Category: Section 2 Around the Net

The size of Bob Bradley’s 33-man roster for the upcoming US men’s team friendlies against England, Spain and Argentina has got Ives Galarcep wondering who will step up for the U.S. on the road to qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Although he calls the pool “the deepest collection of talent” a U.S. coach has […]

Just because you’ve won the championship in one of Europe’s stronger leagues doesn’t mean you get to relax for the summer. U.S. and Standard Liege central defender Oguchi Onyewu has only allowed himself a week’s rest after lifting the Belgian title before focusing on his next two priorities — the three national team friendlies, and […]

FC Dallas fans on Sunday watched history repeated as farce when, for the second season running, their team fell behind by four first-half goals to the LA Galaxy. Last year in the SuperLiga they turned things around to a face-saving 6-5 defeat, but this time the home side failed to launch a comeback and ended […]

The setting was neutral Canada, and although the game was between Toronto FC and the Columbus Crew, Saturday’s game ended up being all about two old adversaries on the international soccer stage — England and Argentina. It was not so much a Falklands-style war (thankfully), but a cultural difference in approach to the concept of […]

Saturday’s English FA Cup Final was probably not a great cup final, but it was an emotional one, writes Paul Wilson. After last year’s “bore-fest” between Chelsea and Manchester United, it was refreshing just to see two sets of fans who actually wanted to be there as the Premier League’s Portsmouth edged second-tier Cardiff City […]

While Cardiff and Portsmouth slugged it out at Wembley, and just one week after Manchester United were crowned Premier League champions (again), England’s biggest teams are already splashing out the money in time for next season.   “Chelsea have already acquired £16.1 million [approximately $32 million] of defender in Jose Bosingwa,” writes Nick Townsend. “United […]

Inter Milan may have won its third successive Serie A title Sunday, but for many of its fans this was the first one to truly count. Two years ago, it was awarded the scudetto by default after Juventus was stripped of its title in the wake of the match-fixing scandal. Last year Inter won while […]

With only one goal and one assist in seven games for D.C. United, Brazilian striker Luciano Emilio has been the disappointment of the 2008 MLS season. Emilio’s poor start is one of the reasons why D.C. is 2-5-0 entering its game at Chivas USA Saturday night. The Washington Post Steven Goff reports that D.C. United […]

For the first time since 1991, that none of  England’s “big four” — Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea or Arsenal — reached the English FA Cup final, which will be contested by Portsmouth and Cardiff City (second division) on Saturday (TV: Setanta pay-per-view, live, 10 am ET). You have to go all the way back to […]

Will Cristiano Ronaldo really leave Manchester United for Real Madrid? Only days before the Champions League final between United and Chelsea, Ronaldo dropped a bombshell when he told a Madrid-based television channel that he would not rule out a move to Spain. Ronaldo has four years left on a five-year contract at Old Trafford that […]

The USL-1 Vancouver Whitecaps announced Friday that they will move to BC Place, which will undergo major renovations. The announcement triggered a statement from MLS Commissioner Don Garber, who said Vancouver is a potential MLS expansion city. “There is no doubt the market for professional soccer exists in Vancouver,” he said, “as we saw last […]

Italy’s Serie A championship will be decided on Sunday, and Inter Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic hopes to be available — at least from the bench — for the thrilling season finale. A win at relegation-threatened Parma would hand Inter its third straight Serie A title. Second-place Roma, a point behind the defending champions, will claim […]

One of the surprises of the 2008 MLS season has been Colorado Rapids midfielder Nick LaBrocca, who played only two games in his rookie season but he’s started every game for the Western Conference co-leaders going into Thursday’s match against Real Salt Lake. Dubbed the “Silent Sponge” for his ability to take advice and put […]

Barcelona will be returning to the United States this summer as part of a long-term agreement signed Thursday with Major League Soccer. Barca will play a minimum of six games over the term of the five-year agreement that could lead to the Spanish club having a permanent presence in the form of a team in […]

The final day of the 2008 Bundesliga season will mark the last game for Bayern Munich goalie Oliver Kahn, who is retiring Saturday after winning his eighth Bundesliga championship and sixth German Cup. Saturday’s match against Karlsruhe — his hometown team — will be the 557th Bundesliga game for the 38-year-old Kahn, who is as […]

Prime Minister Gordon Brown says the British government will review measures to stop violent public drunkenness after clashes broke out before and after Wednesday’s UEFA Cup final between Rangers and Zenit St. Petersburg in Manchester. The fear is that more trouble like that which took place Wednesday could hurt England’s 2018 World Cup bid. Fighting […]

After being sidelined for seven games with a knee injury, it took barely 14 minutes for New England Revolution striker Taylor Twellman to score his first goal of the MLS season. But then, four minutes later, he got injured again, his ankle this time. Revs coach Steve Nicol was prepared to have Twellman replaced before […]

FC Barcelona hit rock bottom on Sunday, surrendering a 2-0 lead in its last home game of the season in front of a nearly-empty Estadio Camp Nou, to lose, 3-2, to Real Mallorca. Even the usually expressionless coach Frank Rijkaard couldn’t suppress a look of utter helplessness as the Barca supporters threw projectiles onto the […]

It’s been nearly a month since Joe Franchino was traded from the New England Revolution to the Los Angeles Galaxy. But more than a chance to return to his roots — Franchino grew up in Southern California and started his MLS career with the Galaxy — he says the trade gave him the opportunity to […]

Round one of the Rocky Mountain derby between the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake is this week’s feature on “MLS Primetime Thursday” (ESPN2: 9:30 PM ET). Despite being just three years old, the rivalry is marked by “megawatt intensity,”says ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle, fondly recalling Pablo Mastroeni’s infamous on-field tirade in 2005 that drew the […]

The team that SI.com’s Greg Lalas calls “The Milwaukee Bucks of Major League Soccer” (non basketball fans note: this is not a good thing), the Columbus Crew, has surprised just about everyone this year in assuming top spot in the league’s loaded Eastern Conference. Sure, it’s only seven games into the season, but when you […]

Robbie Rogers is this year’s Juan Toja, says Steve Davis, writing for MLSNet — which is to say the Columbus Crew winger is off to a fast start in 2008, scoring five goals in his first seven games. It remains to be seen whether he can keep up the momentum (Toja in the second half […]

It may not be all that effective, considering the team’s record, but at least the L.A. Galaxy is attempting to play Ruud Gullit’s brand of “sexy football,” says ESPN’s Steve Davis, for which the team should be commended. Under the Dutch legend’s direction, the Galaxy midfielders are settling into their roles, moving the ball quickly […]

Part one of what Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune calls the “East-West rapprochement” begins tomorrow, although it should really be called the “Russia-Great Britain rapprochement” considering the teams and cities involved. Wednesday’s UEFA Cup final pits Scotland’s Glasgow Rangers against Russia’s Zenit St. Petersburg at the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England. […]

England coach Fabio Capello on Monday named a 31-man provisional roster for the upcoming matches against the USA and Trinidad & Tobago, opting once again to go for the experience of Los Angeles Galaxy star David Beckham. The game might still be more than two weeks away, but Capello’s decisive move has soccer blogger Ives […]