Category: Section 2 Around the Net

MLS 2007 is almost underway, but Register columnist Michael Lev complains that on a recent conference call about ABC/ESPN’s MLS coverage, all anyone could talk about is the pending arrival of David Beckham, which still has no set date. But ABC/ESPN execs couldn’t resist blowing the promotion horn anyway, Lev says. “It’s a perfect storm,” […]

Italian ire was piled on top of Wednesday’s Champions League quarterfinal between Manchester United and AS Roma when the mayor of Rome, among others, called United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson to apologize for warning fans of the “real danger” they faced from Roma’s “Ultras” at the Stadio Olimpico. The club published an open letter on […]

Not quite Zinedine Zidane, not quite David Beckham, but the next best thing perhaps? Chicago Fire coach Dave Sarachan calls new signing Cuauhtemoc Blanco an “artist,” a player with his own style of play, who on his day, can make things happen out of absolutely nowhere. Fire president John Guppy agrees: “I’m not sure if […]

The local press is absolutely beaming about Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the Colorado Rapids new home in Commerce City, which officially opens its doors on Saturday when the Rapids host D.C. United in the MLS season opener, broadcast live on ABC at 1:30 PM EST. Kroenke Sports Enterprises raised $71 million for the project, which […]

The 2007 MLS season is a little over three days away from the season opener between Colorado and D.C. United. Cue the press previews-and yes, there are more of them than ever before. And in our humble opinion, MLS deserves it. Arguably no sports league around the world did a better job marketing itself than […]

Sometimes, the soccer gods have a way of dealing out even-handed justice, which is exactly what Bayern Munich got Tuesday night when a last-second goal earned the club 2-2 draw in Milan. Both goals came from a center back, no less: Belgium’s Daniel Van Buyten put away a pair of opportunistic goals like the best […]

While D.C. United faces a serious uphill battle Tuesday night in Guadalajara against Chivas, MLS champ Houston Dynamo is perfectly positioned to qualify for the final of the CONCACAF Champions Cup following its 2-0 home win over Pachuca in the first leg of the semifinals. However, the team still has a serious job to complete […]

More rumors in Los Angeles; this time, Middlesbrough midfielder Gaizka Mendieta has been linked to the Galaxy, the Northern Echo says, after the American club’s reported attempt to sign retired Frenchman Zinedine Zidane once again failed. Zidane, it seems, cannot be persuaded to come out of retirement for 12 months. Enter Mendieta. The 33-year-old Spaniard […]

It’s been a long time since Clint Mathis last played in New York, where he enjoyed the best form of his career. Now that he’s back, New York fans will be wondering whether Mathis can reproduce the kind of form he showed in 2000 and 2001-because the last three years of his career have been […]

The Financial Times serves up a profile of Eindhoven, the small Dutch town with a big soccer club, PSV, which today celebrates its second quarterfinal appearance in three years in Europe’s top club competition. By some distance, Eindhoven is the smallest city featured in the Champions League quarterfinals-and it’s gotten even smaller. Philips, the Dutch […]

In 1998 and 2002, Sepp Blatter faced stiff opposition for the FIFA presidency. As evidence of his tightening control over soccer’s international governing body, Blatter will be running unopposed for the presidential election to be held May 31 at the FIFA Congress in Zurich. No other candidate entered the race by the March 31 deadline. […]

Roberto Donadoni and Michel Platini can say whatever they want: Francesco Totti is playing some of the best soccer of his life, so if he wants to wait until next season to return to the Italian national team, Donadoni will just have to wait — and you better believe the Italy coach will be begging […]

Virtually the same clubs finish in the top four in Europe’s biggest leagues every season, although sometimes in a different order. Since this doesn’t look likely to change, several big clubs are looking to change the system itself, by forming a new super-league outside of the jurisdiction of FIFA and UEFA. The Guardian reports that […]

The acquisition of Freddy Adu from D.C. United has certainly been a marketing coup for Real Salt Lake, but now, with the season opener less than a week away, comes the answer to the real question: How good is Freddy? Good enough to change RSL’s fortunes this season?   His teammates have no doubt. “He’s […]

Sampdoria’s young American striker, Gabriel Ferrari, has been absolutely on fire since Thomas Rongen called him up for the U.S. U-20 men’s national team. The 18-year old Manhattan native scored twice in his debut for the U-20s, a 3-2 win over SMU, before notching the game-winner against the Haitian national team at Pizza Hut Park […]

Manchester United has regained its stature as the most valuable team in soccer, while Ronaldinho displaced David Beckham as game’s richest player, according to an annual report compiled by Forbes. United is actually the world’s fourth-highest earner in terms of revenue at $310 million, but the American business magazine pegs its worth at $1.453 billion. […]

England fans booed their own of the field as the Lions walked off the field at halftime with the score tied 0-0 against the tiny, tiny nation of Andorra (whose population is about the size of Wembley Stadium). A harsh reaction, perhaps, especially since the team eventually churned out a 3-0 victory, but the Guardian’s […]

FIFA.com profiles the U.S. national team, giving a somewhat stern review of interim head coach Bob Bradley, who’s steered the men’s national team to a 3-0-1 record in his first four games in charge. Despite USA’s poor World Cup, it was never going to be easy for Bradley to repeat the feats achieved by former […]

ESPN this week has launched a new marketing effort to promote its coverage of Major League Soccer, Brandweek reports. The campaign, “You are a fan. You just don’t know it yet,” spans TV, print and radio, but the ads will only be shown on Walt Disney Co.-owned properties including all ESPN networks and ABC. Coverage […]

More than 20 Euro 2008 qualifiers were played last night, none more important than Italy-Scotland, a must-win home match for the world champions against the Group B leader. Italy coach Roberto Donadoni breathed a sigh of relief after the Azzurri won, 2-0, thanks to a pair of goals from Fiorentina striker Luca Toni. Donadoni received […]

Leave it to Mexico to take the shine off the U.S.’s 3-1 home win against Ecuador last weekend. Dylan Hernandez of the Monterey Herald was on hand to watch the Mexicans come from behind to beat Ecuador, 4-2, in Oakland, in front of a capacity crowd of 47,416 fans at McAfee Coliseum. Hernandez describes the […]

After a strong showing like the one produced by the Yanks against Ecuador on Sunday, it was disappointing indeed to watch team USA toil to a 0-0 draw against Guatemala, a team whose number the U.S. men’s national team has traditionally had for several years. To be fair, Coach Bob Bradley fielded several new players, […]

The Houston Chronicle previews the upcoming FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, a competition from which the likes of Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry and Javier Saviola have emerged. As a launch pad for such prestigious careers, the tournament has grown in prestige, set to receive an unprecedented amount of media coverage this year. And […]

Argentina World Cup winner Diego Maradona was rushed off to the hospital in Buenos Aires on Wednesday due to complications from excessive smoking, eating and drinking-although it looks like he will be okay. This time, doctors were quick to point out that his admission to the hospital had nothing to do with illegal drugs; Maradona […]

New York Red Bulls notwithstanding, MLS the business is humming along (compared to previous years, at least). David Beckham, more press, TV deals, jersey sponsorships, and partnerships with major European clubs and leagues are all good things, but now, Ian Plenderleith of U.S. Soccer Players says, MLS has to shift its focus to ” the […]