MLS club Chivas USA has signed a jersey sponsorship deal with Comex Group, Mexico’s leading paint company. As part of the multiyear, multimillion-dollar agreement, Chivas USA’s jerseys will be emblazoned with the Comex logo, while Comex’s Frazee Paint brand becomes Chivas USA’s first ever presenting sponsor.
Category: Soccer America Daily
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Police arrest Chelsea’s Mourinho in dispute over family dog
Jose Mourinho, the pugnacious Chelsea manager, was arrested four days before the Blues’ FA Cup final against Manchester United, on charges of obstructing police. The incident took place after Mourinho rushed home from Chelsea’s team awards banquet after his wife, Tami, called, saying an animal health official and two police officers went to their central London home to place their dog into quarantine, believing it had been taken out of Britain and then brought back without the necessary shots.
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Brimstone rivals go national
[TV PREVIEW] Let’s hope the Brimstone Cup rivalry livens up the ESPN2 national telecast more than the Rocky Mountain Séance between Colorado and Real Salt Lake, a 1-1 tie with no cautions and just about as much passion, did last week. Chances are, it will. Both FC Dallas-Chicago meetings last year were 3-2 thrillers, with FC Dallas winning both of them. The Fire has been beaten in its last two, 3-1, on the road, and is back at Toyota Park, where it has won both of its home games. Last year, though, it lost at home to Dallas.
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Americans rank in EPL player ratings
Four Americans ranked in the final Actim Index of the 2006-07 English Premier League season : No. 16 Marcus Hahnemann (Reading), No. 21 Tim Howard (Everton), No. 33 Brad Friedel (Blackburn) and No. 79 Brian McBride (Fulham).
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GolTV acquires Copa America English-language TV rights
GolTV has secured the English-language broadcast rights to televise the 26 matches of the 2007 Copa America. GolTV acquired the rights from soccer agency Traffic Sports Marketing. Univision holds the U.S. Spanish-language rights.
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Two in a row for Mo
When he came off the field last Saturday as a raucous crowd celebrated Toronto FC’s first goal and first victory, captain Jim Brennan said he and his teammates wanted opponents “to be intimidated” when they played at BMO Field. Whether or not defending champion Houston (2-3-1) was intimidated when it played TFC Wednesday night at BMO, it certainly was ineffective despite outshooting the host, 13-7. Andy Welsh‘s headed goal from a Ronnie O’Brien corner kick earned TFC a 1-0 win on a rainy Toronto night, giving coach Mo Johnston and his team their second straight victory.
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Palop saves the day for Sevilla in UEFA Cup final
Goalkeeper Andres Palop was the hero as Sevilla became only the second team to win back-to-back UEAF Cup trophies. Palop saved three penalties in the shootout to give Sevilla a 3-1 victory over Spanish rival Espanyol in a shootout after their game ended in a 2-2 tie at Glasgow’s Hampden Park on Wednesday.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Article 21942
“Smiling sometimes is important. I haven’t thrown out any great jokes, but every now and then I may try.”
— U.S. men’s national team coach Bob Bradley, who has been criticized in the past for not smiling enough.
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Team-building, according to Bob Bradley
[BRADLEY AUDIO] Evoking the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team and the 2006 Italy World Cup team, Bob Bradley set about expressing what he considers important as a coach on his first day with the tag of interim U.S. men’s national team coach removed. Speaking to reporters at a press conference in New York and on a teleconference call shortly thereafter, Bradley talked about team-building as the USA sets forth on a busy summer with the Gold Cup and Copa America and 2010 World Cup qualifying beginning next year.
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Manchester City releases DaMarcus Beasley
Manchester City denied DaMarcus Beasley’s wish to extend his stay at the English Premier League club when it announced on Tuesday that the American star was one of eight first-team players to be released. Beasley made 13 starts for the Blues and scored four goals, most memorably his late strike at Upton Park giving City a 1-0 win over West Ham just after Christmas. He came to Man. City on loan from Dutch champion PSV, where he spent two seasons. He has one year left on his contract with PSV.
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Heather Mitts out of Women’s World Cup with knee injury
U.S. star Heather Mitts will miss the 2007 Women’s World Cup after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during last Saturday’s international friendly against Canada in Frisco, Texas. Mitts, a member of the 2004 Olympic gold-medal team and one of the most recognizable players on the women’s team, will be sidelined 6-8 months.
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Argentina edges USA, 1-0, in U-20 World Cup warmup
Defending world champion Argentina beat the United States, 1-0, in a tuneup game for the Under-20 World Cup on Tuesday night at PAETEC Park in Rochester, N.Y. Diego Braghieri scored on a header off an Alejandro Gomez free kick for the game’s only goal in the 55th minute. The USA created numerous scoring opportunities, outshooting Argentina, 15-8, but goalkeeper Emiliano Centeno was outstanding for Argentina.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Article 21920
“Bob took this job as if it were his, and I think that’s a very positive thing. He looked at a lot of new players when it might have been safe to continue with more established players, and that was important for the long-term growth of the program.”
— U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati on Bob Bradley, who will remain as U.S. national team men’s head coach. Bradley was 3-0-1 in four friendly games played since being named interim coach in December. (AP)
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Colombian champion Cucuta opens Libertadores Cup quarterfinals with win
[TV SCHEDULE} Late goals by Macnelly Torres and Panamanian Blas Perez gave Colombian champion Cucuta a 2-0 victory over Nacional of Uruguay in the first leg of their Libertadores Cup quarterfinal series on Tuesday.
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Brazil superstars Ronaldinho and Kaka ask to skip Copa America
First, Kaka asked to skip the Copa America. Now three days later Ronaldinho has asked not to be included in Brazil’s squad for its title defense of the Copa America June 26-July 15 in Venezuela. Their requests, if granted, will put a damper to Coach Dunga‘s plans to field a full-strength squad for the South American championship.
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Toronto FC goes for two in a row on Wednesday
[TV PREVIEW] Four days after picking up its first win and scoring its first goals in five games expansion Toronto FC is back in MLS action at raucous BMO Field against the defending champion Houston Dynamo. The Dynamo had last weekend off, after finally breaking out of an offensive slump in its last match, a 3-1 win at Colorado.
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MLS Statistics (games through May 15)
Los Angeles (24,437) and Toronto FC (20,095) are the only MLS teams averaging more than 20,000 fans a game. Two teams — New York (9,716) and Kansas City (8,335) — are drawing less than 10,000 a game. For up-to-date MLS standings, schedules, leading scorers, attendance and goal-scoring averages …
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Managers depart EPL clubs
A day after the end of the English Premier League season, underachieving Manchester City fired Manager Stuart Pearce, while Wigan Athletic appointed assistant Chris Hutchings as its new manager after Paul Jewell resigned. Glenn Roeder resigned as Newcastle manager just over a week ago, and the Magpies hired Sam Allardyce, who resigned as Bolton Wanderers manager last week. He had also been linked to the position that just opened up at Manchester City.
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McKeown is named director of id2 youth program
Gerry McKeown has been named the director of id2, U.S. Club Soccer’s identification and development program. He is the Boys director of coaching at New Jersey club PDA and an assistant coach with the U-15 boys national team.
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Gulati expected to name Bradley U.S. coach on Wednesday
U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati will make a major announcement at a press conference to be held on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in in New York City. That announcement is expected to be Gulati’s choice for U.S. national team men’s head coach. Bob Bradley, who has held the job on an interim basis since December, is the likely choice to retain his job on a permanent basis. Indeed, within hours of the press conference being announced, the Los Angeles Times reported that Bradley, who coached MLS’s Chivas USA in 2006, will dispose of the interim tag.
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New look in LA with ‘King Neptune’
The makeover of MLS’s Los Angeles Galaxy, which Coach Frank Yallop began nearly a year ago when he replaced Steve Sampson, continues with one of the more exotic signings in league history. Portuguese defender Abel Xavier, whose dyed-blond beard and curly hair once earned him the nickname ‘King Neptune’ has joined the Galaxy after being released by English Premier League club Middlesbrough. He will be eligible to play once the U.S. secondary transfer window opens June 15.
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MLS stadium plans pursued in Houston and San Jose; Pacific Northwest expansion options
Several Houston news outlets have reported that the Dynamo will sign a letter of intent with the city of Houston and the two sides will research the feasibility of building a downtown stadium to house the team. A possible location is a site near Minute Maid Park, home of the MLB Astros. Oakland A’s co-owner Lew Wolff, snubbed in his effort to reach an agreement with San Jose State University officials to build a new facility for SJSU teams as well as a revived Earthquakes franchise, is now looking at a parcel of land between the San Jose International Airport and Santa Clara University.
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Atlante leaves Mexico City for Cancun
Mexican First Division club Atlante is leaving Mexico City for the Caribbean resort of Cancun. The move was announced by the government of the state of Quintana Roo, in which Cancun is situated, and the Grupo Pegasus, which owns the club.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Article 21911
“Refereeing with three people is obsolete. Three referees can’t see everything.”
— New UEFA president Michel Platini, the former French star, wants to add two more officials, in addition to the referee and the two linesmen. These additional officials would stay next to the goals and could monitor what happens in the penalty areas. (France Football)
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Blanco’s America and Chivas to meet in Mexican semifinals
All the favorites advanced in the quarterfinals of Mexico’s Torneo Clausura. Guadalajara and Club America, Mexico’s two most popular clubs, will meet in one semifinal, while regular-season leader Pachuca, which edged Santos on the tiebreaker (better regular-season record), meets Cruz Azul in the other semifinal.