Category: Soccer America Daily

The Cambodian soccer federation has banned clubs from using their foreign players in its 30-team cup competition because, “They’re taller, stronger and more experienced, so it’s unfair if we let them play,” explained Federation chairman Sao Sokha. The foreign contingent, comprised of North Korean, Nigerian and Brazilian imports, will be allowed back when the league […]

Four Americans took the field in an English Premier League game on Saturday punctuated by Brian McBride‘s gamewinning goal — a 73rd minute strike that gave Fulham a 2-1 win over Newcastle, for whom Oguchi Onyewu debuted four days after joining the team on loan from Belgium’s Standard Liege. Carlos Bocanegra, like McBride, started for […]

After deciding to suspend all soccer indefinitely following the death of a policeman in rioting at Friday’s Serie A derby match between Catania and Palermo in Sicily, Italian soccer officials were scheduled to meet with government officials on Monday to contemplate long-term measures to stem volence in the Italian game. Italian newspapers said the government […]

Real Madrid’s trouble continued as it lost to relegation candidate Levante, 1-0, at home on Sunday, and fans at the Bernabeu Stadium demanded the resignation of President Ramon Calderon and Coach Fabio Capello. Real Madrid fell behind on Salva Ballesta‘s 11th-minute penalty and rarely looked like it would equalize against Levante, 18th in the 20-team […]

U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley has called up 20 players — 16 from MLS and four from the EPL — for the friendly against Mexico on Feb. 7 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. (TV: ESPN2 and Univision, 9 p.m. ET; kickoff at 9:25 pm ET). “After weeks of getting to […]

“If you look at it pound for pound, you can’t buy anyone who attacks the ball like he does and score goals like he does. For the amount of money we spent and the service he has given us, it has got to be the best £700,000 [$1.2 million] that anyone has ever spent. He […]

All the attention on Bloody Wednesday — which saw three respected Bundesliga coaches get fired or resign — has overshadowed Sunday’s showdown between Werder Bremen and Schalke 04 (TV: GolTV: live, 11 am ET), which share first place two games into the second half of the season. Bremen and Schalke broke away from the pack, […]

Ronaldo may be gone, but that doesn’t mean Real Madrid has been lighting it up without the Brazilian star, who spent much of the first half of the season on the bench and was finally sold this week to AC Milan for $9.7 million — less than half what Milan offered Real Madrid for Ronaldo […]

Rumors of DaMarcus Beasley returning to MLS aren’t true, says his agent, Lyle Yorks of Proactive Sports Management. “DaMarcus Beasley is very happy at Manchester City in the English Premier League and is not sure where all the rumors started saying that DaMarcus was in talks regarding a move to New York Red Bulls,” says […]

“I received three death threats. They were so serious that I had to be accompanied by plain-clothes policemen. Last weekend things reached such a level that I could no longer expect my wife to put up with it.” — Jupp Heynckes, explaining why he quit as coach of German club Borussia Moenchengladbach on Wednesday. Gladbach, […]

Hugo Sanchez will be playing to win when Mexico faces the USA Feb. 7 in Glendale, Ariz., in his debut as Tri coach. Sanchez called up captain Rafael Marquez from Barcelona, and three other European-based stars — Carlos Salcido from PSV Eindhoven and Stuttgart’s Pavel Pardo and Ricardo Osorio. Mexico won the battle for the […]

Two of the biggest names in German coaching — Felix Magath and Jupp Heynckes — were replaced, and not to be out done, Hamburg made it a hat trick of coaching casualties on Wednesday when it fired Coach Thomas Doll. Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich fired Magath and replaced him with former boss Ottmar Hitzfeld a […]

Colorado’s revamped uniforms will be the subject of a team press conference this week or next as the club changes its branding again. The blue-and-black striped home uniforms inspired by Inter Milan, among others, will be replaced by a look something like that worn by English clubs Aston Villa and Burnley, according to a team […]

Americans figured in 15 moves to European clubs during Europe’s winter transfer window that closed on Wednesday. Reflecting the talent drain to Europe, the 2006 Honda Player of the Year Clint Dempsey, the top college prospect Charlie Davies and the 2006 USL1 Rookie of the Year Cam Weaver all moved to European teams. Within Europe, […]

After being suspended for the first game back after Germany’s winter break, Steve Cherundolo returned to the Hannover starting lineup for its 5-0 win over Hertha Berlin on Wednesday evening. With the victory, Hannover climbed to 10th place in the Bundesliga standings. Benny Feilhaber came off the bench late in Hamburg’s 1-1 tie with Energie […]

“Against the United States, you don’t play for three points, you play for something else, you play for pride and you play to end the dominance that they have over us. All those ingredients bring the flavor to the game. Let’s give us the joy of a winning start, with a good image and playing […]

U.S. under-17 national team head coach John Hackworth welcomed eight new players for the ninth year of U.S. Soccer’s full-time residency program at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The semester kicked off at the beginning of January, but a few players were on trial, giving Hackworth and his staff time to evaluate which players would […]

By Ridge Mahoney Senior Editor Not all of the soccer news emanating out of Salt Lake City this week is bad. Much of it, yes, but not all of it. Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon decided Monday to back the vote of a Debt Review Committee that recommended Salt Lake County reject a proposal […]

Major League Soccer’s 12 U.S.-based clubs will enter the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, but only eight MLS teams will compete in tournament play. In past years, the eight MLS teams that advanced to the previous season’s MLS Cup playoffs automatically qualified for the U.S. Open Cup’s round of 16. This year, the MLS […]

Former MLS star Stern John was sold by Coventry of the English League Championship (second level) to rival Sunderland in a move the Black Cats hope will lead to promotion to the Premier League. John, who signed a contract through the 2008-09 season, is Manager Roy Keane‘s sixth signing since the transfer window opened on […]

Marcus Hahnemann was the only American to play in a winning effort on Tuesday night as top-flight league action resumed in England and Germany. Hahnemann was in goal as Reading beat Wigan, 3-2, to move into seventh place ahead of idle Everton in the English Premier League. Hahnemann could do nothing about Emile Heskey‘s third-minute […]

“With the items the Argyle Superstore has on offer for new-born babies, it shows that it is now really possible for people to show their support — from the cradle to the grave.” — Michael Dunford, the CEO of Plymouth Argyle, announcing that the English League Championship (second level) club will allow fans to order […]

The USA won the Four Nations Tournament for the fifth time in six trips to China with a 2-0 win over the host country on Tuesday in Guangzhou. Needing a victory to overtake China, the Americans won on a thunderous strike from midfielder Lori Chalupny in stoppage time of the first half and an opportunistic […]

The U.S. U-18 men’s national team, coached by Bob Jenkins, will train for three days at the Home Depot Center before heading to Mexico for a 24-team tournament Feb. 3-10 where their first-round opponents will be Atlas, Saprissa, Necaxa, Estudiantes de la Plata and Santos. U-18 U.S. national team roster: GOALKEEPERS: Warren Gross (Greenfield Center, […]

By Ridge Mahoney Senior Editor, Soccer America RIVALDO? Since Friday, news outlets have been reporting that the New York Red Bulls are locked in a bidding war with Mexican club Necaxa for former Brazilian international Rivaldo, 34, who has been playing in Greece for Olympiakos. A source says that New York has used its second […]