Category: Section 2 Around the Net

An appeals court took pity on Italy’s fallen giants, reducing the sentence of each for their involvement in a match-fixing scandal. Juventus remained the hardest hit after being relegated to Serie B and docked 17 points instead of 30 from the start of next season. The Scudetto winner also had its titles from last year […]

Internazionale, one of the few big clubs in Italy involved in the wide-reaching match-fixing scandal, is said to be closing in on Fiorentina striker Luca Toni. The club has been in pursuit of Serie A’s top scorer since the end of last season. Football Italia says Fiorentina could be ready to part with him for […]

Chelsea’s public courting of Ashely Cole was met by firm resistance from Arsenal, his current employer, who responded to a $30 million bid for the player by upping his transfer fee to $45 million. Arsenal’s stance will most likely do little more than anger Cole, since money matters very little to the club owned by […]

Sir Alex Ferguson’s hope of replacing Ruud Van Nistelrooy with Atletico Madrid’s Fernando Torres looks to be fading. In a highly irregular display of loyalty from a soccer player in high demand, Torres has said he plans to honor his contract and remain at Atletico, 10th place finishers in La Liga last season. This too, […]

When you hear news of a sports franchise wanting a new stadium built, you think of epic battles involving investors, municipal governments, and the city’s inhabitants. The New Jersey Nets wanting a new home in Brooklyn comes to mind, as does the perennial rumor of a football stadium on Manhattan’s West Side. Major League Soccer […]

He’s going, he’s not going, he’s going, he’s not going. One thing is for sure, Ruud Van Nistelrooy is back in England training with Manchester United, according to several reports. The unhappy Dutchman has seen his club reject bids from both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich due to the “exorbitant prices” United seeks for a […]

He must not be in very high demand: Argentina’s 31-year-old striker, Hernan Crespo, is still a Chelsea player despite loudly proclaiming his intention to return to his beloved Italy. For months, he’s been telling anybody who’s willing to listen that he and his family are unhappy with life in England. Chelsea doesn’t seem to care. […]

Republic of Ireland international Damien Duff was a steal for Newcastle at $9.2 million; the Magpies are receiving a winger of the highest quality who will be arriving at the club at the peak of his career. While Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho emphasized he was sad to let such a talented player go, he admits […]

The defense teams for the four Italian soccer clubs found guilty of match-fixing completed began their appeals process over the weekend, hoping to land softer sentences after three top clubs, including champion Juventus, were relegated to Serie B; all four were deducted points for the forthcoming seasons and banned from the European competitions they qualified […]

The Los Angeles Times has an interesting article about the eccentric investor-billionaire Phillip Anschutz, a man whose name Major League Soccer fans know very well. One-time owner of no less than six of the league’s teams, Anschutz is also responsible for stadia, movie theaters, even a Hollywood production company; he has interests in 100 companies […]

In the wake of the historic match-fixing scandal that has changed the face of Serie A for the next two seasons, Italy’s cabinet approved much-needed reform bill overhauling the way soccer broadcasting rights are negotiated. The end result will be that smaller clubs get a fairer share of the spoils. Italian soccer is to adopt […]

Damien Duff looks certain to end his three-year spell at Chelsea, Manager Jose Mourinho confirmed yesterday, as the wily Portuguese makes a push to tighten his core group of senior players. It was also confirmed today that Asier Del-Horno has left for Valencia, possibly paving the way for England left-back Ashley Cole to move from […]

Carlos Alberto Parreira is wasting no time since his departure as Brazil’s national team coach. Parreira told the Brazilian journal Estado de São Paulo on Thursday that “serious negotiations have been going on for some time” between Parreira and the South African Football Association (SAFA). No deal has been finalized, but SAFA expects Parreira to […]

Conflicting reports abound over the future of Manchester United’s Ruud Van Nistelrooy. One thing is clear: Real Madrid has not matched United’s asking price of between $27 and $29 million. News reports have pegged the Spanish club’s offer at between $15 million-$22 million. Real Madrid vice president Juan Mendoza insists the club will not overpay […]

In 2010, it could be Bruce Arena’s voice we hear behind the mic leading Disney’s World Cup coverage. SI.com chatted with Tim Scanlan, ESPN’s senior coordinating producer, about the network’s performance in Germany 2006, and he said if the opportunity presented itself he would strongly consider using Arena. Sour-faced Arena? Why? “Because he always has […]

Zidane, the great man, has fooled everyone into siding with him, writes Paul Doyle of the Guardian. His head-butt may have been excusable, but the frank way he chose to tell the world he feels no remorse for his actions, is not, Doyle says. Perhaps the easy manner in which the world has forgiven him […]

British Sports Minister Richard Caborn says there is “a very good chance” England will bid to host the 2018 World Cup. “As Sports Minister, I’d be disappointed if we didn’t [bid] because I’d be at the forefront of pushing it,” he said. With storied grounds like Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and Anfield, not to mention […]

Late yesterday Real Madrid announced its first signings of the summer. As expected, former Juventus stars Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson have made their way to the Bernabeu, costing a combined $25 million. Real’s vocal new president, Ramon Calderon, assured its fans that this is only the beginning. Arsenal’s Fabregas and Chelsea’s Robben will be next, […]

Not the way you’d want to win a trophy, but it looks as though Inter Milan will be handed last season’s Scudetto, provided the appeals of disgraced clubs Juventus and AC Milan are turned away. The sports tribunal revised the standings from last season, relegating Juventus and deducting AC Milan 44 points, leaving Milan’s cross-town […]

U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati needs to go big in its search for a replacement for former national team coach Bruce Arena, says Fox Soccer columnist Jaime Trecker. Really, really big, like current Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho big. And Trecker’s serious when he says that. He writes: “We believe it is not only possible, but […]

In Florence, they’re using images of Medieval poet Dante Alighieri as a rhetorical device to show the Italian Soccer Federation that they city’s favorite club, Fiorentina, is innocent of the match fixing charges of which it was found guilty. A 3-D image of the renowned poet presents a new video detailing how Fiorentina was merely […]

Manchester United’s massive debt refinancing program does not in fact mean more money for extra players, according to the UK’s Daily Telegraph. The £660 million package increases the amount of money borrowed against the club’s assets, but it cuts back on interest payments owed by more than 30 percent. All this does is further secure […]

Ruud van Nistelrooy is still not a Real Madrid player, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson emphasized during a press conference today in Cape Town. While his move to Spain looked certain according to reports last night, Ferguson revealed that the Old Trafford club turned Real Madrid down. “There is no agreement with Real Madrid […]

It looks like Barcelona has beaten Real Madrid and Chelsea to Italian defender Gianluca Zambrotta’s signature. Goal.com reports that Zambrotta and fellow Juventus teammate Lilian Thuram are set to join Barcelona for a combined 19 million euros. Negotiations with the players are to be concluded this evening, following which a formal announcement could be made. […]

How quickly things turn in the world of post-scandal Italian soccer. Gianluigi Buffon is not leaving Juventus, if you believe his agent, and neither are Pavel Nedved or Alessandro Del Piero. But don’t expect to see David Trezeguet, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Patrick Vieira, Emerson, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta or Lilian Thuram playing for the bianconeri next […]