootout in their U-18 boys semifinal. FC Delco, Casa Mia Bays and PDA all had two teams advance to the boys finals. PDA had three girls teams qualify for the finals. FC Delco and FC Stars of Massachusetts have two teams apiece in the girls championship games. For complete Region I semifinal results and goalscorers …
[W-LEAGUE RESULTS] In a battle of future teams in the 2008 women’s pro league, Jersey Sky Blue handed the Washington Freedom its first defeat of the 2007 W-League season with a 3-0 win. North Carolina stars Tobin Heath and Casey Nogueira provided all the scoring. Ohio State’s Swiss international, Lara Dickenmann, set up all three goals — playing a one-two with Heath and feeding Nogueira with long passes. Villanova’s All-American, Jillian Loyden, picked up the shutout in goal.
[PDL RESULTS] As the PDL entered the final month of the regular season, the race for the goalscoring continued. Four players have hit double figures in goals: Brazilian Pablo Campos of Fresno Fuego leads the PDL with 13 goals. Dwight Barnett, the former NJCAA Player of the Year at Herkimer County, has 12 goals for Cape Cod. D3 college players Andrew Wheeler (York College) and Ross Schunk (University of Redlands) have 11 and 10 goals, respectively, for unbeaten Hampton Roads and Los Angeles.
“I would score 49 out of 50 times. Unfortunately, it was the wrong time to miss it.”
— Drew Moor, whose otherwise encouraging debut at right back for the USA on Monday night was marred by a wide-open header right in front of the Paraguay goal he hit tamely straight to keeper Aldo Bobadilla with the score 2-1 in Paraguay’s favor late in their Copa America match. Minutes later, Paraguay put the game away with a third goal and won, 3-1.
The Venezuela looks to clinch a berth in the quarterfinals of the Copa America for the first time when it hosts Uruguay in one of two Group A finales televised on TeleFutura and GolTV (English). For the complete Copa America TV schedule …
The USA plays its second game at the Under-20 World Cup on Tuesday when it meets Poland in Montreal. Coverage begins at 4:45 pm ET on ESPNU and at 5 pm ET on Galavision. For the complete Under-20 World Cup schedule …
[COPA AMERICA STANDINGS] With two losses in two games, the USA is a longshot to reach the quarterfinals of the Copa America as one of the two third-place teams with the best record. First, it must beat Colombia in their final Group C game on Thursday. Then, it must get help in one of the other groups. Its best shot is if Peru beats or ties Bolivia, the USA would probably advance if it beats Colombia and host Venezuela beats Uruguay by a combined margin of three goals. The USA could also advance if it beats Colombia and Mexico beats Chile by a combined margin of four goals.
It’s a week full of Copa America, U-20 World Cup and MLS action.
In England, there exists “fit and proper person” safeguards implemented by the country’s soccer association that help prevents clubs from being taken over by, well, the wrong sort of person. But what are they? When was the last time they were used? To revisit those standards, English Sports Minister Richard Caborn organized a mandatory meeting […]
Realist? Pessimist? Reverse psychologist? Those questions about Roma coach Luciano Spalletti linger in the air following comments he made about next year’s title contenders in Serie A. Despite finishing second last year, Spalletti ruled his Giallorossi out of having any serious chance of contending for the 2007-08 Scudetto. Instead, the battle for top spot will […]
The summer transfer market has been busy as ever, and Arsenal is once again involved in the big news of the day, signing Croatia striker Eduardo Da Silva from Dinamo Zagreb for an estimated $32 million to fill the gaping hole left by Thierry Henry’s departure for Barcelona. Da Silva has led Croatia’s strong Euro […]
Turmoil in Chi-town: the Chicago Fire has more problems than the dour 0-0 home showing it put in against Colorado over the weekend, says Nick Firchau of the Daily Southtown. No decision has been made on a successor to Coach Dave Sarachan — the interim coach is Denis Hamlett — and owner Anschutz Entertainment Group […]
