Category: Section 2 Around the Net

Having failed to secure the services of Kaka, Manchester City found itself without another Brazilian, striker Robinho, who went missing from the team’s training camp in Tenerife on Monday.   The club refused to comment on reports that the player had returned to South America after falling out with City manager Mark Hughes. Other reports […]

Brazilian soccer’s biggest signing will be sidelined as the new season kicks off this week, writes Brain Homewood. Ronaldo, 32, who joined Corinthians last month, is still struggling to regain fitness following a long term knee injury he suffered last February.   “It’s best not to make a prediction,” said the former Barcelona, Real Madrid, […]

His regular column in the Chronicle may not win any prizes for originality, but former pro Glenn Davis makes a fair point Tuesday in calling on those MLS teams with quiet stadiums to pull out all stops this season to create “more passionate environments.”   In stringent economic times, teams are going to be hard […]

The decision to cancel ESPN2’s regular Thursday night MLS broadcast may not be as bad as it sounds, writes Frank Giase, because there could be a number of benefits to spreading the games out across the week from Wednesday to Saturday.   “One of the problems the past two years was that the schedule was […]

St. Louis’ chances of landing a Major League Soccer franchise in 2011 hinge on the city strengthening its investor base, according to MLS Commissioner Don Garber . “It’s a great soccer market and we hope to be here at some point,” Garber said Thursday, in town for the NSCAA convention. “It’s got most of what […]

A lack of commercial and local government partners, as well as the moribund economy, mean that Atlanta won’t be fielding an MLS team in 2011, writes Dan Chapman. But Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who submitted the city’s application last October, hasn’t ruled out trying for a possible franchise for the city in 2013. Kim Shreckengost, […]

Ramon Calderon resigned as president of Spanish champion Real Madrid Friday after an emergency board meeting at the Bernabeu, Reuters reports, quoting Spanish media. It said that Calderon, in office since 2006, had been under pressure to quit since the newspaper Marca published allegations earlier this week of irregularities at the club’s general assembly last […]

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes is so confident that his team will sign Brazilian playmaker Kaka from AC Milan that he has already worked out a 4-1-4-1 formation incorporating all the team’s expected signings during this month’s transfer window, report Daniel Taylor and Graham Chase. Hughes and his staff “have devised an adventurous system that […]

“Today I have no desire to do any kind of fitness, like stand up on a line, race out and be timed. I still go out and run to stay healthy, but I also know when it really hurts, I can stop.” Mia Hamm tells LZ Granderson she has no plans to come out of […]

Liverpool has accepted a bid from Portsmouth for winger Jermaine Pennant, 26, the player surprisingly linked in recent weeks with both Real Madrid and AC Milan. He will discuss personal terms with the FA Cup holders "over the next few days," the Portsmouth website said.    

“The owners feel that the manager’s decisions need to be subject to the chief executive. But I know that I am subject to results and to our fans and they are the best judges I will ever have.” Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez explains that having to be accountable to Chief Executive Rick Parry on playing […]

EPL newcomer Hull City has signed Manchester United's Angolan striker Manucho, 25, on loan until the end of the season. It is hoping to secure a work permit for him in time to play against Arsenal Saturday.    

“It’s been a strange series of events, an incredible week or so and I still can’t quite believe what’s happened.” Former Atlanta Silverbacks defender Martyn Lancaster, 28, who landed a contract with second-tier Scottish side Queen of the South after his wife posted a 10-minute highlights video of him on YouTube.

“It’s kind of a Catch 22. The league wants to get more younger players signed, but once they get in, there’s no place for them to develop.” Columbus Crew Technical Director Brian Bliss on the landscape for youth development in Major League Soccer.

“I don’t know whether my reputation precedes me, but if you look at the video, what I did do was stand my ground, I didn’t do anything else.” Newcastle United manager Joe Kinnear says a touchline encounter with his Hull City counterpart Phil Brown was blown out of all proportion by the press. Newcastle lost […]

As DaMarcus Beasley is unhappy with his lack of playing time at Glasgow Rangers, he could do worse than revive his club career in Los Angeles, writes Grahame L Jones. Either at the Galaxy or at Chivas USA. A move to the Galaxy would reunite him with former national team coach Bruce Arena , who […]

Daniel Burnham was the 19th century urban architect who helped shape cities like Chicago and San Francisco, but Lawrence Donegan believes he had a handle on the motivations of those owning English football clubs in 2009. “Make no little plans,” Burnham said. “They have no magic to stir men’s blood.” The same applies to Manchester […]

The idea that AC Milan would part with Kaka is not so outrageous, writes Frank Dunne. Not just because of the $133 million porice tag, but for actual soccer reasons. Dunne posits four of them for discussion. First, Kaka and fellow Brazilian Ronaldinho have not gelled as twin forward/midfielders behind the striker in Coach Carlo […]

Two prominent Palestinian soccer players were killed by Israeli forces this week in the Gaza Strip, the Palestine Football Association said Wednesday. It said on its Web site that national team member, Ayman al-Kurd, a 28-year-old with three children, was killed earlier this week by Israeli shelling. It also reported that Wajih Mushtahi, a member […]

The granite-faced Scottish Football Association is threatening to ruin one of Scotland’s smallest but best-run clubs, Brechin City, all because the club’s field width doesn’t conform to UEFA specifications. Third-tier Brechin, needless to say, has never played in European competition, and likely never will. The team faces “crippling fines or huge reconstruction costs” if it […]

“I love the club as much as the next man, but I am under contract with another club and they went out of their way to get me, they flew me halfway around the world to join them and I have always been a person who believed in loyalty.” San Jose Quakes’ forward Darren Huckerby […]

In the light of reports that Manchester City has offered AC Milan $133 million for Brazilian playmaker Kaka, Kaveh Solhekol offers the EPL team some alternative ways to spend such a huge amount. City manager Mark Hughes also “needs a goalkeeper, some defenders, a couple of midfield players and a target man,” he says, before […]

Comparing the arrival of Marta in Los Angeles with the coming of David Beckham two years ago is too difficult for Martin Rogers to resist, as “one of the world’s highest-profile players moves from a European league to Los Angeles in an attempt to ignite interest in American soccer.” The importance of her signing to […]

There has been a tide of appreciative articles in the UK sporting press since Ryan Giggs. 35, engineered Manchester United’s 3-0 win over Chelsea at the weekend from the center of midfield. According to Rob Bagchi, the former left-winger “thrillingly rolled back the years against Chelsea in a performance that made the true football romantic […]

“We can dominate. Manchester [United] has a lot of young players — myself included — so the future for the club looks good. I want to be here, to be a part of the success that I believe lies ahead. For me, it’s great to be a part of this fantastic club and my motivation […]