Category: Section 2 Around the Net

As the Women’s World Cup quarterfinals wrap up this weekend, another world championship will open its doors a thousand miles away. For the first time ever, Latin America will play host to the gay soccer world cup when it kicks off this weekend in Buenos Aires. We use lower-case letters when referring to the tournament […]

“These are heady days for Arsenal,” says the Guardian’s David Hytner. Indeed, undefeated at the top of the Premier League, playing some of the most stylish soccer in Europe to a consistently sold-out Emirates Stadium, with a sound financial standing and billionaire-suitors lining up to get a piece, things could not be going much better […]

The Chelsea tenure of Jose Mourinho, the “Special One” as he once famously referred to himself, is now over. Let the speculation begin as to who will succeed him. According to Rivals DM, former Chelsea player Didier Deschamps heads the list of possible replacements. Deschamps, who coached Juventus to the Serie B title last season, […]

One of the more shocking results of the Champions League first round was the loss that Italian champion Inter Milan suffered at the hands of Turkish club Fenerbahce. More shocking, perhaps, than the 1-0 result was the fact that Inter’s usually dangerous attack force of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Suazo and Dejan Stankovic remained quiet for […]

ESPN’s Graham Hays says the key to victory for the U.S. women’s national team against England on Saturday is containing Kelly Smith, one of the world’s best strikers. Both Argentina and Japan failed in that regard as Smith grabbed a pair of goals in each game. However, the U.S. could take a page from Germany’s […]

As Freddy Adu continues to be neglected in Lisbon (the 18-year-old wasn’t included in Benfica’s traveling squad to face AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday), the calls to include another promising youngster in the cautionary category of America’s Next Big Thing are mounting. Yes, we’ve heard all about the pitfalls of over-hyping the […]

ESPN Soccernet’s Steve Davis extends kudos to Major League Soccer for (sort of) shirking the American professional sports tradition of recycling “marginally successful managers and coaches.” Davis says the practice has plagued American baseball, basketball and football for decades, preserving the “expedient choice” instead of blooding new guys who are often “relegated to assistant roles.” […]

The English Premier League season is little more than a month old, but Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas is already looking a good bet for PFA Player of the Year. Yes, it’s extremely early days, but Fabregas has already beaten his goals tally from last year, scoring five times in all competitions in just seven appearances, […]

Speaking of Platini, the UEFA President on Wednesday called on the European Union to support him in his attempt to reform the Champions League, warning regulators that clubs such as Manchester United and Liverpool represent “a serious threat” to the future of European soccer. Reuters intercepted a letter addressed to the EU’s 27 leaders, in […]

Despite the loss of marketing icon David Beckham, Real Madrid still has the highest commercial value of any European soccer club, according to BBDO. The Spanish champion’s brand was valued at $1.53 billion by the global marketing services firm, a unit of the world’s largest advertising agency, Omnicom, Inc. Real’s La Liga rival, Barcelona, was […]

The Guardian’s Matt Scott says that Arsenal FC effectively became “a billion-pound football club” Tuesday when Uzbeki Alisher Usmanov bought an additional 3.13 percent of the club for $40 million, bringing his total stake in Arsenal to 21 percent. The purchase means that the billionaire is now Arsenal’s second largest shareholder, behind Danny Fiszman, who […]

According to various reports, D.C. United is close to finalizing a deal that would bring Argentine legend Juan Sebastian Veron to Major League Soccer next year. However, the story of Veron’s possible signing is a tale of two takes. Soccer pundit Ives Galarcep is excited at the prospect of Seba in America, and while Ian […]

The U.S. women labored to defeat Nigeria, 1-0, in the final game of group qualifying on Tuesday, a win that combined with Sweden’s 2-1 win over North Korea earned the USA first place in Group B and a quarterfinal date against England on Saturday (North Korea faces Germany in another quarterfinal). The Americans scored after […]

The UEFA Champions League returns Wednesday, and while opening day clashes like Real Madrid-Werder Bremen, Barcelona-Lyon and Arsenal-Sevilla will be stealing headlines, many pundits and neutrals have their eye firmly trained on Group D, the so-called Group of Death, which contains English champion Manchester United, Ukrainian champion Dynamo Kiev, Portuguese No. 2 Sporting Lisbon, and […]

By now the problems of Chivas USA, which currently has the fourth best record in MLS (but with games in hand), are well-documented: the strategy of borrowing the brand name of one of Mexico’s most storied teams has backfired, offending some Chivas de Guadalajara fans while marginalizing those who don’t support the Mexican club, or […]

Frank Yallop’s former team gave his current one a comprehensive rollover at the Home Depot Center on Sunday, becoming the first team in the West to clinch a playoff spot. Defending MLS champ Houston Dynamo, once the San Jose Earthquakes under Yallop, dominated the last third of an otherwise closely contested game, winning, 3-1, to […]

A BigSoccer blogger who goes by the name VioletCrown wonders if Major League Soccer is becoming “un-American” in its quest for on-field quality and commercial success. He writes: “With all the talk on expansion threads of ‘MLS is becoming like the NASL, expanding too fast.  I find it interesting that no-one has expressed any concern […]

It looks like Barcelona has inherited Real Madrid’s “galactico” problem, suggests Phil Ball of ESPN Soccernet. A lineup containing Ronaldinho, Leo Messi, Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o, Deco and the emerging Mexican starlet Giovanni Dos Santos might just have one ego too many, as evidenced by the noticeable lack of cohesion from Barca’s disgruntled superstars at […]

England strolled through to the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup with its biggest win in a significant tournament. Kelly Smith, the former Seton Hall and WUSA and W-League star, scored two more goals, celebrating with more discretion this time, to join Birgit Prinz and Marta, FIFA’s most recent world players of the year, with […]

The United States women’s national team needed a good performance from star forward Abby Wambach to get its World Cup campaign back on schedule and an excellent performance is what it got. Wambach netted both goals as the U.S. beat No. 3-ranked Sweden, 2-0, to grab hold of the top spot in Group B alongside […]

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez hit out at the English Premier League for its scheduling, feeling that the international break has left his squad ill-prepared for Saturday’s clash against Portsmouth. The Spaniard said it was “impossible to prepare a team properly” after losing key players to international duty for 10 days. Many Benitez’s players returned from […]

On a night when Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari embarrassed himself in Lisbon, England coach Steve McClaren out-coached the great tactician Guus Hiddink at Wembley, trouncing the Dutchman’s organized Russian side, 3-0. It was a remarkable turn of events for the two coaches; before the latest round of Euro 2008 qualifiers, McClaren’s job was hanging […]

Ever wonder what’s up with Bob Bradley’s deployment of Landon Donovan in right midfield? To be fair, the one-time U.S. striker has responded brilliantly this year, scoring nine goals and adding three assists in a string of mostly midfield performances, but Ives Galarcep, writing on his blog Soccer by Ives, says that U.S. fans better […]

Sweet vindication, indeed. Michael Owen, England’s one-time boy wonder, must feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders after guiding England to a pair of crucial victories in Euro 2008 qualifying. Owen’s three very well-taken goals in two games have lifted the Lions out of fourth place in Group E […]

Was it the biggest night in Scottish soccer history? That’s the debate this morning in Edinburgh after Scotland pulled off a stunning 1-0 victory in Paris over France, giving the Tartan Army the advantage over both France and Italy in the remaining three Euro 2008 qualifiers. Said the Herald: “James McFadden’s goal is not only […]