Category: Section 2 Around the Net

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has provoked Real Madrid President Ramon Calderon into suggesting he’s senile, and former player Gabriel Heinze has said he’s “mad.” But as Jim White explains, there’s a shrewd reason for Ferguson’s comments in a magazine interview published this week that Real is used to getting its own way because […]

AC Milan Vice President Adriano Galliani has said that David Beckham's New Year fling in the northern Italian fashion capital will be a dream come true for the club. No doubt the city's high-end retailers are celebrating too. "David's arrival is a dream that becomes a reality," Galliani said. But sadly Milan will have to […]

Ex-Poland international Grzegorz Lato, 58, was elected Thursday as the head of Poland’s governing soccer body, the PZPN. “We are determined to change the image of Polish football,” said Lato after his victory. “I am determined to… make it transparent and pure and for this to culminate in the success of Euro 2012.” Before the […]

Real Salt Lake is of course proud of its sporting achievement in reaching the Major League Soccer playoffs for the first time at the fourth attempt, writes Michael Lewis. But the economic reasons for reaching the postseason are just as important, and not just for the extra league games. Depending on how the league judges […]

“Insiders say [Sigi] Schmid is asking to become one of the higher-paid coaches in MLS but that he doesn’t want to leave Columbus. There was speculation when he first came from Los Angeles that this was an interim stop, but they say he has grown to love the city, the team he built and the […]

“I think that there’s a possibility still of playing another year. I was finishing the season up well. I’m not in a rush to retire. I continue enjoying things, I’m conscious I need to make sure I’m doing everything on the field, continuing to play on the level that is played here in MLS, and […]

“There are those who will say that instead of condemning the pair [Joey Barton and Wayne Rooney] we should applaud them for engaging in an ancient British tradition that dates all the way back to the 1990s, even though it might have made sounder economic sense for them to kiss their boot manufacturers’ logos or […]

“I’m going to a country where they adore me because of the goal against the English.” New Argentina coach Diego Maradona expects a friendly welcome in Scotland, where he will likely be in charge for next month’s Scotland-Argentina exhibition game in Glasgow.

The Asian Football Confederation has cut Jordan, Syria and Kuwait from its list of nations eligible to enter clubs in the remodeled Asian Champions League in 2009 because they did not submit full documentation. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates is bidding to have the AFC's headquarters, currently in Malaysia, moved to Abu Dhabi. The AFC's […]

The first leg of the African Champions League final takes place Sunday, with Egypt’s Al Ahly hosting Coton Sport of Cameroon. Al Ahly has already taken the title a record five times, a feat matched only by compatriots El Zamalek, while Coton Sport is making its first appearance in the final. Al Ahly, which won […]

“I think SuperLiga is a fantastic tournament. Maybe because we had a lot of home games during that stretch, and our fans and the stadium are so excellent. I like playing those top Mexican teams and I think the format is excellent. The atmosphere, and the buildup to the games, it’s great.” Dominic Kinnear is […]

“He’s just a warrior. You almost never worried. He would get hurt, and you just knew some way he would find his way back and be better and stronger than ever.” Landon Donovan, among others, in another eulogy of Brian McBride. When he retires we get to read them all again.

“D.C. United’s dreary season ended last night with two red cards and crippling defensive breakdowns, with sufficient effort but insufficient execution and, on a chilly evening before a sparse crowd at RFK Stadium, with yet another defeat. In other words, it was like so many of its previous 46 matches this year.” Steven Goff hails […]

Hold the front page — David Beckham’s lawyers have landed in Italy and AC Milan has “confirmed that talks regarding a proposed loan deal for David Beckham will begin on Thursday.” There’s no mention of any L.A. Galaxy representatives.

Tottenham Hotspur refuses to let small matters like $24 million of debt and a lack of local infrastructure prevent it from announcing plans to build a new 60,000-seater stadium close to its current ground, White Hart Lane.

San Jose revived its relaunch year in midseason when it made a number of new signings, but two of those players — Trinidad & Tobago forward Scott Sealy, 27, and veteran Brazilian midfielder Francisco Lima — look set to leave, reports Elliott Almond. Sealy, who is out of contract at the end of the year […]

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Shannon Boxx likes the look and the name of the Los Angeles Sol that she’ll be playing for when Women’s Professional Soccer kicks off next spring. “It’s very exciting to finally say that we have a league,” the midfielder told Grahame L Jones. “I think we have a great team. I […]

While Inter Milan’s 0-0 tie at Fiorentina Wednesday was hardly a disaster, writes Richard Aikman, Inter coach Jose Mourinho faces a problem after his team’s second successive goalless draw because “over the last three years Inter supporters have got used to winning. Mourinho’s arrival was expected to hail a new all-conquering era in which a […]

L.A. Galaxy coach Bruce Arena is still “simply staring at the wreckage of an 8-13-9 season,” writes Grahame L Jones, but soon it will be time for him to start sorting through the chaff. “It’s certainly a team that needs to be reconstructed,” Arena said. “We have an odd balance on our team on the […]

D.C. United was forced by delays and cancellations to wait six hours at Columbus airport Monday, the morning after its MLS season had ended in Crew Stadium. This, writes Steven Goff, seemed a fitting end to a bad year, with the team finally making it home to D.C. via New York, the city whose team […]

Seattle Sounders FC unveiled its designated player, Swedish international Freddie Ljungberg, Tuesday, reports Jose Miguel Romero. The $2.5 million a year midfielder duly declared that he’s here to help improve the quality and the profile of Major League Soccer. “I figured if I’m going to take MLS seriously and want to make it a really […]

Columbus Crew owner-operator Clark Hunt sat down with Michael Arace and Shawn Mitchell after Sunday’s game against D.C. United and told them, “I’m confident the Columbus Crew will be playing in Columbus, Ohio, for at least the next 50 years. Beyond that, I’m not making any predictions.” Arace, who has raised concerns in his columns […]

Former UCLA player and Hermann Trophy finalist Matt Taylor has taken a long route to success as a pro since leaving college and being the fourth overall MLS draft pick in 2004. His injury-marred spells with the Kansas City Wizards and Chivas USA were followed by a stint at the Portland Timbers in USL-1, after […]

“We’ve had our ups and downs throughout the season, but the time is right. We’re peaking when we need to peak, and the most important thing is to do well in the playoffs.” Claudio Lopez of the Kansas City Wizards looks back on his first season in MLS and ahead to the postseason.

“We all believe that something special can happen.” Real Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman tells of the buoyant camp mood ahead of the playoffs.