Author Archives: Soccer America

"Barcelona is playing great soccer and has the quality and potential to win the Champions League. We couldn't beat Chelsea at home but we're confident we can go on from here and take things step by step, all the while respecting our rivals. I won't be able to be a part of things over the […]

The South American confederation Conmebol suspended Guadalajara defender Hector Reynoso for the remainder of the 2009 Copa Libertadores tournament for spitting on Everton's Sebastian Penco. The H1N1 flu outbreak, which caused a suspension of Chivas' second-round game against Sao Paulo, may have compounded the severity of the incident. After a scuffle broke out late in […]

American businessman Stan Kroenke has become Arsenal’s biggest shareholder after increasing his stake in the Premier League club to 28.3 percent. Already a director at the club, Kroenke increased his holding Friday from 20.5 percent by buying out the Carr family’s stake. The next largest shareholder is Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who owns more than […]

"Everybody is focused and ready for the game," declared Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger ahead of Tuesday's clash with Manchester United in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals. "We are all aware it is our team performance that will be important rather than the responsibility on any individual. I am very confident the team […]

English Premier League club Fulham will travel to Australia to face Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory in July ahead of the start of the A-League season. Another English squad, Wolverhampton Wanderers, which recently qualified for next season’s Premier League, will face the Glory and Robbie Fowler‘s North Queensland Fury. “This is an historic and momentous […]

Although the Houston Dynamo beat the Revolution in two consecutive MLS Cups in 2006 and 2007, the team had never beaten the Revs in a regular-season game until a 2-0 victory on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. “It was probably our most consistent and all-around performance [of the year],” Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear said. “I still […]

The most marketable soccer property in the USA isn’t American; it’s Mexican. The Mexican national team, also known as “El Tri,” plays numerous games a year in the USA that regularly outdraw games played by the U.S. national team. And millions of Latinos from across multiple generations tune in to Mexican games on Telemundo and […]

Anton Peterlin, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s senior captain, has been offered a contract by Everton of the English Premier League after spending 10 days in March on trial in Liverpool. Peterlin, a San Francisco native, earned a tryout after a steady season last year for Ventura County Fusion in the USL’s Premier Development League. […]

Former Toronto FC coach John Carver said that one of the reasons he quit was because MLS ordered him to return to the sidelines after spending a game coaching from a private box, but Toronto FC general manager Mo Johnston said it was Toronto management who made the request. “John wanted to sit upstairs, we […]

“At the beginning of the season, I didn’t even recognize him. He’d lost like 20 pounds. I told him, ‘Listen, you look good. It’s a good sign. Your reactions will be faster.’ You can tell now. Hopefully, he’ll continue to make good saves.” Chivas USA goalkeeper coach Zak Abdel, on veteran keeper Zach Thornton, who […]

This weekend Spain's two biggest and richest clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona, clash in "El Clasico." During the game the country is expected to grind to a halt. "The country is paralyzed. Shops are shuttered, the streets are empty. For 90 minutes the country only thinks about soccer," said radio journalist Maria Bretones on Friday. […]

Beitar Jerusalem, the defending champion of the Israeli Premier League, was penalized a point and ordered to play a home match in an empty stadium after fans shouted anti-Arab slogans at a game against Maccabi Petah Tikva in April. Earlier this season, the league deducted two points from Beitar for fan violence. These penalties have […]

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand could be available for next week’s Champions League semifinal at Arsenal. Tests cleared the center back of a cracked rib and serious injury. “It’s good news with Rio – it is not a cracked bone,” said United head coach Alex Ferguson, whose team beat Arsenal, 1-0, in the first leg. […]

Boca Juniors of Argentina and Ecuador's Deportivo Cuenca clinched the last two places in the Copa Libertadores round of 16 on Thursday. Boca trounced Venezuelan club Deportivo Tachira 3-0 in Buenos Aires to top Group 2, while Cuenca qualified by finishing second in the group after drawing 1-1 at Guarani of Paraguay. The knockout round […]

Major League Soccer Philadelphia 2010 will unveil key pieces to the identity of the league’s newest club at Philadelphia’s City Hall on May 11. Hosted by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, the ceremony will unveil the club’s name, colors, logo and ticket pricing. “We’ve created an authentic brand that reflects Philadelphia’s deep-rooted history and the wealth […]

As part of an ongoing series, FIFA.com delves into some of oddest, goofiest and most manic superstitions of players around the world – present and past. About his slew of habits, Chelsea captain John Terry says: “I always sit in the same seat on the team bus, I always wrap tape round my socks three […]