Category: Soccer America Daily

[VIDEO] Okay, now, can everybody just get with the program? Just like the man’s been saying for a month, this is about soccer, too. With two graceful swipes of his right foot, supported ably by the touchy left one, David Beckham bent home a brilliant free kick and turned loose Landon Donovan for the goals that dumped D.C. United, 2-0, and earned Los Angeles a date in the first SuperLiga final.

An English teenager bought more than 200,000 shares worth $600,000 in English club Preston North End, making him the fourth-largest shareholder in the Championship League (second level) club.

Fulham’s Americans, captain Brian McBride, Carlos Bocanegra and Clint Dempsey, celebrated their first win of the 2007-08 season, a 2-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers Wednesday night in the rain at Craven Cottage.

David Kalivoda scored on a penalty kick in the 76th minute to give Slavia Prague stunning 1-0 win at Ajax in the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round series on Wednesday.

Arsenal, Liverpool, Slavia Prague, Dynamo Kiev and Rosenborg all won on the road in Champions League qualifying. For all Wednesday’s results …

[VIDEO] There was more troubles for defending English Premier League champion Manchester United. Three days after settling for a 0-0 tie in its opener against Reading at Old Trafford and losing Wayne Rooney with a broken foot, United had to settle for a 1-1 tie at Portsmouth and possibly lost Cristiano Ronaldo for up to three games after he was sent off for a head butt late in the game.

Chivas USA acquired unsettled Honduran international Ramon Nunez in a trade with FC Dallas for a conditional 2009 SuperDraft pick. Nunez, a 21-year-old midfielder and U.S. green-card holder, could debut Saturday when Chivas USA faces Toronto FC at BMO Field.

[MLS THURSDAY PREVIEW] The Rapids halted a 10-game winless streak by upending Houston, 1-0, last weekend courtesy of a Dwayne DeRosario own goal but need another result against New England to strengthen its shaky playoff hopes. One-game suspensions to Herculez Gomez and Ugo Ihemelu won’t help the cause and Colorado is still near the bottom of the goalscoring heap with just 17.

Pablo Salinas of Bolivia club The Strongest was red carded when he donned a Spiderman mask to celebrate a goal in his club’s 2-0 win over La Paz archrival Bolivar on Sunday.

[VIDEO] American teenager Freddy Adu didn’t need to wait long to make his European debut, but it was another offseason acquisition, veteran Portuguese midfielder Rui Costa, who rescued Benfica with both goals in its 2-1 victory over FC Copenhagen Tuesday in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League third-round qualifying series.

Spaniard Nacho Novo, who came on for American DaMarcus Beasley, scored in the 90th minute to give Rangers a 1-0 win over Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League third-round qualifying series.

U.S. national team head coach Bob Bradley has named the 19 players — 16 European-based players and three MLS players — who will travel to face Sweden next Wednesday in Gothenburg (TV: Fox Soccer Channel, live, 2:30 pm ET; Galavision — East Coast: live, 2:30 ET; West Coast, delay, 2:30 pm PT). For USA and Sweden rosters …

Results and goalscorers from the first three days of the 2007-08 Red Bull Girls National League, held at Mustang Soccer Complex and Diablo Vista Middle School in Danville, Calif.

[WOMEN’S WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN] Germany’s squad for the 2007 Women’s World Cup includes 12 holdovers from the team that won the 20023 competition in the United States.

Another enthralling contest with Pachuca meant another bitter defeat for the Houston Dynamo. Pachuca prevailed on penalty kicks, 4-3, in a SuperLiga semifinal Tuesday after the teams toughed out a 2-2 tie in 120 minutes of regulation and overtime, most of which Houston played a man down following the ejection of defender Patrick Ianni in the 12th minute.

[SUPERLIGA PREVIEW] Not much has gone right so far for the Galaxy in what is supposed to be an historic season, yet against rival D.C. United in this SuperLiga semifinal on Wednesday, it has homefield advantage, and it may have David Beckham. Beckham trained with the team Tuesday and after the training session said of his left ankle, “It’s not perfect yet, but I think I can at least play half a game tomorrow.”

Los Angeles (22,586), D.C. United (20,940) and Toronto FC (20,089) all average more than 20,000 fans per game and the league average is up to 15,382 fans a game. Never have three teams averaged more than 20,000 fans in a season. Three times — 1996, 1997 and 2001 — two teams surpassed 20,000 a game.

[SUPERLIGA PREVIEW] The roles have reversed, somewhat, since Houston and Pachuca met in a riveting CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal five months ago. Houston hosts Pachuca Tuesday night in the semifinals of the SuperLiga. This time around, the Dynamo is the team in the midst of its regular season. Yet it has lost its last two league games by 1-0 scores after running through its SuperLiga first-round group against D.C. United, Club America, and Morelia unbeaten.

With two shutouts in USL First Division action, Rochester’s Scott Vallow tied and surpassed Billy Andracki as the all-time regular-season win leader in Rhinos history. Vallow was just back after missing four months with a biceps injury. The shutouts ended a club record streak of 12 games without a shutout. Josh Wicks also had two shutouts in a pair of scoreless draws for Portland, which needs just one point to clinch a playoff berth.

So it won’t be Mexico-USA at Azteca on Sept. 9.
An even better treat is in store for U.S. fans: USA-Brazil at Chicago’s Soldier Field. The game, to be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Univision, will pit the 2007 CONCACAF champion against the 2007 South American champion. Both teams are repeat champions.

Freddy Adu will suit up for Portuguese club Benfica’s first official match since it recently signed him from MLS. The 18-year-old Adu will be available to come off the bench in Benfica’s UEFA Champions League qualifying match against Denmark’s FC Copenhagen on Tuesday at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon (TV: Setanta-PPV, live, 3:15 pm ET).

Four young men, including three members of the Bradley men’s soccer soccer team and roommates of Dahlquist, were charged with setting a fire that led to the death of their Bradley teammate, Danny Dahlquist. The 19-year-old Dahlquist, a sophomore, died Sunday of smoke inhalation after the four men allegedly set a fire in his bedroom in their West Peoria, Ill., house by lighting a roman candle under his bedroom door that started a fire.