“Some people think having a rabbit as a mascot gives off the wrong message in terms of the side being a soft touch.”
— A fan of Scunthorpe United, which is in the relegation zone of England’s second-tier league, backing a movement to switch the team’s mascot from Scunny Bunny to Iron the Lion. (uefa.com)
Six different teams won titles in the girls Showcase divisions at the Disney’s Soccer Showcase that ended on Wednesday. For all the results in the knockout phase …
The English FA Cup, the granddaddy of all cup competitions, returns with the round of 64 on Saturday and Sunday. The schedule includes four matchups involving English Premier League teams, notably Aston Villa against Manchester United. Under-fire EPL managers Sam Allardyce and Rafael Benitez will be stressing as Newcastle United and Liverpool travel to Stoke City and Luton Town, respectively. The only non-league teams in the final 64 are eighth-tier Chasetown and Havant & Waterlooville. For all the FA Cup TV matchups …
[EPL AMERICANS] There was a bright spot for American goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann to Reading’s 2-0 loss to Portsmouth on New Year’s Day. Hahnemann, whose blunder cost the Royals the first goal, received an automatic one-year contract extension with Reading as a result of playing in the game.
[U.S. U-17 GIRLS ROSTER] The U.S. under-17 girls national team kicked off its first training camp of 2008 on Wednesday in Sunrise, Fla.
The Mexican League is renowned for its flowing, attacking style, but little scoring has been on display so far as eight Mexican teams vie for two Copa Libertadores spots in the USA-hosted InterLiga. Three goals in four matches is the aggregate after Club America beat Morelia, 1-0, following a 0-0 tie between Toluca and Atlas Thursday night in the Group A Interliga openers at Robertson Stadium in Houston.
The Leeds United coach Dennis Wise chased down a 13-year-old boy who threw stones at his family car at 1 a.m. New Year’s Day. The Yorkshire Evening Post reported that Wise made a citizen’s arrest on the boy before he escaped. The boy’s family reported the incident to the West Yorkshire police, which interviewed Wise.
The latest Argentine youngster to leave Buenos Aires on a major transfer is Ever Banega. The 19-year-old starred for Argentina at the South American U-20 Championships last January, stepped into a starting role at Boca Juniors for league and Libertadores Cup play, and marshaled the midfield of Argentina’s U-20 World Cup-winning team last summer. He joins Spain’s Valencia on a $26 million transfer.
[WINNERS & LOSERS] The big question regarding the English Premier League’s hectic holiday season was whether surprise leader Arsenal could maintain its form, but the Gunners actually extended their lead over Manchester United. For all the holiday Winners & Losers …
[EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES] Soccer America provides the latest on employment opportunities for soccer-related positions.
“To have to go to the United States, to have to make a big spectacle of playing in InterLiga to select two [teams], I don’t like it.”
— UNAM Pumas coach Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti complains about the USA-based eight-team InterLiga tournament for Mexican clubs that serves as part of Mexico’s Libertadores Cup qualification. Pumas opened Wednesday with a 1-0 win over Monterrey in Frisco, Texas. On Thursday, Toluca faces Atlas and Morelia clashes with Club America in Houston in games aired on Fox Sports en Espanol beginning at 8 pm ET. (Los Angeles Times)
[EPL AMERICANS] Brad Friedel, who in 2002 became the first goalkeeper to save two penalty kicks at a World Cup, saved a penalty kick for Blackburn on New Year’s Day in a 1-0 win over Sunderland to mark his second spot-kick save in two straight English Premier League games. On Dec. 30, Friedel stopped Steve Howard’s effort in a 2-1 win over Derby. Sixth-place Everton, with Tim Howard in goal, downed Middlesbrough, 2-0.
Friedel’s penalty-kick saving feats date back to his freshman year in college, when he helped UCLA win the NCAA Division I title by making saves in semifinal and final PK shootouts.
[EPL AMERICANS] Four days after giving up six goals in Reading’s 6-4 loss to Tottenham, Marcus Hahnemann committed a terrible blunder early in the Royals’ game against Portsmouth. In the 9th minute, with Reading already a man down, the 35-year-old American let Sulley Muntari’s free kick slip through his gloves and watched Sol Campbell put the ball away for the first goal in a 2-0 Pompey victory. It’s been a long season for Hahnemann.
U.S. coach Bob Bradley has named a roster of 26 players – 23 of which are MLS-based – for a training camp that begins Thursday and culminates with a Jan. 19 friendly against Sweden at The Home Depot Center. The three foreign-based players are from Scandinavian leagues on winter break: Dan Califf (Aalborg BK/Denmark), Ramiro Corrales (SK Brann/Norway) and Jeremiah White (AGF Aarhus/Denmark). Landon Donovan is the most experienced player in the squad with 96 caps while midfielder Pablo Mastroeni is a notable absentee.
The U.S. men’s U-23 national team, which in March aims to qualify for next summer’s Olympic Games, convenes in Bradenton, Fla., with a 24-player roster. Although coach Peter Nowak could not include European-based Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley, while Olympic-eligible Jozy Altidore is in camp with the full national team, the roster includes six foreign-based players.
CASL Elite won a pair of Showcase championships in the boys division at the Disney’s Soccer Showcase in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The North Carolina club beat English club Chelsea’s academy team in the U-16 final. (Chelsea is the tournament’s presenting sponsor.) The surprise of the Showcase divisions was Vermont’s Synergy FC’s semifinal placement in the U-15 division. For the boys U-15 to U-18 Showcase results …
“In hindsight, I probably made the wrong decision.”
— Texan Tom Hicks, owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team and Dallas Stars ice hockey team and co-owner of Liverpool, on his decision to not purchase Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas. (AP)
American keepers Tim Howard and Marcus Hahnemann will be happy to bid farewell to 2007 after combining to give up 10 goals in English Premier League action on Saturday. Countryman Brad Friedel ended an outstanding year with Blackburn in style on Sunday.
[AMERICANS ABROAD] La Paz FC, the surprise of the 2007 Bolivian season, has signed 23-year-old American Kyle Zenoni for its first Libertadores Cup campaign that will begin with a first-round two-game series against the runner-up of Mexico’s Interliga that begins Wednesday in the United States.
[OBITUARY] Scottish soccer was in mourning following the death of Motherwell captain Phil O’Donnell, who died after collapsing during Saturday’s Scottish Premier League game with Dundee United.
[TRANSFER TALK] Two days after Dimitar Berbatov scored four goals for Tottenham in its 6-4 win over Reading in the English Premier League, his agent said the Bulgarian would be prepared to leave Spurs in January’s transfer window if a suitable club made an offer.
[U.S. WOMEN’S ROSTER] Lauren Cheney, the 2007 Soccer America Women’s College Player of the Year, is among seven collegians whom new U.S. women’s national team coach Pia Sundhage called up for a six-day training camp Jan. 3-8 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
“We didn’t play so direct. It was like a weight lifted off our shoulders. We were able to express ourselves a bit more and the guys enjoyed that. We weren’t able to get the win, but we were the better side.”
— Clint Dempsey, who scored for Fulham in its 1-1 tie with Wigan Saturday, its first English Premier League game since Manager Lawrie Sanchez was fired. Assistant coach Ray Lewington took charge while the Cottagers search for a new manager. (London Times)
Real Madrid stunned Barcelona with a 1-0 win at the Nou Camp Stadium on Sunday to open up a seven-point lead in La Liga. Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster played down the big lead, while Barca coach Frank Rijkaard defended the play of embattled star Ronaldinho.
Most years, the Inter Milan-AC Milan derby has Scudetto implications, but Sunday’s derby was for bragging rights only. With its 2-1 victory, Inter opened up a 25-lad on AC Milan heading into the holiday break.
