Category: Soccer America Daily
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Pachuca, Galaxy square off for $1 million prize

by Ridge Mahoney

[SUPERLIGA PREVIEW] The Galaxy is so badly banged up for the SuperLiga final Wednesday (11 p.m. ET, TeleFutura, MLSnet.com) against Pachuca it can’t draw any confidence from its feat in the first round, when it beat Pachuca, 2-1, despite being outshot, 23-9. It didn’t have David Beckham for that game, but it did roll out Landon Donovan and a suddenly sharp Alan Gordon. They scored the goals that downed the defending Mexican champion at Home Depot Center.

After losing to Guadalajara, an incredible 6-5 win over FC Dallas propelled the Galaxy to the semifinals against D.C. United. Beckham whipped in a free kick and sent Donovan free to score the clincher in a 2-0 victory. Ole!

Unfortunately …

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USA faces Germany at U-17 World Cup

by Soccer America

The USA has appeared in the U-17 world championship a record 12 times but has won a second-round game only once. At this summer’s U-17 World Cup, the Americans started meekly but managed second-round passage and face Germany on Thursday (6:45 am ET, live on ESPNU). In the previous five U.S. second-round appearances, the USA won only in 1999 with a team included Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey and Oguchi Onyewu.

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Bobby Convey gets a start for Reading

by Soccer America

[AMERICANS IN ENGLAND] American midfielder Bobby Convey played 100 minutes in Reading’s 1-0 overtime win over third-tier Swansea City in the second round of the English League Cup. Convey, who was injured most of last season, has come off the bench in two of four EPL games this season. His last start for Reading before knee-injury treatment came in an FA Cup last February.

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What They’re Saying

by Soccer America

“I want to excuse myself with everyone – Parma fans included – but not to him. He provoked me.”

— Silvio Baldini, coach of Italian club Catania, after being suspended for one month for literally kicking Parma coach Domenico Di Carlo‘s butt. The two coaches squabbled during a 2-2 tie and Baldini struck once Di Carlo turned his back to walk away. Click HERE for video.

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Wizards aim to reboot against Salt Lake

by Ridge Mahoney

[TV PREVIEW] The Wizards have been slowly losing ground to a chasing pack of teams close behind them, and far more than a formality against the league’s worst team, this match is vital to their playoff hopes. After hosting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake sets out on a four-game road swing; if wants to take any momentum into the final month of the season with University of Utah football in full swing, it needs a strong showing.

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OFF THE POST: Soccer-ball goodwill gesture backfires

by Soccer America

The U.S. military had hoped to foster goodwill and bring joy to Afghanistan children when it dropped soccer balls from a helicopter in the Khost province. But at least one of the balls had a small picture of the Saudi Arabian flag, which includes script with the words Allah and the Prophet Muhammad. Villagers were upset and angry, pointing out they found kicking something with the names of the Muslim icons on it offensive. The U.S. military spokesman said it regretted the incident. The balls were reportedly manufactured in China and bought by the U.S. military in a market in Kabul.

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U.S. keeper shelled in Norway; Bradley in loss Ajax

by Soccer America

[AMERICANS ABROAD] American goalkeeper Adin Brown took a shelling as his 10th place Norwegian club fell 7-0 to Lillestroem. Midfielder Michael Bradley played the whole game for his Dutch Eredivisie club Heerenveen in its 4-1 loss on Saturday to Ajax Amsterdam. Last week in Heerenveen’s season opener, Bradley had also gone the distance, and received a yellow card in a scoreless tie with Willem II. The 20-year-old midfielder made 21 appearances last season, mainly as a sub.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

by Soccer America

“This ridiculous schedule that we have been saddled with in an effort to appease everybody, on and off the field, has taken its toll. We have bent over backwards to help everybody but the Galaxy. A lot of people have made a tremendous amount of money on the back of what the Galaxy, with David, has brought to their markets this year and I hope that they remember that. The traveling, the number of games, the lack of consistent scheduling – no other team has had to put up with that.”

— Los Angeles Galaxy President Alexi Lalas, after his team’s fifth straight MLS loss, complains about a schedule that bunched Galaxy games into the latter part of the season in order to exploit David Beckham‘s drawing power throughout the league. (Times of London)

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Adu waits for league debut; club signs more midfielders

by Soccer America

Freddy Adu stayed on Benfica’s bench again in his Portuguese club’s second game of the season, a 0-0 tie with Guimaraes that was the debut of new coach Jose Antonio Camacho. As was the case when Adu moved to Real Salt Lake, the coach who brought him was fired after the American attacker’s arrival. Fernando Santos was sacked as Benfica coach after the first league game. Shortly after Camacho was hired, Benfica signed two Uruguayan national team midfielders.

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FC Dallas’ bet on Denilson makes sense

by Ridge Mahoney

Remember the wails of anguish from FC Dallas fans and a few pundits back in March when “negotiations” broke off with Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids? The two sides never got very close, according to a source. FC Dallas had offered in the neighborhood of $800,000; Davids had a sum closer to $2.5 million in mind, give or take a few guilders. There were some who believed Davids could be the missing piece to the puzzle of FCD finally reaching an MLS Cup. That was wishful thinking, since at the time, perhaps only Coach Steve Morrow had an idea what that puzzle might eventually look like.

A drastic revamping of the team’s midfield had already begun and would soon accelerate: Ronnie O’Brien and Simo Valakari, and eventually, Richard Mulrooney and Ramon Nunez, out; Juan Toja and Pablo Ricchetti, and just last week, Denilson, in.

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U.S. women hammer Finland in final tune-up

by Ridge Mahoney

Shannon Boxx scored her fifth goal in as many games at Home Depot Center as the U.S. women completed their preparation matches for the Women’s World Cup by thumping Finland, 4-0, on Saturday. Boxx, who grew up in nearby Torrance, Calif., returned to action earlier this year after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in her right knee during a training session on July 17, 2006.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

by Soccer America

“You try to imagine the hysteria surrounding his arrival but when he’s here it’s so different. It’s not been easy. It’s been kind of testing, to be honest. At the start of the year there was so much anticipation that we would win every game and David wasn’t even here then. He wasn’t here for the start of the season either. Then we had injuries and it was: ‘Why aren’t you winning?’ Obviously we need to.”

— Los Angeles coach Frank Yallop in a Times of London article headlined “Klinsmann tipped for leading role in LA.” Southern California resident Juergen Klinsmann served as L.A. Galaxy technical adviser in 2004 before taking over as coach of Germany’s 2006 World Cup team. On Friday, the Galaxy named assistant coach Paul Bravo Director of Soccer. (Times)

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Red-hot Rapids add to Galaxy woes

by Ridge Mahoney

[MLS WEEKEND REPORT] New England and D.C. United pull away from the pack atop the Eastern Conference; Toronto sets futility record; Red Bulls’ keeper Jon Conway gives up long-distance own goal; the Fire edges closer to the playoff octet by winning again, thanks to Cuauhtemoc Blanco; the 10-man Crew escapes from Houston with a point; Colorado pulls even with Columbus by rolling over the sorry Galaxy; and Chivas USA continued its dominance at home. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney recaps the weekend’s MLS action …

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Win over 10-man Belgium keeps USA alive at U-17 World Cup

by Soccer America

[VIDEO] A 2-0 win over Belgium in its third and final first-round was enough to send the USA to the second round of the U-17 World Cup despite having lost its first two games, to Tajikistan and Tunisia. The USA, which got goals through Kirk Urso and Mykell Bates, faces Germany in the round of 16 on Thursday. The Americans played with a man advantage for 54 minutes after Belgium’s Christian Benteke was red-carded for a high slide tackle on Sheanon Williams.

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Keller starts, Dempsey scores for Fulham

by Soccer America

[AMERICANS IN ENGLAND] Clint Dempsey, after three appearances off the bench, got his first start of the season for Fulham and scored in the 6th minute in a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa. Goalkeeper Kasey Keller, signed last week, also started, as did defender Carlos Bocanegra. Fulham’s fourth American, Brian McBride, is sidelined until December after undergoing surgery for a dislocated knee cap.

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Second Division wins for Yanks

by Soccer America

[AMERICANS IN GERMANY]. Defender Gregg Berhalter and attacker Josh Wolff helped 1860 München to a 3-0 win over 1899 Hoffenheim to keep their team on top of the German Second Division with a perfect record after three games. For fourth-place Mainz, 18-year-old defender Neven Subotic made his third start of the season in a 4-1 win over fellow 2006-07 relegation victim Borussia Moenchengladbach. In the First Division, both Americans who saw action came out on the losing end.

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Beasley gets his first Scottish Premier League goal

by Soccer America

[VIDEO] Making his third Scottish Premier League appearance, American winger DaMarcus Beasley notched his first goal since joining Glasgow Rangers in the offseason. In the 2-1 win over Kilmarnock, which keeps Rangers’ perfect after four games, Beasley scored in the 52nd minute after chasing down a loose ball and lofting it home from six yards. Jean-Claude Darcheville scored the winner after a Beasley effort popped the ball into his path in the 76th minute.

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Young Yanks meet in Mexican league game

by Soccer America

[AMERICANS IN MEXICO] Four days after U.S. product Edgar Castillo, who has dual citizenship, debuted for the Mexican national team, he helped Santos Laguna become the last Mexican League team with a perfect record with a 1-0 win over defending champion Pachuca. Both teams came into the game with a 3-0-0 record. Castillo went the full 90 in all four Santos’ wins. Texas-born Jose Francisco Torres, a 19-year-old, went the full 90 in his second start of the season for Pachuca.

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Rossi scores in La Liga debut; Barca draws

by Soccer America

[SPAIN] Giuseppe Rossi, a 20-year-old New Jersey product who now represents Italy, scored in his Spanish La Liga debut for Villarreal, converting a penalty kick in a 3-0 win over regional rival Valencia. Rossi left the USA at age 13 for the youth program of Italian club Parma, which sold him in 2004 to Manchester United. Last season he was back in Parma, saving it from relegation with nine goals in 19 games. Also on the first weekend of the La Liga season Sevilla defender Antonio Puerta suffered two cardiac arrests during his team’s 4-1 win over Getafe. And Barcelona disappointed.

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Still hope for U.S. U-17s after second loss

by Soccer America

[VIDEO] The USA lost its second straight game at the U-17 World Cup, falling 3-1 to Tunisia in a game that featured three penalty-kick goals. The Americans, who opened with a 4-3 loss to Tajikistan, meet Belgium in their third and final group game on Sunday (2:45 am ET, live, ESPNU & Galavision; ESPNU rebroadcast at noon ET.). A win over Belgium, which beat Tajikistan, 1-0, could enable the Americans to advance with help from other results.

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