[CHAMPIONS LEAGUE REACTION] Barcelona took some of the pressure off its coach, Frank Rijkaard, with a thoroughly deserved 3-0 win over Lyon in their UEFA Champions League opener on Wednesday night at the Nou Camp Stadium. Rijkaard had a lot to be pleased about, beginning with Thierry Henry‘s first goal since joining Barcelona from Arsenal. Rijkaard tried to downplay the substitution of Ronaldinho, who had another quiet game for Barcelona.
Category: Soccer America Daily
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Mourinho, Chelsea’s ‘Special One,’ abruptly quits
Three years after Jose Mourinho arrived at Chelsea in a blaze of glory, he quit quietly. Having just led FC Porto to the UEFA Champions League, he delighted reporters at the press conference introducing him as Chelsea manager in 2004 by talking about himself. “Please don’t call me arrogant,” said the Portuguese coach, “but I’m European champion and I think I’m a special one.” Special he was with his flair for the dramatic, concluding with his shocking exit on Wednesday night.
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A goal for the ages
[SPORTSMANSHIP] In English League Cup play on Tuesday, Leicester City allowed Nottingham Forest to take the ball from the opening kickoff and score without opposition. Leicester City came back to win, 3-2, in what was a replay of the match last month that was abandoned at halftime because Leicester player Clive Clarke suffered a heart attack. Forest was leading, 1-0, when the original match was abandoned, but that goal did not carry over into the replay.
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Beasley’s Rangers wins Champions League opener
DaMarcus Beasley became the first American player to play for two different clubs in the UEFA Champion League when he came on in the second half of Glasgow Rangers’ 2-1 victory over German champion VfB Stuttgart before almost 50,000 fans Wednesday night at Ibrox.
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Real and Galaxy serve up a tasty tie
Forget about the playoff implications of Wednesday’s night Real Salt Lake-Los Angeles showdown. They’re aren’t any and never were any, save for the mathematical madness of possible points accrued minus potential points squandered by bubble teams multiplied by variance in the number of games to be played. Playing for pride and next year’s contracts, and a nice and noisy crowd of 24,633 given fair and sufficient warning of David Beckham’s absence, the Gals and Real swapped penalty kicks and golazos to end up tied, 2-2.
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USA claims first in Women’s World Cup group
Lori Chapulny‘s goal 53 seconds into the game held up, and USA beat Nigeria, 1-0, on Tuesday to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Women’s World Cup against England. The USA clinched first place in Group A when Sweden defeated North Korea, 2-1, in the other group finale. The Americans face England in the quarterfinals on Saturday at Tianjin’s Olympic Center Stadium (TV: ESPN, live, 7:55 a.m. ET).
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Typhoon interrupts Women’s World Cup
Typhoon Wipha swept through China’s East Coast early Wednesday, sending millions of residents fleeing to evacuation shelter and disrupting the Women’s World Cup. Waves of more than 30 feet hit the shore, and flooding brought central Shanghai to a standstill. The U.S. women’s national team was forced to stay in Shanghai instead moving on to Tianjin, where it will play England in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Wednesday’s matches in Shanghai and Hangzhou were postponed due to Typhoon Wipha — labeled a “super typhoon” — and both will played on Thursday in Hangzhou.
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High School Boys Fall Rankings
Washington, D.C., area power DeMatha Catholic is the No. 1 team in this week’s NSCAA/adidas Boys National Rankings. The Zags tied Gonzaga, 2-2, with both goals scored by junior Chris Hengi, and O’Connell, 0-0, in their most recent games. For the Top 25 boys teams …
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High School Girls Fall Rankings
Led by Florida State-bound Tiffany McCarty (153 career goals), St. John’s College of Washington, D.C., took over as the No. 1 team in this week’s NSCAA/adidas Girls National Rankings, though that should change. On Monday, St. John’s fell to Villa Joseph Marie of Pennsylvania, 1-0, in an intersectional match. The Jems’ goal was scored by Alysha Mallon in the 47th minute. For the Top 25 girls rankings …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“I’m very excited with this team because they are ‘playerish’ – if there is such a word – they love to play.”
— Arsene Wenger, coach of English Premier League leader Arsenal. (BBC)
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Tony Meola joins indoor Ironmen
Tony Meola, 38, whose MLS career ended after being released by the New York Red Bulls following the 2006 season, is returning to action with Major Indoor Soccer League expansion club New Jersey Ironmen. Meola, starting goalkeeper for the USA at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, and a reserve on the 2002 World Cup squad, played 11 MLS seasons, including a championship season with the Kansas City Wizards in 2000. The first three years and final two of his MLS career were spent in his native New Jersey with the MetroStars/Red Bulls. He told USSoccerPlayers.com of his acrimonious departure from the Red Bulls under Coach Bruce Arena.
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Slim hopes at stake in Real-Galaxy clash
[MLS STATISTICS] The Los Angeles Galaxy has chance to climb out of the Western Conference cellar when it travels to Real Salt Lake on Wednesday (9 pm ET, live, DirectKick & HDNet). D.C. United, New England and defending champ Houston have clinched playoff spots. Brazilian Luciano Emilio has already scored more goals than the league’s leading scorers of the past four seasons.
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UEFA Champions League TV Schedule
Day 1 of the group stage of the UEFA Champions League wraps up on Wednesday with live and delayed coverage on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Classic and Setanta Sports USA. Setanta also offers live pay-per-view coverage, and Internet viewing is available on ESPN360.com.
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Mourinho fumes after Rosenborg holds Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
[CHAMPIONS LEAGUE REACTION/VIDEO] Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho blasted his team after it was held to a 1-1 tie by Norwegian club Rosenborg on the opening of group play in the UEFA Champions League.
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UEFA Champions League Results
Defending champion AC Milan opened its UEFA Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over Benfica, while last season’s runner-up, Liverpool, was held to a 1-1 tie by Porto, the other Portuguese representative in action on Tuesday. For the complete results and goalscorers …
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European Career Scoring Leaders
[MAKING A LIST] Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan) and Andriy Shevchenko (Chelsea) scored on Tuesday to give them 60 career goals in European club competitions, second behind only retired Gerd Mueller (62 goals). Raul (59) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (54) both scored for Real Madrid on Tuesday against Werder Bremen.
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Barcelona looks to ignite offense against Lyon
[MARQUEE MATCHUP] Barcelona hopes to ignite its offense Wednesday when it opens play in the UEFA Champions League against six-time French champion at Camp Nou Stadium. Thierry Henry, who has yet to score since arriving at Barcelona, should join Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho in the Barcelona attack.
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Galaxy to head Down Under
The Associated Press reports that the Los Angeles Galaxy will travel to Australia and New Zealand for exhibition games against Sydney FC on Nov. 27 and the Wellington Phoenix in early December. David Beckham is expected to have recovered from his knee and ankle injuries by then.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“This is not new. I’ve been thinking about it since I took over. In my opinion, our green is confusing with the field – as grass is green. It looks like there are fewer players on the field. … With the color change, I think we’ll have the impression of having 12 or 13 players on the field.”
— Mexico coach Hugo Sanchez announces the Mexican national team will ditch its signature green jerseys and will wear white shirts for home games and red for road matches. (Ticker)
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Michael Bradley scores first Eredivisie goal
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Midfielder Michael Bradley scored his first goal for his Dutch First Division squad since joining Heereveen in the middle of the 2005-06 season. The 20-year-old scored the final goal of a 5-2 win at Excelsior on Saturday and assisted on his team’s second goal, the 2-2 equalizer.
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UEFA Champions League TV Schedule
The group stage of the UEFA Champions League kicks off with live and delayed coverage of Tuesday’s matches on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and Setanta Sports USA. There is also live pay-per-view coverage as well as Internet viewing on ESPN360.com.
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AC Milan opens European defense against Freddy-less Benfica
[MARQUEE MATCHUP] AC Milan begins the defense of its UEFA Champions League title at home on Tuesday against Portuguese club Benfica. American Freddy Adu isn’t in the Benfica traveling party to San Siro, where Milan will look to regain its form after a lackluster start to the 2007-08 season (one win and two ties in Serie A).
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UEFA Champions League Record Book
[MAKING A LIST] Real Madrid’s Raul enters the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League as the record holder in games played and goals. For the all-time leaders …
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Santos stays undefeated with tie
[AMERICANS IN MEXICO] Santos Laguna tied, 1-1, at Monterrey to remain undefeated in the Mexican Apertura season after eight games, all of which have seen New Mexico product Edgar Castillo go the full 90. Texas product Sonny Guadarrama entered the game for Santos in the 88th minute for his second appearance of the season. Californian Jesus Padilla made his fifth appearance in Chivas Guadalajara’s 1-0 win over Cruz Azul, coming on as a 64th minute sub.
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Prinz passes Akers as all-time Women’s World Cup scoring leader
Birgit Prinz became the all-time scoring leader in the Women’s World Cup when she scored her 13th goal in Germany’s 2-0 victory over Japan Monday in Hangzhou. England claimed second place ahead of Japan on goal difference thanks to its 6-1 win over Argentina in Chengdu. Former Seton Hall and WUSA and W-League star Kelly Smith scored twice to give her four goals and a share of the tournament scoring lead. England, which is making its first appearance in the Women’s World Cup in 12 years, will now meet the Group B winner. Germany will face the Group B runner-up.