Category: Section 2 Around the Net

Orane Simpson, a defender on the Jamaica national team, was fatally stabbed in Kingston on Tuesday after having a quarrel with a man. No arrests have been made while police investigate the case in Tivoli Gardens, the sprawling neighborhood that was the country's first government housing project. Simpson also played with the Tivoli Gardens team […]

Everton has been assured that attacker Marouane Fellaini will be available to play against Wolves this weekend despite an attempted appeal to FIFA from the Belgian soccer federation. Belgian authorities tried to invoke FIFA's 'five-day' rule because Fellaini missed Belgium's World Cup qualifier against Estonia due to a tooth operation. The rule allows FIFA to […]

After retiring from international duty in 2006, AS Roma attacker Francesco Totti says he would consider returning for Italy's national team for the 2010 World Cup. The 33-year-old told Tuesday's Gazzetta dello Sport: "It depends on coach (Marcello Lippi's) choices and my condition. I owe (Lippi) a lot." "Totti is a great person and a […]

Michael vaan Praag, the president of the Dutch soccer federation, revealed he plans to begin lobbying for a new North Atlantic League, an idea that UEFA shot down at the end of the 1990s. The league would allow Scottish powers Rangers and Celtic to compete against clubs from the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and Scandanavia. Vaan […]

Notts County has denied that Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson received an offer to coach North Korea at the 2010 World Cup. The club's chief executive Peter Trembling said: "We wish to make it clear that Notts County have not received any approach nor had any discussions whatsoever with the North Korean FA in relation to Sven-Goran […]

With two weeks left in the MLS season, nine teams remain in contention for four playoff spots. Chivas USA became the fourth team to book its place after beating the Kansas City Wizards 2-0 on Saturday. The win moved Chivas USA into a three-way tie for first in the Western conference with the Houston Dynamo […]

ESPN's Kristian Dyer makes his case for the MLS playoffs, saying, "Anyone who thinks Major League Soccer needs to scrap its current format in favor of a single table that crowns a champion based on regular-season performance needs a lobotomy." The MLS playoffs provide a unique format, foreign to most the rest of the world. […]

On Saturday, the Columbus Crew gave the rest of MLS a scary preview of the club’s future. In an away win against the New England Revolution, the Crew started eight players who are 25 or younger while veteran players such as Frankie Hejduk and Alejandro Moreno were away on national team duty. As substitutes, the […]

Slovakia blew a chance to qualify for the World Cup on Saturday, coming up short in a 2-0 loss to Slovenia. The loss sets up a crucial mid-week clash against Poland that Slovakia goalkeeper Jan Mucha called “a game of life and death.” “We have no choice,” he said. “We have to win and delight […]

A mid-week operation on Marouane Fellaini‘s wisdom teeth has caused a disagreement between his club, Everton, and his national team, Belgium. After playing for Belgium in a win over Turkey this past weekend, Fellaini has pulled out Wednesday’s qualifying match against Estonia to undergo oral surgery. Everton stated that this compromise was agreed upon beforehand […]

Speculation arose last week that Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Veira would leave his club in January to find more playing time. But this week Vieira has confirmed that will wait until the end of the season to move clubs. "I want to play more but I also want to respect my contract," Vieira told the […]

The U.S. national team has announced an exhibition game against fellow World Cup qualifiers Denmark on Nov. 18 at NRGi Park in Aarhus, where American Benny Feilhaber plies his trade for AGF Aarhus FC. The USA plans to play another friendly in Europe on Nov. 14 against an opponent that is yet to be determined. […]

U.S. interenational Jay DeMerit is waiting to determine if he requires an operation for an eye infection that has sidelined the defender for weeks. His club, Watford, says that it is monitoring DeMerit's health and will take time to make the right decision. "We will not make the decision on what is going to happen […]

After 16 months and 18 qualifying games, the U.S national team has one game left to play. To the team’s relief, however, Wednesday’s game against Costa Rica at RFK Stadium will not have any bearing on its qualification chances. “It was going to [stink] to have to go to D.C. and get a result because […]

To improve the weight for American bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, Major League Soccer is exploring ways to better align itself with soccer's international calendar and standards. Namely, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has long stated that MLS needs to switch to Europe's August-May schedule, rather than its current March-October timeline. "We have […]

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has been cleared of doping allegations after failing a drugs test, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) said on Monday. Cannavaro used a cortisone-based medication to treat a wasp sting, a procedure that apparently caused the defender to test positive for a banned substance. "(CONI's anti-doping tribunal) has dropped proceedings against Fabio […]

Playing at high altitude in La Paz, Bolivia ended Brazil’s 11-game winning streak on Sunday with a 2-1 qualifying victory. Edgar Olivares headed home a corner in the 10th minute and Marcelo Martins doubled the hosts’ advantage in the 30th with a curling free kick. Brazil nabbed one back when Nilmar headed home in the […]

On Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo suffered an ankle sprain that will keep him out of action for up to four weeks. Ronaldo will miss Portugal's final qualifying match on Wednesday against Malta. Portugal, with 16 points, leads third-place Sweden by one point. With Ronaldo out, Spanish club Real Madrid lost its first match of the season […]

Drama flared across the globe over the weekend as eight nations confirmed their place in the World Cup finals in South Africa. Among those to book their tickets were Italy, Germany, Serbia, the Ivory Coast, Denmark, Chile, Mexico and the United States. Italy qualified by coming from behind twice against Ireland in Cork to get […]

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has tested positive for a banned substance. Ettore Torri, the anti-doping prosecutor for the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), has opened an investigation into the case. Cannavaro’s club, Juventus, claims that the failure resulted from a cortisone injection that the defender received Aug. 29 to prevent an allergic reaction, the ANSA news […]

On Friday, Russia officially unveiled its bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. Pledging to restrict the large-scale event to the vast nation’s European territory, the country hopes to revamp its infrastructure and bring much-needed development to its neglected cities. Russia hopes that its bid will be strengthened by the fact that it […]

Unlike so many triumphant stories in the cannon of American sports movies, "The Damned United" is an English movie that relishes humiliation and disappointment. Its central character, Coach Brian Clough, achieved much success throughout his career. But the film, directed by Tom Hooper from Peter Morgan's script (based on a novel by David Pearce), "is […]

Facing one of the biggest games in franchise history, as the club fights for its playoff life against the San Jose earthquakes on Saturday, Toronto FC will be without a number of key players. Midfielder Carl Robinson underwent surgery on Thursday to repair a fractured bone in his face that he sustained during practice. "It’s […]

Because FIFA allows host countries to handle video broadcast rights for World Cup qualifiers, Saturday’s match between the USA and Honduras will only be available in the U.S. on closed-circuit TV. This limits the game’s reach in America to a small number of bars and restaurants charging a cover price to recoup the broadcasting costs. […]

As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, MLSnet continues its series of interviews with New England Revolution midfielder Maurice Castro. Castro debuted in 2002 for CD Motagua in Honduras’ Liga Nacional. After two seasons with Motagua, he was sent on loan to Hispano FC (2005-2006) before going to CD Olimpia in 2007. At the beginning of […]