Fulham’s American striker Brian McBride, who started the season as captain of the English Premier League club, is expected to be sidelined for up two four months. McBride, who retired from the U.S. national team after the 2006 World Cup, suffered a dislocated knee cap after scoring for Fulham on Saturday and has undergone surgery.
Category: Soccer America Daily
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Kasey Keller’s career back on track
Kasey Keller, who has had the longest stint in European leagues for an American player, has signed with English Premier League club Fulham. The 37-year-old Keller, a member of the USA’s 1990, 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cup squads, began his pro career with English second-tier club Millwall in 1991. He has played 364 league games in England for Millwall, Leicester, Tottenham and Southampton, had a two-year stint with Spanish La Liga club Rayo Vallecano, and spent the last two-and-half seasons German First Division club Borussia Moenchengladbach.
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Ronaldinho, Robinho, Kaka named to U.S.-bound Brazil squad
[ROSTER] The Brazil roster named by Coach Dunga for its friendly against the USA in Chicago Sept. 9 includes Barcelona star Ronaldinho. More than 20,000 tickets have been sold for the game between this year’s Copa America and Gold Cup champions. Also in the squad are Kaka, who helped AC Milan lift the 2007 European Champions League crown, and Real Madrid’s Robinho, who scored six goals at the Copa America in July.
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Brazilian ball wizard Denilson joins FC Dallas
Denilson, who in 1998 set a transfer fee record with a $40 million move from Sao Paulo to Spanish club Real Betis, has been signed by FC Dallas. The 29-year-old, who played in 12 World Cup games for Brazil in its 1998 runner-up finish and its 2002 title win, arrives from Saudi Arabian club Al-Nasr. Denilson becomes the fourth World Cup winner in MLS. The other three all played for Red Bulls/Metros: Lothar Matthaeus (Germany 1990), Branco (Brazil 1994) and Youri Djorkaeff (France 1998).
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“If Chelsea is naive and pure then I’m Little Red Riding Hood.”
— Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez on Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho‘s comments that Chelsea players are “pure and they are clean. We don’t have divers, we don’t have violent people.” (BBC)
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D.C. aims to add to Toronto woes
[MLS WEEKEND TV PREVIEW] Five intra-conference games are featured this weekend, with the only crossover game sending Columbus to Western leader Houston. In the East, D.C. heads north to Canada where FC Toronto could set a league record in scoring futility, first-place New England hosts New York, and Kansas City plays Chicago for the second time in four days. Chivas USA stays at HDC to play Real Salt Lake, and the Galaxy Futility Tour heads to Colorado.
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Beckham back but Galindo grabs the glory
Not for the first time, the man who’d survived the most arduous journey to reach Home Depot Center stole the show. Maykel Galindo came to Chivas USA via Seattle and all the piles of paperwork necessary to properly process a Cuban defector who’d left his national team 2 ½ years ago during the Gold Cup. He put away two goals of exquisite class as Chivas USA (10-6-3) embarrassed Los Angeles, 3-0, to cast the Galaxy’s playoff hopes deeper in doubt. David Beckham lasted the full 90 after going the distance the day before in England’s loss to Germany. It was Beckham’s third full game in a six days, a stretch that began with Saturday’s loss in New York, and he was limping by the game’s end.
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U.S. REPORT CARD: Average or worse for most Bradley boys
Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. players’ performance in their 1-0 loss to Sweden …
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U.S. product Edgar Castillo debuts for Mexico
Mexico, fielding a team filled with candidates for its U-23 team preparing for Olympic qualifying, fell 1-0 to Colombia in Commerce City, Colo., on a goal 53rd minute goal by Jaime Castrillón in front of 17,737 fans. U.S. product Edgar Castillo entered the game in the 65th minute.
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Germany wins fifth straight at Wembley
Germany extended its winning streak in England to five games with a 2-1 friendly victory. The Germans’ Wembley victory streak dates back to 1982 and includes a 1-0 win in 2000 that marked England’s last game at the “old Wembley.” The Germans’ win on Wednesday was England’s first loss at the new $1.49 billion Wembley stadium. The Los Angeles Galaxy’s David Beckham played 90 minutes and earned his 97th cap for England.
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Ronaldinho saves Brazil
Brazil coach Dunga waited until halftime until bringing on stars Ronaldinho and Kaka – punished for having sat out the Copa America – and it was Ronaldino who led the Brazilians to a 2-0 friendly win over Algeria. Ronaldinho served the cross that Maicon headed home, then finished a rebound off a shot from Diego.
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Historic Night for Jaime
Jaime Moreno set a league goalscoring record as D.C. United won a crucial conference match over New York. Many of his goals (33) the past few years have been penalties, yet on the historic night of his 109th MLS goal, Moreno did much more than just convert from the spot. His flicks and touches and dummies unhinged the Red Bull New York backline as D.C. (11-6-3) rolled to a 3-1 victory at RFK Stadium.
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Kansas City overcomes Cuauhtemoc
The Wizards scrambled to contain Cuauhtemoc Blanco, whose passes led to a pair of goals, but produced three goals of their own thanks to Jose Burciaga Jr. to beat Chicago, 3-2.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“I have dual citizenship. I am a Mexican-American. And I decided to play for Mexico because the other side never called me.”
— Edgar Castillo, who debuted for the Mexican national team on Wednesday in a 1-0 loss to Colombia. The 20-year-old, who was born and raised in the USA, starts in the Mexican First Division for Santos Laguna, which he joined after finishing high school in New Mexico. (Notimex)
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Stars zoom home for Los Angeles clasico
[TV PREVIEW] U.S. coach Bob Bradley did his MLS counterparts Frank Yallop and Preki a favor. England coach Steve McLaren wasn’t so accommodating. Bradley pulled off Landon Donovan and Jonathan Bornstein during the USA’s 1-0 loss to Sweden, but McLaren played David Beckham the full 90 minutes of England’s 2-1 home defeat against Germany. All three are expected to be back at Home Depot Center for this edition of the Los Angeles-Chivas USA derby; yet to be determined is how much, if at all, they can play.
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USA lacks guile in Gothenburg
For all the weight placed on team cohesion and collective performance in evaluating a soccer game, many matches are decided by which individuals step up. So it proved to be Wednesday night when Sweden beat the USA, 1-0. No U.S forward could match the guile and threat of Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, midfielders Kim Kim Källstrom and Kennedy Bakircioglü outplayed their U .S. counterparts, and the Swedish defense far more effectively blunted the opposition.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“Mentally, Germany is stronger, because we have experience of success in the last 20 years. We are always successful, not always winning, but somewhere near or winning, and that is what England is lacking. The pressure in England is so big. The media always lifts up players as world-class who are probably not so far yet. They have to live up to it and sometimes the pressure seems to be too big.”
— Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann ahead of Wednesday’s Germany-England friendly. The Arsenal goalkeeper’s comments were much ado in the English press because he made two major blunders for Arsenal in the first week of English Premier League play.
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Sweden a good fit for first European date under Bradley
Fourteen games into the tenure of Coach Bob Bradley the U.S. takes its first trip to Europe, and much like the Copa America proved to be a valuable if somewhat humbling venture, the importance of this match extends beyond the result. There are no finished products on the 19-man roster named by Bradley named to face Sweden (Fox Soccer Channel & Galavision 2:30 p.m. ET) at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg. Getting Americans abroad, whether that be to play for a foreign club or on a national-team road trip, is a vital component of restocking the player pool.
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Beckham ‘ready’ for Germany
Despite his injured ankle, the Los Angeles Galaxy’s David Beckham aims to play in England’s friendly against Germany on Wednesday (TV live: 3 pm ET Setanta pay-per-view; delay: 5 pm ET Fox Soccer Channel & Fox Sports en Espanol). "He trained this morning and looked very, very good," said England coach Steve McClaren on Tuesday. If Beckham plays, he’ll earn his 97th cap.
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Mexico set for ninth game in USA
Mexico, eight of whose 17 games in 2007 have taken place on U.S. soil, faces Colombia in a friendly in Commerce City, Colo., on Wednesday (TV: live, 10 pm ET, Telemundo). Of its three remaining games this year after the Colombia clash, Mexico will play two in the USA. That means El Tri will have played 11 of its 2007 games in the USA and four in Mexico.
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MLS midweek doubleheader kicks off stretch run
[TV PREVIEWS] Two months remain in the regular season and only Real Salt Lake is without a real chance to make the playoffs. A nine-game slate of league action this week gets underway with Big Wednesday: a pair of crucial Eastern Conference matchups. D.C. United-New York and Kansas City-Chicago.
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U.S. U-17s hope to bounce back
[PREVIEW] The USA hopes to bounce back from its disappointing 4-3 loss to Tajikistan in its U-17 World Cup opener when it faces Tunisia on Thursday. The game airs live at 4 am ET on ESPN, ESPNU and Galavision, and online at ESPN360.com. ESPNU rebroadcasts the game at noon ET on Thursday. Galavision is rebroadcasting the game at 7 pm ET/PT on Thursday. The USA is aiming to reach the second round for the sixth time in its record 12th appearance. Tunisia beat Belgium, 4-2, in its opener.
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Copa America champ Brazil face Algeria
In its first action since lifting this summer’s Copa America, Brazil faces Algeria in a friendly in Montpellier, France on Wednesday. (TV live: 12:30 pm ET Fox Soccer Channel & Fox Sports en Espanol). Brazil stars Ronaldinho and Kaka, who chose to skip the Copa, are expected to be used as subs. Coach Dunga is expected to start players who played in the Copa America, where Brazil downed Argentina in the final, 3-0.
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Costa Rica beats host; Brazil romps again
[U-17 WORLD CUP RESULTS] Costa Rica became the first Concacaf team to notch a win at the U-17 World Cup when it downed host South Korea, 2-0. It was the host’s second straight loss. Also in Group A, Peru and Togo played to a scoreless tie. In Group B, Brazil followed up on its 7-0 win over New Zealand with a 6-1 rout of North Korea, while England downed New Zealand, 5-0. Brazil’s Fabio and England’s Victor Moses lead the tournament in scoring with three goals a piece.
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Wings of an Angel
Here’s Kansas City coach Curt Onalfo‘s take on New York’s Juan Pablo Angel: “He’s been an unbelievably great addition to the league.” Angel earned the Red Bulls three points in their incredible 5-4 win over the Galaxy Saturday with hustle, desire and skill.