Category: Soccer America Daily

Landon Donovan scored the go-ahead goal for defending Open Cup champion Los Angeles in its 3-1 semifinal win over the Houston Dynamo, which, when it was the San Jose Earthquakes, had been eliminated four previous times by L.A. from the Open Cup. Alan Gordon, who notched two goals last weekend for the Galaxy in MLS […]

“Even Ballack scored” — Headline in German daily Bild after captain Michael Ballack, who went scoreless at the 2006 World Cup, scored one of Germany’s goals in its 13-0 win over San Marino, the world’s smallest republic with a population of 24,000 that is located in the middle of northeast Italy.

France’s emphatic 3-1 victory over Italy Wednesday night in Euro 2008 qualifying doesn’t make up for its loss to Italy on penalty kicks in the 2006 World Cup. Nor does it mean the Bleus have clear sailing to the Euro 2008 final, which will take place in Austria and Switzerland. “There are still 10 matches […]

Will Lunn has resigned as president of the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame after a decade in the position and 16 years of serving the Hall of Fame. A search committee for the new president is being formed. In the interim, board secretary and Hall of Famer George Brown (Class of 1995) will serve […]

The Los Angeles Galaxy’s quest to become the first back-to-back U.S. Open winner since the New York Pancyprian-Freedoms did it in 1982-83 requires a semifinal win Wednesday over the Houston Dynamo at the Home Depot Center. The Dynamo, which was the San Jose Earthquakes before going Texan this season, lost to the Galaxy four times […]

After going into the 2006 World Cup as a consensus favorite and falling in the quarterfinals, Brazil chose former hard man midfielder Dunga to put the Samba boys back on track. Dunga brought several new faces to the squad to play two friendlies in London and started two almost entirely different lineups in wins on […]

"The players want to go elsewhere." — Romania coach Victor Piturca on his team’s request to move its games from the eastern city of Constanta because, after giving up a 2-0 lead in the last eight minutes to Bulgaria for a 2-2 tie on Saturday, they believe it is jinxed. The cities of Bucharest, Timisoara […]

It is being billed as a grudge match. The French sporting press with its predilection for using English expressions are calling it “le remake.” Less than two months after Italy beat France in the 2006 World Cup final on penalty kicks, they meet Wednesday in Euro 2008 qualifying at the Stade de France (TV: Setanta […]

Preston Burpo was the Chivas USA keeper who was beaten twice by Christian Gomez in D.C. United’s 2-1 win.

Police in Trenton, Ohio, arrested two women for allegedly smoking marijuana while at their children’s soccer practice. The two soccer moms were accused of sharing a joint in a minivan in the parking lot, according to WLWT-TV in Cincinnati. The police, responding to complaints, smelled the marijuana and discovered a joint in one of the […]

After the Colorado Rapids beat Real Salt Lake, 1-0, in an ill-tempered game, Colorado’s Pablo Mastroeni taunted the Salt Lake crowd and made obscene gestures on what was a Youth Soccer Night that drew more than 17,000 fans to Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mastroeni’s behavior also prompted a confrontation with Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts that […]

"He went on to threaten that if he was forced to play, or if he was disciplined and financially punished for his breach of the rules, that he could score an own goal or get himself sent off, or make deliberate mistakes." — A statement by English Premier League club Chelsea on French defender William […]

Both the U.S. U-20 and U-17 national teams suffered embarrassing losses to their hosts at international tournaments. Thomas Rongen‘s U-20s fell to South Korea, 5-0, in the opening game of the Busan Four Nations International Tournament. The U-20s, who were clearly affected by the late summer humidity in steamy port city of Busan, then lost […]

Gunmen kidnapped Iraqi soccer star Ghanim Khudheyir just days before he was due to sign a transfer to a Syrian club to escape the raging violence in his homeland. The 22-year-old Khudheyir, a striker who helped Al Quwa Al Jawiya, the Iraqi Air Force club, win the first post-war championship in 2005, was taken from […]

Christian Gomez scored the gamewinner in D.C. United’s 2-1 win over Chivas USA after taking the ball at the halfway line, evading three Chivas players and stroking the ball past keeper Troy Perkins. He also scored D.C. United’s first goal with a high-powered swerving free kick from sharp angle. … D.C. United became the first […]

Montreal followed up clinching a spot last week by ensuring a bye to the semis this week, while Rochester, Charleston and Vancouver joined the Impact in the postseason. The Battery did so in impressive fashion, earning seven points of nine on a West Coast swing with a draw in Vancouver and wins at Seattle and […]

“Of course, we expected to perform well. But not like this. … This match is not going to define everything. But it’s always good to beat Argentina.” — Brazil coach Dunga, who took over after its quarterfinal World Cup exit, on a 3-0 friendly win Sunday over Argentina before a crowd of 59,028 in London. […]

For the first time ever, the USA didn’t finish among the top three teams at a women’s world championship. For the second straight game, Tim Schulz‘s Americans fell in a shootout, losing to Brazil, 6-5, after the third-place game at the Under-20 Women’s World Championship ended in a 0-0 tie. The shootout went eight rounds […]

Lithuania, which has never played in a major championship, held World Cup champion Italy to a 1-1 tie in Naples on Saturday, the first full day of Euro 2008 qualifying. (Click here for complete Euro 2008 qualifying scores and goalscorers.) New Italy coach Roberto Donadoni said he was disappointed with the tie but added he […]

Romario, the hero of Brazil’s 1994 World Cup win, has not disappointed since joining expansion team FC Miami for the 2006 USL1 season at age 40. He has played every minute of 20 games, scoring 17 goals and notching three assists and is the league’s second leading scorer, behind Seattle’s William Weaver, who has stuck […]

U.S. winger DaMarcus Beasley has joined English Premier League club Manchester City on a one-year loan from PSV Eindhoven with an option to buy. The 24-year-old who has played in two World Cups made 56 Dutch Eredivisie appearances and scored 10 goals in two title-winning seasons for PSV. He also played in 16 Champions League […]

Nearly two years since putting the Kansas City Wizards up for sale, Lamar Hunt has sold the club to a six-person group of Kansas City area residents led by Cerner Corporation executives Neal Patterson and Cliff Illig and known as OnGoal LLC. The Cerner Corporation is a supplier of healthcare information technology with almost $1.5 […]

In Major League Soccer, two-thirds of the teams reach the playoffs, making it the most generous of America’s major sports leagues: Major League Soccer (MLS) 8 of 12 (66.6 percent) National Hockey League (NHL) 16 of 30 (53.3 percent) National Basketball Association (NBA) 16 of 30 (53.3 percent) National Football League (NFL) 12 of 32 […]

“The league [MLS] said no to the offer. They said they were not going to sell [Shalrie Joseph] during the season. It was a wonderful opportunity to play for one of the great clubs in the world and to play in the Champions League. I understand why they did it, but I am saddened by […]

The USA fell to China, 5-4, on penalty kicks Thursday in the semifinals of the Under-20 Women’s World Championship in Moscow. Tim Schulz‘s Americans had a chance to win the shootout conducted after the game ended 0-0 after overtime, but Notre Dame’s Brittany Bock hit the outside of the right post on the fifth U.S. […]