Category: Section 2 Around the Net

Tomorrow begins the post-Calciopoli era in Italy. And thank God Fabio Cappello and Juventus “won’t be around boring the pants off everyone at the top of the table,” says James Richardson, columnist for The Guardian. It should be good watching this year, too, he says, because “the Italian title battle has been transformed into a […]

For the first time ever, Juventus is not among the favorites to take home the Scudetto this season, because Juventus won’t be playing in Serie A. That’s a nice thing for neutral fans, because this season could be one of the most open in recent Italian history. Last season’s champion Inter Milan, handed the Scudetto […]

Pundits across Europe are up in arms over the latest round of trouncings the likes of San Marino and Andorra received in Euro 2008 qualifying this past week. What, if any, purpose does the presence of smaller nations like these serve in the qualifying process? A chance to improve your goal differential? San Marino was […]

“Stabbed in the back.” That’s how Ruud Van Nistelrooy feels about Sir Alex Ferguson’s total about-face on the player he practically drove out of Manchester United. It’s nothing personal, Ruud. After all, it’s just business. “I had a good relationship with Ferguson in the beginning, but when he left me on the bench for 90 […]

Landon Donovan did it last night, responding to criticism from the press and fans to lead the L.A. Galaxy past the Houston Dynamo and into the U.S. Open Cup final for the second consecutive year. Donovan scored one and assisted one as the Galaxy swept aside Dwayne De Rosario and the Dynamo, 3-1, at the […]

After a convincing and impressive 3-1 win by France over world champion Italy in Paris last night, the Italian press have its knives out for new coach Roberto Donadoni, who has now drawn one and lost two in his first three matches in charge of the Azzurri. Saturday’s 1-1 draw with lowly Lithuania was followed […]

The British press continues to try and make sense of the bizarre set of circumstances that brought Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez to West Ham United for next to nothing. The Daily Telegraph, after speaking with Pini Zahavi, the so-called “super agent” who represented the pair in the deal that sent them to West Ham […]

Following the lengthy, pejorative statement issued by Chelsea FC about the conduct of former defender William Gallas prior to his transfer to Arsenal, the English Football Association has said it’s considering launching an investigation into claims made by the club that the player threatened to purposefully make mistakes, get sent off, or worse, score an […]

Spurned by management at Boca Juniors, the most famous club in Argentina, Matias Donnet bought out his own contract, worth $250,000, and made the trip north to United States, where he has begun his new career with D.C. United, debuting last weekend as a second-half substitute in its 2-1 win at Chivas USA. Boca had […]

In his first month on the job as coach of Red Bull New York, Bruce Arena has lived up to his media reputation: frank, crass, providing smug assessments of his players and the league. He’ll be the first to tell you his club isn’t New York Cosmos. “If everyone is waiting for the Cosmos to […]

It hasn’t been the best of years for Landon Donovan, who was touted as the best player for the U.S. going into this summer’s World Cup disappointment. It’s been a lousy year for the 24-year old and his MLS club, the L.A. Galaxy, too. And the fans aren’t about to let him forget about that, […]

By far, the ugliest sequence of the transfer period has been the war of words between Chelsea Football Club and former defender William Gallas, who was transferred to Arsenal on Friday, the final day of the summer transfer period. After the defender’s departure, the club issued a lengthy statement in which it accused Gallas of […]

At the press conference that was the formal unveiling of Tevez and Mascherano at West Ham United, manager Alan Pardew admitted that he was as intrigued as the rest of the world as to the manner in which Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez arrived in Upton Park. “It is intriguing, it’s intriguing to me, but […]

The Independent introduces us to Pini Zahavi, the man who brokered the infamous deal that sent Argentine pair Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano to West Ham United for virtually nothing. Zahavi, a friend of Media Sport Investment owner Kia Joorabchian, the man who now wishes to take over West Ham, told The Independent that money […]

It’s been almost two months now since Zinedine Zidane’s head-butt heard ’round the world, and Marco Materazzi, the man who was on the receiving end of the infamous blow, has finally disclosed what was said between the players’ prior to the incident. As we’ve heard before, after relentless shirt-pulling, Zidane told Materazzi that he could […]

The fate of the Kansas City Wizards looks just about sealed after nearly two years of uncertainty. The Lamar Hunt family has sold the club to a group led by Cerner Corporation co-founders Neal Patterson and Cliff Illig. Wizards coach Brian Bliss and his players were in jubilant mood as they made their way to […]

Arsenal may now concentrate on soccer. The club was at the forefront of yesterday’s hectic transfer deadline, as the perennially delayed sagas involving Ashley Cole and Jose Antonio Reyes still lacked conclusion. However, both players finally got their wish, ending weeks of confusion for both the players and the clubs. Cole moved to Arsenal for […]

It was rather like election night: As the smoke cleared and the dust settled it was still unclear well into the night whether or not Ashley Cole had finally completed his move to Chelsea. But apparently, a deal was finalized just before the deadline, as Chelsea sent over William Gallas and $9 million in exchange […]

It is one of the biggest transfer coups in history, West Ham United came out of absolutely nowhere to land two of the most sought-after soccer players on the planet, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano. How in the world did this happen? Manchester United, Arsenal, Bayern Munich and AC Milan were all interested, so how […]

Juventus boss Didier Deschamps is reportedly upset with the club’s decision to abandon its appeal to an Italian civil court. Yesterday the club’s board ratified a decision to turn instead to a CONI (Italy’s Olympic committee) court of arbitration hearing in a final attempt to have its 17-point deduction reduced or cancelled. Said Deschamps, “I […]

In a surprise move, Newcastle United found a fourth striker on the final day of the transfer season as Guiseppe Rossi, Manchester United’s promising young striker, secured a year-long loan deal with the Tyneside club. Despite the addition of the American-born player, who grew up playing in new Jersey, Newcastle Manager Glenn Roeder also lodged […]

It seems that this year in particular there are scores of unhappy foreign players who wish to return home but cannot due to the inordinately high transfer prices their clubs are asking for. Canadian-bred England midfielder Owen Hargreaves at Bayern Munich comes to mind, as does Spaniard Jose Antonio Reyes at Arsenal. However, the Independent […]

A meeting involving Italian soccer federation (FIGC) President Guido Rossi, Olympic committee (CONI) chief Gianni Petrucci and Juventus President Giovanni Cobolli Gigli appears to have settled the dispute between Italian soccer and the infamous Turin club over a match-fixing scandal that saw Juventus stripped of its titles and banished to Serie B for the upcoming […]

Milan got their striker, but it isn’t Ronaldo. Instead, Ricardo Oliveira, another talented Brazilian, has signed a five-year deal with the Italian giants after his club Real Betis accepted $22 million plus Swiss midfielder Johann Vogel in return. The negotiations over the striker’s future, which had been ongoing, appeared to hit an impasse after Betis […]

No, you didn’t read that wrong. It’s come from way out of left field, but West Ham United has stepped forward as the mysterious English club that gained the signature of Corinthians players Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez, two of Argentina’s most important young players. The transfer coup is likely to go down as one […]