Category: Section 2 Around the Net

Celtic announced that Tony Mowbray will replace Gordon Strachan as the club's manager. Strachan quit last month after missing out on the Scottish Premier League title. "Celtic Football Club is delighted today to confirm that Tony Mowbray has been appointed the new Celtic manager," a club statement said. The 45-year-old Mowbray was given permission to […]

“Let’s not get carried away and say that the day of the tough, tackle-happy enforcement presence in the holding midfield spot is dead. It’s not,” writes Steve Davis of MLSnet.com. Davis, however, diagnoses a trend in the MLS toward favoring more deep-lying playmakers over traditional tacklers. Winning the ball and covering ground remains a priority,” […]

By this time next year, Jermaine Jones could be a starter for the United States at the World Cup in South Africa. Jones, a midfielder for Schalke 04 of the Bundesliga, is a citizen of Germany and the United States, a son of an African-American serviceman and a German woman. Jones has spent his entire […]

This month, U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu used a rare tactic to seek redress for racial remarks uttered at him by another player in a playoff last month to decide the Belgian league championship. Onyewu, who has grown tired of monkey noises and racial remarks made by fans toward black players, filed a legal complaint in […]

The Columbus Crew is in such good form right now that even the bad turns out to be good. Take the service from defender Gino Padula that led to the deciding goal by Guillermo Barros Schelotto in the 87th minute of the 2-1 win against Chivas USA on Sunday at Crew Stadium. Padula, not known […]

The Premier League said sports pay TV channel Setanta has until Friday to pay more than $49 million it owes to retain its broadcast rights. An invitation has been issued for competing bids for the broadcaster’s package of 46 live matches in the upcoming season and will sell them to the highest bidder if Setanta […]

FIFA president Sepp Blatter suggested on Monday that unsold tickets for Confederations Cup matches should be given away rather than have empty seats at games after disappointing opening day crowds. "I had a meeting with the organizing committee this morning, and I think they should have done a little bit more to bring more people […]

In the opening match of group B in the Confederations Cup, underdog Egypt shook five-time world champions Brazil but finally succumbed 4-3 when Kaka converted a penalty in stoppage time awarded for Ahmed Al Muhamadi's handball on the goal line. African champions Egypt fought back from two goals down at halftime, scoring twice in a […]

Speculation hovers silently over Coach Juan Carlos Osorio and the Red Bulls amidst the worst start in franchise history. Coaching positions at the club are historically volatile. In its 14-year history the club has had 11 coaches. This doesn’t bode well for Osorio. After a 4-0 defeat to the New England Revolution, the Red Bulls […]

When asked about possible issues with team chemistry, Seattle Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid shot down those rumors. If anything, Schmid said, players are being too nice to one another. “I think our locker room is good. I think the guys get along with each other, and everybody has a good healthy respect for each […]

Over the past year, D.C. United midfielder Fred has faced lots of adversity off the field. In December, Fred was in New Zealand on loan to Australian league club Wellington Phoenix when he heard his father had been killed in a car accident in his hometown of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. In late April, his daughter, […]

Sir Alex Ferguson has put together a list of potential summer transfer targets as he tries to fill the void created by the imminent $130 million transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid and the prospect of Carlos Tevez following Ronaldo out of Old Trafford. Manchester United’s first response will be to follow up its […]

Three German soccer clubs have announced a changing of the guard this week with the appointment of new coaches in Leverkusen, Hamburg and Frankfurt less than a month before training begins for next season. Brunno Labbadia is leaving Bayer Leverkusen for Hamburg, while Leverkusen signed 64-year-old coach Jupp Heynckes to a deal good until 2011. […]

U.S. billionaire Len Blavatnik is offering $33 million in return for a 51% stake in the troubled Irish pay-tv channel Setanta. Access Industries, a private company owned by Blavatnik, said it had submitted a proposal to Setanta but gave no further details. In a statement, Access Industries said: “The Access proposal is subject to a […]

The U.S. soccer team might go to Iran in November for the first match between the nations in almost a decade. USSF president Sunil Gulati said Wednesday the game could be held in Tehran on Nov. 14 or 18. The United States was upset 2-1 by Iran at the 1998 World Cup in France, then […]

Brazil forward Alexandre Pato and Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo will not leave AC Milan to join their former boss Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, the Serie A club’s new coach Leonardo said on Thursday.  “They are not moving from Milan,” Leonardo was quoted as saying by La Gazzetta dello Sport’s website. “They are both very important […]

FC Dallas got goals from Andre Rocha in the 21st minute and another from guest player Alex Fichera in the 60th minute to take a 2-0 victory against Costa Rican Primera Division club CS Herediano on Wednesday night at Pizza Hut Park in a "friendly" game that saw the visitors finish with just eight men. […]

Giuseppe Rossi left Clifton N.J., just before his 13th birthday to join the Parma youth system in Italy and pursue his dream of playing for the Italian national team. The United States invited him to training camp before the 2006 World Cup, but Rossi demurred, ignoring criticism that he was dismissive of American soccer and […]

Adidas AG, the world's second-largest sporting-goods maker, expects soccer sales to exceed 1.3 billion euros ($1.8 billion) next year as fans purchase jerseys, balls and footwear tied to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Adidas aims to use the World Cup to raise its leading share of the global soccer market to more than […]

Manchester United confirmed that it has accepted a world-record bid from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo after he once again asked to leave the club. An official Manchester United statement read, "Manchester United has received a world-record, unconditional offer of £80 million ($132 million) for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid. At Cristiano's request – who […]

On Tuesday night, Setanta held an emergency board meeting to discuss efforts to stave off administration, or a legal procedure that allows a business in financial trouble to keep operating without being forced to sell off assets to pay debts. Setanta's founders Leanord Ryan and Michael O'Rourke are in talks with backers to secure financing […]

The Real Madrid friendly is causing real headaches for Toronto FC fans, notably regarding exorbitant ticket prices and the installation of real grass that the club hasn't provided its own team. Ticket prices will range from $140 to $215 plus other fees, though subscribers and those on the waiting list get a "loyalty discount" starting […]

"Real Madrid's transfer market spending spree will inflate prices and wages and sets a poor example in a sport struggling with debt mountains and dwindling revenue in the deepest global recession for six decades," writes Iain Rodgers of Reuters. This week Real president Florentino Perez kicked of a wanton raid for the world's best players […]

Goal.com produced a list of the top 10 most annoying things coaches say. Our favorites: No. 9: “At the end of the day.” Every day ends, we know this. There is no need to tag this onto the start of a sentence. No. 6: “We showed character.” Translation: We played absolutely rubbish, the opposition hit […]

Australia maintained its unbeaten record in the final round of Asian World Cup qualifiers with a 2-0 win over Bahrain at the Olympic stadium on Wednesday. Despite making seven changes to the starting lineup, Australia maintained its impressive record of not conceding a goal in any of seven games so far in the last stage […]