Category: Section 2 Around the Net

The Montreal Impact could play indoors at the Olympic Stadium in February if the team advances to the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals. The team is in talks with the stadium’s operators over safety concerns about the amount of snow that will be on the stadium roof in mid-winter.

A wish expressed in his autobiography by Chelsea striker Didier Drogba that he had punched Nemanja Vidic in the Champions League final last May is to be studied by the English Football Association. It’s not known if the governing body’s study will take the form of a 10,000 word literary dissertation or if it will […]

Former Thai prime minister and Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra has been found guilty on corruption charges in his homeland and sentenced to two years in jail. Thailand will file an extradition request with the U.K. so that Thaksin can serve his sentence and face other corruption charges.

RB New York’s Juan Pablo Angel proved Saturday night why he is probably “the best, most skilled and classiest finisher in Major League Soccer,” writes Jack Bell. His two goals in the 3-1 victory over the Columbus Crew included “the gamewinner — a goal of sheer beauty.”

The 10-game suspension of RB New York’s Jon Conway and Jeff Parke last week for violating Major League Soccer’s Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Policy raises a major question for the team over the offseason, writes Frank Giase. Simply put: will the team cut the two from its roster? Neither player’s absence was felt during […]

Players at the last two World Cups took an average of nearly two legal medications or nutritional supplements per game, according to FIFA-funded research published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine. FIFA doctors found that “some players took a cocktail of up to 10 substances at once,” reports the AP. The report, compiled from […]

If there’s one sport that can survive the global financial crisis then it’s soccer, writes the AP. It says that while individual clubs “will certainly suffer” by losing sponsors and investors, and perhaps some players with high wage demands, “cash flowing into the top end of the market, from television deals and multinational backers, is […]

The South African government has allocated an extra 1.4 billion rand ($136 million) to stadiums for the 2010 World Cup to meet higher building costs, and a further 600 million rand ($57 million) to provide internet access to the stadiums, report Mike Cohen and Nasreen Seria. “The 2010 FIFA World Cup preparations remain on course, […]

Another day, another L.A. Galaxy obituary, but this one from Nick Green is well worth reading as he picks up a funereal metaphor and runs with it all the way to the crematorium. “The Galaxy of Los Angeles died Saturday in the MLS trauma unit after a long, painful, and ultimately futile struggle for postseason […]

German second division side 1860 Munich annulled the contract of former Turkish U-21 international Berkant Goktan after he tested positive for cocaine. The club said it had no choice after the player turned down an offer of help for his drug problem. Goktan scored 10 goals in 24 games last season, though he has been […]

Grahame L. Jones calls for a change of ownership at the Los Angeles Galaxy after another miserable regular season, with the wannabe Superclub missing the playoffs for the third successive season. Owner AEG’s head man, Galaxy President Tim Leiweke, has “tinkered with [the team] to the point where it now bears not the slightest resemblance […]

“It was endearing to watch the entire Toronto FC team and front office staff congratulating one another on the field after Saturday’s win over Chicago,” writes Ryan Johnston. “But amid the festivities I held a silent vigil for a season lost.” Johnston says it was “excruciating” to think back on the points that Toronto squandered […]

RB New York coach Juan Carlos Osorio has called the ingestion of banned substances by goalkeeper Jon Conway and defender Jeff Parke a “genuine mistake,” and said that he and the team have accepted the apologies offered and the remorse that both players have shown. Parke, who like Conway has been suspended for 10 games, […]

Tottenham Hotspur’s disastrous start to the English Premier League campaign, with just two points from its first eight games, can be traced back to poor decision-making, writes Paul Doyle. The weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Stoke City left the team, which had seriously talked preseason about challenging for a Champions League spot, three points adrift at […]

Michelle Kaufman writes an open letter to Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber saying that she too would be skeptical about a franchise bid from Miami given the city’s history with soccer franchises. “We saw the Fusion — and teams before it — flop like a well-trained Italian forward,” she writes. “We know this is […]

Not everyone, however, agrees with the generally positive media response to the Barca bid. “If Barcelona wasn’t involved in this deal, then there would be a lot more naysayers regarding Miami’s chance of seeing a MLS team come to South Florida again,” writes “The Gaffer.” He lists a number of problematical stadium issues surrounding the […]

“There were segments in the first half where we were just physically manhandled. It wasn’t as much about the soccer as it was about running harder, competing better. They were more alert, more physical, more aggressive.” L.A. Galaxy coach Bruce Arena explains his side’s 3-0 loss at Houston that finally ended the team’s lingering playoff […]

“I kind of had a feeling it was going to be tough for us. From the first moment, I didn’t think we were sharp, we were losing the ball too easily. But give them the credit. They came here, they wanted it more and they got it.” Chivas USA coach Preki concedes that Colorado deserved […]

“In the last two games, we’ve given up game-winning goals to the opposition, which you can’t do at any level. We’re trying to win the match, obviously, but set plays with everybody back you shouldn’t be conceding goals like that. It’s heartbreaking for us to turn full circle from what we did five weeks ago.” […]

“I want to stop playing when I decide, not because I have been forced to by an injury.” Brazilian striker Ronaldo, 32, currently a free agent, says he is almost ready to play again after a knee injury that many thought had ended his career.

The end to the Major League Soccer season is all about momentum. D.C. United isn't yet in the postseason, and must rely on other teams to fail. Meanwhile, the New England Revolution has already qualified, but is in the midst of a slump in form. The postgame quotes from the Revs 2-1 loss to D.C. […]

Despite the ongoing world economic crisis, French politicians this week spent much of their time whining about Tunisian fans booing “La Marseillaise” before the France-Tunisia exhibition game in Paris Tuesday. It’s just another example of politicians interfering in the game, writes Brian Homewood, arguing that international soccer would be best served by scrapping the anthems […]

South African Transport Minister Jeff Radebe has said the country is “on track” and within budget to complete all planned transport infrastructure projects in time for the 2010 World Cup, and dismissed fears the country would not be ready to host the tournament. On a tour of Cape Town construction sites Thursday, Radebe said, “We […]

There are several paths to fame or notoriety, but few are as unusual as the path unwittingly chosen by Raul Macias, 55. “Don Raul,” as he is known, has become a major player in Los Angeles politics after building a reputation for lobbying for soccer fields in the city’s northeast, writes Hector Becerra. In the […]

Italian defender Andrea Barzagli of Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg has praised the German league as more exciting than the Serie A he left in summer, reflecting what many observers of both leagues have long maintained. “The style of play is more spectacular here than it is in Italy,” Barzagli said. “There’s more goals than in […]