Category: Section 2 Around the Net

The last month of the MLS regular season begins on the back of an outstanding week for crowds. According to Ian Plenderleith of USSoccerPlayers, there was an average of 23,100 for last week’s seven games, including two Beckham-less “Beckham” games and Cuauhtemoc Blanco’s Los Angeles debut against Chivas USA. Aside from these expected average boosters, […]

Steven Goff of the Washington Post reports from Shanghai in his Soccer Insider that the intense media coverage of the USA’s 4-0 loss to Brazil in the Women’s World Cup semifinals and Hope Solo’s comments afterwards led to U.S. Soccer’s decision to make Coach Greg Ryan available to the media on Friday after first announcing that […]

David Hirshey says Greg Ryan’s decision to drop Hope Solo for “the 136-year-old Brinna Scurry” was right out of the Grady Little playbook. For those of you who aren’t baseball fans, Grady Little was the Boston Red Sox manager whose decision to not take out ace pitcher Pedro Martinez late in Game 7 of the 2003 American […]

Jere Longman, writing in the New York Times’ Goal Blog, also compares Greg Ryan’s decision to pick Briana Scurry over Hope Solo to that of a baseball manager — a manager playing the percentages with a certain hitter or pitcher. Previously, Scurry was 12-0 against Brazil and she “pitched 8 shutouts,” the last which came […]

U.S. coach Greg Ryan is being blamed for the Hangzhou massacre, but he’s not the only one responsible for the defeat. Associated Press columnist Jim Litke says to play the blame game takes away from the fact that Brazil was a far superior team than the USA. Ryan’s players only occasionally demonstrate an understanding of […]

More bad news for Chelsea, which has gotten off to a slow start in the English Premier League and Champions League. The Blues have been charged by the Football Association with failing to control their players during 2-0 loss at Manchester United. Referee Mike Dean reported the club after at least four players surrounded him […]

Inter Milan boss Massimo Moratti has denied speculation that Coach Roberto Mancini’s job is in danger. Jose Mourinho’s departure from Chelsea and disclosure that he might like to learn Italian — he already speaks Portuguese, Spanish, French and English — prompted speculation that he might be in line to replace Mancini at the Italian champions. “I […]

In an interview with the Deseret Morning News, Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts says first-year coach Jason Kreis has done about as well as he could possibly do, given the circumstances. Kreis took over for John Ellinger after four games. RSL is 5-11-6 under Kreis and won’t make the playoffs for the third straight year. Checketts said […]

David Beckham arrived in London on Thursday to visit his father, who has been hospitalized after suffering a heart attack.   The England midfielder, who hasn’t played a game for the Los Angeles Galaxy since Aug. 30 because of a knee injury, took the first flight from Los Angeles to London after hearing the news. […]

D.C. United faces a familiar foe Wednesday night when it opens play in the Copa Sudamericana, South America’s fall international club competition. The MLS club hosts Guadalajara, a team it played — and lost to — in last spring’s CONCACAF Champions Cup. United continued its recent pattern of just falling short in international play when […]

Will Los Angeles Galaxy star Cobi Jones go ahead with his plans of retiring at the end of the 2007 season? Jones, the only player since with the same MLS team for all 12 years of league play, never figured he’d being going out on team that’s won five league games in five months. Jones […]

Once again, Michael Owen is sidelined — and it couldn’t come at a worse time for England. Owen, whose goals helped England defeat Israel and Russia at Wembley this month in critical Euro ’08 qualifying games, will miss next month’s Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia and Russia. Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce said on Wednesday that […]

Carlos Bilardo, who coached Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title and second place at the 1990 finals, launched an outspoken attack on the state of soccer in Argentina and its soccer leadership. Bilardo said it was time for Argentina soccer federation (AFA) president Julio Grondona to go. “I feel shame when I see the […]

David Beckham’s first MLS season appears to be over, and Los Angeles Galaxy president Alexi Lalas hopes to avoid the problems that arose in Year 1 — most notably issues surrounding Becks’ fitness. “Just because David says he is healthy, that does not mean he is healthy,” Lalas told Yahoo! Sports. “When we see he […]

Can Michel Platini, the president of UEFA, stop what he calls “the malign and ever-present influence of money” that is distorting sporting values in European soccer? Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune says Platini’s bid to stop business tycoons from taking over clubs as business transactions without any allegiance or historical ties to the […]

One of the most intriguing MLS matches of the year will take place on Saturday at the Home Depot Center, and it won’t involve David Beckham or his Los Angeles Galaxy. Chivas USA hosts the Chicago, and it will be “El Emperador” (Claudio Suarez) vs. “El Cuau” (Cuauhtemoc Blanco) and Chivas (the parent club of […]

After Juventus earned a 1-1 tie with Roma in its first big test since returning to Serie A after its year of punishment in the second level of Italian soccer, the Italian papers immediately began to make Juve a title favorite. “Juve for the Scudetto,” blared Corriere dello Sport, while “Juve can win it all” was […]

Chelsea to Manchester United, 2-0, on Sunday in Israeli Avram Grant’s first game as Blues’ manager in place of Jose Mourinho. The game was not without controversy, notably referee Mike Dean controversially sending off John Obi Mikel and awarding a dubious penalty late in the game to United. The British papers were full of stories […]

Frank Dell’Apa reports on the New England Revolution’s 2-2 tie with the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium, where the conditions were hardly conducive to high-level soccer (artificial turf making possession difficult and the football lines adding to the confusion). The game could have been a preview of the playoffs to come, and Dell’Apa […]

One of the unsung players on the Brazil tea that has won all four games at the Women’s World Cup is 29-year-old Formiga, a veteran of the W-League (Jersey Sky Blue and New Jersey Wildcats). On a team with such attacking stars as Marta and Cristiane, it’s easy to get lost, but Formiga has been […]

Marcus Hahnemann is a jack of all trades. In his second season in the English Premier League with Reading, it’s the 35-year-old American whose job it is to protect the Royals’ goal and help keep them in the elite. But his popularity in the English media is based in part on his off-the-field interests. He […]

English soccer’s two longest serving and most successful managers expressed their respect for Jose Mourinho on Friday, saying they would miss the rivalry that had grown between them and the former Chelsea coach.   “It’s a disappointment for the game,” said Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson, adding that he enjoyed the competition and the “fresh” […]

The Associated Press takes a look at Women’s World Cup quarterfinal match-ups this weekend. Most of the hype has been reserved for the greatly anticipated clash between the No. 1 ranked U.S. and England. The U.S. women survived three tough first-round games but failed to look convincing tournament favorites. England, meanwhile, is coming off two […]

Don’t expect to hear much about the Women’s World Cup from the British press. Grahame L. Jones of the Los Angeles Times says that women’s soccer, like almost any other sport in England, comes a distant 12th to the men’s game in terms of media coverage. Which isn’t to say the English ladies aren’t getting […]

Fresh from a $24 million severance package, former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says he’s already ready to return to management. In an interview with the London Times, Mourinho said, “I’m going to wait for the telephone calls. I want to work.” Apparently, Tottenham Hotspur has already expressed interest, although the Times  says Mourinho is unlikely […]