Category: Soccer America Daily

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.

[MLS WEEKEND WRAPUP] Dallas takes over top spot in the Western Conference by beating Columbus as Houston loses it second straight; the Red Bulls return from a long hiatus to thump Toronto; and a big crowd at Gillette Stadium sees a victory but not David Beckham.

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Keeper Marcus Hahnemann was outstanding as 10-man Reading held defending English Premier League champion Manchester United to a 0-0 tie on the opening weekend of the 2007-08 season.

[AMERICANS ABROAD WRAPUP] Tim Howard made a diving save late in the game to preserve Everton’s 2-1 victory over Wigan. Brad Friedel was in goal for Blackburn in a winning effort on the road, beating Middlesbrough, 2-1.

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Texas-born teen Jose Francisco Torres became one of the youngest Americans ever to start for a Mexican club when he started for 2007 Torneo Clausura champion Pachuca in a 3-1 win over Morelia.

Chelsea and Arsenal both rallied from early deficits to win their English Premier League openers at home. Action also began in Germany, where defending champion Stuttgart was held to a 2-2 tie by runner-up Schalke 04.

England star Wayne Rooney broke his foot in Manchester United’s 0-0 tie with Reading on Sunday and could be out for as long as three months.

The Bundesliga kicks off on Friday with 2006-07 champion Stuttgart hosting runner-up Schalke. Defending English Premier League champion Manchester United begins its title defense on Sunday against Reading.

Former Polish international Peter Nowak has been named the head coach of the U.S. under-23 men’s national team that will attempt to qualify for the the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

American Benny Feilhaber, the hero of the USA’s 2007 Gold Cup victory, joined promoted English Premier League club Derby County on Thursday when he won his appeal with Britain’s Home Office to get a work permit.

[MAKING A LIST] Derby County’s signing of Benny Feilhaber brings to 10 the number of Americans in the English Premier League, which kicks off the 2007-08 season on Saturday. That number doesn’t include three teenagers in EPL youth academies. Five other Americans — including Gold Cup champions Jay DeMerit and Frank Simek — are in the lower English divisions.

[MAKING A LIST] Of the 10 Americans in Germany’s two professional divisions, only two — Steve Cherundolo and Gregg Berhalter — were with teams in these divisions a year ago. Youngsters Kamani Hill, Neven Subotic and Sal Zizzo signed in the last year. Josh Wolff and Heath Pearce signed as free agents. Joe Enochs, Josh Grenier and Ian Joy, all German league veterans, moved to the Second Division when their clubs were promoted. Of the four First Division players, only Cherundolo and Pearce are expected to start when the Bundesliga kicks off this weekend.

[MLS WEEKEND PREVIEWS] The David Beckham show moves to New England, where the Galaxy looks to get its first win since the Englishman’s arrival four weeks ago. New York is back in action after a two-week layoff, FC Dallas looks to take over the lead in the Western Conference, and Colorado returns home reeling from a 5-0 loss to the USL’s Seattle and carrying a 10-game winless streak into its game against Houston.

Bayern Munich was involved in the largest German Bundesliga transfer deals involving the sale of a player from a foreign club (Franck Ribery), the sale of a player to a foreign club (Owen Hargreaves) and the sale of a player between German clubs (Miroslav Klose).

Veteran Brazilian star Roberto Carlos has moved to champion Fenerbahce, which will again battle Istanbul rivals Galatasaray and Besiktas for Turkish league supremacy.

Former European champion Red Star Belgrade lost at Estonian champion Levadia Tallin, 2-1, on Wednesday but advanced to the third round of UEFA Champions League against Scottish club Rangers thanks to its away goal by playmaker Igor Burzanovic. Steaua Bucharest, another former European Cup champion, also advanced thanks to a 2-1 victory over Poland’s Zaglebie Lubin and 3-1 aggregate win.

It will be two MLS teams and two USL teams in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals. Behind first-half goals from Andy Dorman and Taylor Twellman, the New England Revolution completed the semifinal field with a 2-1 over the Harrisburg City Islanders of the USL Second Division on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium.