Category: Soccer America Daily

Mexican club Toluca, because it reached the semifinals of the Copa Sudamericana and the wild-card playoffs of the Mexican league, ended up with two games on the same day. On Thursday, the Red Devils sent their first team to the Chilean capital of Santiago and fell, 2-1, to Colo Colo in the first-leg of the […]

The 2006 Women’s Gold Cup, which serves as qualifying for the 2007 Women’s World Cup, kicks off Sunday when Mexico plays Trinidad & Tobago with Panama takes on Jamaica in the first round at Miami’s Tropical Park Stadium. The USA faces the Mexico-T&T winner and Canada meets the Jamaica-Panama winner next Wednesday at the Home […]

With only one fit striker available, Spanish leader Barcelona faces a tough test when it travels to Real Mallorca on Sunday (TV: Gol TV, live, 1 pm ET). How the Catalan team fares against La Liga’s best defense (only six goals conceded in 10 outings) should give a clue of how it will do in […]

By Ridge Mahoney Droplets of champagne glistened on his cheeks as all around him delirium reigned. The jubilant Houston locker room was jammed with players, coaches, family members and friends. A large plastic sheet, pooled by melting ice and liquids of a more potent nature, covered the floor as journalists, reporters and camera operators tried […]

Hugo Sanchez finally got his wish. Sanchez, who lobbied hard for the Mexico national team coaching job after the 2002 World Cup but was passed over for Ricardo La Volpe, was named Mexico’s national team coach on Thursday by unanimous consent of Mexico’s 18 First Division club presidents. After losing out to La Volpe, Sanchez […]

The 2006 Super Y-League North American Finals begin Friday and run through next Wednesday in the Tampa area with more than 140 teams competing in 10 boys and girls age groups (U-13 to U-17). 2006 Super Y-League North American finalists MLS’s New York Red Bulls and D.C. United will be represented. The Red Bulls will […]

Bora Milutinovic has been hired as head coach of Jamaica, which will be the fifth team he coaches from the CONCACAF region. The Serbia-born Milutinovic has coached Mexico twice – at the 1986 World Cup it hosted and during qualifying for the 1998 World Cup. (Milutinovic succeeded in qualifying El Tri but was replaced before […]

Several veterans, including New York Red Bull Tony Meola and MLS’s all-time leading scorer Jason Kreis on Salt Lake, have been left unprotected by  for tomorrow’s expansion draft in which 2007 newcomer Toronto may pick 10 players. Each MLS team was allowed to protect 11 players on its current 28-man roster. Among the unprotected veterans […]

"We have offered a contract extension to Beckham. I have spoken to him personally. He is happy here, with his children’s school, the climate … but he is not playing and he wants to wait a little [to decide].” — Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon on David Beckham, who joined the Spanish club from Manchester […]

Germany coach Joachim Loew was correct in his assessment that his team’s trip to Cyprus would be its toughest test yet in Euro 2008 qualifying. Euro ’08 Qualifying Results International Friendly Results Cyprus held Germany to a 1-1 tie on Wednesday in their Group D match in Nicosia. Germany created few good chances after Michael […]

The USA’s first game since the 2006 World Cup will take place at the Home Depot Center Jan. 20 against Denmark — a game that should mark the debut of the USA’s new coach. The USA and Denmark have met four times in their history. The USA lost once and tied three. The game, which […]

Brazil, which faces Switzerland in a friendly on Wednesday (TV: Live on Fox Soccer Channel & Fox Sports en Espanol, 2:30 pm ET), hopes to extend its four-game unbeaten run, which started after Dunga took the coaching helm following the Brazilians’ disappointing World Cup ’06 showing. After a 1-1 tie at Norway, Dunga guided the […]

“I played in Brazil until I was 6. It’s the most carefree soccer in the whole world. You kind of just play, do what you want with the ball and if you lose it and you just try and get it back. No yelling or anything like that. It’s a real technical kind of soccer. […]

Injuries are forcing national team coaches to make last-minute moves before Wednesday’s Euro 2008 qualifiers and international friendlies. But as Germany coach Joachim Loew discovered, it’s important to have to have the right telephone number when making these callups. Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Paul Freier almost missed his call-up as a replacement in Germany’s squad for […]

Before Freddy Adu, Junior Agogo was supposed to be MLS’s big Ghana-born star. Agogo, born in Accra, played for five English clubs before moving to MLS, where he debuted at the age of 20 for the Chicago Fire in 2000. But after one game, he was traded to Colorado, and then moved to San Jose, […]

“She should not be here. I know that sounds sexist, but I am sexist, so I am not going to be anything other than that. We have a problem in this country with political correctness, and bringing women into the game is not the way to improve refereeing and officialdom. … When do we reach […]

By Ridge Mahoney Starting next season, MLS teams will be required to field at least two youth teams, the first step in a program of club-driven player development. Ultimately, each league team will field six youth teams ranging in age from U-14 to U-25. Each youth team will include up to 18 players and teams […]

MLS Best IX GOALKEEPER: Troy Perkins (D.C. United) DEFENDERS: Bobby Boswell (D.C. United), Jose Burciaga Jr. (Kansas City Wizards), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards) MIDFIELDERS: Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution), Dwayne De Rosario (Houston Dynamo), Christian Gomez (D.C. United), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire) FORWARDS: Jeff Cunningham (Real Salt Lake), Jaime Moreno […]

American Afshin Ghotbi, an assistant coach with South Korea’s national team, was denied a visa to enter his native Iran, where Iran and South Korea are set to square off in an Asian Cup qualifier on Wednesday. Ghotbi, 42, left Iran in his early teens and now has American citizenship. He joined the South Korea […]

Mexico’s soccer championship resembles many American sports leagues, whose playoffs include more teams than are eliminated at the end of the regular season. Ten of the 18 teams in Mexico’s Torneo Apertura advanced to the playoffs, which begin this weekend with the four-team Repechaje, or play-in. The top two teams in each of its three […]

Barcelona moved back into first place in Spain’s La Liga with a 3-1 win over Real Zaragoza on Sunday, but the victory was potentially costly as Barca fears Argentine teenager Lionel Messi will be sidelined for up to three months after suffering a foot injury during the game. The 19-year-old Messi limped off in the […]

“When [Brian] Ching’s header hit the net, I was in a state of disbelief. You go from complete despair to complete elation. I think it really kind of gave us an edge because we were really trying to win the game again. People were jumping up and down on the bench [after the goal] but […]

Two Americans met in Germany when Hamburg SV, with defensive midfielder Benny Feilhaber, 21, now a regular starter, tied 1-1 at Borussia Moenchengladbach, whose keeper Kasey Keller, who left the game with a shoulder injury in the 32nd minute, after which HSV got its goal. Defender Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 came back to earth […]

By Ridge Mahoney in Frisco, Texas The performance of both teams in this year’s MLS championship game personified their past histories, which meant failure again for the Revs and triumph again for Houston. Soccer America’s MLS Cup ’06 Report Card A turgid match, much of it as dreary as a 0-0 scoreline would indicate, lit […]

D.C. United playmaker Christian Gomez, who scored 14 goals and notched 11 assists in the regular season, and scored twice in the playoffs before his team was eliminated by New England in the semifinals, was voted 2006 MLS MVP. MLS HONDA MVPs 2006: Christian Gomez D.C. United 2005: Taylor Twellman New England Revolution 2004: Amado […]