Category: Section 2 Around the Net

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 […]

Canadians Dwayne De Rosario, who scored the winning penalty kick, and Pat Onstad, who played the final 20 minutes in goal, were playing in their second game in the same day when they came on in the second half of the MLS All-Stars’ 3-2 victory over West Ham United on Thursday. Their day began in […]

Following Reading’s relegation from the English Premier League, goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann took time off to return home to Seattle, where he fished every day. “It was exactly what I needed and exactly where I needed to be after a long season,” he said in an interview with Goal.com’s Matthew Braine. “When you work hard all […]

England coach Fabio Capello says he is at a disadvantage because of the lack of English players in the Premier League. Comparing his situation with that of the new Italy coach, Marcello Lippi, Capello said: “I’m worse off than Lippi, than everyone. I have Welsh players, Scottish, Irish. In the Premier League only 35% of […]

Manchester United chief executive David Gill says there wasn’t much discussion about selling Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. He said that a “short, quick conversation” with the Glazer family who own the EPL club took place at the UEFA Champions League final in May. The turning point came when Manager Sir Alex Ferguson met Ronaldo […]

While England and the United States are among the countries expected to bid for the right to host the 2018 World Cup, Israeli filmmaker Eytan Heller is promoting the idea of a joint Israel-Palestine bid. “The original idea came in 2006 during the World Cup when I traveled to Ramallah,” Heller said. “I was amazed […]

At 36, Trinidad & Tobago midfielder Dwight Yorke’s EPL comeback hit a snag when he suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone in Sunderland’s game against Vitoria Setubal in Portugal.

Former Czech Republic national team coach Karel Bruckner is coming out of retirement at the age of 68 to take over as coach of Austria for World Cup 2010 qualifying.

FC Dallas midfielder Dax McCarty has been named the the U.S. Olympic men’s team, replacing the injured Nathan Sturgis. The 21-year old McCarty, a starter on the team that beat Canada, 3-0, to qualify for the Olympics, was himself injured this spring and was first selected as an alternate on the Olympic team, which will […]

After six seasons in Scandinavia, American speedster Robbie Russell is returning home to play for Real Salt Lake. “This is the guy we wanted,” Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey said of the fellow Duke alum who is expected to be available for RSL’s next MLS game, against Toronto at home on Monday. The […]

Luiz Felipe Scolari didn’t bite back following Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s barb that he didn’t see much room for improvement in Chelsea under the Brazilian. Speaking in China, where Chelsea is on a pre-season tour, Scolari said the Blues have what it takes to win. “I think that I have some players with […]

Bayern Munich fell to Borussia Dortmund, 2-1, on Wednesday in pre-season action — its first loss under new coach Juergen Klinsmann, who was unconcerned even though he fielded a near-full strength Bayern team.

In the fight for the right to watch soccer highlights in free television, the German antitrust agency has handed soccer fans a victory.

Don’t expect any fan trouble at Thursday’s MLS All-Star Game in Toronto. Following a skirmish between West Ham and Columbus Crew fans during Sunday’s friendly in Columbus, Toronto security is on notice to watch out for problems. “We’re going to be paying very specialized attention to the West Ham supporters group,” said Bob Hunter, executive […]

The success of Toronto FC, the second-year MLS club and host of Thursday’s MLS All-Star Game, has prompted talk of further expansion in Canada. Both Vancouver and Montreal are interested in joining the MLS expansion queue. NBA superstar Steve Nash will team with Vancouver Whitecaps owner Greg Kerfoot in a bid to bring MLS to […]

Italian police have issued another arrest warrant against former Cosmos star Giorgio Chinaglia in connection with a probe into a Naples-based organized crime group’s attempt to buy Italian club Lazio with laundered money. Police arrested seven people and sought three others who tried to buy Lazio with money coming from the illicit activities of the […]

With the departure of Jozy Altidore (Villarreal) and Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), two of its brightest young stars, MLS must groom a new generation of young players. Olympic teammates Sacha Kljestan and Robbie Rogers, both 2008 all-star selections, head the list of young MLS stars. ESPNsoccernet columnist Ives Galarcep adds his list of young players […]

An incident involving Columbus Crew and West Ham United fans during Sunday’s exhibition between the two clubs at Crew Stadium again brought attention to the MLS team’s hard-core supporters. While Crew officials downplayed the incident that began when Hammer supporters entered a Crew fan section at halftime, it drew plenty of media coverage. “We didn’t […]

Spain’s La Liga has the reputation of being one of the best leagues in the world, but the reality is that Spanish soccer is hurting. Real Madrid and Barcelona generate huge revenues, but many pro clubs are struggling. Clubs in the top two Spanish divisions owe players more than $60.50 million in back pay, according […]

Tottenham Hotspur is pursuing Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andrei Arshavin, who starred for Russia at Euro ’08.

FIFA and Europe’s top clubs remain at odds over the release of under-23 players for next month’s Olympics in China. FIFA president Sepp Blatter issued a statement on Wednesday, saying “the release of players below the age of 23 has always been mandatory for all clubs. The same principle applies for Beijing 2008.” But Bayern […]

Lithuania’s Kaunas and Ventspils of Latvia both are through to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.

D.C. United has not lost an MLS game in two months, but it heads into Tuesday’s game against the Houston Dynamo with a three-game losing streak at home. How can that be? United hasn’t played an MLS game since June 29 — a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on national television — because […]

European clubs are stopping at nothing in an effort to keep their young stars from heading off to the Olympics.

Britain does not take part in the Olympic soccer competition because here is no such thing as the British FA. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland — the four nations — all have their own national teams, but Lord Coe — Sebastian Coe to all you track & field fans — would like Sir Alex […]