Category: Soccer America Daily

Captain Kristine Lilly scored on a superb strike in the 68th minute to give the U.S. women’s national team a 1-0 victory against neighbor Canada in the championship of the 2006 Peace Queen Cup Saturday in Seoul, South Korea. USA-Canada Game Summary Reaction after USA-Canada Lilly took a ball from Aly Wagner in the right […]

Unlike the two-leg quarterfinals, the MLS semifinals will be decided in one game. D.C. UNITED vs. NEW ENGLAND Sunday, 4 pm ET, ESPN2 (live) The New England Revolution, last season’s runner-up to Los Angeles (which didn’t reach the playoffs this season) stands in D.C. United’s path to a fifth MLS title. D.C. United was the […]

“The toughest thing is I had a coach who lost faith in what I could do, and that’s never happened to me before. That was the hardest thing. Every athlete goes through a period where they don’t play. No one’s immune to it, and I certainly don’t want to think I’m immune to it. That […]

New England coach Steve Nicol was fined $2,000 for public criticism of league officials in the Oct. 27 Boston Globe on the suspension of Shalrie Joseph for the second leg quarterfinal. Nicol’s called the suspension “… a disgrace and it shows the people making the decision shouldn’t be.” In his tirade, called the decision “laughable,” […]

The U.S. women’s national team beat the Netherlands, 2-0, Thursday on goals from forward Lindsay Tarpley and defender Cat Whitehill in the first half to advance to the Peace Queen Cup final on Saturday against Canada. The USA-Netherlands result left Denmark needing to beat Australia by three goals in the following match to have a […]

In a surprise move, the Canadian Soccer Association announced Thursday that it fired Chief Operating Officer Kevan Pipe, who headed the CSA’s day-to-day operations since 1985. “We’re looking for someone that maybe can give us the vision for the future,” CSA president Colin Linford said. “Maybe someone that can lead us in a direction with […]

Bayern Munich and Schalke will both be under pressure when the German Bundesliga clubs meet in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday (TV: Gol TV, live, 10:55 am ET). Second-place Bayern was whistled off the field by its fans after its 0-0 tie with Sporting Lisbon on the Champions League on Tuesday. With injuries to Bastian Schweinsteiger and […]

“I was afraid that we would lose some of our players because most of them probably have never used the metro before and could have got lost there. I had to chase after everyone and make sure no one was left behind.” — Spartak Moscow coach Vladimir Fedotov, whose team had to take the Moscow […]

The late George Best, who once said, “I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered,” will be featured on 5-pound ($10.61) bills issued by Ulster Bank Ltd., which begins distributing one million bills with Best’s image in November to mark the one-year anniversary of his death. […]

Kristine Lilly scored her 115th career goal against Australia at the Peace Queen Cup, not her 155th as reported in Wednesday’s Daily. Lilly is the U.S. women’s second all-time leading scorer behind retired Mia Hamm (158).

As the MLS season comes to a close speculation begins on the fate of coaches whose teams fell short of expectations. John Ellinger, for example, has failed to reach the playoffs with Real Salt Lake for the second straight season. Colin Clarke‘s FC Dallas was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the […]

Like defending champion Barcelona, last year’s runner-up, Arsenal, finds its chances of advancing to the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League compromised after drawing at home on the fourth day of group play. Coach Arsene Wenger called the Gunners’ performance on Wednesday their best ever in Europe, but they could only manage to tie […]

“This is a very difficult league to make changes. It’s kind of built on status quo. It’s very difficult to get increasingly better with the system. The system is, in theory, equitable, but it’s a little imbalanced, depending on decisions that are made in terms of how you can bring in different players. We’re hopeful […]

By Ridge Mahoney BEST XI. For the second legs of the MLS quarterfinals played last weekend, here are the top performers: GOALKEEPER. Matt Pickens (Chicago). He staved off numerous Revs attacks with eight saves while surpassing his first playoff performance the week before. Not the equal of Matt Reis in the penalty-kick shootout, but who […]

The Mexican soccer federation (FMF) has confirmed it has narrowed the field down to two candidates for the position of national team coach. The unnamed candidates to succeed Ricardo La Volpe are believed to be a pair of Mexican league club coaches: former Mexico superstar Hugo Sanchez and former Argentina midfielder Americo Gallego. The outspoken […]

Defending champion Barcelona finds itself fighting for survival in the UEFA Champions League after a 2-2 tie at home Tuesday night with English champion Chelsea left it third in Group A with two games to play. Barca twice took the lead on goals by Deco and former Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen but twice gave up […]

The USA got spectacular first-half finishes from Kristine Lilly (her 155th career goal) and Natasha Kai (making her first start) to defeat Australia, 2-0, Tuesday and remain in contention for a berth in the final of the 2006 Peace Queen Cup in South Korea. Greg Ryan‘s Americans next face the Netherlands on Thursday at Suwon […]

“The number of people that I would say we have formally talked to is 13. I think in all of those 13 meetings there have been three people, in one or two cases the candidate had someone else with them, but [U.S. Soccer secretary general] Dan Flynn and I have met with all 13.” — […]

Brazil’s globetrotting national team is cutting back on its travel, going so far as to cut out all home friendlies. After the Brazilian soccer federation (CBF) signed a $369 million deal with Nike in 1996, Brazil toured the world, building its brand as soccer’s most famous national team. But European clubs objected to the wear […]

The U.S. under-17 boys national team finished its month-long tour of Uruguay and Argentina with a 4-4-1 record. The Americans finished second at the Torneo Internacional Sub-17 Provincia de San Luis and third at the Copa Ciudad de Rosario. In the final game of the tour, the U.S. U-17s defeated the Renato Cesarini Academy, 3-1. […]

The USA will take part in the 2007 Copa America, the world’s oldest continental championship, which was launched in 1916 as the South American championship. Since 1993, the South American federation (Conmebol) has invited teams from outside the region. Here’s how they’ve fared: 1993 Mexico (runner-up), USA (first round). Champion: Argentina 1995 USA (fourth place), […]

DaMarcus Beasley made his first start for English Premier League club Manchester City on Monday, playing 71 minutes wide in midfield in a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough. The 24-year-old veteran of two World Cups, limited by injuries to two appearances off the bench since joining the Blues on loan from Dutch power PSV Eindhoven, was […]

By Ridge Mahoney Away goals or penalty kicks? Which is better? When MLS drew up its playoff format, deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis admitted that not using away goals as a tiebreaker increases the chances of overtime and penalty kicks. A league whose regular-season games are often lacking in drama selected a playoff scheme designed to […]

Forward Johann Smith, 19, made his English Premier League debut, coming in with five minutes left as his Bolton club fell, 4-0, to Manchester United. Former U.S. youth national team goalkeeper Quentin Westberg, 20, made his French First Division debut in a 3-1 win over St. Etienne. Westberg replaced injured starter Ronan Le Crom. Westberg, […]

By Ridge Mahoney Houston 2, Chivas USA 0. (agg: 3-2) Houston scored twice after forward Francisco Palencia was sent off by referee Michael Kennedy for two quickly incurred cards in a frenzied, fiercely fought match. The Dynamo, which had pinned Chivas USA in its own third for much of the game, increased its pressure. Brad […]