Category: Section 2 Around the Net

BBC columnist Tim Vickery, for one, isn’t surprised at Sunday’s bright start made by AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato, in which the he scored one and was involved in several others during Milan’s 5-2 rout of Napoli. Vickery, the BBC’s South American correspondent, recalls the Brazilian’s professional debut for Internacional against Palmeiras two years ago. […]

Taylor Twellman must be ruing the day last year he agreed to a $300,000-plus multi-year deal with the New England Revolution. The Revs striker had a stellar 2007, breaking the club’s scoring record and firmly establishing himself in Bob Bradley’s U.S. national team. Had he known that an English club would come calling for him […]

An insider tells Chicago Tribune blogger Luis Arroyave that electronics retailer Best Buy has reached a deal with the Chicago Fire to put its logo on the club’s jerseys starting next season. If so, the Fire would become the eighth MLS team to have a jersey sponsor after Real Salt Lake (XanGo), the Los Angeles […]

Chelsea finally gotten its man: Frenchman Nicolas Anelka has completed his transfer from Bolton in a deal worth between $27 and $30 million, according to various reports. Bolton had already rejected Chelsea’s first offer on Monday, but agreed to sell the striker on Friday after receiving an improved bid. The Blues were desperate to find […]

Manchester United says it is once again the richest club in the world after earning gross revenues of $490 million for the year ending in June 2007. The Red Devils’ haul exceeds that of Real Madrid, the former title holder, by just 12 euros if the average conversion rates during the same time period are […]

Longtime assistant coach Denis Hamlett will soon be named Chicago Fire head coach, says the Southtown Star’s Nick Firchau. An unnamed source said the club made a formal approach to Hamlett on Thursday and that he would accept the offer as early as Friday. Hamlett, 39, has been with the Fire since the team’s inception […]

The Daily Mail says that Harry Redknapp will be taking the helm at Newcastle United despite reports that Portsmouth, his current employer, had rejected a formal approach. The British daily reports that Redknapp has decided he’s taken Portsmouth as far as he can. The former Southampton manager canceled his usual Friday press conference and left […]

Is Eddie Johnson on his way out of Kansas City? Not yet, says Wizards technical director Peter Vermes. “There are about five to seven teams I’ve heard of now that have deals done with Eddie,” he tells the Kansas City Star. “I can tell you, I have not had any official discussions with any team […]

A new designated player could very possibly join Guillermo Barros Schelotto when he returns to play with the Columbus Crew later this month. According to the Columbus Dispatch, the Crew is in advanced talks with one player — “a European player, a forward who has had a significant number of caps with his national team,” […]

The Chicago Fire plans to announce a new coach by the end of the week, but it won’t be Dynamo assistant John Spencer, according to the Houston Chronicle. Spencer on Wednesday said he rejected an offer to become Fire head coach because the parties couldn’t agree to personal terms. “[Tuesday] I got offered the job […]

As Major League Soccer adds more competitions, its best and most valuable clubs are being stretched thin, says Goal.com’s Pat Walsh. For example, MLS champ Houston could play more than 50 games next season, surpassing Bayern Munich’s 2006-07 tally of 47, while equaling that of Real Madrid. Like most European clubs, Bayern and Real have […]

American midfielders Eddie Lewis and Benny Feilhaber could be pushed to the margins at Derby County as Manager Paul Jewell completes the signing of five new players — with the Kansas City Wizards’ Eddie Johnson a possible sixth. Jewell has already added Danny Mills, Robbie Savage, Laurent Robert and Emanuel Villa, while Tottenham’s Hossam Ghaly […]

According to Columbus coach Sigi Schmid, Crew star Guillermo Barros Schelotto will play a second season in MLS, despite reports in Argentina that the player is returning to hometown team, Gimnasia de La Plata. “He hasn’t come to us saying that he wants to leave,” Schmid told Soccer by Ives. “He’s under contract with us […]

At 27, Taylor Twellman thought there would be no second chance at playing abroad. But following a stellar 2007, the New England Revolution striker caught the attention of English club Preston North End, which lodged a $1.7 million bid for the New England Revolution. MLS rejected the bid. Preston plays in England’s Coca-Cola Championship, its […]

Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster accused Barcelona of treating star players like Ronaldinho poorly, and cited that as the reason that he himself left the club. “It is very unjust. They are doing the same thing to Ronaldinho that they did to me,” he said, adding: “It is not difficult to forget that all the […]

The Iranian soccer federation (FFI) ended a longstanding dispute with world governing body FIFA after a pro-government candidate withdrew his name from the organization’s presidential election. FIFA refused to let politicians working for the Iranian government’s Physical Education Organization run for positions within FFI. FIFA threatened banning Iran from international competition if it refused to […]

Nobody, it seems, likes the way Major League Soccer handles scheduling, but this is a truly thankless job, says ESPN’s Steve Davis. Among the factors organizers have to consider for next season: 2010 World Cup qualifying, the U.S. Open Cup, the SuperLiga, the new CONCACAF Champions League, ESPN2’s Thursday night matches, the David Beckham circus […]

The New York Red Bulls still have big plans for Claudio Reyna, according to Jeff Agoos, who was named club sporting director on Monday. “[Red Bulls coach] Juan (Osorio) has sat down with Claudio and we expect to have Claudio back and healthy,” he said. “We’re expecting a big season from Claudio.”   Reyna had […]

The New England Revolution has received a $1.675 million bid from English second division club Preston North End for Taylor Twellman, Boston Globe writer Frank Dell’Apa reports, citing an unnamed source. Major League Soccer, which owns its players’ contracts, has declined the offer, but Preston may raise the offer to $2 million. “Taylor just re-signed […]

It looks like Derby County manager Paul Jewell is finally putting his money where his mouth is: SportingLife reports that the Rams are closing in on three new midfielders: Blackburn Rovers’ Robbie Savage, Tottenham’s Hossam Ghaly, and free agent Laurent Robert, formerly of Levante in Spain. In the weeks leading up to the January transfer […]

ESPN’s Phil Ball says that if Dimitar Berbatov moves from Tottenham to Chelsea in the EPL, the move would create a ripple effect across Spain. The result would be “overflowing coffers at White Hart Lane,” which means Tottenham manager Juande Ramos would then be able to afford former player Dani Alves of Sevilla. Ramos has […]

Portuguese wizard Luis Figo has become the latest former Real Madrid Galactico to be linked with Major League Soccer. Last week, reports in Portugal linked the 35-year-old with a move to the Los Angeles Galaxy, but the rumor is already dying down, as both Figo and his agent have denied accelerated talks with MLS. Even […]

Several European clubs, according to Chivas USA President Shawn Hunter, want Chivas USA’s Brad Guzan, the 2007 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. Guzan, 24, is in the final year of his three-year contract with MLS. Some clubs want to sign him before the European transfer window closes at the end of January; others are prepared […]

Unlicensed soccer academies are springing up across Africa, further impoverishing the region’s poor with false proclamations of ties with big European clubs. According to the Confederation of African Football, soccer’s governing body in Africa, all soccer academies must be registered with the local government or football association. The problem is, most poor families know nothing […]

Goal.com’s Kyle McCarthy asks the pertinent question: Why hasn’t the Chicago Fire named a successor for Juan Carlos Osorio yet? Two months after losing the Colombian to the New York Red Bulls, the Fire looks no closer to having a replacement. Even stranger, McCarthy says, is the decidedly weak list of potential successors. The Chicago […]