Carlos Ischia, the coach of Boca Juniors, believes his team "should have won" the Superclasico, for having created "more opportunities" to score than River Plate. Despite dominating their archrival for long stretches in the second half, Boca managed only a 1-1 draw. "I always say that in these types of matches playing better doesn't mean […]
Author Archives: Soccer America
Fowler to Make Australian Debut Against Sydney
Former Liverpool and England striker Robbie Fowler, who had been rumored as an MLS candidate, will make his Australian debut for expansion team North Queensland Fury against Sydney FC in Townsville in August. The draw for 2009-10 season was unveiled Monday. With the league now expanded by two, including the Fury and a Gold Coast […]
In-Form Milan Pull Level with Juventus
Filippo Inzaghi‘s hat trick helped AC Milan thrash lowly Torino 5-1 at the San Siro on Sunday. The win puts Milan in joint-second place with Juventus, which managed a last-minute equalizer against Inter. Inter remains 10 points ahead with just six games left in the season. Beckham, returning to the starting lineup after two games […]
AFC Chief Continues to Accuse OCA of Buying Votes
Asian soccer Confederation chief Mohamed bin Hammam continues to maintain that officials of the Olympic Council of Asia tried to buy votes for his rival, Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Khalifa, in a campaign for a seat on one of the key decision-making bodies in soccer. The OCA has threatened legal action and denies Bin Hammam’s […]
Montero Wants to Use MLS as Spring-Board
Fredy Montero, the 21-year-old Colombian striker playing for FC Seattle Sounders on loan from Deportivo Cali, has dazzled defenses early in the season, scoring three goals in his first four appearances. Montero suggests that playing in the MLS will help him grow as a player: "This will be important for me and my career and […]
Inquiry On ‘Financial Doping’ at Top English Clubs
Heavily indebted Premier League clubs Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool were accused of “financial doping” in a British parliamentary report Monday. The report, which came after a year-long inquiry, claims that the worldwide economic meltdown should serve as a warning to clubs operating risky business models. Legislators urged English soccer authorities to curb “ludicrous levels […]
Howard saves two PKs, Gooch scores a pair
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Goalkeeper Tim Howard helped Everton reach the FA Cup final by saving two penalty kicks against his former club, Manchester United. Defender Oguchi Onyewu scored twice for Belgium’s Standard Liege. In Scotland, Maurice Edu scored the gamewinner for Glasgow Rangers. But it didn’t go so well for Michael Bradley in Germany.
AZ ends Dutch dominance of big three
[EUROPEAN RACES] Despite losing its third game of the season, AZ Alkmaar clinched the Dutch league, marking the first time since 1981 that the championship won’t go to PSV, Ajax or Feyenoord, the big three.
Chivas takes Super Clasico in Ramirez’s debut
[MEXICO] Playing for its third coach in a month, Guadalajara defeated Club America, 1-0, Sunday at the Jalisco Stadium to win the Super Clasico, the biggest game of the Mexican league season.
What They’re Saying
“Sorry, Energie Fans! Certainly one can lose at Schalke. But we did not put up enough defense against the class of the individuals of this opponent. … True compensation will come at the next game.”
— Steffen Heidrich, general manager of German club Energie Cottbus, in an apology to 600 Cottbus fans who traveled to its game against Schalke 04 and witnessed a 4-0 Cottbus loss. The apology included a promise of free tickets to those fans for Cottbus’ next game. (FCenergie.de)
International Weekend Results
Lyon’s hopes of winning its eighth straight French league title are fading. Porto maintained its four-point lead in Portugal. Only one point still separates in Celtic and Rangers in Scotland. For all the weekend results and standings in Europe’s major leagues and Mexico …
MLS Results
The defending champion Columbus Crew and Los Angeles Galaxy are the only winless MLS teams after five weeks and find themselves in the Eastern and Western Conference basements, respectively. For all the game summaries, standings, leading scorers and next weekend’s schedule …
What They’re Saying
“I try to do a lot of hard work on my fitness, and sometimes you have to suck it up and go outdoors. I wear spikes on my shoes. They have sort of grippers on the bottom so you can run. I couldn’t out-run a bear, but luckily he didn’t seem interested in me.”
— U.S. under-18 girls national team forward Kelly Cobb on training she does at Bear Mountain near her home in Chugiak, Alaska. With an outdoor season of only five months and only one serious rival to her club team, the Cook Inlet Velocity, she spends extra time training. (ussoccer.com).
High School Girls Spring Rankings
St. Pius X of Atlanta remained the top-ranked team in the NSCAA/adidas National Ranking ahead of St. Joseph’s Academy of St. Louis and Sierra of California. For the top 20 girls rankings …
High School Boys Spring Rankings
Bellarmine Prep of Tacoma, Wash., has taken over as the No. 1 team in the NSCAA/adidas National Rankings. Cody of Wyoming moved up to No. 2. For the top 20 boys rankings …
Red Bull teams excel in Spain
The New York Red Bulls sent two teams to the Mediterranean International Cup in Spain, where they both reached the second round. The U-14s went unbeaten, going 4-0-1, while the U-15s, playing up in the U-16 division, advanced to the round of 16 before falling to Valencia.
U.S. star sidelined for U-17 qualifying
The USA will put its perfect record of having qualified for every FIFA U-17 World Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1985 on the line when it faces Cuba, Canada and Honduras at the 2009 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, beginning Tuesday in Tijuana, Mexico, but the Americans will be without their most heralded player, 15-year-old midfielder Charles Renken, who is again sidelined with a knee injury.
Fergie Blasts Rafa’s Arrogance
On the eve of Sunday’s FA Cup game between Manchester United and Everton at Wembley, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson came to Everton’s defense, taking aim at Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, manager of Everton’s Merseyside rival and United’s challenger for the EPL lead. “He called Everton a small club which points to his arrogance. They […]
Hart To Coach Canada at Gold Cup
Two years ago as interim coach, Stephen Hart led Canada to the semifinals of the Gold Cup, where it fell to the USA. In 2009, he’ll again be in charge of Canada as interim coach at the Gold Cup. The Canadian Soccer Association on Friday named Hart, the CSA’s technical director, as interim coach through […]
Klinsmann Targets Bundesliga Title
With its UEFA Champions League campaign over, Bayern Munich can concentrate on the Bundesliga title race. It’s been a rocky first season for Coach Juergen Klinsmann, but he still thinks Bayern can defend its title. “Qualifying for the Champions League is mandatory,” he said before Saturday’s game against Arminia Bielefeld, “but, of course, our target […]
Ramirez Replaces Arellano at Chivas Guadalajara
Things are looking up at Chivas USA, which has the best record in MLS after four weeks. The situation at Chivas Guadalajara is another matter. Guadalajara named Francisco Ramirez, the assistant to former Mexico coach Sven-Goran Eriksson best known for his run-in with Frankie Hejduk after February’s USA-Mexico qualifier, has been named its new coach, […]
Claudio Lopez Happy in Kansas City
Not all Designated Players have worked out in MLS. Claudio Lopez is an exception. The former Argentina national team star not only has had an impact on the field for the Kansas City Wizards, but he and his family are so happy to be in Kansas City that he took a pay cut to remain […]
Real Salt Lake Gets Lucky on Davies Lottery
Real Salt Lake has landed U.S. under-20 national team captain Kyle Davies through a lottery, adding another player with European experience to its roster. Davies, 20, has spent the last two years in the Southampton FC youth system. “One thing we have done with our team and have had quite a bit of success […]
Soccer on TV
D.C. United hosts New England in the MLS Game of the Week on Friday. In WPS, the Chicago Red Stars take on Sky Blue FC on Sunday afternoon. England’s FA Cup hits the semifinal stage this weekend. Archrivals meet in Mexico (Chivas-Club America) and Argentina (Boca Juniors-River Plate).
Surgeries for Cherundolo, Altidore
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Jozy Altidore, who scored four goals in the last two U.S. World Cup qualifiers, will be out for up to a month because of toe-nail surgery. Steve Cherundolo, who’s been missing from his right back position with the USA, is due to undergo hip surgery and will miss the rest of the Bundesliga season.
