Category: Section 2 Around the Net

Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching was fined $500 for a critical message he sent via Twitter during the Dynamo's 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders. This message reached an audience of about 1,800 of his Twitter followers: "Ref in Seattle just cheated the dynamo. What a joke. Not even close. Ref is a cheat." Ching […]

It’s been two years since Danny Szetela played in Major League Soccer with the Columbus Crew. After stints with Racing Santander in Spain’s La Liga, and Brescia Calcio in Italy’s Serie B, the midfielder will return to his home country to join D.C. United. D.C. United acquired the 22-year-old through the allocation draft after FC […]

For the first time since 1968, the U.S. men’s national soccer team will play an official game in Philadelphia. As part of this year’s Concacaf Gold Cup, the Stars & Stripes will take on Panama in the second game of Saturday’s quarterfinal doubleheader at Lincoln Financial Field. Canada meets Honduras in the opener at 5 […]

Fifa.com traces the history of arguably the biggest derby in Brazil, Gremio vs. Internacional, which takes place this Saturday. While the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro boast four big clubs apiece, Rio Grande do Sul is entirely divided by what is called the Gre-Nal derby. Gremio and Internacional fans seldom agree. The […]

Argentina's Estudiantes won its first Copa Libertadores title in 39 years when it came from behind to hand Cruzeiro its first home defeat by 2-1 in the final on Wednesday. Estudiantes clinched its fourth title 2-1 on aggregate after the teams played to 0-0 in the first leg of the final last week in La […]

Rangers midfielder Maurice Edu is progressing well after knee surgery and is set to return to action in September. The United States international incurred the injury in the Glasgow club's title-clincher against Dundee United. The injury forced Edu to sit out the Scottish Cup final win over Falkirk in May. "Even when I hurt my […]

Real Salt Lake has traded two draft picks, a second round 2010 SuperDraft pick and a conditional 2011 pick, to the San Jose Earthquakes for Brazilian striker Pablo Campos. The 26-year-old will travel with Salt Lake to play the Columbus Crew on Saturday. "We've scouted Pablo now for two years and we are very excited […]

Former U.S. Olympic team midfielder Danny Szetela is on his way back to Major League Soccer. According to multiple sources, Szetela has agreed to a new contract with MLS after ending his deal with Spanish club Racing Santander. Szetela spent the past season and a half on loan to Italian club Brescia, but is now […]

Mexican striker Carlos Vela, having been sidelined by injury in his first Gold Cup match against Nicaragua, expects to be match fit by Sunday and ready to take on quarterfinal rivals Haiti. "Every day I feel better with more confidence to get things done," Vela explained to reporters in Dallas. "I still have an annoyance […]

Aston Villa made its first significant move of the transfer window, signing Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing for about $20 million. The Teessiders have accepted Villa's bid for the England international whose participation in the 2009-10 season may be delayed by a foot injury sustained toward the end of Boro's unsuccessful fight against relegation. The move […]

Iraq can start hosting matches for its national team and club teams in Asian continental competitions after a decision announced Wednesday by the Asian Football Confederation. The AFC cleared the city of Irbil to host matches, following the successful friendly between Iraq and Palestine last week. Before this match, Iraq had not played at home […]

The 2008 All-Star Game MVP, Chicago Fire midfielder Cuauhtemoc Blanco, will replace the 2006 MLS All-Star MVP, Dwayne De Rosario, in this year's All-Star First XI. De Rosario is unavailable for the All-Star Game due to his club's participation in the Concacaf Champions League. Toronto FC faces the Puerto Rico Islanders in the preliminary round […]

Construction workers in South Africa have agreed to end a weeklong strike that threatened to derail the completion of already tightly scheduled projects for the World Cup, union officials and employers said Wednesday. Workers agreed on a pay increase of 12 percent, below the earlier demand of 13 percent. Work will commence on Thursday. "The […]

Stuart Holden should be enjoying himself right now. On July 4, the 23-year-old scored on his international debut, helping the USA to a 4-0 drubbing of Grenada in the team’s opening game of the Concacaf Gold Cup. On Saturday, the midfielder struck for a stoppage-time equalizer as the USA rallied for a 2-2 draw with […]

Carlos Tevez has officially joined Manchester City from crosstown rival Manchester United. The Argentine left Old Trafford last month after rejecting United's offer to turn his loan spell into a permanent switch. Tevez said: "City came with a very good proposal and ambition to become one of the biggest clubs in the world. It was […]

As expected, David Beckham‘s return to the Los Angeles Galaxy sparked a media frenzy. Beckham did his best to diffuse the controversy regarding an upcoming book, “The Beckham Experiment,” in which Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan questioned Beckham’s commitment to the club. Beckham and Donovan insist they have resolved their differences and they’re ready to continue […]

This week, Seattle Sounders FC will bid for the right to host the U.S. Open Cup championship game at Qwest Field. Seattle would qualify for the final if it wins the semifinal match against the Houston Dynamo on July 21. Seattle hopes its bid will be accepted over possible ones from the other semifinalists: D.C. […]

Two Rangers fans have been charged with assaulting two police officers during violent clashes at the 2008 UEFA Cup final in Manchester. About 150,000 Rangers fans traveled to Manchester for the match between the Glasgow club and Zenit St. Petersburg on May 14, 2008. Violence erupted when a big screen in the largest fan zone […]

Benny Feilhaber has returned to the U.S. soccer radar with some flare. After an impressive performance for the USA in the Confederations Cup and a game-changing role as a substitute in a 2-0 Gold Cup victory over Honduras last week, Feilhaber scored twice in his first summer appearance for AGF Aarhus in a friendly on […]

AC Milan’s latest signing, American Oguchi Onyewu, has successfully completed his medical, according to the Web site MilanNews.it. The central defender signed for the Rossoneri on a free transfer after five years with Belgian club Standard Liege. Onyewu will now join up with his teammates ahead of their preseason tour of the United States, where […]

The talents of Borussia Dortmund’s towering defender Neven Subotic, who played for the U.S. U-17 national team but now represents Serbia, have been well documented by a trident of esteemed English Premier League clubs including Arsenal, title contender Chelsea, and nouveau riche Manchester City. Subotic appears to have a host of destinations to pick from, […]

Making his first public appearance in Southern California since returning from loan to AC Milan, David Beckham addressed criticisms from teammate Landon Donovan in the book, “The Beckham Experiment” that he was fully committed to the Galaxy last season before leaving on loan to AC Milan. Primarily, Beckham defended his own professionalism while criticizing Donovan’s […]

The New York Times’ Jack Bell interviews Grant Wahl, whose controversial book, “The Beckham Experiment: How the World’s Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America,” hits bookstores two days before David Beckham returns to the Los Angeles Galaxy lineup to play the New York Red Bulls on Thursday. In the interview, Wahl talks about how […]

Sounders FC scored two goals Saturday: one hotly disputed, one nearly unprecedented. Added up, they provided a 2-1 win over the first place Houston Dynamo before a sellout crowd of 32,404 at Qwest Field. “I feel pretty good,” assistant coach Brian Schmetzer, who was in charge because head coach Sigi Schmid was attending his son’s […]

Peter Nowak, the head coach of the expansion Philadelphia Union, plans to bring some European-style development to the Philadelphia area. According to the former Polish national team captain, there are already plans to work with the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association to bring talented youth players in and prepare them for what it takes to […]