Category: Section 2 Around the Net

Honduras’ political crisis will not derail Thursday’s Cooncacaf Champions League match between CD Marathon and Mexican club Toluca, reports the website Soccer by Ives. This news comes after reports from Mexico that the match would be canceled. The match is slated for San Pedro Sula, where the USA is scheduled to play Honduras in a […]

The Los Angeles Times' Chuck Culpepper serves up a detailed look at American striker Jozy Altidore's quest to make it in the English Premier League and looks at the 21-year-old's childhood as the son of Haitian immigrants who met on a bus in Orange, N.J. Altidore, among the Hull City players from nine nations, lives temporarily […]

After opening its U-20 World Cup campaign in Egypt by getting thumped, 3-0, by Germany, the Thomas Rongen-coached USA hopes to rebound on Tuesday (12:40 pm ET, ESPN2, espn360.com, Galavision) against Cameroon, which beat South Korea, 2-0, in the other Group C match. "We need to be more aggressive," said forward Peri Marosevic, who stayed […]

New England boosted its playoff chances with a 2-1 comeback win over Seattle last weekend but has lost captain and 14-year MLS veteran Steve Ralston for the season to a 19th minute knee injury. "Steve Ralston is the heart and soul of this team and losing him is tough," said defender Jay Heaps said. Ralston […]

FIFA’s medical chief Michel D’Hooghe says he’s seen a rise in career-ending fouls over the past two years, and he wants referees to show more red cards and coaches to do their part in curbing violent play. “We see more violent fouls over the whole world,” as games gain in financial importance, said D’Hooghe. “Some […]

FIFA officials will discuss possible changes on the age limit for male soccer players at the Olympics, where the men’s tournament has been a U-23 competition since 1992. FIFA favors dropping the age limit to 21 instead of the current 23, or abolishing the limit but barring all players with World Cup experience from participating. […]

When Wayne Rooney steps on the field for Manchester United in Wednesday’s European Champions League clash it will mark his 50th UEFA competition game. (He’s scored 16 times.) The factoid is part of UEFA.com’s “By the Numbers” preview of Champions League Game Day 2, which begins on Tuesday. The odds look good that Rooney will […]

With the WPS’s first season completed, the new women’s league’s coaches are eying talent on display at the USL’s W-League Combine. “The W-league has been a great vehicle for player development during the years between the WUSA and WPS,” said Washington Freedom coach Jim Gabarra. “Therefore, the league has had an impact on improving the […]

Will the acquisition of Italian Serie A club Bari by American real-estate tycoon Timothy Barton – who is becoming the only foreign owner in the top Italian league – start a trend in Italian soccer? A lack of foreign investment is one reason that the league has suffered a dip in fortunes. While Italian soccer […]

MLS.net continues its celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month with a lengthy interview with Seattle striker Fredy Montero, the team's leading scorer with 11 goals. The 22-year-old gushes about his first season in Seattle, the style of MLS, his ability, and his hopes for the Colombian national team. Montero on the impact of fans in Seattle, […]

Just recovering from a minor groin injury, U.S. defender Jay DeMerit, who plays for English second division team Watford, has suffered an unforeseen and more devastating setback. “It was a freak thing,” DeMerit told the website Yanks Abroad. “We were in our hotel and as I took out my contact, I cut my eye and […]

Paul Morris, a psychologist with the University of Portsmouth in England, is trying to add some science to the debate about diving and referees' ability to determine a dive from a foul. According to Morris' research, in which he showed a group of respondents various films of fouls and dives, the average fan usually gets […]

IFK Gothenburg goalkeeper Kim Christensen got caught red-handed, or red-footed, by television cameras before a match against Orebro. Cameras show Christensen using his feet to push bottom of each post slightly inwards. About 20 minutes into the match, referee Stefan Johannesson spotted that the posts had been moved a few centimeters inward, and pushed them […]

The Houston Dynamo re-signed franchise face Brian Ching through at least the 2013 season. With Ching's contract set to expire next season, the Dynamo decided to secure the MLS All-Star and U.S. national team forward for four more years. "It's not something they do normally, so it shows they care and value me, which I'm […]

Chivas Guadalajara beat Chivas USA, 2-0, on Wednesday night in a friendly attended by 22,879 at the Rose Bowl. Guadalajara’s Omar Arellano netted two goals in a five-minute span, the first coming in the 74th minute from a Sergio Avila cross. The second came on a breakaway in the 79th minute. Arellano beat defender Claudio […]

On Wednesday against Cruz Azul in Concacaf Champions League group play, the Columbus Crew experienced the same situation they faced on Sunday against the Chicago Fire, trailing 2-0 before the halftime break. Against Chicago, the Crew managed to scrap their way back into the game to salvage a 2-2 tie. Against Cruz Azul, however, the […]

On Thursday, D.C. United has a chance to end its dismal run of Champions League failure. United hosts Honduran club CD Marathon (8 pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel & Galavision) in a match likely to determine second place, and which team advances, in CCL Group B. After starting 0-2 in group play, including a 3-1 […]

The Olympian gives a glimpse into Seattle Sounders FC's traveling lifestyle. Tucked away in the Northwest, the team will cover a league-high 46,898 miles this season. And like other MLS teams, it takes mostly commercial flights, which means that players must negotiate middle seats and cramped leg space like most other middle-class Americans. "It's a […]

The U.S. national team can clinch its sixth straight World Cup berth with a win over Honduras Oct. 10. Although Donovan is quick to point out that the USA can still secure a spot if it doesn’t beat Honduras, he says that he doesn’t want “to leave that to chance.” “We’ve all been in games […]

The British government has told the English FA that the status quo isn't good enough. Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe demanded that the FA work more harmoniously with the Premier League and Football League to make proper progress on issues like youth development and the delayed National Football Center in Burton. Many of these recommendations fall […]

Brian McBride, the Chicago Fire striker and former national team star, answered readers' questions for the New York Times blog "Goal." Among other things, he spoke about his time in Europe, the current national team, the state of MLS, and the strikers he admires in the Premiership. McBride on the growth of the U.S. national […]

Brazil is a heavy favorite ahead of the Under-20 World Cup, which kicks off this Thursday in Egypt. The four-time champions, however, has watched Argentina win five of the last seven tournaments, including 2007, when Brazil failed to reach the quarterfinals. Brazil can rest a little easier knowing that Argentina failed to qualify for this […]

Major League Soccer’s disciplinary committee has been busy this week. First, it doubled Chivas USA midfielder Marcelo Saragosa‘s suspension for his studs-to-face challenge of Seattle striker Fredy Montero during Saturday’s 0-0 draw. Houston Dynamo assistant coach John Spencer also had his suspension doubled to two games for a confrontation with officials that resulted in his […]

PGE Park, the new home of Portland's expansion MLS team, is adding 5,000 new seats below street level of the Southwest side of 18th Avenue. But those seats may not increase the current capacity of the stadium, around 17,000. San Francisco designers Ellerbe Becket told the Portland Design Commission that they plan to screen off […]

As quickly as he came to Notts County, Sol Campbell has left. After playing just one game for his new club, which Campbell joined earlier this month for a $66,000-a-week salary, the defender asked to be let go. Notts signed Campbell as part of an ambitious project to elevate the League Two team to Premier […]