Category: Section 2 Around the Net

In 2002, Clint Mathis had the soccer world by the hair. He had been offered a contract by Bayern Munich, and had appeared on the covers of Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Magazine. He seemed on the verge of a breakthrough World Cup, in which he scored a goal in a 1-1 tie with the […]

Iranian state television says that just two weeks after getting appointed head coach, Mohammed Mayely-Kohan resigned. According to the head of Iran’s soccer federation, Ali Kafashian, the coach resigned after disputes with supporters of a prominent club team affected the national team. On Sunday, Mayely-Kohan called the supporters of Esteqlal “hooligans” and criticized the team’s […]

The FCT Police Machine soccer team has qualified for the finals of the 2009 State Challenge Cup in Nigeria. Elated by the feat, Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, has charged the team to "fly the baton to greater heights so as to hoist the Nigeria Police flag at the venues of any national football […]

Martin O'Neill, Aston Villa's ever-eloquent manager, declared Monday that his club simply could not compete financially with the so-called "Big Four" clubs in English soccer. "We are in the same league as Manchester United, who have gates of 75,000 and are a different entity. We are in there against Arsenal, who house 60,000 fans every […]

Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez fears Steven Gerrard won't return to action for almost two weeks, leaving the captain with just four more games to play in the league. The England midfielder was already ruled out of today's game against Arsenal because of a groin injury. But Benitez now says it will be "difficult" for him […]

Major League Soccer and CosmoGirl.com unveiled an online photo gallery where readers can check out MLS “hotties.” The site offers “serious dating dirt” on the players’ likes and dislikes — Columbus’ Robbie Rogers on kissing on the first date, “If you’re feeling the vibe, why not?” — and it encourages readers to leave their comments […]

The “No. 10’s,” creative attacking midfielders who should be slicing defenses apart, have started sluggishly in the young MLS season. Players like Christian Gomez, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Sacha Kljestan, Mehdi Ballouchy, Stuart Holden, Steve Ralston, Jorge Rojas, Javier Morales, David Ferreira and Bobby Convey have all struggled to conjure the creativity and cutting-edge attacking expected of […]

Heavily indebted Premier League clubs Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool were accused of “financial doping” in a British parliamentary report Monday. The report, which came after a year-long inquiry, claims that the worldwide economic meltdown should serve as a warning to clubs operating risky business models. Legislators urged English soccer authorities to curb “ludicrous levels […]

Fredy Montero, the 21-year-old Colombian striker playing for FC Seattle Sounders on loan from Deportivo Cali, has dazzled defenses early in the season, scoring three goals in his first four appearances. Montero suggests that playing in the MLS will help him grow as a player: "This will be important for me and my career and […]

Asian soccer Confederation chief Mohamed bin Hammam continues to maintain that officials of the Olympic Council of Asia tried to buy votes for his rival, Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Khalifa, in a campaign for a seat on one of the key decision-making bodies in soccer. The OCA has threatened legal action and denies Bin Hammam’s […]

Filippo Inzaghi‘s hat trick helped AC Milan thrash lowly Torino 5-1 at the San Siro on Sunday. The win puts Milan in joint-second place with Juventus, which managed a last-minute equalizer against Inter. Inter remains 10 points ahead with just six games left in the season. Beckham, returning to the starting lineup after two games […]

Former Liverpool and England striker Robbie Fowler,  who had been rumored as an MLS candidate, will make his Australian debut for expansion team North Queensland Fury against Sydney FC in Townsville in August. The draw for 2009-10 season was unveiled Monday. With the league now expanded by two, including the Fury and a Gold Coast […]

Carlos Ischia, the coach of Boca Juniors, believes his team "should have won" the Superclasico, for having created "more opportunities" to score than River Plate. Despite dominating their archrival for long stretches in the second half, Boca managed only a 1-1 draw. "I always say that in these types of matches playing better doesn't mean […]

The success enjoyed by Premier League clubs in Europe has more to do with imported skill and cash than English superiority, Juventus coach and former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri said on Friday. “There are very few English people in the English teams, what with the (foreign) owners, coaches and players,” he said. While no Serie […]

“Club America, from urbane Mexico City, is the team of the nation’s elite. Owned by billionaire television mogul Emilio Azcarraga Jean, who inherited his fortune from his father, it is arguably the richest soccer team outside Europe, a wealth it flaunts by regularly signing big-name foreign talent.That stands in stark contrast to Chivas, based in […]

Real Salt Lake has landed U.S. under-20 national team captain Kyle Davies through a lottery, adding another player with European experience to its roster. Davies, 20, has spent the last two years in the Southampton FC youth system.   “One thing we have done with our team and have had quite a bit of success […]

Not all Designated Players have worked out in MLS. Claudio Lopez is an exception. The former Argentina national team star not only has had an impact on the field for the Kansas City Wizards, but he and his family are so happy to be in Kansas City that he took a pay cut to remain […]

Things are looking up at Chivas USA, which has the best record in MLS after four weeks. The situation at Chivas Guadalajara is another matter. Guadalajara named Francisco Ramirez, the assistant to former Mexico coach Sven-Goran Eriksson best known for his run-in with Frankie Hejduk after February’s USA-Mexico qualifier, has been named its new coach, […]

With its UEFA Champions League campaign over, Bayern Munich can concentrate on the Bundesliga title race. It’s been a rocky first season for Coach Juergen Klinsmann, but he still thinks Bayern can defend its title. “Qualifying for the Champions League is mandatory,” he said before Saturday’s game against Arminia Bielefeld, “but, of course, our target […]

Two years ago as interim coach, Stephen Hart led Canada to the semifinals of the Gold Cup, where it fell to the USA. In 2009, he’ll again be in charge of Canada as interim coach at the Gold Cup. The Canadian Soccer Association on Friday named Hart, the CSA’s technical director, as interim coach through […]

On the eve of Sunday’s FA Cup game between Manchester United and Everton at Wembley, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson came to Everton’s defense, taking aim at Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, manager of Everton’s Merseyside rival and United’s challenger for the EPL lead. “He called Everton a small club which points to his arrogance. They […]

Former China national team striker Gao Hongbo was named as the new national team coach on Thursday. At 43, he is the youngest coach in 30 years. The popular Gao was sent to a closed camp for a three-day grilling by federation officials in February with three other candidates. China failed to qualify for the […]

FIFA released the results of the first-phase lottery for World Cup 2010 tickets, and more tickets were issued to residents of the United States than any other country besides host South Africa. A total of 1,862,319 tickets were requested from 205 countries, and 555,871 tickets were drawn. Americans were issued 69,208 tickets. British fans received […]

Unbeaten in 18 English Premier League games, Arsenal has advanced to the semifinals of the English FA Cup and UEFA Champions League with a remarkable run impossible to have imagined just four months ago. Manager Arsene Wenger, for one, never seemed to doubt that his young team would find its form. “I feel that confidence […]

Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure says he’ll get advice from his brother, Arsenal defender Kolo Toure, on Chelsea, Barcelona’s opponent in the Champions League semifinals. “I must speak with my brother about Chelsea,” he told the Daily Mirror. “Kolo will know all about them, especially after playing in a big game against Chelsea this weekend.” Yaya […]