German leader Bayern Munich’s European campaign hit a snag when a late Cosmin Contra goal earned Spanish club Getafe a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena on Thursday in the first leg of their UEFA Cup quarterfinal series. Germany’s other quarterfinalist, Bayer Leverkusen, fared even worse, falling to Russia’s Zenit St. Petersburg, 4-1, at home. For all the results and goal scorers …
Category: Soccer America Daily
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International Weekend TV Schedule
The English FA Cup moves into the semifinals with West Bromwich-Portsmouth on Saturday and Barnsley-Cardiff City on Sunday, both at Wembley Stadium. In Spain, second-place Villarreal and third-place Barcelona will face key tests on Sunday in their bids to remain within striking distance of leader Real Madrid, which is at Mallorca on Saturday. For all the weekend TV action …
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MLS TV SCHEDULE
The New York Red Bulls play their first game of the season — and their first league match under Coach Juan Carlos Osorio — when they host Columbus on Saturday. FC Dallas aims for its first-ever win at Texas rival Houston. D.C. United , which lost its MLS opener last weekend and a Concacaf Champions Cup game in the midweek, hosts FC Toronto, which won only six games in its inaugural 2007 season and fell last week to Columbus. Chivas USA’s home opener is against Real Salt Lake, which like Chivas started the season with a tie. Kansas City and Colorado, which both opened with shutout wins, clash in K.C.
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Croatian dies of head injuries after hitting sideline wall
[OBITUARY] Croatian Hrvoje Custic died on Thursday from injuries suffered on Saturday when he hit his head on a concrete wall during a First Division match.
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What They’re Saying
“It is an honor to be taking part in the MLS All-Star Game this July. The club has a strong global fan base and we are working hard to increase our international exposure as well as help the game develop at grassroots level across North America.”
— Scott Duxbury, CEO of English Premier League club West Ham United, which will face the MLS All-Stars July 24 in Toronto in the 2008 MLS All-Star Game. West Ham is currently in 10th place of the EPL.
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Beckham, Donovan & Co. bounce back
Tales of the Galaxy’s demise may yet prove to be apropos, not premature, but for the time being it must be said they are exaggerated. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney reports from Carson, Calif., on how Beckham, Donovan & Co., bounced back from their season-opening debacle against Colorado when they met San Jose on Thursday.
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Home teams rule, so far
[BY THE NUMBERS] With Chicago’s 4-0 win over New England and Los Angeles’ 2-0 victory over San Jose, home teams remain undefeated in the MLS season’s first eight games. The Los Angeles Galaxy’s attendance of 27,000 was the highest of the season so far.
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MLS Salaries Revealed: Millionaires and Paupers
2008 MLS players salaries made available by the MLS Players Union reveal that Los Angeles’ David Beckham ($6.5 million guaranteed), Chicago’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco ($2.67 million) and D.C. United’s Marcelo Gallardo ($1.87 million) are the league’s top earners, while the highest earning Americans are New York midfielder Claudio Reyna ($1.26 million) and Los Angeles attacker Landon Donovan ($900,000). MLS’s minimum senior salary is $33,000 while players on developmental contracts earn between $12,900 and $17,700.
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MLS SALARIES: From Beckham to Cannon
[MAKING A LIST] Compare what each MLS club pays its highest earning player.
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Blanco and Fire host rampant Revs
[PREVIEW] In kicking off its 2008 broadcast schedule with a doubleheader, ESPN2 couldn’t do much better than trot out a double feature, complete with heroes and villains and subplots and themes, linked by a live intermission.
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O’Brien and Xavier fined, suspended
[CRIME & PUNISHMENT/VIDEO] Colorado Rapids midfielder Ciaran O’Brien was fined $500 and suspended for two games for his foul that injured Los Angeles Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz, who underwent knee surgery and is out for four to six weeks. Galaxy defender Abel Xavier was fined a total of $1,600 and received an automatic one-game red card suspension for his actions in the game on Saturday.
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MLS TV SCHEDULE
ESPN2 opens its coverage of MLS’s 13th season with a doubleheader on Thursday. First up is a chance for Chicago chance to avenge its 2007 semifinal loss to New England. Then the Los Angeles Galaxy hopes to bounce back from its season-opening drubbing from Colorado when its hosts the reincarnated San Jose Galaxy.
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19-year-old hits MLS’s Goal of the Week
[VIDEO] New England Revolution midfielder Sainey Nyassi, 19, earned MLS Sierra Mist Goal of the Week honors for Week 1 for his solo effort in the 3-0 win over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday.
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Beckham on Leno Show
[VIDEO] David Beckham appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Tuesday, April 1.
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Quakes renew rivalry on the road
There were R-words being bandied about the hotel lobby yesterday as the new San Jose Earthquakes prepared to open their second life against their old rivals from Los Angeles, but rarely was heard a reference to rivalry. Or revenge.
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U.S. Soccer Development Academy Results
Two MLS clubs are tied for first place in their respective divisions in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s U-17/18 Age Group. The New York Red Bulls, led by Haitian U-17 Johnny Exantus, are tied for first with the Baltimore Bays in the Mid-Atlantic, while the Columbus Crew are tied with the Michigan Wolves in the Great Lakes. In the U-15/16 Age Group, the top MLS clubs are D.C. United (second in the Mid-Atlantic) and Chicago Fire (third in the Mid-America). For all the weekend U.S. Soccer Development Academy results and goal scorers …
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National High School Spring Rankings
Led by tournament MVP Thomas Wollersheium, South Carolina’s Spring Valley won the 2008 Palmetto Cup and is the top-ranked team in the NSCAA/adidas high school boys national spring rankings. Spring Valley beat Bishop England, 4-1, in the final of the tournament that was hosted by Brookland-Cayce High School and featured teams from Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia, in addition to South Carolina. Defending Georgia Class 5A champion Parkview is No. 1 in the girls rankings.
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What They’re Saying
“The way Everton are playing they are never going to attack down the right … they are attacking down the right now, sorry to confuse you.”
— BBC Radio 5 Live commentary during the Liverpool-Everton game. (BBC).
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Arsenal’s Wenger blasts no-penalty call
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Dutchman Kirk Kuyt scored a precious away goal in Liverpool’s 1-1 tie at Arsenal on Wednesday but almost cost Liverpool the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series when he pulled down Arsenal’s Alexandre Hleb in the penalty area.
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Deivid slays Goliath
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] In a little more than an hour, Brazilian Deivid went from goat to hero, leading Fenerbahce to a 2-1 win over mighty English club Chelsea in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series. Deivid overcame his own goal in the 13th minute to score the winning goal late in the game after Colin Kazim-Richards scored the equalizer for Fener 16 minutes earlier.
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Mexico and Canada romp in openers
[WOMEN’S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING] Captain Evelyn Lopez scored four goals in the first 53 minutes to lead host Mexico to an 8-1 victory over Jamaica in the opening game of Group A play at the Concacaf Olympic women’s qualifying tournament being played at the Estadio Benito Juarez in Ciudad Juarez. As expected, Group B favorite defeated Trinidad & Tobago, 6-0.
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Houston blows home-field advantage
[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP] MLS champion Houston Dynamo settled for a scoreless tie against Saprissa in front of 10,260 fans at Robertson Stadium in Texas despite out-shooting the Costa Rican club 17-8. They meet in the second leg of the semifinal series next Wednesday in Costa Rica.
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U.S. Youth Soccer Girls ODP Rosters
[YOUTH] U.S. Youth Soccer ODP girls teams are participating in an international tournament, beginning Thursday in San Jose, Costa Rica. The four regional teams are made up of U-15 and U-16 players to compete against the U-17 national teams of Trinidad & Tobago and Costa Rica and the U-20 national teams of Chile and Honduras. For complete rosters …
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Cristiano Ronaldo, a man for all situations
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Whether he plays wide or in the middle, whether it’s up front or in midfield, whether it’s on the ground or in the air, there’s no stopping Cristiano Ronaldo. The 23-year-old Portuguese star scored his 10th goal in his last 11 appearances in Europe and 36 goals in all competitions this season to lead Manchester United past Roma, 2-0, in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series on Tuesday in Rome.
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Teen Bojan, a pleasure to watch
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] True to its principles, Barcelona went to Germany with the idea to attack Schalke 04, and, sure enough, scored an early goal by 17-year-old Bojan Krkic that held up for a 1-0 victory in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series on Tuesday. His goal made him the second youngest player to score in the Champions League.