Category: Section 2 Around the Net

San Jose’s mid-summer English import Darren Huckerby is back home for the offseason and telling the Brits how much he’s enjoying life in MLS. Just because many things are different, he told a regional newspaper, doesn’t mean they’re not good. “I think they liked the way I play,” Huckerby said of his popularity with Quakes’ […]

The English FA Cup kicks off this weekend, and it includes a return to the fray for non-league AFC Wimbledon, 20 years after its spiritual predecessor famously beat Liverpool to lift the trophy at Wembley Stadium. AFC Wimbledon was founded in 2002 by disaffected supporters of South London club Wimbledon, which itself had climbed from […]

“David Beckham looks set to be axed for England’s clash with Germany on November 19,” claims Shaun Custis. “The former skipper, one cap short of Bobby Moore’s outfield player record of 108, is about to pay the price for LA Galaxy’s failure to reach the MLS playoffs.” But this is The Sun, so no actual […]

“I am convinced that if we put fines of $64,000 and two or three-game bans for diving in the area then it would make people think.” Experienced Spanish referee Manuel Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez calls for tough measures on divers after the controversial late penalty awarded to Liverpool against Atletico Madrid in Champions League play Tuesday.

“Last year was pretty unsavoury. In fact, I think it was nasty. It is too open for my liking. It should not happen when you build a modern stadium. You need tin helmets.” Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson welcomes increased security around the dugout area for Saturday’s EPL game at Arsenal.

“Sometimes players go out on the pitch and we receive stick from everywhere. That’s football, I love it. I love it when the whole stadium shouts against you but the problem comes afterwards when the match is finished and you are trying to live and enjoy a normal life with your family.” Glasgow Rangers striker […]

“Please be aware Toronto FC agents or scouts will never solicit money or fees from prospective players.” Toronto FC releases an official statement after reports that individuals on the Internet are passing themselves off as professional soccer scouts with ties to the MLS team, and are asking for a fee and a deposit in exchange […]

Losing coaches will always look for the reasons behind their team’s defeat, and often they sound like excuses. But it’s hard to argue with New England Revolution Coach Steve Nicol that the turning point in his team’s Eastern Conference semifinal second-leg game with the Chicago Fire Thursday came when the Fire’s John Thorrington took Jeff […]

Former L.A. Galaxy General Manager Alexi Lalas spoke publicly for the first time Thursday since being fired in August, saying that the team lacked on-field leadership, and that David Beckham’s camp had shown a lack of respect for the club by not informing it in advance about his loan-move negotiations with AC Milan. Co-hosting ESPN’s […]

Rather than sign the required four-year contract with Major League Soccer at the Superdraft, Notre Dame graduate and 2006 Hermann Trophy winner Joe Lapira opted, like so many young U.S. prospects, to try his luck in Europe instead. He ended up in a log cabin at the top of a Norwegian mountain, but he has […]

Houston Dynamo President and GM Oliver Luck says that if the team has not reached a deal for a downtown stadium by the end of the year then it will look elsewhere, writes Bernardo Fallas. “It almost has to [happen soon],” Luck said Wednesday. “If it doesn’t happen by the end of the year, if […]

D.C. United will keep Tom Soehn as coach in 2009, Steven Goff reports, quoting “sources close to the club.” A formal announcement is expected within a week. “The decision was hardly a surprise,” writes Goff. “In recent days, General Manager Dave Kasper came out in support of Soehn, and club president Kevin Payne expressed empathy […]

David Beckham helped kick up Major League Soccer attendances and TV ratings in 2007, but the league couldn’t build on that growth in 2008, reports Tripp Mickle. “This season the league suffered its first decline in average regular-season attendance and television viewership on ESPN2 in three years,” he reports. Half the teams in MLS saw […]

Argentina’s new coach Diego Maradona announced Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano, 24, as his new captain Tuesday. Mascherano is grateful enough to laud the new coach, despite the former star’s scarcity of coaching experience, but doesn’t yet know if he’ll accept. “It is great to have him as our manager,” said Mascherano. “We all know Diego gave […]

German actor and playwright Rainer Sievert, 43, has lived in France for almost 20 years, so has been keenly aware of the historical relationship between the neighboring countries. This has lead to him writing and performing in a new play, France-Allemagne, set on a sofa and featuring two men — one French, one German — […]

“We believe we represent a real opportunity for both of you to bring to an end a troubled period of ownership; an ‘exit strategy’ which would lead to admiration and respect from many. Doing the honorable thing and selling the club to the fans would return it to the values that made it the most […]

“Juan Pablo is being considered the same as all the other players. How he’s performing for his club will decide if he gets a recall.” New Colombian coach Eduardo Lara mulls an international recall for New York’s Juan Pablo Angel, 33. Colombia has scored just four goals in 10 World Cup qualifying games so far.

“Publicly, the Reds [Adelaide] will talk it up over the next five days leading into the second leg. Privately, they know it’s all over. [Coach] Aurelio Vidmar knows his players have a mountain to climb… Hopefully, Adelaide will make a game of it before a sellout crowd at Hindmarsh Stadium. But overhauling a three-goal deficit? […]

AC Milan midfielder Kaka “will tell his home country of the love of God in a major televised outreach by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association” on Brazilian prime-time this weekend.

Shares in L.A. Galaxy sponsor Herbalife are down more than 50 percent since the start of the year due to currency fluctuations and decelerating growth in several key markets.

Former England international Paul Gascoigne has not filed taxes for two years and could be declared bankrupt if he doesn’t pay up. The U.K. tax authorities estimate that he owes around $320,000.

“You can say we rolled the dice, but it was a move we thought about long and hard and went for it. The signs looked pretty darn good when Davy [Arnaud] scored that unbelievable goal against Los Angeles.” Kansas City Wizards’ Coach Curt Onalfo on switching Davey Arnaud from forward to attacking midfielder, and Jack […]

“I really thought it was the right time. It was an emotional, difficult decision. I had a great time here and I will always feel like I’m part of the Bronco family.” Former U.S. national team player Paul Caligiuri resigns as head of the men’s soccer program at Cal Poly Pomona.

England manager Fabio Capello must have exceedingly good sales skills if he managed to persuade Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti that taking L.A. Galaxy midfielder David Beckham on loan would be good for his team, writes Martin Samuel. Samuel imagines the conversation as Capello, wanting to keep Beckham fit for possible international duty, persuaded Ancelotti into […]

Reported almost as widely as Barack Obama’s victory, Jozy Altidore, 18, scored his first goal for Villarreal at the weekend in La Liga. But he told the AP that the club is “probably considering” a loan move for him during the January transfer window. “I don’t know,” he said, “I definitely think it’s a possibility. […]