[MAKING A LIST] Javier Zanetti will become Argentina’s most capped player if he plays in Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Bolivia in Buenos Aires. Zanetti won his 115th cap in the 2-0 win over Venezuela in October, equaling the record set by former teammate Roberto Ayala, who quit the national team in July.
Category: Soccer America Daily
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Defense to decide MLS Cup?
[MLS CUP 2007 PREVIEW] New England and Houston played a spectacular 3-3 tie during the regular season. In their other match, the Revs won, 1-0. How the defenders and goalkeepers will fare in this year’s final is the topic of our third and final analysis leading up to MLS Cup 2007 (Sunday, noon, live on ABC & Telefutura).
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D.C. United’s Luciano Emilio is MLS 2007 MVP
D.C. United’s Brazilian striker Luciano Emilio was named the 2007 MLS Honda Most Valuable Player. The 28-year-old was also MLS’s scoring leader with 20 goals, helping D.C. United to the league’s best regular-season record before falling to Chicago in the playoffs. Emilio arrived in MLS this season from CD Olimpia of Honduras.
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Lynn Berling-Manuel is new AYSO Chief Marketing Officer
Soccer America’s CEO & Publisher, Lynn Berling-Manuel, who in 1975 became its first full-time managing editor, is leaving Soccer America to be the new Chief Marketing Officer of the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO).
“I have been very happy at Soccer America and hadn’t considered leaving,” said Berling-Manuel. “But when [AYSO National Executive Director] Rick Davis spoke with me about this opportunity, it was a very exciting challenge. I thank the staff and owners of Soccer America for giving me their full support in this move.
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Scotland and Italy set for ‘match of a lifetime’
[EURO ’08 PREVIEW] Ten berths in Euro ’08 qualifying remain up for grabs with games still to be played Saturday and Wednesday. Eight of the berths could be nailed down as soon as Saturday. Here’s look at the key matches …
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U.S. U-15 girls to face international foes at Interregionals
The U.S. under-15 girls national team will play the under-16 national teams of Canada and Chile and the Region I ODP team at at the U.S. Youth Soccer ODP Thanksgiving Interregionals being held Nov. 17-23 in Coral Springs, Fla.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“I’m not overly superstitious, but I can be when I need to be and perhaps this is one of these occasions. I understand that, for the Italians, the 17th of the month is our equivalent of the 13th. You should also bear in mind the game kicks off at 17:00 hours!”
— Scotland assistant coach Andy Watson believes luck might be on his team’s side in its potentially decisive Euro 2008 qualifying game against Italy on Saturday. (Telegraph)
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Changes in U.S. Soccer communications department
U.S. Soccer’s longtime Director of Communications, Jim Moorhouse, is leaving his current position at its headquarters in Chicago to take a new role with U.S. Soccer as the Director of Youth National Teams at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
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Puerto Rico Islanders knocked out of Caribbean championship
Joe Public FC of Trinidad & Tobago knocked the USL First Division Puerto Rico Islanders out of the 2007 CFU Club Championship with a 1-0 win in the semifinals on Wednesday night at Macoya’s Marvin Lee Stadium in Trinidad.
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Beckham to sport britches for big bucks
Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham has reportedly signed a three-year $41 million endorsement deal with Giorgio Armani that will have him modeling the fashion designer’s new Emporio SS08 line of underwear. Ads with Beckham in briefs will begin running on billboards and in fashion magazines beginning in January.
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USA finishes off year with South Africa friendly
The U.S. national team will play its 18th and final game of 2007 when it faces South Africa in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup on Saturday (9 am ET, live on Fox Soccer Channel & Galavision). The Americans have compiled a 11-5-1 in 2007, winning the Gold Cup last summer but exiting in the first round of the Copa America. In a late roster change, Heath Pearce and Jonathan Spector have replaced Eddie Lewis and Landon Donovan.
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OFF THE POST: Slot scheme to fund Hungarian soccer
Two Hungarian businessman are hoping to revive Hungarian soccer by raising money for youth soccer with slot-machine earnings. Lajos Marton and Gabor Csendes have started installing hundreds of soccer-themed slot machines in bars around the country.
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2007 ODP Thanksgiving Interregional Girls Rosters
The following are the regional girls teams in the 1991, 1992 and 1993 age groups for the U.S. Youth Soccer ODP Girls Thanksgiving Interregionals scheduled to begin Saturday at the North Community Park and Coral Glades High School Sportsplex in Coral Springs, Fla. National teams from the United States, Canada and Chile are also participating to provide the 1991 US Youth Soccer ODP teams with international experience.
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Revs’ varied midfield could strain Dynamo
[MLS CUP PREVIEW] In the second installment of our stories setting up the MLS championship game between New England and Houston at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney looks at the midfield matchup.
Big games, like cup finals and most other matches as well, are won and lost in the middle of the field. Yet mano-a-mano skirmishes are just one facet of the overall battle, so the duels of Dynamo Dwayne De Rosario and Rev Shalrie Joseph will be fascinating but not necessarily definitive as to which team wins.
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Free transport to MLS Cup for Revs fans
The Kraft Family, investor/operators of the New England Revolution, are providing free round-trip bus transportation for Revs fans to the Sunday’s MLS final in Washington, D.C.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“We’re the English Premier League, yet the majority of the teams at the top of the Premiership have very few English players.”
— Reading coach Steve Coppell, who is advocating a limit on foreign players in the English Premier League, a sentiment seconded by England captain Steven Gerrard, who said, “Something has got to happen otherwise there will be more and more foreigners and they will take over.” (Reuters)
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Mexico’s Club America in Copa Sudamericana final
Mexico’s Club America beat Colombia’s Millonarios, 2-0, with two goals by Uruguayan Hernan Lopez in the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana semifinal for a 5-2 aggregate win that sets up a final clash with Argentina’s Arsenal, which downed River Plate on penalty kicks after both legs ended in scoreless ties. Club America aims to become the second Mexican team to win the competition in its six-year history. Pachuca’s won the title last year.
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Strike threatens World Cup stadium construction
Construction workers in South Africa are threatening to stop work at stadiums being built for the 2010 World Cup over a wage dispute at the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban.
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No Interliga in Oakland, but Quakes may use Coliseum
Negotiations to play Interliga matches at the Oakland Coliseum were unsuccessful, and so additional games have been scheduled for Robertson Stadium in Houston and Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Interliga dates for Jan. 3 and Jan. 8 had been left open in the original schedule with the possibility they would be played in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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High School Boys Fall Rankings
Led by U.S. U-18 Chris Agorsor, one of the top prospects in the country, Maryland powerhouse McDonogh School, won the MIAA A Conference championship with a 3-0 win over Archbishop Curley and climbed to No. 17 in the NSCAA/adidas High School Fall Boys Top 25. Tyler Fiorito, Peter Franklin and Agorsor scored in the final. No. 10 Magruder advanced to the MIAA 4A final with a 4-1 win over Bowie. It will be without suspended Alex Lee, who set a school single-season scoring record, in the final against Perry Hall. For the complete Top 25 …
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High School Girls Fall Rankings
South Side, ranked No. 2 in the NSCAA/adidas High School Fall Girls Top 25, won its fourth straight Long Island Class A girls title with a 1-0 win over Islip on Molly Bralower‘s goal with 29 seconds remaining. Two other Long Island teams have excelled in postseason play. St. Anthony’s won the New York CHSAA final with a 6-2 win over Nichols of Buffalo. Sachem East won the Long Island Class 2 title with a 1-0 win over Massapequa in the final on Kelly McCabe‘s goal. For the complete Top 25 …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“I can’t remember being involved in a search and selection process where we’ve had such universal support and acclaim for a candidate. That’s from players, coaches, FIFA staff, FIFA elected officials and people at the technical level. So, I’m not going to say it was easy because we had some excellent candidates, but Pia comes with extraordinary credentials and I think the message is that we want to win the gold in Beijing and get the program to higher levels.”
— U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati on hiring Pia Sundhage as the new U.S. women’s national team coach. (USsoccer.com)
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South Africa relies heavily on European-based contingent
[SOUTH AFRICA ROSTER] Like his American counterpart Bob Bradley, South Africa national team coach Carlos Alberto Parreira will rely heavily on foreign-based players for Saturday’s Nelson Mandela Challenge in Johannesburg (TV: Fox Soccer Channel, Galavision, live, 9 am ET).
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Goalscorers on tear in U.S. Soccer Development Academy
The Concorde Fire broke out with a 6-1 win over AFC Lightning and a 6-3 win over the Atlanta Fire against Georgia rivals in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy U17/18 division over the weekend. Brian Ownby scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season for the Richmond Strikers in their 3-1 victory over the Richmond Kickers in a battle of Atlantic Conference leaders. In U15/16 play, Justin Watson scored his league-leading eighth and ninth goals of the season to lead South Carolina’s Bridge FA to a 2-1 win at home against the Virginia Rush. For all the results, U.S. Soccer Development Academy goalscorers and lineups …
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Even without Ching, Dynamo has edge up front
[MLS CUP PREVIEW] In the first installment of our stories setting up the MLS championship game between New England and Houston at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney looks at the fowards.