Category: Section 2 Around the Net

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho claims he has been told by friends at Stamford Bridge that Carlo Ancelotti will be in charge of the Blues next season. “My friends at Chelsea tell me it will be Carlo,” he told Sky Italia. “Some players are asking me the typical question: ‘Gaffer, will he be good for […]

The Football Association chairman, Lord Triesman, announced that he is close to confirming an agreement with the FAs of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to field both a Great Britain men’s and women’s team at the London Olympics in 2012. Speaking at the Annual Women’s Football Awards ceremony in London, Lord Triesman said: “I am […]

UEFA has charged Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa with misconduct for insulting the referee after Chelsea’s elimination from the Champions League. UEFA has also charged the club with failing to control the players and fans, who threw objects. UEFA said Drogba and Bosingwa breached sportsmanship by making offensive comments about Norwegian referee Tom Henning […]

“I want to apologize to the fans, especially the fans that came here and had to suffer by coming here,” Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said following a 5-3 loss to D.C. United in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualifier. “I do apologize because we lacked character, we lacked passion, we lacked heart. […]

Inter Milan midfielder Luis Figo has admitted that he is not finished with soccer yet, just days after hinting that he would retire from the game at the end of the season. The Portuguese winger, now 36, claimed winning the Scudetto with Inter was a fine chance to wave goodbye to calcio, suggesting he was […]

Victimized by a sudden rash of injuries and facing three games in eight days, Seattle Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid will look for support from his reserves. Three key players — Freddie Ljungberg, Brad Evans and Zach Scott — look likely to miss some time, although just how much time remains to be seen. Ljungberg […]

On Wednesday Shakhtar Donetsk used extra time to defeat a stingy Werder Bremen side, 2-1, in the final of the UEFA Cup, a tournament that will get rebranded as the Europa League next season. After expressing his pride, Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu quickly switched his focus to the biggest prize in European club soccer. “This […]

U.S. international defender Oguchi Onyewu looks poised to make a move back to England, where he has received strong interest from several clubs. According to skysports.com, the towering center back has attracted the eyes of newly promoted Birmingham and Wolves, which are both trying to strengthen their defenses ahead returns to the Premier League. Clint […]

Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath is in no mood for early celebrations for Wolfsburg’s stunning season, which has put the team one win away from clinching its first Bundesliga title. “We are not yet sucking on the candy,” Magath warned this week, after sending off Daniel Adlung during training for what the strict disciplinarian perceived as […]

Corinthians striker Ronaldo, the former World Player of the Year who's experienced an otherwise successful comeback, could face disciplinary action after television cameras caught him pulling the hair of Botafogo midfielder Fahel in Sunday's goalless draw in the Brazilian championships. "We've requested the video of the match and on Thursday I am going to analyze […]

Don Garber's most recent blog post discusses the state of officiating in the MLS, a hot-button topic around the league. Admitting the impossibility of perfect refereeing, Garber states that the refereeing in the MLS is "better than people think. Not because I am saying it … but because the video review proves it." "The MLS […]

“If there are any safe seats in the fast and feckless world of soccer team management, they are occupied by Alex Ferguson and Josep Guardiola,” writes Rob Hughes. Hughes compares the backgrounds and powers of the two coaches who will compete in the European Champions League final in Rome next Wednesday. “One is the grand-daddy […]

SI.com interviews Martin Palermo, who at 35 continues to be one of the most prolific strikers in South America. With 201 goals to his name, Palermo holds the record for the most career goals of Boca's professional era. Since returning from injury layoff in February, Palermo has been in sizzling form, earning his first call-up […]

One week after the start of All-Star balloting, Seattle fans are cramming the ballots with their favorite Sounders. Goalkeeper Kasey Keller is the overwhelming leader in fan voting for the 2009 MLS All-Star Game. The former U.S. national team goalkeeper has a league-best 0.41 goals against average and has four shutouts in eight appearances. Right […]

Arsene Wenger, under contract to coach Arsenal until 2011, dismissed mounting speculation of a move to Real Madrid as “not an issue.” Earlier this week, Wenger commented that a move to Madrid would be a “strongly interesting” project. On Tuesday the club’s chairman Peter Hill-Wood defended Wenger from the criticism the manager received from Arsenal’s […]

Dejan Jakovic has made a sound transition to D.C. United this spring, adapting to a new league and fortifying a back line that sprung leaks last year. Jakovic joined United from Red Star Belgrade, the former European Cup champion that he adored while growing up in the former Yugoslavia and then as a refugee in […]

Close on the heels of their MLS brothers, the expansion Philadelphia WPS team has unveiled its colors and team name. The Philadelphia Independence will enter the league in 2010 wearing yellow, steel gray and light blue. Yellow commemorates the Swedish settlers who first came to Philadelphia in 1638. Steel Grey represents the city's rich history […]

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro will return to Juventus. The Serie A club said Tuesday the 35-year-old defender, who left for Real Madrid in 2006, signed a one-year contract to rejoin the Turin side on July 1. Cannavaro, the 2006 World Player of the Year, angered Juve fans when he left for Madrid after the Italian […]

Toluca won the Apertura 2008 title and lost just once during the Clausura 2009 regular season. Los Diablos Rojos entered the Liguilla (playoffs) as a heavy favorite to reach the final and fight for their second consecutive championship. Instead, Toluca was stunned by underdog Indios in the quarterfinals. Team president Fernando Corona maintains that he […]

Andres Iniesta and Thierry Henry will be ready for the Champions League final against Manchester United on May 27, according to Barcelona medical staff. Both have begun running and Iniesta is expected to return to light ball work on Thursday. Although Henry's recovery still faces doubts, the club is optimistic. "They will make it [for […]

U.S. national team striker Charlie Davies has been tearing up the Swedish first division this season, but his recent run of goal-scoring form with Hammarby will be put on hold after the league suspended him for five matches for a malicious elbow to the face of Orebro’s Michael Almeback that left Almeback with a bloody […]

England’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged to do everything in the government’s power to aid England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup. “It’s right for England to host the World Cup,” the Prime Minister, speaking at a launch party for the bid at Wembley stadium, said. “We have a tradition that’s second to […]

Claudio Ranieri has been sacked as Juventus coach after a poor run of results and youth team boss Ciro Ferrara has taken over, the club said on Monday. Clinging to third place in Serie A, Juventus is one point above fourth-place Fiorentina with two matches left. The team faces the danger of losing an automatic […]

Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is 90 percent certain to remain at Inter Milan next season despite fuelling speculation about a move, club president Massimo Moratti said. The Swede, whose 22 league goals inspired Inter's fourth straight Serie A title, has been considering his future at the club after becoming frustrated by their constant failure in the […]

Caracas FC won the second stage of the 2008/09 Venezuelan championship with a 3-1 win over Zamora FC on Sunday. But crowd violence marred the victory when rioting fans caused a 10-minute delay in the start of the second half. Rival fans in the 8,700 crowd clashed on the terraces. Local media said Caracas fans […]