Category: Section 2 Around the Net

Gabriel Andrade, the translator for Saint Louis Athletica’s Brazilian coach Jorge Barcellos, might have the toughest job on the team. Barcellos speaks little English, so Andrade relays everything Barcellos says in Portuguese to his team, in film sessions, in practice, during games, in one-on-ones with players. Sometimes this can get complicated, like when Barcellos says, […]

The reigning MLS champion Columbus Crew is winning no matter which players it puts on the field. The team has played its last four games without last season’s MVP, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, due to a hamstring injury. The Argentina playmaker came on in the 90th minute against FC Dallas, but the 2-0 win was already […]

Saturday’s game against the last-place New York Red Bulls came at a good time for Chivas USA. Before Saturday, Chivas hadn’t scored since June 14, in 335 minutes of play. Maykel Galindo‘s first half goal ended the dry spell for Chivas, which won, 2-0. “We found a way to get a goal after a long, […]

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez displayed some theatrical humor when asked what he thought about the referee’s overall performance in Liverpool’s 2-1 loss against Tottenham on Sunday. He took off his spectacles and held them up for inspection. After Liverpool received a penalty for a foul by Tottenham goalkeeper, Heurelho Gomes, the referee ignored two other […]

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has suggested that his team’s performance over the last four years should be placed within context of the financial battle that the team is fighting. Arsenal owes $650 million in debt. The mortgage for the team’s new Emirates Stadium, however, accounts for most of that figure.   In defending Arsenal’s seemingly […]

Wayne Rooney is looking forward to proving wrong the critics who have questioned Manchester United’s ability to win a fourth-straight league title, after the departures of two high-profile playmakers. “Obviously we’ve lost two world-class players in Cristiano [Ronaldo] and Carlos Tevez,” Rooney told the Mirror. “We want to prove to everyone that we’re worthy champions […]

Pumas won the Clausura championship last season. But after the mid-season break the Apertura tournament has been a different story. Pumas are winless after four rounds, losing to Tigres, 2-1, on Saturday. On the bright side, Pablo Barrera scored the first goal of the season for Pumas, ending a 323-minute drought. But the team finished […]

An embarrassing refereeing decision during a Championship League game in England has reignited support for the introduction of goal-line technology. Referee Rob Shoebridge robbed Crystal Palace of a clear goal against Bristol City when he awarded a goal kick after a shot from Freddie Sears bounced back into the field of play after hitting the […]

As much as domestic soccer fans might not want to admit it, what is clear coming out of Wednesday's wince-worthy letdown, coupled with the 5-0 Gold Cup catastrophe, is that whatever psychological edge the USA once had over its border rivals during these last several years is all but gone. "Beating the Americans in consecutive […]

While the Summer of Soccer was a huge victory for the sport in America, unfortunately for the U.S. men’s national team and all its highs in South Africa, it ends with a pretty low low and “the bitter taste of yet another loss to Mexico at Estadio Azteca.” SI.com’s Jonah Freeman looks at what has […]

"Throwing on a substitute in a soccer game can be like throwing dice: You win some, you lose some," writes the New York Times' Rob Hughes, but "the gambles Wednesday in World Cup qualifiers and friendly games alike provided some career-changing benefits" as well as dramatic victories, with Mexican coach Javier Aguirre being "the biggest […]

No, the story about Saturday's match between the Galaxy and Sounders FC isn't all about David Beckham or Freddie Ljungberg or Landon Donovan's bout with swine flu. Part of what will be interesting to watch is the return to the Home Depot Center for veteran Seattle midfielder Pete Vagenas, a Galaxy veteran of nine years, […]

File under: say it ain't so. According to the Oneonta Daily Star, "losing the National Soccer Hall of Fame's Oneonta facility is a possibility as the organization confronts continuing financial problems." Although there isn't a timeline on any decision by the Hall's Board of Directors, president and CEO Jonathan Ullman acknowledged, "how we operate here […]

Count 23-year-old Toronto goalkeeper Stefen Frei as one of the few athletes these days who is happy to have stayed in school. "I know it's very important to be confident in goal and I decided I wanted to stay one more year (in school) and get that confidence," said Frei, who opted out of the […]

With ESPN picking up the UK rights to broadcast the English Premiership for the 2009-10 season, perhaps it's only fair that we let ESPN Soccernet senior editor John Brewin and fellow "experts" to express their opinions and post their predictions about all things EPL as the eagerly-awaited campaign kicks off tomorrow. With the new season […]

Echoing the frustration felt from dedicated footy fans to fair-weather “Sports Center” followers, the New York Times’ Michael Lewis provides perhaps the understatement of the U.S. Soccer year, saying “if the U.S. national team wants to make any sort of an impact in next year’s FIFA World Cup, it will have to find a way […]

Tequila wasn't the only thing that the Mexican national team was likely enjoying after its emboldening 2-1 win over the USA, according to Coach Javier Aguirre. "Today we deserve a taco, because we had eaten nothing but (crap) for the last three to four months, excuse my language," said the relieved boss, who has done […]

It's tough to step up and admit a mistake in a match as meaningful as Wednesday's World Cup qualifier in Mexico City, but that's basically what U.S. defender Carlos Bocanegra did after the game, according to goal.com. "Me and Landon [Donovan] maybe got a little confused at the end. Maybe should've stayed inside and pushed […]

In an article leading up to the massive USA-Mexico match, the New York Times' Jere Longman wondered what many fans south of the border have: if "young forward Giovani dos Santos will again be considered the future of Mexican soccer"? Having disappointed at different points in his still young career, but recently reignited wonder boy […]

Once known only within MLS circles as "a striker who made two unremarkable appearances as a sub for Toronto FC after three seasons during which he scored only three goals for his Bundesliga club," according to Elias Sports Bureau's Peter Hirdt, Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey has "has revived his career and with it the […]

After he'd "hung up his boots over a year ago, after a long and distinguished career spanning 23 years and over 1,000 goals by his personal count," 43-year-old Brazilian legend Romario "has confirmed he is coming out of retirement to fulfill his late father's wishes and play for Rio de Janeiro club America," according to […]

Leave it to the British press to give a post-match report the headline "Time for England to just put a sock in it and play …", but so read the Daily Mail as Martin Samuel took England to task for a less than overwhelming effort in a 2-2 comeback against the Netherlands and called for […]

After 2009 Italian Serie A league winner Inter Milan and Cup winner Lazio played their Super Cup match in China, the hosts complained about the clubs’ prodigious wine consumption and the insults of Inter coach Jose Mourinho. “Just on wine, they ran up a bill of 70,000 yuan ($10,240),” said Wang Bo, who looked after […]

Current Los Angeles Galaxy coach Bruce Arena coached the USA in Azteca Stadium three times: a 1-0 overtime loss in the 1999 Confederations Cup semifinal and 1-0 and 2-1 losses in World Cup qualifiers in 2001 and 2005. But he guided the USA to its greatest win over Mexico, the 2-0 victory in the round […]

Steven Gerrard has pulled out of the England squad for Wednesday’s friendly against the Netherlands in Amsterdam because of a groin strain. He is replaced by Aston Villa’s Ashley Young, who has five England caps. While training on Monday, Gerrard felt a slight soreness in the leg and it was decided to pull him out […]