Category: Soccer America Daily
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Adios for MLS clubs

by Ridge Mahoney

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP] Houston didn’t have the horses. D.C. United didn’t have the archers. Both MLS teams, for the second straight year, fell in the semifinal round. In second legs played Wednesday night, Saparissa beat the shorthanded Dynamo, 3-0, in its home leg to win the series, 3-0, on aggregate; at RFK Stadium, United fell behind, 1-0, before rallying with two late goals to leave it a goal short of Pachuca on aggregate, 3-2.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Cheeky Advertising

by Soccer America

[OFF THE POST] The German federation (DFB) bans uniform advertising below the belt, but a regional court ruled in favor of lower division team Arminia Hannover, which wishes to sell space on its players’ behinds. The club has been challenging DFB’s pants ad ban for four years.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

by Soccer America

“The first goal was to qualify for the Olympics and then do great in the Olympics, but another very important goal is to change the attacking style a little bit, which we have done. Of course, it’s a fine line keeping possession and being boring and keeping possession and penetrating at the right time, but the second half was pretty good today.”

— U.S. women’s coach Pia Sundhage after her team recovered from a scoreless first half to beat Costa Rica, 3-0, to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Youth team bounced from Arsenal stadium

by Soccer America

[OFF THE POST] An under-15 team that won tickets to the Arsenal-Liverpool Champions League quarterfinal first-leg game last week was ejected from Emirates Stadium after they cheered Liverpool’s goal. The boys and their coaches were escorted out after being the victims of a torrent of abuse from Gunner supporters, according to the Skelmersdale Advertiser. “We were abused by grown men — men in suits,” said Ray Radford, the coach of the youth team, which was not allowed to reenter the stadium.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

by Soccer America

“It’s win or go home and I think both teams know that. We don’t doubt that Costa Rica will throw everything they’ve got at us, but I know we are going to do everything in our power to get that berth to the Olympics.”

— U.S. forward Abby Wambach, who will lead the attack for the U.S. women when they face Costa Rica for a ticket to this summer’s Olympic Games. Costa Rica is winless so far in the Concacaf qualifying tournament. It lost, 1-0, to Canada and tied Trinidad & Tobago, 2-2. Mexico faces Canada for the other berth.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

MLS teams’ shortcomings vs. foreign foes …

by Ridge Mahoney

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP/TV] The odds of an MLS team reaching the Concacaf Champions’ Cup final had seemingly increased when only one Mexican team, Pachuca, reached the semifinals and both Houston and D.C. United advanced. Yet both face an uphill battle in their respective semifinal series, the second legs of which take place Wednesday. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney explains MLS teams’ biggest handicap.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

U.S. Soccer Development Academy Results

by Soccer America

Met Oval, whose head coach is MLS star Giovanni Savarese, stayed on top of U-15/16 Northeast Conference with two wins, against Westchester and Albertson SC. “Our strength is definitely our team unity, and today we had a couple of lapses in concentration but the team came together and found a way to pull out a victory,” said Savarese after the Westchester win. For all the weekend U.S. Soccer Development Academy results and goalscorers …

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Germany’s last hope in uphill battle

by Soccer America

[IN THE SPOTLIGHT] A German team hasn’t lifted the European Champions League title since Bayern Munich’s victory in 2001. Schalke 04, the lone German club among this year’s quarterfinalists, faces an uphill battle, going to Barcelona Wednesday after falling, 1-0, at home last week in the first leg of their quarterfinal series. But Schalke’s strong run in Bundesliga play has lifted its confidence.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

by Soccer America

“I really appreciate the apology published in the Daily Star. The truth is now coming out – finally. I am looking forward to a quick and positive conclusion to my claims against the other newspapers who published lies about me.”

— Italy defender Marco Materazzi after the settlement of a libel suit against British tabloid The Daily Star, which printed an apology to Materazzi and agreed to pay him undisclosed damages for having reported that he goaded Zinedine Zidane with racial abuse before the French captain head-butted him during the 2006 World Cup final. The Daily Star also agreed to pay the Materazzi’s legal costs (AP)

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

U.S. U-20 men to play in Portugal

by Soccer America

[ROSTER] Coach Thomas Rongen has named a 21-man roster for the U.S. U-20 men’s national team’s trip to Portugal, where it will play three games in Campos Verdes International Tournament April 13-19. The Americans will face Northern Ireland, the Cape Verde Islands and Portugal. The U.S. squad includes six European-based players.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

What’s in a (nick)name?

by Ridge Mahoney

Can it be coincidence that the rumors of Thierry Henry perhaps heading to Seattle sooner rather than later surfaced at about the same time was announced the team nickname, which turns out to be a paragon of compromise? There’s nothing like a convenient distraction. After months of heated discussions among the ownership members and despite the adamant insistence of Commissioner Don Garber that the 2009 expansion team wouldn’t carry the same nickname as a loved but departed NASL franchise as well as the current USL entry, at high noon Monday came word: Seattle Sounders FC, joining the MLS club of Football Clubs that already includes Dallas and Toronto.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

by Soccer America

“Thierry Henry is one of my favorite players of all time. He has spoken in the past about coming to MLS to play soccer. I am now in a position with the Seattle franchise to consider such a player. It would be irresponsible of me not to explore and consider a possibility like this.”

— Adrian Hanauer, part owner and general manager of the Seattle franchise that will enter MLS in 2009, on rumors that the club is pursuing French striker Thierry Henry, currently with Barcelona. (Seattle P-I)

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Joy in Wales; woes in Barcelona

by Soccer America

[WINNERS & LOSERS] “I cannot overestimate how much Cardiff City’s appearance at the FA Cup final on 17 May is going to mean to Wales and Cardiff’s profile all over the world,” said Rhodri Morgan, the First Minister of Wales after the finalists in the world’s oldest soccer competition were set last weekend.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

U.S. women down Mexico in front of 22,280

by Soccer America

[OLYMPIC QUALIFYING] The U.S. women’s national team beat host Mexico, 3-1, in front of a record crowd of 22,280, to come within a game of qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games. The victory in Ciudad Juarez came two days after the USA’s 6-0 win over Jamaica and puts the Americans in a semifinal against Costa Rica – the winner of which earns a ticket to China.

Gift this article