Category: Section 2 Around the Net

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he was misquoted in media reports citing him as calling Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo a “slave” in the midst of the tug-of-war for the Portuguese star between his EPL club and Real Madrid. “I have never said that Ronaldo is a slave,” Blatter said. “What I said is slavery […]

Germany coach Joachim Loew and his players have rejected criticism of a public party that drew an estimated 100,000 fans in Berlin to celebrate the team’s second-place finish at Euro 2008. The event was not a victory party, but a way of thanking fans, said Loew after German soccer federation technical director Matthias Sammer said […]

“Lost in the sturm und drang over the Hope Solo affair at last year’s Women’s World Cup was a painful truth: The U.S. was playing ugly soccer,” writes Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl, who looks forward to the American women playing a better brand of soccer under Coach Pia Sundhage, who took over after the third-place […]

Jeff Carlisle ranks the 16 men’s Olympic teams and puts defending champ Argentina at the top of the list because the team is “flat out loaded.” “This is especially true in midfield, where Juan Roman Riquelme and Javier Mascherano should dominate,” writes Carlisle. “Up top, things are less certain with Lionel Messi’s participation still in […]

The Chicago Fire beat Everton, 2-0, on goals by Chris Rolfe and Tomasz Frankowski. The friendly win over last season’s fifth-place finisher in the English Premier League was watched by 9,125 fans in Bridgeview, Ill. The Fire outshot Everton, 17-7. Rolfe scored in the 42nd minute off a cross from Gonzalo Segares. Rolfe controlled the […]

Columnist James Lawton says Arsenal’s 21-year-old Spanish star Cesc Fabregas’ declaration of dedictation to his club amid transfer rumors is a breath of fresh air amid the “ingrate football stars sneering at the point of contracts and the loyalty that until now they have always implied.” “Fabregas’s astonishing statement of fealty to the club which […]

FIFA has responded to European clubs that claim they don’t need to release under-23 players for the Olympic Games because the competition isn’t on the international match calendar. Said Slim Aloulou, judge of the players’ status committee, the international calendar “is not of relevance in establishing whether clubs are obliged to release players [for the] […]

Newcastle midfielder was able to mantain his $141,000 per week salary when Coach Kevin Keegan welcomed him back to the club after his prison stint for violent assault, but Nike has terminated Barton’s sponsorship deal. Leo Sandino-Taylor, a Nike spokesman, said: “While Joey Barton is a talented [soccer player], we cannot condone or accept what […]

In the wake of New Jersey boy Giuseppe Rossi choosing to play for Italy and New Mexico product Edgar Castillo opting to wear Mexico's colors, the U.S. national team program is now in danger of losing the services of former U.S. U-17 defender Neven Subotic. The 19-year-old was rated the German Second Division's top central […]

A year ago, Corey Ashe was red-carded in Houston’s SuperLiga semifinal against Pachuca, which took advantage and won on penalty kicks. On Tuesday night, when the teams squared off again in the SuperLiga semis, Ashe entered the game at the 62nd minute and sealed the Dynamo’s 2-0 win with a headed goal. In the final, […]

For the first time in club history, D.C. United has lost four straight games at its RFK Stadium. It had won the first five games of a 10-game homestand that included U.S. Open Cup and Champions Cup games. The losses include three SuperLiga games and an MLS defeat to Houston. “You treat your home as […]

The English FA says the problem is not in recruiting referees but in retaining them and has launched the “Respect Campaign” in response to the growing numbers of referees who are quitting the game after receiving abuse. At the grassroots level, reports Paul Maughan, it concentrates on decreasing the abuse given to referees by overzealous […]

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is reportedly aiming to bid up to $4.4 billion for the six-year broadcast rights to Germany’s Bundesliga. The move into soccer rights could help Murdoch’s News Corp expand into German free-to-air TV. News Corp already has a 25 percent stake in Germany’s biggest pay TV company, Premiere.

Not surprisingly, Joey Barton’s release from prison on Monday after serving 74 days of a six-month sentence for violent assault sparked debates in Britain, starting with one on the system of early parole from England’s crowded prisons and on to whether he should be welcomed back by English Premier League club Newcastle United. And if […]

European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, announced that Euro 2008, co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland, generated a net profit of 250 million euros ($393.7 million). The money, stated UEFA, would be used to finance its youth and women’s competitions, refereeing and coaching program and administrative costs.

Scottish striker Paul Dickov’s move from Blackpool to Toronto FC is no done deal: “The striker has not crossed the Atlantic. In fact he is understood to be training with Manchester City as he keeps up his fitness ahead of deciding which club to join for the new campaign.”

The Chicago Fire is eager to incorporate Brian McBride into its lineup when he returns from the Olympics in China, where the 36-year-old is on of the three overage “wild-card” players on the U.S. U-23 squad. “He’s a winner, and people will always respect that,” said Fire assistant coach Chris Armas, McBride’s teammate on the […]

Beating Toronto FC, 2-1, on Monday night in a game Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis dubbed the biggest game of the season, gave RSL its first winning record in franchise history, which began in 2005. Its 7-6-6 record also moved Real Salt Lake four points clear of second-place Houston (two games in hand) and […]

Bernardo Fallas explains how it is that the Houston Dynamo’s archrival is a Mexican team, Pachuca, which plays the Dynamo Tuesday night in Texas (Telefutura, 10 pm ET). “The Astros have the Cardinals, the Texans the Titans, and the Rockets the Jazz. The Dynamo? They have Pachuca,” writes Fallas. “Considering that soccer is the world’s […]

The Manchester United-Portsmouth friendly that drew 30,000 fans Sunday in the Nigerian capital of Abuja underscored a troubling problem for Nigerian soccer. Fans love the EPL, while local clubs struggle to stay afloat. “When you look at the stadiums, you’ll find that the stands are virtually empty,” says Ismaila Lere, sports editor at the Daily […]

Arsenal captain William Gallas apologized for setting a bad example last season and promised to learn from his errors if Manager Arsene Wenger makes him captain again for the upcoming campaign. “You know I learned a lot, you want to be the best captain, give good advice to your players, but sometimes you can make […]

Barcelona President Joan Laporta is confident of winning the Spanish club’s case with the Argentine federation and expects star Lionel Messi to join in on its U.S. tour that begins next Sunday against Chivas in Chicago.

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon expects Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Andriy Shevchenko to be with the Blues when the new Premier League season begins Aug. 16.

In a league dotted with Argentine playmakers, Javier Morales doesn’t get the attention of Marcello Gallardo (D.C. United) and Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus), but he has been just as valuable for Real Salt Lake, Morales arrived last season with fellow Argentines Fabian Espindola and Matias Mantilla and has helped turn around RSL, which is in […]

American Brad Friedel admitted he has mixed feelings over his $5 million move from Blackburn, with which he had played for eight seasons, to Aston Villa. “Making this move was a very easy decision and a very difficult decision to make all at the same time,” he told the Villa web site. “I’d been at […]