Category: Section 2 Around the Net

The inquiries continue into Trinidad & Tobago’s astonishing 2-1 home defeat to Bermuda Sunday in the second round of Concacaf World Cup qualifying. T&T’s Colombian coach, Francisco Maturana, took the full blame at the post-game press conference, saying via a translator that his team “abused long passes,” and that this was no way to play […]

Los Angeles Galaxy wide midfielder David Beckham has changed his mind about the England captaincy. Life, it turns out, would be too short for him to turn down the long-term opportunity to lead his national team again.   Beckham was made captain for the day when England beat Trinidad & Tobago earlier this month, and […]

Wouldn’t it be your dream job to work at the soccer club you’ve always supported? Terry Daley’s family and friends presumed that he was delighted to be working on the official game day magazine at Chelsea FC (British teams produce a unique “match programne” for every home game), but he ended up feeling less like […]

It wasn’t just the Caribbean that provided weekend shocks in World Cup qualifying. In South America, Brazil slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Paraguay, and a loss or a tie against Argentina Wednesday could leave them outside of the qualifying spots in the regional table.   “In all their glorious history,” writes Tim Vickery, “Brazil […]

In one of the most revealing interviews ever with a Major League Soccer player, D.C. United midfielder Santino Quaranta told Steven Goff the story of his five-year addiction to pain-killers and alcohol, and how it threatened both his career and his life.   Quaranta was the youngest player ever in MLS when he made his […]

MLS may have let Santino Quaranta’s cocaine test pass, but they weren’t so lenient with LA striker Edson Buddle, who was suspended by the league in 2005 for refusing to take a breathalyzer test when stopped by police. Now it seems another young forward who promised so much when he came into the league is […]

Few neutral fans will hold it against the Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech for making such a mess of a simple cross in his team’s thrilling “winner takes all” Group A game with Turkey Sunday, which the Czechs lost, 3-2, after being 2-0 up. After all, without his fumbling, we would have been denied another […]

In Friday’s Around The Net we summarized the potential upsets in the second round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, but neglected to mention Bermuda’s visit to Trinidad & Tobago. No doubt piqued by our omission, the Bermudans pulled off “a stunning upset” by beating T&T, 2-1, in the first leg thanks to two goals from […]

Another day at the European Championship, and another ground-breaking decision by a referee that will prompt several days of discussion. Earlier in the week it was Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s goal against Italy, incorrectly deemed offside by many observers. Thursday it was Austria’s last=minute penalty kick against Poland, awarded for shirt-pulling in the penalty area.   […]

Germany was declared tournament favorite for Euro 2008, but anyone who’s been watching the team this past year won’t have been too surprised by Thursday’s capitulation to Croatia. Among several good performances have been games where shoddy defense, lackluster attack, a captain unable to take command and questionable tactics have been the overwhelming features of […]

No one dares to underestimate an opponent any more in international soccer, not even when that team is Barbados and you get to play them over two games. As U.S. captain Landon Donovan warned ahead of the first leg of this weekend’s World Cup Qualifying Round game against the Caribbean nation in LA: “We could […]

U.S. national team striker Jozy Altidore has confirmed in his column that he signed a six-year contract with his new club Villarreal, and that he will be earning significantly more than he did in Major League Soccer with New York. No need to hold the Times’ front page with the latter revelation.   Altidore writes […]

Due to international call-ups, both New England and Houston fielded makeshift teams for Thursday’s MLS game in Texas. But it was the Revs who showed greater depth in their 2-0 win thanks to the continued good form of supplemental draft pick and stand-in striker Kheli Dube.   “He’s holding it. He’s moving well,” Revs’ coach […]

It seems there’s no getting away from the big rich clubs of the Premier League, even during an international tournament without England’s participation. Just hours after Portugal had impressively beaten the Czech Republic and become the first team to qualify for the Euro 2008 quarterfinals, Chelsea announced that it had lured the team’s coach, Luiz […]

Are you sick yet of swooning commentators at Euro 2008 grandly pronouncing that Cristiano Ronaldo is The Best Player In The World? Bored with all the media speculation about his possible multi-zillion dollar transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid? At least Czech coach Karel Brueckner offered a more sensible perspective after Ronaldo helped to […]

You may have spent sleepless nights wondering what 1990s Dutch Euro-pop star Haddaway has to do with soccer. UEFA and the Austrian tourist broad have finally provided the answer, and Barney Ronay enjoyed the free beer at a strange promotional event at the European Championships featuring the man who once scored a huge hit with […]

England may not have made it to Euro 2008, having failed to qualify ahead of the so far unimpressive Russians and Croats, but that doesn’t mean their players can’t find ways to make it into the news during the offseason. Take Chelsea’s Ashley Cole, for instance, the player whose marriage to Girls Aloud singer Cheryl […]

From the farcical to the tragic. Former Polish international Adam Ledwon, aged 34, was found dead Wednesday at his home in the southern Austrian city of Klagenfurt, one of the Euro 2008 venues.   Ledwon was capped 18 times by his country and was under contract with Nate Jaqua’s last team, Austria Kaernten. “We are […]

The United States already had little to fear from its World Cup 2010 qualifying round games against Barbados over the coming two weekends. Now that its opponent has lost twice to lowly Bermuda these past few days, it should have even fewer concerns about progressing to the semi-final group phase.   In the first game […]

English Premier League Chairman Sir David Richards’ position may be in some doubt after he admitted in Dubai that England’s failure to qualify for the current European Championship was because “we’ve been a bit lazy in the Premier League over the years. We created a system of academies and every club spends about £3 million […]

It’s not the first time in soccer history that the world has been seduced by a wonderful Dutch team. Monday’s 3-0 victory over Italy has prompted many to recall the Dutch team featuring its current coach, Marco van Basten, and LA coach Ruud Gullit, that won the European Nations’ Cup 20 years ago. Or, on […]