[SPAIN] Less than 24 hours after a humiliating 4-1 loss to Spanish champion Real Madrid, Barcelona announced that Coach Frank Rijkaard would be replaced next season by former captain Pep Guardiola.
Category: Soccer America Daily
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U.S. under-15 boys national team roster
[YOUTH] The U.S. under-15 boys national team is headed to Madrid Friday for 10-day camp. U-15 coach Jim Barlow, the Princeton University head coach, has named 20 players for the trip to Madrid, where they will take on, among others, youth teams from La Liga’s Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. For the complete U-15 roster …
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Real crushes slumping Barcelona
[SPAIN] What better way to celebrate your title than to pound your archrival. That’s what Real Madrid did in crushing Barcelona, 4-1, at the Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday.
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Sounders FC sign first player, from Sounders
[MLS] Seattle Sounders FC, which begins MLS play in 2009, made its first player signing. Coming on board is French forward Sebastien Le Toux, who currently plays for USL-1 defending champion Seattle Sounders.
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Texan starts for Pachuca in playoff loss
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Texan Juan Francisco Torres started and played the first half for Pachuca as it fell at home, 1-0, to San Luis in the first leg of their wild-card playoff game. San Luis’ U.S. U-23 defender Michael Orozco missed the game with a muscle injury.
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Fears of French fries shortage alleviated; but intestines needed
[OFF THE POST] The Swiss government has agreed to ease potato import restrictions following fears of a French fries shortage during next month’s European Championship, which the Swiss are co-hosting with Austria. The policy change makes way for the importation of an additional 5,600 tons of potatoes. The possibility of a sausage shortage, however, remains.
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The Sports Hernia Chronicles
[MLS] A week ago, Chivas USA forward Alecko Eskandarian came back from Germany. Next week, FC Dallas midfielder Dax McCarty will head over. With luck, both of them will be training and playing full-time within a few weeks following examinations by noted German surgeon Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck, whose proficiency in treating sports hernias affects athletes of different sports all over the world.
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What They’re Saying
“It is a basic requirement that they have some command of English.”
— Britain’s immigration minister Liam Byrne, announcing that non-Europeans who want to play in the English Premier League will not be exempt from tougher immigration rules that will require passing an English-language test covering everyday phrases and simple conversation. (AFP)
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The cases for, and against, Kreis
[REF WATCH/VIDEO] A blatantly blown offside call in a 2-2 tie with the Galaxy last Saturday that cost Real Salt Lake a goal triggered a riposte from Coach Jason Kreis regarding officiating decisions that had gone against his team.Without passing judgment on Kreis’s timing or rhetoric, examining a few of the incidents and decisions reveals how a simple case of inadequate positioning can lead to a bad call, and how coaches and players may not be aware of instructions by which officials are directed to interpret certain situations.
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The rich get richer
[OFF THE POST] Newcastle United’s billionaire owner Mike Ashley won $2.5 million with a single spin of the roulette wheel when the ball landed on black 17 at a London casino. Ashley, ranked Britain’s 54th richest man, wears a Newcastle replica jersey with the No. 17 to his team’s games.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“There was no sex or drugs that night.”
— Police inspector Carlos Augusto Nogueira on the Ronaldo run-in with transvestite prostitutes, who recanted their accusations against the Brazilian striker. Ronaldo has lost a $4.8 million endorsement contract with a cell phone company because of the incident, although prostitution is not illegal in Brazil. (AP)
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U.S. Soccer Development Academy Results
The New York Red Bulls and U.S. youth national team, the only unbeaten teams in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s U-17/18 Group, went 1-0-1 in weekend action. Carmel United Soccer Club, which entered the weekend with the best winning percentage of any team in the U-15/16 Group, fell to Vardar, 4-1, and was held to a 1-1 tie by the Michigan Wolves on its trip to the Detroit area. For all the weekend results and goal scorers …
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Soccer Job Openings
[EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES] Soccer America provides the latest on employment opportunities for soccer-related positions. They include college coaching opportunities, as well as opportunities in pro soccer, youth soccer, the soccer industry and television.
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The rise of FC Dallas’ Arturo Alvarez
Shifting to a three-man back line is the most visible difference between last year and this year for FC Dallas, yet another, more subtle change may have even greater long-term effects. A flank midfielder for most of his five-year pro career, Arturo Alvarez is playing up top for FC Dallas as a speedy, raiding foil for the burly Kenny Cooper and attacking midfielder Juan Toja.
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U.S. under-14 boys national team camp roster
[YOUTH] The U.S. under-14 boys national team is taking part in an eight-day camp at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., under the supervision of Coach Manny Schellscheidt. For the complete roster …
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Lichaj wins Premier Academy League title
[AMERICANS ABROAD] American defender Eric Lichaj started for Aston Villa in its 2-0 win over Manchester City Saturday at Birmingham’s Villa Park in the 2008 Premier Academy League final. Lichaj, a product of the U.S. under-17 residency program, joined Villa last summer after missing his freshman year at North Carolina with a metatarsal fracture in 2006.
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USA-Argentina tickets selling fast
[U.S. SOCCER] More than 40,000 tickets have already been sold for the U.S. national team’s June 8 friendly against Argentina at Giants Stadium, which has a capacity of 80,242. It will be the USA’s third home game of 2008, following a 2-0 win over Sweden in Carson, Calif., that drew 14,878 and a 2-2 tie with Mexico in Houston in February that drew 70,103.
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New England Revs name Director of Youth Development
[YOUTH]The New England Revolution, which will field U-16 and U-18 teams in U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy in the 2008-09, has hired Portugal native Mario Prata as its new Director of Youth Development.
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Michael Bradley’s season ends in red
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Michael Bradley‘s stellar season in the Dutch Eredivisie ended on a sour note when the 20-year-old Heerenveen midfielder was ejected in the 39th minute of a 3-1 loss to Ajax Amsterdam in a playoff for a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League. Bradley, who led the team in scoring with 15 goals, was sent off for his second yellow card with the score 0-0.
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Croatia’s Bilic picks young stars
[EURO COUNTDOWN] Slaven Bilic, who extended on Monday his contract as Croatia coach through 2010, named a 23-player squad for Euro 2008 that included a pair of 20-year-olds, Nikola Kalinic and Ivan Rakitic, and 22-year-old Luka Modric, who is headed to English club Tottenham next season.
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EPL race goes down to last day
[ENGLAND] Chelsea stayed in the England Premier League race when it won, 2-0, at Newcastle United on Monday thanks to second-half goals by Michael Ballack and Florent Malouda.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“I was told in no uncertain terms by American football coaches and baseball coaches that I would amount to absolutely nothing if I stuck to playing soccer. You’re an idiot for doing it. Now I get to go back and say ‘Hey look, it worked out!'”
— American goalkeeper Brad Friedel, whose professional career of a decade and a half has been spent mostly in the English Premier League. (SkySports)
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D.C. United is latest to cash in on jersey ads
The most recognized and most successful team in Major League Soccer has joined the ranks of the sponsored jersey. Commissioner Don Garber is in Washington, D.C., Tuesday for the formal announcement of a front-jersey sponsorship deal for D.C. United. Volkswagen will pay United between $3.1 million and $3.7 million per year for the next four years to display its logo on the front of the D.C. jersey, which will otherwise remain essentially the same, with the D.C. United crest and four stars – representing its four MLS titles – remaining. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney provides the details on shirt sponsorship income around the league.
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Americans to figure in Mexican postseason play
[AMERICANS ABROAD] The Mexican Clausura 08 postseason kicks off this Wednesday with first-leg repechaje (play-in) games for quarterfinal spots. San Luis, for which U.S. U-23 defender Michael Orozco started 11 of 17 regular season games, faces Pachuca, for which Texan Jose Francisco Torres played eight games. Earning spots straight into the quarterfinals were Santos Laguna (Edgar Castillo), Chiapas Jaguares (Daniel Hernandez) and Chivas Guadalajara (Jesus Padilla).
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Dempsey renews with Fulham
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Attacker Clint Dempsey, who joined EPL club Fulham in January of 2006, has signed a two-year contract extension with Fulham through 2010. The 25-year-old started 28 league games, made seven appearances off the bench this season and leads the team with six goals. Fulham climbed out of the relegation zone last weekend and can ensure survival with a win over Portsmouth on Sunday.