Category: Section 2 Around the Net

The New York Red Bulls, porous at the back over the last few weeks, have taken the first of what The North Jersey Herald’s Ives Galarcep says could be a series of moves to shake up its “faltering defense” by trading left-back Todd Dunivant to Toronto FC in exchange for Kevin Goldthwaite. You’d think the […]

Tim Vickory of BBC Sport with another Copa America preview, noting that this year’s championship boasts “the strongest lineup that the Copa America has had for some time.” Notwithstanding the absence of Brazil’s Ronaldinho and Kaka, just about every other South American player has made himself available for selection, in stark contrast to the 2004 […]

Following the Americans’ Gold Cup triumph, a couple of glaring statistics: the U.S. is 8-0-1 at home to Mexico since 2000, and 9-2-1 overall. Under Bob Bradley, the Yanks are now an impressive 10-0-1. However, Gardner says Bradley would be remiss not to give former coach Bruce Arena credit for much of his success. He […]

By the looks of the USA’s 22-man squad, you’d think that Coach Bob Bradley is more interested in blooding new talent at the 2007 Copa America rather than actually winning it. Indeed, he isn’t taking its most of his Gold Cup-winning stars, and while the Copa America may be little more than an experiment for […]

Former England coach Sven Goran-Eriksson looks set to take the managerial reigns at Manchester City, though the deal can’t officially go through until prospective new owner Thaksin Shinawatra has completed his proposed purchase of 75 percent of the club’s shares, which is expected to happen now that City’s board has recommended that shareholders accept the […]

America might find it amusing when Victoria Beckham shows up at an L.A. Dodgers game to throw the first pitch, but the arrival of her husband in Major League Soccer, to the potential tune of $250 million over five years, is something a great deal more serious. The American media likes big money and a […]

Four-time UEFA Champions League winner Clarence Seedorf made a stop in New York last week as part of a tour to gather information on the world’s game. Having already visited the Middle East and Southern Africa, the AC Milan midfielder arrived in New York ready to “meet the people, talk a little about the reality […]

It was a first Major League Soccer start and a first goal for Houston Dynamo center back Patrick Ianni against Kansas City Sunday. Before a tiny crowd of just over 8,000, two of MLS’s top teams met in a match that looked destined for a 0-0 stalemate until the second-year defender rose to meet Stuart […]

Thierry Henry’s high-profile departure from Arsenal to Barcelona hasn’t exactly been the best thing for the Gunners’ brand image. Henry repeatedly stated before his departure that the club needed to spend money on world-class talent or he would leave. Now that he has moved on, Henry says he will be “an Arsenal fan for life,” […]

Adidas this week is launching a new advertising campaign featuring Reggie Bush of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints alongside Major League Soccer’s monster signing, David Beckham. Bush and Beckham swap sports in the campaign, “Futbol vs. Football.” Beckham finally joins the Los Angeles Galaxy next month after helping Real Madrid win its first La Liga […]

It’s a well known fact to non-U.S. supporters that Mexico plays better against international powers like Argentina and Brazil than it does against the Americans, which is to say the U.S. is something of a bogey side to the superior Mexicans. Well, by the looks of their head-to-head record in the last dozen games, that’s […]

Unsurprisingly, the Canadian press is irate that Atiba Hutchinson’s goal in the last minute of the CONCACAF semifinal against the U.S. was disallowed. The Americans, 2-1 winners, can argue they were the better team, but Canada really deserved more from its comeback, which began in the 75th minute when Iain Hume turned Carlos Bocanegra and […]

Over the last few days, the other team from Manchester, England, has been grabbing all the headlines. First, exiled Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced that he had secured 55.9 percent of Manchester City’s shares to secure his $163 million takeover of the club. Then on Thursday, the billionaire confirmed he’d met with former England […]

The 12 percent stake American billionaire Stan Kroenke recently purchased in EPL club Arsenal effectively divided the North London club. On one side are those who accept the idea of foreign ownership as the direction the sport is moving in, and on the other are shareholders who refuse to let their beloved club fall into […]

Did you notice how raucous the atmosphere became and how full the stadium got by the end of the USA-Canada match? Barely at a quarter capacity once the first semifinal began, Soldier Field was nearly full mid-way through the second-half as Mexico’s fans arrived in droves. And boy did they want Canada to win: Landon […]

All kinds of interesting Real Madrid tidbits have been revealed in the days since the Merengues’ lifted the Spanish League title. First, came the allegation that Real had signed an illegal contract with Getafe coach Bernd Schuster, the man who President Ramon Calderon wanted to see installed as coach when he became president last year. […]

Given Canada’s performances so far — especially a comprehensive 3-0 cruise over Guatemala in the quarterfinal — the U.S. is in no position to look past its big neighbor to the North in anticipation of a final showdown against Mexico, says Grahame L. Jones of the L.A. Times. And it’s a good thing Coach Bob […]

It was always probable that Boca Juniors would ride out its 3-0 first-leg victory against Gremio to record a sixth Copa Libertadores title, but Juan Roman Riquelme’s two goals in Porto Alegre Wednesday night sealed the victory in grand style: the 5-0 aggregate win was the largest margin of victory in a final in the […]

Something strange is happening in Canada, writes Stephen Brunt of The Globe & Mail: the hockey-mad country has suddenly embraced the world game. Brunt remarks on how suddenly soccer has taken hold of the country. Toronto FC has already effectively sold out its entire inaugural MLS season, tickets to the U-20 World Cup at the […]

Yep, you read that right: Scottish giant Celtic plans to open no less than 30 youth academies in the U.S. and Canada over the next five years. Why, you ask? Like other major clubs — Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Chivas de Guadalajara, Atletico Paranaense and Atletico Mineiro all have partnerships of some kind with Major […]

Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce just found out Obafemi Martins, his other first-choice striker, also has a buyout clause in his contract. That means that both he and Michael Owen are free to leave for a set price, and there’s nothing Allardyce or Newcastle can do about it. At just 22, the highly-talented (not to mention […]

An Italian commission has accused Inter Milan of inflating certain transfer fees between 2003 and 2005, saying the Serie A champion would have been financially insolvent before the 2005-06 season had it not made the illegal move. The commission accused Inter of failing to show “losses connected to the fictitious capital gains” which “would not […]

L.A. Galaxy President Alexi Lalas is certainly doing his part: less than a month before David Beckham’s arrival, Lalas is everywhere, doing his best to feed the hype. In an interview with The Sun, Lalas moves away from the Premiership “delusion,” focusing instead on the merits of MLS. “I challenge anybody that says a player […]

By most accounts, Boca Juniors already has the 2007 Copa Libertadores wrapped  up: leading 3-0 after the first leg, Boca travels to Porto Alegre, Brazil, to face Gremio, a team that hasn’t managed to score more than three goals in any of its 13 matches in the tournament thus far. And surely, the great Boca […]

The Boston Globe’s Frank Dell’Apa has a great story about Guadeloupe, the Gold Cup’s surprise package this year. However, if you take a look at the tiny French Caribbean nation’s past, then perhaps it’s not so surprising to see Guadeloupe in the Cold Cup semifinals. The following French national team players have Guadeloupe heritage: Pascal […]