Category: Section 2 Around the Net

The South African tourist industry has refuted claims by FIFA President Sepp Blatter that the country has insufficient tourist accommodation for the 2010 World Cup.

Australia’s chances of hosting the 2018 World Cup have been given a boost by the appointment of Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy to the World Cup Organizing Committee. The committee will decide where the 2018 event is held. Not that anyone’s suggesting Mr. Lowy will be anything but objective.

English second-tier club Queens Park Rangers, recently taken over by a consortium of wealthy businessmen, has shocked fans by increasing ticket prices to as high as $91 for games against teams like last year’s Premier League failures Derby County.

In Europe, when the coach of a troubled team receives a vote of confidence from the club’s board, it’s usually a prelude to his sacking just a few days later. The phrase has now entered soccer parlance as ‘the dreaded vote of confidence.’ One can only hope for the sake of FC Dallas coach Schellas […]

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has responded to Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster’s claim that Brazilian striker Robinho is content to be “a big player at a mediocre club” by having made the $58 million move from Real to City.   “Bernd is obviously a bit emotional about the situation,” Hughes said. “He has lost […]

Brian Glanville ponders the irony of FIFA Vice President Jack Warner being “outraged at being called a disgrace and a clown” by Sunderland’s manager Roy Keane. “Remember,” he rhetorically muses, “the gallant 2006 [Trinidad & Tobago] World Cup team who found they were being short changed by Warner and had to agitate before they got […]

Former England, Chelsea and Manchester United midfielder Ray Wilkins has returned to Stamford Bridge for a second spell as assistant first-team coach.

“Since he [Juan Pietravallo] joined MLS in July from Veria F.C. of the Greek league, the Red Bulls have been a team transformed — tougher, more confident and an emerging contender for the league title, something that could be seldom said during the club’s inglorious and unfocused history.” Jack Bell profiles RB New York’s Argentine […]

“Those set pieces, along with the long throw-ins for Oguchi Onyewu to head, which are so threatening against Mexico and others, simply cannot be relied on against sophisticated opponents.” Frank Dell’Apa analyzes what the U.S. needs to do to make its attack more potent.

Arsenal is interested in American “teen phenom” Charles Renken (originally from Zambia), according to “unconfirmed reports.” The 14-year-old has apparently reciprocated the interest, and “it is understood that the hype surrounding Renken is so intense that the player will forgo his chance of playing in the MLS for the hopes of signing with a European […]

When Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk undertakes a project, you’d hate to bet against a man with “deep pockets, an acute sports marketing acumen, plus energy and creativity,” says an editorial in the Ottawa Citizen. That’s why there’s “a very good chance” that his plan to bring Major League Soccer to the Canadian city will […]

Even as the Montreal Impact celebrated another fine result for the United Soccer Leagues’ representatives in the Concacaf Champions League Wednesday, its defeated opponent vowed a terrible revenge. Joe Public coach Keith Griffith, whose side fell 2-0 to the Impact, boldly forecast that his side would win the return game in Trinidad next month “by […]

D.C. United was outclassed by an opponent that was superior in terms of fitness, speed, skill and technique throughout its opening Concacaf Champions League group against Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica Tuesday. But rather than admit that its regional club counterparts are still several strides ahead of Major League Soccer, it’s best to blame the […]

Unsurprisingly, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and his Chelsea counterpart Felipe “Big Phil” Scolari hold differing opinions on the English Football Association’s decision to rescind the red card given to Chelsea’s oak-solid captain John ‘Tiny Tears’ Terry at the weekend. The decision allows Terry to play against United in this weekend’s game between the […]

Not content with getting his excuses in early for a possible defeat to Chelsea at the weekend, Ferguson is already looking ahead to that brazen FIFA marketing tool, December’s World Club Cup in Japan, and warning that United may not field its strongest team.   “When we come back [from Japan]…we will have three days […]

The former Liverpool and England forward John Barnes, 44, has been named as the new coach of the Jamaica national team. Barnes, who was born in Kingston before moving to England with his family as a teenager, will start work in November on a one-year contract.   Barnes takes over from Brazilian Rene Simoes, who […]

Despite postponing its home Concacaf Champions League game against Luis Angel Firpo Tuesday, the Houston Dynamo plans to press on with its MLS game against the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday. Better still, it is slashing ticket prices and letting first responders and kids under 14 in for free.   The team still hasn’t received final […]

Denver Nuggets and Colorado Rapids owner Stan Kroenke will be appointed to Arsenal’s board Thursday, report Gary Jacob and Tom Dart. Billionaire Kroenke, who owns a 12.38 per cent share in the north London team, has been tipped for the appointment ever since Russian-Uzbek oligarch Alisher Usmanov amassed a shareholding of 24.9 per cent. Rumors […]

Just a few weeks into the EPL season, and already there’s little talk of the FA’s Respect campaign towards referees. Everton manager David Moyes is to be charged by the FA with “improper conduct” after being sent to the stands during Saturday’s game at Stoke City for his response to referee Alan Wiley’s failure to […]

FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s Idea of the Day is to decrease the number of European teams at the World Cup to give an African country a better chance of winning. Right now, by coincidence, Blatter is in Africa. “We will have to change the numbers but we’ll do it step by step,” Blatter said. “One […]

Former U.S. national team captain and current ESPN analyst John Harkes says that the USA has done well enough starting its World Cup qualifying campaign with nine points from three games, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement.   “We’re playing well, but we’re not playing great,” Harkes told Jack Bell. “The battle in […]

D.C. United’s injury-troubled playmaker, Marcello Gallardo, is set to miss another four games at the most crucial point of his team’s season, reports Steven Goff. The Argentine, who had missed most of the past two and a half months following surgery on a sports hernia, has returned to his native country “to see a specialist […]

Brazilian women’s team star Marta has had her life story published by Diego Graciano following his “single-minded pursuit of the story of the world’s greatest woman footballer,” writes John Turnbull.   The book is called ‘You Are A Woman, Marta!’ which was her mother’s remonstrative response when her daughter first asked her for a soccer […]

Newcastle United season ticket holder Alan McKenna used to get regular slaps on the back when team owner Mike Ashley was popular around town. The reason? McKenna and Ashley look uncannily similar. Now that Ashley is reviled by most fans following the departure of manager Kevin Keegan, things have turned a little nasty.   McKenna, […]

FIFA President Sepp Blatter told construction at Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium Monday that he’s “very happy” with the country’s preparations for the 2010 World Cup. “We are not here for an examination. We are here to appreciate what you’re doing … The purpose is to go back to the Fifa executive [and tell them] […]