Author Archives: Soccer America

UEFA has charged Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa with misconduct for insulting the referee after Chelsea’s elimination from the Champions League. UEFA has also charged the club with failing to control the players and fans, who threw objects. UEFA said Drogba and Bosingwa breached sportsmanship by making offensive comments about Norwegian referee Tom Henning […]

The Football Association chairman, Lord Triesman, announced that he is close to confirming an agreement with the FAs of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to field both a Great Britain men’s and women’s team at the London Olympics in 2012. Speaking at the Annual Women’s Football Awards ceremony in London, Lord Triesman said: “I am […]

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho claims he has been told by friends at Stamford Bridge that Carlo Ancelotti will be in charge of the Blues next season. “My friends at Chelsea tell me it will be Carlo,” he told Sky Italia. “Some players are asking me the typical question: ‘Gaffer, will he be good for […]

Pre-tournament favorite Boca Juniors crashed out of the Copa Libertadores in a surprise 1-0 loss to Uruguay visitor Defensor Sporting on Thursday. Diego De Souza scored with a fierce shot in the 28th minute in the Bombonera to lift Defensor into the quarterfinals, 3-2 on aggregate. That set up quarterfinals of Cruzeiro vs. Sao Paulo, […]

Alan Shearer‘s Newcastle needs at least a point against Aston Villa on Sunday. But even a win might not ensure survival in the Premier League if Hull City beast Manchester City and Sunderland upends Chelsea. “It’s bigger than a cup final, a hell of a lot bigger than a cup final,” said Shearer. “The question […]

On Thursday, members of the New York Red Bulls got a chance play a six-on-six game on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid against the crew of the USS Roosevelt, stationed in town for New York Fleet Week 2009. Originally built to serve during WWII, the Navy decommissioned the Intrepid in 1974. It is […]

Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath is in no mood for early celebrations for Wolfsburg’s stunning season, which has put the team one win away from clinching its first Bundesliga title. “We are not yet sucking on the candy,” Magath warned this week, after sending off Daniel Adlung during training for what the strict disciplinarian perceived as […]

U.S. international defender Oguchi Onyewu looks poised to make a move back to England, where he has received strong interest from several clubs. According to skysports.com, the towering center back has attracted the eyes of newly promoted Birmingham and Wolves, which are both trying to strengthen their defenses ahead returns to the Premier League. Clint […]

On Wednesday Shakhtar Donetsk used extra time to defeat a stingy Werder Bremen side, 2-1, in the final of the UEFA Cup, a tournament that will get rebranded as the Europa League next season. After expressing his pride, Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu quickly switched his focus to the biggest prize in European club soccer. “This […]

Victimized by a sudden rash of injuries and facing three games in eight days, Seattle Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid will look for support from his reserves. Three key players — Freddie Ljungberg, Brad Evans and Zach Scott — look likely to miss some time, although just how much time remains to be seen. Ljungberg […]

Inter Milan midfielder Luis Figo has admitted that he is not finished with soccer yet, just days after hinting that he would retire from the game at the end of the season. The Portuguese winger, now 36, claimed winning the Scudetto with Inter was a fine chance to wave goodbye to calcio, suggesting he was […]

“I want to apologize to the fans, especially the fans that came here and had to suffer by coming here,” Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said following a 5-3 loss to D.C. United in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualifier. “I do apologize because we lacked character, we lacked passion, we lacked heart. […]

Corinthians striker Ronaldo, the former World Player of the Year who's experienced an otherwise successful comeback, could face disciplinary action after television cameras caught him pulling the hair of Botafogo midfielder Fahel in Sunday's goalless draw in the Brazilian championships. "We've requested the video of the match and on Thursday I am going to analyze […]

Arsene Wenger, under contract to coach Arsenal until 2011, dismissed mounting speculation of a move to Real Madrid as “not an issue.” Earlier this week, Wenger commented that a move to Madrid would be a “strongly interesting” project. On Tuesday the club’s chairman Peter Hill-Wood defended Wenger from the criticism the manager received from Arsenal’s […]

One week after the start of All-Star balloting, Seattle fans are cramming the ballots with their favorite Sounders. Goalkeeper Kasey Keller is the overwhelming leader in fan voting for the 2009 MLS All-Star Game. The former U.S. national team goalkeeper has a league-best 0.41 goals against average and has four shutouts in eight appearances. Right […]

SI.com interviews Martin Palermo, who at 35 continues to be one of the most prolific strikers in South America. With 201 goals to his name, Palermo holds the record for the most career goals of Boca's professional era. Since returning from injury layoff in February, Palermo has been in sizzling form, earning his first call-up […]

“If there are any safe seats in the fast and feckless world of soccer team management, they are occupied by Alex Ferguson and Josep Guardiola,” writes Rob Hughes. Hughes compares the backgrounds and powers of the two coaches who will compete in the European Champions League final in Rome next Wednesday. “One is the grand-daddy […]

Don Garber's most recent blog post discusses the state of officiating in the MLS, a hot-button topic around the league. Admitting the impossibility of perfect refereeing, Garber states that the refereeing in the MLS is "better than people think. Not because I am saying it … but because the video review proves it." "The MLS […]