Category: Section 2 Around the Net

U.S. striker Charlie Davies sat down with FIFA.com for an interview about his time in Sweden, his new club Sochaux, and why he prefers the French style of play. Davies, 23, on getting accustomed to France: "For the moment, everything's going great. I'm very happy at Sochaux. I can't wait to be 100 percent so […]

Twenty years ago, Mo Johnston, now manager and technical director of Toronto FC, made one of the most controversial transfers in the history of the sport. After growing up a Celtic fan in Glasgow and starring for the club from 1984 to 1987, Johnston signed for crosstown archrivals Rangers in 1989, after a stint in […]

On Tuesday, UEFA suspended Arsenal midfielder Eduardo for a dive against Celtic during last week’s Champions League match that gifted a penalty kick to Arsenal. The UEFA website reads: “The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body today examined the case of the Arsenal FC player Eduardo ‘for deceiving the referee’ during the UEFA Champions League playoff […]

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has found the center back he was looking for to solidify the team's shaky defense. Richard Dunne has completed a $9.7 million move from Manchester City. O'Neill believes Dunne has the character he needs following the retirement of the Danish defender Martin Laursen. "He is just the kind of person […]

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored late in an impressive debut for Barcelona on Monday with a diving header to round out a 3-0 victory over Sporting Gijon. "He just arrived, he needed to find his rhythm, know his teammates," Barcelona defender Dani Alves said. "But we always knew the goals would come because of his quality." Barcelona […]

On the field, Houston Dynamo striker Kai Kamara looks carefree and happy. But in his past he seldom felt that way. Born and raised in Sierra Leone, Kamara experienced the fear and helplessness involved in the country's civil war, which started in 1991, lasted 11 years, and caused an estimated 2 million deaths. Kamara lived […]

D.C. United and Seattle Sounders FC will face off on Wednesday in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (Fox Soccer Channel, 7:30 pm ET). For over a month preceding the game, D.C. United president Kevin Payne and Seattle Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer have increased the stakes off the field with a war of words. […]

Many U.S. soccer fans are hungry to see two recent additions to the U.S. player pool, Jermaine Jones and Edgar Castillo, named on the roster for a World Cup qualifying game. But both dual-internationals are still ineligible to play for the United States. Jones (Germany) and Castillo (Mexico) switched their international soccer allegiance to the […]

“I’m getting used to this winning thing again,” New York Red Bulls striker Dane Richards said after Sunday’s 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew. “I like it.” The win marked the second in a row for the Red Bulls and means the team avoided having the worst record in league history. The Red Bulls now […]

The New England Revolution was happy to see the halftime break on Saturday during a windy and rainy game against the San Jose Earthquakes in Santa Clara. If not for the Earthquakes’ squandered chances, the Revolution would have gone behind in the first half. “(Coach Steve Nicol) just tried to calm us and get us […]

Bayern Munich’s wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery played only 30 minutes together in the second half against Wolfsburg, but that was more than enough time to dismantle defending league champ, 3-0. The German press went into pun-tastic overdrive in the face of the duo’s devastating display. “Robb and Roll rock Bayern,” gushed the Kicker. […]

In the first ever Milan derby played in August, Inter Milan trounced AC Milan 4-0. After an even start, Inter unlocked AC Milan’s defense with some slick passing around the box that freed Thiago Motta to curl a shot past Marco Storari to make it 1-0 Inter. Gennaro Gattuso then brought new striker Samuel Eto’o […]

Manchester United took all three points in the first 'Top Four' clash of the season after a hard-fought win against Arsenal at Old Trafford. Arsenal struck first during a first half devoid of good chances when Andrey Arshavin struck a blast past from outside of the penalty area past United goalkeeper Ben Foster. Against the […]

Inter Milan defender Marco Materazzi has sued the directors of an Italian television program after one episode showed a character blaming the player for losing at fantasy soccer. “We have received a complaint from the player,” Inspector Coliandro director Marco Manetti told a news conference on Monday. “The ironic thing is I’m an Inter fan; […]

Juventus’ new pair of Brazilians gave the club an impressive 3-1 win over AS Roma at Rome’s Olympic Stadium. Diego struck in each half. And Felipe Melo scored in the second half of injury time to seal the game. “It was as hard as we thought it would be,” Diego said, “but you have to […]

Ian Plenderleith compared David Beckham‘s visit last weekend to RFK Stadium to his previous seasons’ appearances, which included a sellout crowd in 2007 of almost 47,000. “In 2008 when LA came to DC, that attendance dropped to just under 36,000. [This season’s] crowd was slightly above 22,000. That’s still well ahead of D.C. United’s home […]

After prolonged marketing efforts, Real Madrid has officially unloaded Netherlands midfielder Wesley Sneijder to Inter Milan. Neither club has provided financial details on the move. But Spanish and Italian media reported the transfer was worth around $21.5 million. Sneijder fulfills Inter coach Jose Mourninho‘s need for a creative midfielder. “I think Inter is an amazing […]

FC Dallas will return to its old home, the Cotton Bowl, on Sept. 30 when it will face the New England Revolution as part of a doubleheader that also features an international friendly between Mexico and Columbia. “What a great opportunity to play a pre-game to such a prestigious game for our community,” Dallas coach […]

The Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA have as heated a rivalry as you'll find in MLS. In a token offer of peace and reconciliation, the two rival supporter groups, Chivas USA's Union Ultras and the Galaxy's Angel City Brigade, scheduled an exhibition match to be played prior to the Superclasico at the Home Depot […]

Organizers of the inaugural Globe Soccer conference hope it will serve as an opportunity for more fair and transparent transfers during the midseason transfer window. Recalling Major League Baseball’s “winter meetings,” the conference aims to facilitate trade deals under the same roof. The conference is set for Jan. 4 in Dubai. Globe Soccer founder Enrico […]

The Professional Football Strategy Council (PFSC) unanimously recommended that UEFA’s Executive Committee approve the Financial Fair Play concept at UEFA’s upcoming meeting in Nyon in September. The PFSC is composed of representatives from the European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL), the players (FIFPro Europe), the clubs (ECA) and the UEFA vice-presidents. As UEFA says on its […]

Andriy Shevchenko's disappointing three-year stint with Chelsea is almost over. Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed Friday that the striker will leave before the transfer window closes next week. "Shevchenko will decide to return to go to play in another team," Ancelotti said. "I spoke with Shevchenko and he would like to play with continuity. Here […]

Peter Wilt, former president and GM of the Chicago Fire and current president of the WPS’s Red Stars, writes a guest column on Tom Dunmore’s site, Pitch Invasion. Wilt focuses on winning American fans via good customer service. “It seems rather self evident,” Wilt says, “but surprisingly few businesses in general and few soccer teams […]

UEFA is trying to curb the financial recklessness that plagues many of Europe’s top clubs. UEFA president Michel Platini said that he wants to establish new rules by 2012 to stop clubs from spending more on players than they generate in income. Before launching this season’s 32 team Champions League competition, UEFA warned European soccer […]

On Wedesday, Arsenal's Eduardo da Silva drew a dubious penalty that led to the first goal in the Gunners' 3-1 win over Celtic to advance to the group stage of Champions League play. UEFA is investigating footage of the play to determine if Eduardo dived deliberately. "We are reviewing the match to see whether a […]