Category: Section 2 Around the Net

The two-time defending champion U.S. women’s national team will be looking to add to recent success that includes a 2008 Olympic gold medal when they try to three-peat for the second time in the 16-year history of the Algarve Cup, which kicks off Wednesday in southern Portgual. The USA begins the 12-team tournament, as well […]

"I’m not getting carried away with it, only the media will. We will keep our feet on the ground. We do not speak about that stuff [the quintuple]. We’ll take each game as it comes. We don’t get ahead of ourselves and think of which silverware we are going to win next. We could go […]

“I’ve said all along, and I believe I’ve been consistent in this: it’s not the worst thing to have David Beckham and Landon Donovan on your team. If we get one sooner than the other, great. If we get both at the same time, great. If we get one back halfway through the season, that’s […]

“The arrests woke up a lot of people because some people just thought ‘I never thought it was wrong’ — that’s unbelievable — [or] ‘That wasn’t me’, as if football turns people into some different kind of person. ‘I’ve paid my money and I can say and do whatever I want at any time I […]

“We’d like to have a player with name recognition, a high-caliber Hispanic player, preferably Mexican. We’re working on that. I don’t know when we will be able to do that, but hopefully sooner rather than later. When the time comes, we’ll sit down with the front office and coach [Dominic] Kinnear and make a decision.” […]

The latest rumor spinning out from the revolving doors of David Beckham contract negotiations is that AC Milan and the LA Galaxy might end up hashing out a "unique agreement" that would entail the two teams sharing the 33-year-old midfielder's rights across the next 15 months. According to reports from SkySports.com, the "time share" would […]

While the recent announcement that the expansion Seattle Sounders FC has sold some 20,000 season tickets marks an “unprecedented” success and seems like a huge shot in the arm for the league, it also serves to cast a spotlight on just how few MLS teams regularly draw those kinds of crowds. As Goal.com’s Kyle McCarthy […]

According to German newspaper Bild, Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery‘s agent Alain Migliaccio has claimed that ”if Manchester United sells Cristiano Ronaldo, Sir Alex Ferguson would like to cover that transfer with Ribery’s signing,” adding to other recent rumors that Ribery was headed to La Liga leader Barcelona. Under contract with Munich until 2011, the […]

Soccer rule-makers the International Football Association Board (IFBA) this weekend agreed to test in several professional leagues a plan from UEFA President Michel Platini that includes employing additional referee assistants to better monitor goal lines. “The Italian Cup will be the first guinea pig and the French FA has also offered to trial the scheme, […]

Possessing one of the richest histories in all of soccer, with two World Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals, once dominant world power Uruguay has fallen far from past glory, causing Goal.com’s Gregory Sica to examine what went wrong and ask how the South Americans can climb back to the top. While still “very well […]

"In a sport where you often have a lot of prima donnas and egos, you’ve got a guy who’s on solid ground. He’s a fabulous individual and he commands respect in the locker room. He’s an honest guy, he gives a great effort every day and he’ll do whatever you ask him to do. He […]

"The infrastructure required for the new expanded tournament makes it extremely difficult for us to even consider hosting. Quite apart from the stadia required, the pressure on transport, training camps and accommodation would be massive. We do want to host a major championship here in Scotland but, particularly in these tough economic times, we have […]

"I sent [Barack Obama] a message of congratulations and he sent me an e-mail saying he needs a lot from Brazil and he really wants to work with us. When Obama is a little calmer, without that pressure, I’ll go by to have a cup of coffee with him, like I did with Kennedy, with […]

According to goal.com, the L.A. Galaxy stated Thursday that marquee midfielder and marketing commodity David Beckham is “due to return from AC Milan as originally planned, despite rampant transfer speculation.” While Beckham has said over in over in the media that he prefers to stay playing in Italy in order to increase his chances of […]

In the first of a series heading toward the kickoff of the 2009 MLS season on March 22, Goal.com takes a long hard look at the state of third-year team Toronto FC and gives a preview of what me might expect from a re-tooled team that has more “Canadian feel” with the off-season additions of […]

In what has become an increasingly popular – and necessary, for some smaller soccer nations that alone lack the proper stadium infrastructure – phenomenon, Sweden and Norway announced a joint bid to host the 2016 European Championship on Thursday, according to the AP.  Pointing out that the two Scandinavian neighbors have organized championships together in […]

Frustrated with how tournaments from the Champions League to the UEFA Cup force teams to play what he disparagingly deems “two-legged football,” SI.com’s Gabriele Marcotti puts the home-and-away series method under the microscope following first leg results from both competitions. “The basic principle that you can lose and be happy (especially when you lose 3-2, […]

In the increasingly multi-national world that we live in, dual citizenship is intended to allow an individual the opportunity to embrace both countries that have played a part in both birth and life.  But in the soccer world, the issue has recently become considered a double-edged sword, writes ESPN Soccernet’s Ravi Uhba. Take for example […]

According to the Daily Mail, “Chelsea is closer to naming Guus Hiddink as their permanent manager after it emerged Dick Advocaat is being lined up to succeed him as coach of Russia.” While Hiddink has only been at the helm for a handful of matches, two big victories and an outpouring of positive responses from […]

“Really we’re way ahead of where we were last year.  We have that main core coming back this year. We don’t need to get to know each other. We already know each other.”  Real Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman, counting consistency as one of the keys to the team’s current undefeated preseason record of 3-0-1 […]

“This is not a turf war. We live and breathe soccer. We will go out and try to generate unprecedented interest and support in Miami soccer, whether that team is in USL-1 or MLS.” USL First Division team Miami FC president Aaron Davidson, on recent efforts to solidify its own future in the face of […]

Despite a failing economy in which the average Joe has less and less (if any) disposable income to throw around on sports and entertainment, the city of Seattle has galvanized around the new Sounders FC franchise, to the tune of some 20,000 season-ticket holders. Addressing a host of long odds, Seattle Times columnist Steve Kelley […]

It’s now only 10 days until David Beckham‘s loan to Italian AC Milan was supposed to come to an end, and yet here American soccer fans sit, counting down the final hours until the “Beckham Era” is put out of its misery. As the New York Times’ Jeffrey Marcus writes, according to an A.C. Milan […]

Jeff Bradley takes the liberty of playing the numbers game for MLS teams with regard to the upcoming season, exploring a statistical approach to what key figures they need to focus on in order to find success and/or a ticket to the postseason. Among other things, Bradley zeroes in on the surprisingly low number of […]

According to ESPN Soccernet, the European Commission has “dismissed the findings” of a new FIFA-commissioned report that supported the world governing body’s proposed 6+5 rule that would limit the number of foreign players in domestic leagues and “warned that pursuing the law would result in a spate of court cases.” While the controversial 6+5 rule […]