Category: Soccer America Daily

By Ridge Mahoney More often than not, despite what popular wisdom may indicate, international matches are not decided in midfield or by rugged defending, as important as both elements are. They are won by the team more ruthless in its finishing. So it proved to be in both of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal series […]

If Colombia’s chances of landing the 2014 World Cup already looked slim, they can’t have been helped by comments of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe toward the organization that will be picking the site. Angered that FIFA President Sepp Blatter called the Andean nation’s bid “more a public relations presentation of the country to say that […]

D.C. United has retained its former playmaker Marco “El Diablo” Etcheverry to serve as Special Consultant to the President. Etcheverry, whom Soccer America named the league’s all-time best player, won three MLS titles with D.C. United (1996, 97 and 99). In his new role, Etcheverry will scout, serve as a liaison to Latin American countries […]

Germany, which in 2006 hosted the men’s World Cup, is bidding to host the 2011 Women’s World Cup. The German soccer federation announced its intentions while revealing a logo and the slogan, “A reunion of friends – See you again.” “After the fantastic men’s World Cup and the summer fairy tale of 2006, it’s our […]

Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba, who plays his club ball for Chelsea, was named 2006 African Player of the Year. Besides lifting the English Premier League title last year, Drogba, 28, helped Ivory Coast to a runner-up finish at the African Nations Cup (losing on penalty kicks to host Egypt) and played in the World […]

“People have said we’re going because we’re attracted by the Hollywood glitz but I am not sure that, as a family, we actually enjoy that side of it. The perception is we love the red carpets and parties and being in the limelight but the reality is we don’t.” — David Beckham. (Reuters)

This weekend’s marquee game is Barcelona’s trip on Saturday to Seville’s Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, where second-place Sevilla hosts La Liga leaders (TV: GolTV, live, 4 pm ET). A win would give Barcelona a five-point lead — and a game in hand — and allow it to pull away from Sevilla. Sevilla has challenged Barca all […]

If David Beckham‘s move to Los Angeles was to help his wife Victoria, formerly Posh of the Spice Girls, revive her career – early returns indicate success. NBC has signed a deal with the Beckhams for a six-episode reality show chronicling the Beckham family move to the U.S. that will focus on Victoria. It will […]

Coach Hugo Sanchez, whose debut as Mexico coach was a 2-0 loss to the USA in February, celebrated his first win Wednesday as Mexico downed Venezuela, 3-1, in San Diego. The crowd of 63,328 at Qualcomm Stadium marked the largest crowd to watch a soccer game in San Diego history according to the San Diego […]

FC Dallas has signed 21-year-old Colombian midfielder Juan Carlos Toja, who has been with Argentine club River Plate on loan from Colombia’s Independiente Santa Fe. “Juan Carlos is an exciting central midfield player who likes to get involved in the attack,” said FC Dallas coach Steve Morrow. “He’s a player with huge potential and one […]

By Ridge Mahoney The best team during the 2006 regular season and the defending MLS Cup champion face radically different tasks in the second legs of their CONCACAF Champions’ Cup quarterfinals Thursday night. Both are also playing in the Superliga this summer, but could be facing showdowns against Mexican opposition in two weeks. D.C. United, […]

"They were getting their diapers changed, I think." — Toronto FC coach Mo Johnston, who banned A.J. Gray, 18, and Stephen Lumley, 19, from training after they arrived late. (Toronto Star)

Romario, the 41-year-old Brazilian world champion of 1994 who spent last season with the USL’s Miami FC, came edged closer to the 1,000-goal mark when he struck twice — his 991st and 992nd career goals — for Vasco da Gama in a 6-0 win against semipro Fast Club 6-0 in a Copa Brasil clash on […]

Chances of the World Cup returning to the United States any time soon could depend on the outcome of a FIFA executive committee in November, on the eve of the 2010 World Cup qualifying draw in Durban, South Africa. FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Wednesday that the rotation system, by which the World Cup […]

Argentina coach Alfio Basile has called up veteran midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron, who has not played for Argentina since November 2003, for a training camp of domestic-based players to continue preparations for the 2007 Copa America, where Argentina opens against the USA. Veron helped Estudiantes win the 2006 Torneo Apertura after returning home in the […]

Inter Milan’s record 17-game Serie A winning streak ended Wednesday when it was held to a 1-1 tie by visiting Udinese. Udinese was the last team Inter failed to beat — they played to a 0-0 tie in late October — and took the lead in the return game on an early second-half goal by […]

Four days after losing in the English League Cup final against Chelsea, Arsenal was ousted from the FA Cup with a 1-0 fifth-round replay loss to Blackburn, whose goalkeeper, American Brad Friedel, denied Julio Baptista on a couple of second-half chances. Benni McCarthy’s rocket with three minutes left gave Rovers the win. On Tuesday, Reading […]

Two decades since the southern Italian team of Napoli lured Diego Maradona into its ranks and won its first two Serie A championships, a supporters’ group has come up with a plan to revive the club that now plays in Italy’s second division. Napoli has no means to land a major international star, such as […]

Four years after the WUSA folded following three seasons, Women’s Soccer Initiative, Inc., has announced the commitment of six investment groups to launch a new major pro women’s soccer league in 2008. The six announced charter teams will be led by the following investors: AEG: Greater Los Angeles John Hendricks, Freedom Soccer LLC: Washington D.C. […]

Freddy Llerena, who suffered a broken leg while playing for American University in a 2003 scrimmage against D.C. United, has filed a lawsuit against D.C. United, its former investors (Anschutz Entertainment Group), MLS and Hristo Stoitchkov. The Washington Post reported that Llerena is seeking $5 million in compensatory damages from all parties and $5 million […]

U.S. under-16 girls national team player Mariah Nogueira and U.S. women’s national team player Casey Nogueira are not sisters. Yael Averbuch played for the USA in the 2004 Under-19 Women’s World Cup.

U.S. women’s soccer legends Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in the Player Category for the class of 2007 — the first all-female class inducted in the Player Category. The 2007 induction ceremonies will be held on Aug. 26 at the National Soccer Hall of Fame […]

“If I was hiring the president of IBM he would be hired already. It doesn’t take that much time to hire a national team coach. … The program has not moved forward as much as it should because of that [delay], so that’s what I’m critical of. I invested eight years into that thing and, […]

Mexico and Costa Rica clinched the final spots in the 2007 U-20 World Cup (July 1-22 in Canada) last weekend to complete the 24-team field. The USA qualified from Concacaf’s Group A along with Panama. Mexico hosted and topped Group B play with 2-0 wins over Jamaica and St. Kitts & Nevis, before tying Costa […]

Brazilian Rodrigo Martins Cintra has been banned indefinitely for ejecting the wrong player in a Corinthians-Rio Branco game. In the first half, Rio Branco’s Josias tripped a Corinthians player but Cintra showed a yellow card to Felipe, who, because he had already been cautioned, was red-carded. “He thought it was one player but it was […]