Category: Section 2 Around the Net

When Real Madrid fans reach into their pockets and start waving the white hanky, it’s a sign of things to come, writes Sid Lowe of the Guardian. The white flag waving is a classic gesture of Spanish disgust, he explains, and Sunday’s showcase was the biggest mass hanky wave since at the Santiago Bernabeu since […]

One day after Fulham manager Chris Coleman sung Brian McBride’s praises for being one of the best buys in Premiership history, the American striker scored yet another game winner for the Cottagers. Playing at home to Newcastle United, Fulham won 2-1 thanks to a 73rd minute tap-in from McBride, who scored with ease after new […]

Play in Italy has been suspended indefinitely due to rioting that caused the death of one police officer and scores of injuries to fans and officials following the Sicilian derby between Palermo and Catania on Friday. While tough talk from Serie A officials suggested that soccer could be suspended for the remainder of the season, […]

Lawmakers in Utah could be providing Real Salt Lake with another last-ditch effort to secure the funds needed to build a soccer stadium in Sandy. A new bill was placed on the floor of the state’s House of Representatives that would see $26 million of Salt Lake County’s hotel-tax revenue over the next 10 years […]

With a little help from his friends, it looks like American billionaire George Gillett Jr. will soon complete the takeover Liverpool FC for a package totaling $934.2 million-at least $30 million higher than the amount Dubai International Capital was believed to have offered. On Thursday, it was announced that Tom Hicks, owner of MLB’s Texas […]

Yet more evidence that this will be Jose Mourinho’s last season in charge of Chelsea: Marcelo Lippi, the man who last summer led Italy to its first World Cup title in 24 years, says the Sky Blues are hounding him to take over the job once Mourinho leaves at the end of the season. “I’m […]

Things are humming along at MLS expansion club Toronto FC: the club’s new stadium, BMO Field, is 85 percent complete, the team has sold nearly 11,000 of a possible 20,000 season tickets, and the club’s roster is steadily taking shape. On Thursday, the team unveiled Welshman Carl Robinson as its first overseas signing. The midfielder […]

There are a couple of choice battles involving Americans in the Premiership this weekend. On FSC on Saturday (delayed coverage beginning at 2:15 pm ET), DaMarcus Beasley and Manchester City host Marcus Hahnemann and Bobby Convey of seventh-place Reading. Convey has only recently returned from a long-term injury and isn’t expected to start, though Beasley, […]

The amount of money exchanged in England during the European transfer window was low enough that financial analysts felt the need to explain why business was so quiet. A total of $118 million was spent on transfers this January, $20 million less than last year. Discounting loan deals, you’ll notice that none of the league’s […]

A little worse for wear, perhaps, but Chelsea kept Manchester United within reach Wednesday night after beating Blackburn, 3-0, at home. The victory, however, was marred by yet another long-term injury to a first-team defender. Seemingly in acres of space down the left side, Ashley Cole caught his foot clumsily on the turf, forcing his […]

The city of Toronto-unlike say, Salt Lake City, Utah-has taken the Major League Soccer plunge, investing $8.5 million in BMO Field, the new home of MLS’s first Canadian team Toronto. In truth, the combined $15 million in local and provincial government money pales in comparison to the $45 million Real Salt Lake needed from the […]

Tim Buckley of the Deseret Morning News asks Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller to respond to rumors that he may be interested in buying Real Salt Lake from owner Dave Checketts. Miller’s answer, an emphatic “no,” was overshadowed by the manner in which he slammed Checketts for his clumsy handling of the situation. “This […]

In an amazing turn of events, Liverpool will not be taken over by Dubai International Capital Investment, as was widely reported by just about everyone, including the club itself. In fact, the Anfield club was so certain of a takeover by the consortium run by the king of Dubai that it all but rejected the […]

There will be plenty last-minute moves to report tomorrow, as the European transfer window closes Wednesday night at 7 PM ET. BBC Sport has agent Alex Cowdy of Touchline Ltd. take us on a step-by-step walk through the rigorous negotiation process. Like buying a house, clubs initially go back and forth with bid and offer […]

While reports indicate that the never-quite-dead Real Salt Lake stadium could be resurrected in another part of Utah, a poll from the Deseret Morning News and KSL shows that the majority of the Salt Lake County public backed mayor Peter Corroon’s decision to nix the RSL stadium project on Monday. Seventy-percent of those polled agreed […]

FIFA has cleared the way for Javier Mascherano to be loaned to Liverpool, which means he will have played for three different clubs by the time the Premier League season ends on May 13. The London Times examines what the Argentine’s failure at West Ham says about English coaches and the English game. There’s no […]

Apparently Bruce Arena is trying to turn the New York Red Bulls into “America’s team”: Big Apple Soccer reports that sources in MLS believe Bruce and Sporting Director Jeff Agoos, himself a former MetroStars player, are chasing after American World Cup duo DaMarcus Beasley and John O’Brien. Beasley, on loan from PSV Eindhoven to Premier […]

U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu completed a medical and then agreed to be loaned from Standard Liege in Belgium to Newcastle United in the English Premiership. The deal will keep the imposing American defender in North England until the end of the season, at which time Newcastle has the option to make the transfer permanent. Onyewu […]

Ives Galarcep of the North Jersey Herald takes a look at recent New York Red Bulls developments in an interview with Jeff Agoos, the team’s technical director, who discussed new signing Ronald Waterreus and the recent Rivaldo rumors. Waterreus, for those who don’t remember him, is the Dutch goalkeeper who put in that spectacular performance […]

MLS has a free trade problem, writes Jeff Carlisle of Soccernet. Some of the country’s best young talent, including Giuseppe Rossi, Benny Feilhaber and Jonathan Spector, have all eschewed MLS in favor Europe. While some will say the more American players in Europe, the better for American soccer, Carlisle points out that MLS, like any […]

Blogger MetroFanatic speaks with Alfonso Mondelo, the MLS director of player programs and a former head coach of the MetroStars, about young players turning away from MLS. MF points out that former Metro youth player Gabriel Ferrari was recently scooped up by Serie A club Sampdoria. Since he’s no longer directly involved at the club, […]

Real Madrid, the great cherry-picker of world soccer, has gotten under the skin of Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson once again. On Monday night, Ronaldo revealed that Madrid’s flagrant courtship caused Ferguson to ban him from mentioning the Spanish club with reporters. “I am aware of Real Madrid’s interest in me, although I can’t […]

Hollywood apparently can’t wait for David Beckham’s arrival in Los Angeles, according to USA Today. While Beckham’s teammates may try to lure him out to low-key L.A. destinations like In-N-Out Burger, Becks is more likely to hang with pals Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, the paper says. “They’ll fit in so seamlessly that it’s almost […]

Either way, once Ronaldo goes to AC Milan (Football Italia says the deal is stalled by a last-minute attempt to loan Ricardo Oliveira from AC Milan to Real Madrid), Real Madrid’s management must surely turn its attention to the David Beckham situation, says Grahame L. Jones of the Los Angeles Times. Beckham, after all, is […]

At long last, Real Salt Lake has lost the epic battle to build a soccer stadium in Sandy, a Salt Lake City suburb. This morning RSL owner Dave Checketts told KSL radio morning show host Doug Wright that the stadium deal was finally dead, and that RSL would likely remain in Utah one more season […]