[TV PREVIEW] What does a stirring comeback in the debut of Jason Kreis as head coach bode for the future of Real Salt Lake? Real scored more goals in its first game under Kreis than it had in its first four games of the season when Coach John Ellinger, was still in charge. On Thursday, against Colorado (9 pm ET, ESPN2), upbeat Real hopes to continue its progress with by winning its first game of the season. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney previews the “Rocky Mountain Cup” clash.
Category: Soccer America Daily
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Gladbach turns down Keller’s offer to stay
Goalkeeper Kasey Keller is one of at least seven players leaving Borussia Moenchgladbach, which has been relegated to the German Second Division. Gladbach general manager Christian Ziege said he was surprised that Keller, 37, offered to stay with the relegated team, but said giving the 25-year-old Christofer Heimeroth the No. 1 keeper spot next season is part of the club’s rebuilding process.
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Bradley makes cameo in Heerenveen win over Ajax
Midfielder Michael Bradley was an 82nd minute sub for Heerenveen in its 1-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam in the semifinal first-leg of the Dutch playoffs for a spot in next years European Champions League.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Article 21865
“Two finals in three years – not bad for a little club.”
— Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, whose team eliminated Chelsea in the European Champions League semifinals, chides Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, who once referred to Liverpool as a “little club.” In the May 23 final, Liverpool faces AC Milan, which Liverpool beat for the 2005 crown. (BBC)
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Freddy Adu hit in head by golf ball
“I was scared — scared for him,” Real Salt Lake forward Jamie Watson told KSL TV after he witnessed teammate Freddy Adu get pegged in the head by a 300-yard drive on hole 9 at Sandy’s Old Mill golf course. “I didn’t want to be the guy who was with Freddy when he died. That’s what I was worried about mostly. I was like ‘Freddy please be all right.'” In fact, Adu continued golfing and shot 39 on the back nine.
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U.S. U-15 girls head to Home Depot Center
[U.S. U-15 GIRLS ROSTER] U.S. U-15 girls head coach Tad Bobak has called in 24 players, all born in 1992, as the youngest of the USA’s five youth national teams holds a camp May 19-25 at the Home Depot Center.
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Schellscheidt calls in 36 players for U-14 program
[U.S. U-14 BOYS ROSTER] Head coach Manny Schellscheidt has called in 36 players for the U.S. under-14 boys national development program May 12-19 at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center at The Home Depot Center.
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Mexico’s Club America battles on two fronts
[TV PREVIEW] It will be a busy week for Mexican giant Club America. It began Tuesday night in Santiago, Chile, where the Eagles fell to Colo Colo, 2-1, in the second leg of their Libertadores Cup series but moved into the quarterfinals with a 4-2 aggregate win. America returns home for two games in the quarterfinals of Mexico’s Torneo Clausura.
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Carolina teams head prep rankings
[HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS] Greenville (S.C.) High School and Apex (N.C.) High School are the top ranked boys and girls teams in the latest NSCAA/adidas High School Spring Rankings.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Article 3409
“Chelsea and Liverpool are the clearest, most exaggerated example of the way soccer is going: very intense, very collective, very tactical, very physical, and very direct. But, a short pass? Noooo. A feint? Noooo. A change of pace? Noooo. A one-two? A nutmeg? A backheel? Don’t be ridiculous. None of that. The extreme control and seriousness with which both teams played the semifinal neutralized any creative license, any moments of exquisite skill.”
— Jorge Valdano, Argentine 1986 World Cup winner as a player and former Real Madrid coach and sporting director, wasn’t impressed with how Liverpool advanced to the Champions League final. (The Guardian)
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World Cup prostitute trafficking to Germany overestimated
Prior to the 2006 World Cup, Germany’s policy of legal prostitution came under fire from groups predicting the tournament would spur a trafficking of women from other nations, especially eastern Europe, forced into prostitution work during the month-long tournament. Media widely reported estimates of the trafficking of 40,000 foreign women. But the International Organization for Migration reports only five confirmed victims. “The estimate of 40,000 women expected to be trafficked was unfounded and unrealistic,” said the 48-page report.
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MLS departures, absences raise questions
Just about one month into the season several prominent players are missing from MLS rosters, some by design, some not. Ridge Mahoney reports on new Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis’ prompt dismissal of its Panamanian striker and how MLS should treat Amado Guevara’s flight from Chivas USA.
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OFF THE POST: The high price of garlic in Japan
The J-League has suspended Kazuki Ganaha six games for shooting garlic up his veins (more or less). Ganaha used an intravenous drip to take a non-banned substance to combat cold symptoms. The supplement shot that is reportedly popular among Japanese athletes is known as a “garlic shot.” But any kind of intravenous infusion is banned by FIFA and, as of this season, the J-League.
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New Red Bulls youth boss hails from former USSR
New York Red Bull has named Armen Simoniants, who hails from the former USSR and has coached in USA for more than a decade, as its Youth Academy Director. He succeeds Giovanni Savarese, who headed the club’s hailed youth development program from 2005 until last March. Simoniants is the president of New Jersey-based United Soccer Master Course, an “international association of professional soccer educators.” He coached the MetroStars reserve team in 2000-03, has been a New Jersey ODP coach, and most recently coached Moldovan club FC Olympia Beltsy. Soccer America talked to Red Bulls technical director Jeff Agoos about the hiring.
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Ex-MLS player Francisco Gomez leads Bakersfield
[PDL RESULTS] The Bakersfield Brigade and Ventura County Fusion are the only teams to go 2-0-0 after two weeks of play in the Premier Development League.
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Loss drops Charlton from English Premier League
Charlton became the second team from the Premier League to be relegated after losing, 2-0, at home to Tottenham on Monday. Bulgarian forward Dimitar Berbatov and Jermain Defoe scored for Spurs.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Article 3387
"The reason that we published the numbers was the hope that it creates upward pressure on salaries. We hope Beckham can create that upward pressure. I don’t want to overstate the influence of one player but it helps. Average salaries have been increasing in the past year."
— Bob Foose, the executive director of the MLS Players Union, which has made public the MLS players’ salaries. David Beckham, at $6.5 million per year in guaranteed income, is tops, earning is more than 50 times the average for the league. (Reuters)
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Beckham, Blanco, Angel & Reyna are top earners
The MLS Players Union’s publication of the league’s players’ salaries for the 2007 season reveals that after Englishman David Beckham‘s $6.5 million in guaranteed annual income, the league’s top earners are Chicago’s Mexican forward Cuauhtemoc Blanco $2.7 million, New York’s Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel $1.6 million, and New York’s Claudio Reyna, who is the highest paid American in the league at $1.25 million.
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AMERICANS ABROAD: Bradley, Castillo in playoffs
In the Netherlands, Heerenveen (Michael Bradley) finished in fifth place, which is good enough for a UEFA Cup spot but also puts it into the playoffs for Champions League qualification. Heerenveen faces Ajax Amsterdam in the first-leg of the semifinal qualifying playoffs on Wednesday. In Denmark, Nat Borchers scored in Odd Grenland’s 2-1 loss to Viking. In Mexico, Edgar Castillo and Santos Laguna’s first-leg quarterfinal game against Pachuca will be televised on Azteca America at 7 pm ET. Last weekend in Chile, Chase Hilgenbrinck was named man of the match for his 90 minute effort for Nublense in its 1-1 tie with Cobresal.
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MLS Golazos
[VIDEO] Goals by Dwayne DeRosario, Jose Burciaga, Jeff Larentowicz, Christian Gomez and Chris Brown are this week’s MLS Sierra Mist Goal of the Week candidates.
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MLS STATS: Standings, top scorers, attendance & scoring average
MLS STATISTICS (through May 6) STANDINGS Eastern Conference Team W-L-T PTS Kansas City 4-1-0 12 New England 3-1-2 11 New York 3-0-2 11 Chicago 3-1-1 10 Columbus 1-1-3 6 D.C. United 1-3-1 4 Toronto FC 0-4-0 0 Western Conference Team W-L-T PTS Houston 2-2-1 7 Colorado 2-2-1 7 FC Dallas 2-3-1 7 Chivas USA 2-3-0 […]
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OFF THE POST: Peace beats War in shootout
Peace took an early lead but War recovered in the second leg to force a penalty-kick tiebreaker in which Peace prevailed to lift the Tolstoy Cup in England last weekend. The clash between Bradford University’s Peace Studies and Kings College’s War Studies FC included undergraduates, MA and PhD students from the two institutions. “There was no love lost on the field,” said Peace FC player/coach Adam Baird, a PhD student.
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U.S. U-20 women kick off England tour
[U.S. U-20 WOMEN’S ROSTER] The U.S. under-20 women’s national team begins its three-game tour of England on Tuesday with a game against the Everton Ladies.
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U.S. U-15 boys go 2-1-1 in Argentina
The U.S. under-15 boys national team went 2-1-1 during its stay in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Guti performance leads Real Madrid in win over Sevilla
[EUROPEAN RACES] Real Madrid moved into second place behind Barcelona in the red-hot Spanish title race with a 3-2 victory over Sevilla at the Bernabeu Stadium on Sunday. Schalke 04 clung to a one-point lead in Germany’s Bundesliga with two games left thanks to a 1-0 victory over Nuremberg. Fenerbahce opened up a five-point lead on Besiktas with a 1-0 at the second-place team in a battle of Turkish Super Lïg leaders.