Author Archives: Soccer America

All kinds of interesting Real Madrid tidbits have been revealed in the days since the Merengues’ lifted the Spanish League title. First, came the allegation that Real had signed an illegal contract with Getafe coach Bernd Schuster, the man who President Ramon Calderon wanted to see installed as coach when he became president last year. […]

Did you notice how raucous the atmosphere became and how full the stadium got by the end of the USA-Canada match? Barely at a quarter capacity once the first semifinal began, Soldier Field was nearly full mid-way through the second-half as Mexico’s fans arrived in droves. And boy did they want Canada to win: Landon […]

The 12 percent stake American billionaire Stan Kroenke recently purchased in EPL club Arsenal effectively divided the North London club. On one side are those who accept the idea of foreign ownership as the direction the sport is moving in, and on the other are shareholders who refuse to let their beloved club fall into […]

Over the last few days, the other team from Manchester, England, has been grabbing all the headlines. First, exiled Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced that he had secured 55.9 percent of Manchester City’s shares to secure his $163 million takeover of the club. Then on Thursday, the billionaire confirmed he’d met with former England […]

Unsurprisingly, the Canadian press is irate that Atiba Hutchinson’s goal in the last minute of the CONCACAF semifinal against the U.S. was disallowed. The Americans, 2-1 winners, can argue they were the better team, but Canada really deserved more from its comeback, which began in the 75th minute when Iain Hume turned Carlos Bocanegra and […]

Given Canada’s performances so far — especially a comprehensive 3-0 cruise over Guatemala in the quarterfinal — the U.S. is in no position to look past its big neighbor to the North in anticipation of a final showdown against Mexico, says Grahame L. Jones of the L.A. Times. And it’s a good thing Coach Bob […]

Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce just found out Obafemi Martins, his other first-choice striker, also has a buyout clause in his contract. That means that both he and Michael Owen are free to leave for a set price, and there’s nothing Allardyce or Newcastle can do about it. At just 22, the highly-talented (not to mention […]

Yep, you read that right: Scottish giant Celtic plans to open no less than 30 youth academies in the U.S. and Canada over the next five years. Why, you ask? Like other major clubs — Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Chivas de Guadalajara, Atletico Paranaense and Atletico Mineiro all have partnerships of some kind with Major […]

Something strange is happening in Canada, writes Stephen Brunt of The Globe & Mail: the hockey-mad country has suddenly embraced the world game. Brunt remarks on how suddenly soccer has taken hold of the country. Toronto FC has already effectively sold out its entire inaugural MLS season, tickets to the U-20 World Cup at the […]

It was always probable that Boca Juniors would ride out its 3-0 first-leg victory against Gremio to record a sixth Copa Libertadores title, but Juan Roman Riquelme’s two goals in Porto Alegre Wednesday night sealed the victory in grand style: the 5-0 aggregate win was the largest margin of victory in a final in the […]