Category: Soccer America Daily

By Ridge Mahoney Senior Editor, Soccer America Since so many cybersoccer columnists dredge up arcane rock references for whatever reason – nostalgia, faux retro-hipness, or brain-synapse degeneration directly related to dubious lifestyle choices – in their prose, this entry is so titled. However, it is not a tribute to the great, unheralded power-blues band of […]

“They were spotted by one of our security guards. No one could quite believe a bloke like him, with all that money, would be moronic enough to nick a toilet seat.” — The employee of the store from which Glen Johnson, 22, who earns $60,000 weekly playing for English Premier League club Portsmouth, got caught […]

A Buenos Aires tattooist, who is also a River Plate fan, is being sued for etching a penis on the back of teenager who requested the Boca Juniors logo, according to UPI. “I could not see what he was tattooing because he didn’t have a mirror. I only saw it when I got home and […]

The U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame is seeking a new president and chief operating officer in the wake of the resignation of Will Lunn, who was president the last 10 years and served the Hall of Fame for 16 years. The Hall of Fame is located in Oneonta, N.Y. Candidates should submit a resume […]

By Ridge Mahoney Senior Editor, Soccer America With four teams being led by first-time head coaches and a whole new expansion scenario north of the border, where Mo Johnston will be assisted by a man 22 years his senior who brought him to Kansas City, one of the eternal verities of MLS crops up yet […]

With the Four Nations Tournament beginning Friday in Guangzhou, the big mystery in China concerns the status of women’s national team coach Ma Liangyu. Speculation is rife that Ma will be replaced by a foreign coach, perhaps women’s national team technical adviser Eckhard Krautzun, the former NASL and Canada national team coach. Ma has failed […]

Coach Tad Bobak is bringing in 26 players for the U.S. under-15 girls national team’s first training camp of the year Jan. 22-28 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. This will be the first national team training camp experience for all of the players in this youngest level of the U.S. women’s program. […]

Boys or girls who play soccer at least two times a week and who wear size junior 4 shoes are being sought by Reebok’s Human Performance Engineering Lab to serve as product testers. Contact Michelle Garren at: Michelle.Garren@reebok.com

Clint Dempsey, who joined Fulham on a $4 million transfer fee from the New England Revolution, made his English Premier League debut on Saturday in a 1-1 tie with Tottenham Hotspur. Dempsey came on against Tottenham in the 81st minute, joining fellow Americans Carlos Bocanegra and Brian McBride, who both started and went the full […]

By Ridge Mahoney Senior Editor, Soccer America SOCCER AMERICA REPORT CARD (1=low; 5=average; 10-high) RATING PLAYER (CLUB CAPS/GOALS) STARTERS: 5 Matt Reis (New England 2/0) 5 Chris Albright (Los Angeles 20/1) 7 Bobby Boswell (D.C. United 2/0) 6 Jim Conrad (Kansas City 18/0) 6 Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA 1/1) 7 Ricardo Clark (Houston 2/0) 5 […]

By Ridge Mahoney Senior Editor, Soccer America As debuts go, it wasn’t bad. As debutants go, it was great. Jonathan Bornstein and Kenny Cooper celebrated their first USA caps with their first international goals as interim head coach Bob Bradley embarked on his tenure with a 3-1 win over Denmark at Home Depot Center Saturday […]

"Beckham still has six months of his contract left and he has to complete them. Beyond that it is up to the coach [whether he plays or not]." — Real Madrid sporting director Predrag Mijatovic stating Monday that David Beckham won’t be coming early to MLS. (Reuters)

The USA qualified for its sixth straight FIFA U-20 World Cup by winning Group A at the CONCACAF Final Round Qualifying Tournament. After a 0-0 tie with Guatemala on Friday night left the USA in danger of possibly missing out on this summer’s U-20 championships in Canada, Haiti did the Americans a favor by beating […]

Manchester United lost a chance to add distance between itself and defending champion Chelsea’s when it fell to Arsenal, 2-1, after conceding two goals in the last seven minutes. The loss came a day after Chelsea lost to Liverpool, 2-0. United, looking for its first league title since 2003, has 57 points, six more than […]

“You have shown a lack of respect. You are liars. You told the fans that I had bought a house in Los Angeles and that I had already agreed a contract but that is not true. The club, my teammates, and the coach have treated me well and have my respect but you two will […]

The USA, which last took the field on June 22 in a 2-1 loss to Ghana that eliminated it from the World Cup in the first round and led to the firing of Coach Bruce Arena, returns to the field for a friendly against Denmark at the Home Depot Center under interim head coach Bob […]

By Ridge Mahoney Senior Editor, Soccer America A former Manchester United right-sided midfielder, renowned for remarkable crosses, comes to America to play in Major League Soccer. David Beckham won’t be the first, whether he comes this month or in the summer. Regardless of the time frame, it won’t be soon enough for Colorado midfielder Terry […]

Major League Soccer teams selected 51 players in the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft on Thursday afternoon. 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft Picks Among the player selected were two players from NCAA Division I champion UC Santa Barbara — goalie Kyle Reynish (Real Salt Lake) and Ghanaian midfielder Eric Primpong (Kansas City). Other draftees of note included […]

Chelsea fans will be rooting for Arsenal on Sunday when the Gunners host English Premier League leader Manchester United (TV: Fox Soccer Channel, live, 11 am ET). Third-place Arsenal is only a longshot to win the EPL title, trailing United by 15 points, but the Gunners could cut into United’s six-point lead over second-place Chelsea […]

Trinidad & Tobago, Guadeloupe and Cuba joined Haiti, which had qualified earlier in the week, as the Caribbean’s four entrants in the 2007 Gold Cup. They qualified by securing the top two spots in the two groups at the Digicel Caribbean Cup. Host T&T won the Sedley Joseph Group with a 3-1 win over Haiti […]

The second half of the Mexican First Division season begins Friday night when UAG hosts Tigres in the first of nine games scheduled for the opening weekend of play in the Torneo Clausura. Mexico national team striker Francisco Fonseca will debut for Tigres after just six months at Portuguese club Benfica. Kikin rejected claims he […]

Brian McBride scored in his second straight FA Cup game – notching his ninth goal in all competitions this season – as Fulham beat Leicester City in a third-round replay, 4-3. Carlos Bocanegra went the full 90 in defense and received a yellow card – his third in the last three games. Fulham faces Stoke […]

Back in the late 1980s, a group of young players brought American soccer out of the hinterlands. Most accounts of that era highlight names such as Paul Caligiuri, Tab Ramos and John Harkes. But anyone close to the U.S. national team in those days will never forget the large, jovial goalkeeper who brought a big […]

"David Vanole was one of the pioneers at the start of a new era for U.S. Soccer. I remember very well his impact on the team at the 1988 Olympics and in helping the United States end a very long World Cup drought in 1989. He should be remembered for that right alongside the other […]

Denmark coach Morten Olsen brought a 21-player contingent to face the USA Saturday in Bob Bradley’s debut match as U.S. national team coach (TV: ESPN2, 4:50 pm ET). Denmark’s Ligalandsholdet (League select team) is an inexperienced team. Only six players have been capped for a total of 31 international appearances. Michael Gravgaard of Superligaen champion […]