Category: Soccer America Daily

By Ridge Mahoney The MLS team that will train for more than a week in Mexico prior to the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup semifinal second legs won’t have the edge that its league counterpart does. D.C. United will leave for Guadalajara next week deadlocked with Chivas Guadalajara, 1-1, following their first leg at RFK Stadium, giving […]

For the first time since becoming interim coach of the USA, Bob Bradley will welcome a large contingent of foreign-based players into training camp. Bradley has included 13 European-based players, including his 19-year-old son, Michael Bradley, in the 24-man roster for friendlies against Ecuador (March 25 in Tampa) and Guatemala (March 28 in Frisco, Texas). […]

The U.S. U-17 boys national team tied the Municipal reserves, 2-2, Wednesday in Guatemala City, Guatemala. After Manuel Leon gave Municipal the lead, the USA responded with goals by Mykell Bates and Billy Schuler to take a 2-1 lead, but Diego Chicas responded for Municipal seven minutes after Schuler’s go-ahead goal. The USA will face […]

Schalke 04, which has never won the German Bundesliga title, is on the verge of collapse after managing just two points in its last four games, but it received good news this week with the return of three players to training this week. Christian Pander, Gerald Asamoah and Gustavo Varela could all play in Saturday […]

Manchester United’s lead over Chelsea is down to six points, following the Blues’ 1-0 win at Manchester City in their Premier League makeup game, and both face the prospect of playing league games on Saturday and FA Cup replays on Monday. Manchester United hosts northwest England rival Bolton Wanderers on Saturday (TV: Setanta Sports USA, […]

Recreativo Huelva, this season’s La Liga surprise, will be out to ambush Barcelona when the Spanish league co-leaders travel to on Saturday (TV: GolTV, live, 2:30 pm ET). Recre has already beaten such big teams as Real Madrid, Valencia and Atletico Madrid, and has won praise for its combination of possession soccer and lightning counterattacks. […]

In Houston, Texas, they postponed a game because they couldn’t turn the lights on. In Chile, it was little insects that forced First Division club O’Higgins to postpone its game on Wednesday against Universidad Chile. It happens that termites chewed so determinedly into the stands of Estadio El Teniente – a 1962 World Cup venue […]

By Ridge Mahoney A blown transformer and subsequent power failure at Robertson Stadium in Houston forced a postponement of the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup semifinal first leg between the Dynamo and Pachuca originally scheduled for Wednesday night. Instead, the game will be played at Robertson at 6 pm (ET) on Thursday, setting up a Fox Soccer […]

By Ridge MahoneyDiscussions were held last night to resolve the situation of Brazilian midfielder Fred, who is poised to join D.C. United though his contract with Australian club Melbourne doesn’t expire until June 30. Under FIFA rules, players under contract are free to negotiate with other clubs during the last six months of their contract’s […]

The Italian press has reported that photographer Fabrizio Corona has been arrested for taking pictures of celebrities, including four top soccer players, in potentially embarrassing situations and demanding payments by threatening to sell the photos to newspapers. Three soccer stars admitted paying Corona after he took shots of them at nightclubs with female companions.

"I don’t understand how Thierry Henry was injured in March due to a match he played in Bosnia in August. I am not a physiotherapist, but I can’t understand how he can be injured because of a match six months ago." — Michel Platini, UEFA president and former France captain and coach responds to Arsenal […]

Sixteen teams will compete in the 2007 US Youth Soccer ODP National Championships March 16-18 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. Regional ODP champions in the 1989 and 1991 age groups will play in semifinal matches on Friday and championship matches on Sunday. FINAL FOUR ENTRANTS: 1989 Girls: Eastern Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Texas and […]

UEFA came down hard on Valencia and Inter Milan following their postgame brawl in last week’s Champions League. Valencia defender David Navarro was suspended for seven months — one of the harshest penalties UEFA has ever handed out — five other players were also suspended, and both teams were fined $204,000. After Inter midfielder Nicolas […]

The USA will be installed as the heavy favorite to win the 2007 Women’s World Cup thanks to a dominating performance at the 2007 Algarve Cup in Portugal combined with shockingly bad showings by reigning world champion Germany and 2007 Women’s World Cup host China. The USA beat Denmark, 2-0, Wednesday on goals by Kristine […]

MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Bundesliga CEO Christian Seifert unveiled on Tuesday an agreement between the two leagues The agreement MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis and Bundesliga executive board member Tom Bender ironed out two weeks ago in New York was dubbed a “knowledge pact” — an agreement to share experience, expertise and best practices […]

With two months left in the English Premier League season, Arsenal star Thierry Henry is out for the season with an assortment of injuries, and Gunners manager Arsene Wenger blames France for Henry’s woes. Wenger believes Henry was “badly managed” by France after the World Cup — and maintained the Arsenal captain was now “paying […]

The U.S. under-17 national team went scoreless in two games against Honduran U-17 national team in games played in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. It appeared the U.S. had gotten revenge for their 1-0 loss two days earlier when Mykell Bates headed in a Jared Jeffrey‘s free kick in the 93rd minute, but the goal was called back […]

The USA faces Denmark Wednesday in the championship game of the Algarve Cup, the biggest women’s tournament in the world, at at Municipal Stadium in Vila Real de San Antonio, Portugal (kickoff: 12:30 pm ET). While the USA leads the series with a 12-4-2 record, the Danes have been tough opponents. The USA’s 3-1 loss […]

The CONCACAF Champions Cup moves into the semifinals this week with both first-leg games being played on U.S. soil. The defending MLS champion Houston Dynamo hosts Pachuca on Wednesday at Robertson Stadium (TV: Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Espanol, live, 8:30 pm ET), while D.C. United takes on Guadalajara Thursday at RFK Stadium […]

“It was hell. I would be dead if the police hadn’t showed up.” — Maria de Lourdes Silva de Oliveira, the 36-year-old sister of AC Milan star Ricardo Oliveira, after her rescue from a Sao Paulo apartment ended a five-month kidnap ordeal. Oliveira was at least the eighth professional soccer player to have a family […]

Borussia Dortmund coach Juergen Roeber quit after just seven games to become the second Dortmund and eighth Bundesliga coaching casualty of the 2006-07 season. Roeber, a former NASL player with Calgary, departed after a run of six defeats in seven matches left mighty Dortmund just above the relegation zone. He took over from Dutchman Bert […]

The U.S. women’s national team will play a six-game summer series to prepare for the Women’s World Cup Sept. 10-30 in China. The USA will face China at Cleveland Browns Stadium on June 16 and Brazil at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on June 23 in the first matches of the send-off series. Additional […]

The USA moved into the final of the Algarve Cup for the fifth straight time after winning Group B thanks to a 3-2 win over Sweden on Monday. Greg Ryan‘s Americans needed a win to make the championship game, and two goals from forward Abby Wambach and another from midfielder Carli Lloyd, her third in […]

From 2,000 aspiring young soccer players, “Sueño MLS” is down to its Final Five. For the next two weeks, they will train with the Chivas USA first team and its under-19 team, with a contract awaiting the winner. Goalkeeper Aldo Iñiguez (20) will train with Chivas USA’s regular roster and developmental players. Jorge Flores, Abraham […]

By Ridge Mahoney Senior Editor According to a source with knowledge of the transaction, Toronto FC has filled its hole on the left side of midfield. The team will soon announce the acquisition of winger Andy Welsh, a native of Manchester who played this season at Leicester City on loan from Sunderland. Welsh, 22, is […]