Category: Section 2 Around the Net

The man who scored perhaps the most famous goal in Manchester United history retired from the game on Tuesday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a loyal 11-year veteran of Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils, announced “after much deliberation and with deep sadness” that he’d finally lost his battle with chronic knee problems. The 34-year-old striker, who many believe […]

With the exception of Inter Milan, whose opening day celebrations evaporated with an inexplicable lapse of concentration from Julio Cesar, Italy’s giants looked giant indeed on the first day of the new Serie A season. Juventus picked up where it left off two seasons ago, scoring three goals in the last two minutes to brush […]

Since his collapse during FC Sevilla’s 4-1 win over Getafe this weekend, Antonio Puerta has remained in critical condition in a hospital in Seville. The midfielder lost consciousness twice during play, suffering cardiac arrest in both instances as well as after the match. “The patient’s situation, 36 hours after being brought in, continues to be […]

Following back-to-back 3-0 defeats and a winless streak extending back to before the All-Star break, the L.A. Galaxy is operating in emergency mode. Coach Frank Yallop is still in charge despite guiding his team to just three wins in 18 MLS games. However, he may not be around for long, says the London Times, whose […]

Manchester United might have notched its first win of the season this weekend, but The Independent’s James Lawton says the Red Devils look a shadow of their former selves. Of course the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo (suspended) and Wayne Rooney (injured), who combined for nearly 50 goals last season, doesn’t help, but it would seem […]

Two months ago, the Chicago Fire had only won one of its last 12 games and was in danger of becoming the worst team in MLS, but a lot has changed at Toyota Park in the last two months. Juan Carlos Osorio replaced Dave Sarachan as head coach, Chris Rolfe returned from injury and the […]

AC Milan insists that Ronaldo (the “original” Ronaldo that is) will be back to his best for the Rossoneri this season, after doctors discovered a condition that has been affecting his form-and his weight. Called hypothyroidism, the condition is caused by insufficient production of hormones by the thyroid gland and can lead to weight gain, […]

Chivas USA’s 3-0 second half drubbing of the L.A. Galaxy capped off what was a decidedly ugly evening for the David Beckham Show: the ill-tempered affair was marked by ugly defending, ugly attacking and the ugliest of team brawls involving the man himself. A “crude” foul against Beckham literally kicked it all off as the […]

Major League Soccer will be doling out a pair of franchises before the end of the year, and Philadelphia officials believe their city is close to being one of them. As Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Bob Ford points out, Philly, with one of the largest markets and a great sports tradition, has long been a target […]

Thanks to UEFA President Michel Platini, winning the F.A. Cup might mean something once again. The Frenchman has proposed to make the domestic cup winner from Europe’s biggest leagues an automatic qualifier for the UEFA Champions League; UEFA will consider the matter next week. Platini’s original intention was to reduce the number of entrants from […]

How desperate is Juan Riquelme to leave Villarreal? So desperate that the Argentine international has promised to play free of charge for one year if his beloved club Boca Juniors buys out his current contract with the Valencia club. The 29-year-old spent most of last season on loan with the Argentine giant, which he guided […]

The Guardian’s James Richardson serves up a colorful preview of the return of Serie A this weekend. There may have been few big-name signings in Italy’s top flight this summer, as the likes off Thierry Henry, Carlos Tevez, Fernando Torres and Franck Ribéry opted to go elsewhere, but Richardson points out that Italian giants Inter […]

Expensive Sevilla right-back Daniel Alves may have seen his transfer dreams go up in smoke, after Chelsea signed fellow Brazilian Juliano Belletti for the far more reasonable price of $7.5 million from Barcelona. Meanwhile, Chelsea finally sold off Dutch winger Arjen Robben to Real Madrid for an estimated $49 million. Club chairman Bruce Buck described […]

The San Jose Mercury News’ Ann Killion, who professes to be a "true believer" in both the beautiful game and "the dazzling star power of David Beckham," isn’t so convinced about MLS’ future. Killion happily admits that soccer, as evidenced by the bigness of the World Cup, is the only truly global game. David Beckham […]

David Beckham’s performance last night, while somewhat sub-standard considering his form for club and country over the past six months, was still one of the brighter spots in England’s 2-1 loss to Germany at Wembley stadium. The L.A. Galaxy midfielder was adamant that the flight from the USA to the British capital had not adversely […]

International friendlies aren’t often important, but today’s USA-Sweden match carries significance for both sides, says Goal.com’s Ben Brackett. Sweden will use the home match as a tune-up for its next round of Euro 2008 qualifiers in two weeks. The Scandinavians understand that the U.S. is a much tougher opponent than it used to be, but […]

Is there a mutiny on hand in Toronto? Winless in six, scoreless in six, Toronto FC is just seven minutes away from Major League Soccer’s most dubious record: most minutes without a goal. Injuries have certainly played their part, but there’s no denying TFC’s massive slump. Even so, the Toronto Sun says the players insist […]

The L.A. Galaxy, set to host Mexican giant Pachuca in next week’s SuperLiga final, has agreed to limit ticket sales for the midweek clash to 12,500 (less than half the stadium’s capacity), in order to appease a local college. Cal State-Dominguez Hills shares its campus with the Home Depot Center and the SuperLiga final presents […]

Barely two months after he bought the club, British billionaire Mike Ashley is discussing the sale of Newcastle United. The London Times says Icelandic retail mogul Palmi Haraldsson has already entered into talks with Ashley about acquiring the club’s assets for more than $270 million. Newcastle denied the rumors. The development comes amid unsettling times […]

England’s Tottenham Hotspur and Spain’s FC Sevilla are very much in the news today, after it was revealed that Spurs tried to replace coach Martin Jol with Sevilla’s Juande Ramos. It was an offer the UEFA Cup winner described as “dizzying,” though in the end, Ramos said, “There was not the slightest possibility that I […]

For the New York Red Bulls, David Beckham’s first trip to Giants Stadium could only be construed as a huge success: nine goals, 90 minutes for Beckman (60 of which were quite good), and a win for the home team in front of a 65,000-plus crowd that was decidedly rooting for them. Ives Galarcep of […]

“No, Beckham did not leave a trail of glory wherever he trod, but he triumphed nonetheless,” writes Paul Gardner in the New York Sun. Beckham did his job last Saturday. He brought 66,237 people to Giants Stadium and made three assists, but the Galaxy lost. And it’s clear that Beckham may not be enough to […]

Keith Hackett, chief of England’s Professional Game Match Officials association, says that the latest round of English Premier League games illustrates the need for goal-line technology. At Craven Cottage this weekend, Fulham was denied a late equalizer against Middlesbrough that replays clearly proved went over the line. Assistant referee Ian Gosling was suspended from officiating […]

From time to time the media checks in on the progress in South Africa, host of the 2010 World Cup. According to a Reuters report, everything seems to be on track for a successful first World Cup in Africa-except for the quality on the field. Danny Jordaan, chief of the South Africa 2010 organizing committee, […]

After just two professional games this season, Freddy Adu’s Benfica coach Fernando Santos has been sacked. Apparently, a dressing room bust-up with club President Luis Felipe Vieira coupled with a disappointing 1-1 draw with promoted side Leixoes led to the prompt dismissal of both Santos and his assistant Jorge Rosário. Former Spain and Real Madrid […]