Category: Section 2 Around the Net

Soccer as a symbol of oppression: it’s not a common theme across the globe, but nevertheless, the game that’s usually synonymous national and regional identity inevitably manages to get mixed up in domestic politics somehow. Jonathan Wilson says that soccer and ice hockey became “outsider” sports in Estonia once the Baltic nation lost its independence […]

The L.A. Galaxy failed to score again Saturday night, drawing 0-0 at home against D.C. United. And to make matters worse, Landon Donovan, the team’s best player, now reports for international duty and may not return for more than six weeks. Frank Yallop’s men have now gone a dismal 220 minutes without scoring (310 minutes […]

Forget the hoopla surrounding the Fire’s courtship of Marcelo Salas, says the Daily Southtown’s Nick Firchau, the best move Chicago coach Dave Sarachan made last week was the introduction of the young Brazilian William Oliveira, who scored one and assisted one in a 3-2 home win against the Columbus Crew. On the heels of a […]

David Beckham is playing too well to be heading toward Hollywood and should have never been dropped from the England squad in the first place, while Ronaldinho is out of shape and has lost his best-player-in-the-world status to compatriot Kaka — these were among the reactions to England’s 1-1 draw with Brazil at Wembley Stadium […]

UEFA issued a damning report on the behavior of Liverpool’s fans during the Champions League final in Athens nearly two weeks ago, saying Reds fans have consistently been the worst supporters in European soccer. “We know what happened in Athens, and Liverpool fans were the cause of most of the trouble there,” said William Gaillard, […]

Ex-Parma coach Claudio Ranieri was named head coach of Juventus on Monday. It had been rumored that the former Chelsea manager would start his next job at Manchester City, but few would argue that Juve is a better opportunity. Despite the club’s dramatic fall from grace last season, the head post at Juventus is still […]

Several countries in Latin America are protesting FIFA’s decision to ban games at altitudes above 2,500 meters or 8,200 feet above sea level. In Bolivia, where the capital La Paz sits at nearly 12,000 feet, President Evo Morales said the ban was “not only a ruling against Bolivia, but against the universality of sport.” Said […]

Chicago Fire President John Guppy showed up at the press conference beaming, after Chilean legend Marcelo Salas completed his first highly publicized workout with the Chicago Fire on Thursday. The 32-year-old Salas accepted an invitation from Guppy to train with the Fire with the possibility of securing a contract. ”He’s obviously in good shape,” Guppy […]

Thursday’s Deloitte report on the finances of English soccer also revealed the vast amount clubs pay agents for player transactions. Last year, English clubs paid agents nearly $100 million in commissions, up approximately $20 million from the previous year. Upon reading the report, FIFA President Sepp Blatter called agents’ compensation-which can be over 10 percent-“immoral,” […]

An unprecedented nine soccer players appear in this year’s Sports Illustrated’s International 20 list of the top earning non-American athletes. And while European-based soccer players don’t tend to earn as much as the best players in sports like tennis, auto racing or MotoGP, past performance and image seem to count more than current achievement, when […]

The transfer season is only just underway, but there’s already been a flurry of activity, much of it involving Bayern Munich. As expected, center midfielder Owen Hargreaves completed his switch to English champion Manchester United. The German giant responded by adding 30-year-old Luca Toni of Fiorentina to its strike force. Later, Claudio Pizarro, who was […]

Is Toronto FC on the lookout for a designated player? If so, the club might want to take a second look at the sky-high prices its already paying the likes of Andy Welsh, Carl Robinson, Danny Dichio and now, Jeff Cunningham, the Toronto Star says. With the likes of Luis Figo, Rivaldo and Robbie Fowler […]

In separate interviews with U.S. national team star Landon Donovan and coach Bob Bradley, Andrea Canales of L.A. Soccer News reveals that Bradley and his star player have very different views about his plans for the summer, which is proving to be an especially tricky one given that the CONCACAF Gold Cup is immediately followed […]

The Chicago Fire isn’t quite expecting the Beckham-bounce from Cuauhtemoc Blanco the L.A. Galaxy and MLS will receive once David Beckham takes to the field in July, but club GM John Guppy expects Blanco’s presence to greatly increase the team’s visibility once the Mexico international takes the field for the first time this weekend. Corporate […]

Top Premier League clubs might be sinking further and further into financial debt, but the Guardian says the Deloitte report also indicates that second-tier clubs like Tottenham, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Everton also stand to benefit from the increased purchasing power brought in by inflated broadcasting revenues. The 50 percent increase in broadcast revenue over […]

BBC News takes a comprehensive look at the English Premier League’s finances as outlined by new report from the financial firm Deloitte. Expect league salaries and spending on players to increase next season as the EPL benefits from a new $5.34 billion television deal. Rises in international and domestic TV revenues mean the league will […]

Israeli striker Ben Sahar of Chelsea barely stepped foot on the field for the Blues last season; the talented 17-year-old striker made his debut on Jan. 6 against Macclesfield Town in an FA Cup match. He played in his first Premier League game against Wigan Athletic one week later. As the English season entered crunch […]

The Kansas City Wizards have come out of the gate on fire in this early stage of the MLS season, thanks in large part to the vastly improved play of young Eddie Johnson. He rightly earned Player of the Week honors for scoring three goals including the winner against then-league leader New England Revolution in […]

As ever, the action in La Liga has overshadowed the goings-on of the Spanish national team. And given the nail-biting finish to one of the most exciting La Liga seasons in years, this year’s June international break is being met with downright derision, says ESPN Soccernet’s Phil Ball. Why? On the one hand, Spain is […]

Because South America’s biggest clubs are constantly forced to export their best players to Europe, there is almost always one surprise package that makes it to the semifinals of the South America’s championship, the Copa Libertadores, writes SI.com’s Tim Vickery. Colombian club Cucuta is the team that fits that bill this year, he says. It […]

In an interview with Sky Sports, L.A. Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas revealed that the club would be willing to release David Beckham on loan once the MLS season ends in November. The Daily Mail says several English clubs have already expressed interest, including Newcastle United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Blackburn and Everton. A loan return to […]

Peter Grathoff of the Kansas City Star takes another close look at the great divide in MLS player salaries. He tells the story of Kansas City Wizards midfielder Jack Jewsbury-he’s having a great season by the way-who used to take home $380 every two weeks as a so-called developmental player. As Grathoff points out, “they […]

Sam Wallace of the Independent says David Beckham’s recall to Steve McClaren’s England, “a momentous occasion in English football history,” which comes nearly a year after he “gave up the captaincy in front of the world’s press for the most dramatic public abdication since Edward VIII,” was almost eerily low-key. And why is that? Maybe, […]

Becks is being brought to America’s shores to ensure that those soccer-lovers who’ve turned up their noses at Major League Soccer, stop and smell the roses over here. On-field, the product is getting better and better, and given his recent form, it will be much better once David Beckham arrives. Indeed, “the best thing about […]

The title decided long ago, Serie A ended quietly on Sunday, as the Flying Donkeys from Chievo Verona answered the last of this season’s (on-field) questions with a relegation-worthy 2-0 defeat to Catania Calcio on Sunday. The three other clubs also facing the drop rose to the occasion, too: Claudio Ranieri’s Parma beat Empoli, 3-1, […]