Category: Section 2 Around the Net

Nothing ticks off a club manager more than sending his players off for international duty only to have them return injured. Recent examples include Manchester United’s dispute with England officials over Wayne Rooney, who, they might argue, has yet to return to full fitness, after the striker broke his metatarsal prior to the World Cup; […]

Hindsight may be 20/20, but England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand took the opportunity to take pot shots at Sven Goran Eriksson’s for his “rigid” tactics during England’s disappointing World Cup run this summer. Ferdinand told reporters that England’s “free spirits” were not encouraged under Eriksson. For the past few days, England has been […]

About a year ago, a man named Sam Hurrell won a reality competition on News Corp.’s BSkyB television station called Football Icon. It’s American Idol for soccer, and the stakes are for a place in Chelsea Football Club’s reserves. Manager Jose Mourinho has just rewarded Hurrell with a new 12-month contact, a year after he […]

Goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, announced his retirement from the game on Thursday, three months after helping France reach its second World Cup final. “I am starting a new life,” Barthez said. “I will continue to enjoy myself … but without soccer.” While many goalkeepers carry on at the top level well into their late thirties, Barthez, […]

In response to Argentina coach Alfio Basile’s comments, Javier Mascherano, West Ham’s Argentine midfielder, says he has no intention of quitting the club, despite reports linking him to fallen Serie A giant Juventus. “In a soccerl club like this you need time to adapt,” Mascherano said. “Maybe the first year is just about getting to […]

Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano need to leave West Ham for the sake of their careers, according to their national team boss Alfio Basile. “I hope both of them leave that club as soon as possible,” he told TyC Sports. “I think they are half-hearted and I’m really worried about that. They play as if […]

It would appear that at the end of the day, West Ham manager Alan Pardew didn’t get what he wanted: the club’s takeover situation has not been solved and the board has granted Iranian businessman Kia Joorabchian more time to amass $150 million for a takeover bid. Nor did he quit: “I absolutely did not […]

Reports linking David Beckham with a move to Major League Soccer are untrue, but then again, so are reports that he has signed a contract extension with current club Real Madrid. That fine details of that offer are still being hammered out, but it looks as though Becks will remain in Madrid for a few […]

In England, all the focus is on the national team this week, which faces a Euro 2008 qualifying double-header against Macedonia at home on Saturday and Croatia on Wednesday night in Zagreb. Dominic Raynor of ESPN Soccernet points out how England coach Steve McClaren is saying and doing all the right things to distance himself […]

Europe’s leagues take a break this weekend for European Championship qualifying, which, while still in its early stage, already features a few “must-wins” for several big names. There is none bigger, of course, than world champion Italy, which has managed just a point from its first two games against Lithuania and France. By far, the […]

The omens for South Africa 2010 were never good, writes Mark Ziegler of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Two nights before the World Cup final in Germany, a massive rainstorm wiped out what was supposed to be the official baton-passing party. It was supposed to be “the biggest single football party ever” with 500,000 fans, musical […]

The sister of AC Milan’s Brazilian striker Ricardo Oliveira has been kidnapped — the second such case to affect the club. O Globo reports that two unmasked men broke into the Sao Paolo home of Maria de Lourdes Silva de Oliveira, tied up her husband and eight-year-old son and then walked out with her, leaving […]

West Ham United’s board members are meeting Wednesday to discuss whether to issue an ultimatum to Iranian businessman Kia Joorabchian to either put up or shut up about taking the club over. There is growing concern at Upton Park that the Iranian’s intentions are interfering with Alan Pardew’s efforts to manage the club. After all, […]

Andriy Shevchenko, back in Italy for a Euro 2008 qualifier against the world champions with Ukraine, spoke out for the first time about the hubbub surrounding his form at Chelsea. The striker says he is unconcerned with his slow start in the Premiership. “Players go through difficult times, and it happens to everyone,” Shevchenko said. […]

England’s attempts at an important-sounding scandal of its own have once again been thwarted by the Italians, says James Richardson of the Guardian, who writes: “In an elegant twist, the Juve-match rigging affair now appears to have itself been rigged.” Oh good lord. No other club benefited so handsomely from Juve’s downfall than Inter Milan, […]

Some may not know this, but Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann perused a cheat sheet with the penalty-taking habits of Argentina’s top players during Germany’s 4-2 shootout victory over the South Americans in the World Cup quarterfinal. Apparently, the tactic worked well, as Lehmann managed to stop spot kicks from Esteban Cambiasso and Roberto Ayala. The […]

The Independent’s Henry Winter says Wayne Rooney needs help now to lift himself out of the doldrums. While his Manchester United teammates continue their fine form in the Premiership and Champions League, Rooney has been all but silent since scoring twice on opening day six weeks ago. Winter blames referee Ruud Bossen for the sudden […]

Agent Charles Collymore, who was featured in the BBC’s Panorama report suggesting that bribery is a rampant problem in British soccer, has become the first man to be formally charged with breaching the English Football Association’s rules. The organization alleges that Collymore illegally shopped Enoch Showunmi to Millwall when he was a Luton Town player […]

Juventus will learn next week whether the forcefully relegated team’s massive point penalty will be reduced or even cancelled. Juve chief Giovanni Cobolli Gigli said he is confident the CONI (the Italian Olympic Committee) arbitration court will act in his club’s favor. “I don’t want to call it a discount because that would imply that […]

“AC Milan and Inter almost seem to be missing their old sparring partner Juventus,” writes Italian news agency ANSA after the Milanese clubs again failed to beat modest opposition. For AC Milan in particular, finding the back is now proving to be a problem, after the Rossoneri was held to its third successive 0-0 draw. […]

While Wayne Rooney’s ineffectiveness continues to baffle the press, the heroics of Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo continue to be equally surprising. You’d think that following the criticism Ronaldo received for his part in Rooney’s sending off at the World Cup, it would be the Portuguese who would feel out of sorts playing again in England; […]

It seems like they’ve already been given a half dozen lifelines, but the Los Angeles Galaxy is finally starting to take its chances. A resounding 3-0 victory in the L.A. derby against Chivas USA Saturday put the Galaxy within three points of the fourth and final playoff spot in the West with two games to […]

Houston Chronicle columnist Glenn Davis weighs in on U.S. soccer’s coaching vacancy, starting with a list of names he wouldn’t like to see replace Bruce Arena. Sven Goran Eriksson tops that list, after overseeing a series of dour performances for England at the World Cup. Davis points out how Eriksson was vilified in the English […]

Déjà vu threatened to cast a pall early over Real Madrid’s derby match against Atletico Sunday at the Bernabeu as Miguel Mista benefitted from some porous defending to put Atletico up 1-0 after 6 minutes. After a few other early scares, the Real defense was able to organize itself and then Raul leveled after 37 […]

If there’s a headlining fixture in Europe this weekend, it’s certainly the Madrid derby between Real and Atletico at the Bernabeu on Sunday. These are two teams with a lot to prove, but the pressure will be on the hosts, who weren’t really tested in their first four games. The Atletico Madrid players know this, […]