Category: Soccer America Daily

[MLS] The Red Bulls wound up their preseason by beating one of only two teams to top them last year in elimination matches. At the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., New York defeated Crystal Palace Baltimore (USL-2) with goals by Khano Smith at the tail end of the first half and ex-Palace midfielder Matt Mbuta early in the second period.

[OFF THE POST] Guy Scoggin of New Orleans Newman High School scored on a 70-yard free kick to force a Louisiana state championship game into overtime, in which his team prevailed over Baton Rouge University High.

[INTERNATIONAL] Inter Milan officials have rejected claims that its coach, Jose Mourinho, smacked a fan in the face after Wednesday’s Champions League match in Manchester.

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Clint Dempsey‘s goal for Fulham in a 2-1 loss to Blackburn on Wednesday was his fifth of the season, making him the Cottagers’ second leading scorer behind Andrew Johnson, who has struck six times.

[MLS] Kurt Schmid, the 26-year-old son of head coach Sigi Schmid, has been named to the Seattle Sounders FC staff as a scout and assistant coach.

[HEXAGONAL WARMUP] Mexico beat Bolivia, 5-1, in a friendly before a standing-room crowd of 18,296 at Colorado’s Dick’s Sporting Goods Park to break a three-game losing streak and win their second game after just one win their previous six games, providing a confidence boost ahead of their second final-round World Cup qualifying game.

[ALGARVE CUP] The USA’s bid for a third straight Algarve Cup championship was thwarted when it fell to Sweden on penalty kicks in Wednesday’s final after a 1-1 tie. The only other time in the last seven years the Americans failed to win the Portuguese tournament was in 2006 when they fell to Germany in a shootout.

[MLS] It seems appropriate that an ambitious plan melding soccer and baseball facilities would toss up a curveball. By a 3-2 vote, the Portland City Council Wednesday approved a funding plan by which more than $60 million in public monies would be loaned so Merritt Paulson — owner of the USL-1 Timbers and minor-league baseball Beavers — can build new stadiums for both teams. However …

[CONCACAF UNDER-20 CHAMPIONSHIP] Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago will join the USA and Honduras as the Concacaf representatives at the 2009 Under-20 World Cup. The Ticos won Group B with a 2-1 victory over Canada on Wednesday. Host T&T will face the USA in Friday’s semifinals after tying Mexico, 2-2, to finish second and qualify for the U-20 finals for the first time since 1991.

[MLS] Red Bull coach Juan Carlos Osorio‘s success last year rebuilding his team with midfielders and defenders from South America and Concacacf was mixed, so he’s turned to Europe, specifically Spain.

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson could have gloated after a big win over his former nemesis Jose Mourinho Wednesday night, but he chose to blast his players after escaping against Inter Milan in what he termed a “game of suicide.” Barcelona, Arsenal and FC Porto also advanced to the quarterfinals.

[MLS] A few days after its spiritual and emotional leader, defender Claudio Suarez, announced his retirement, Chivas USA regained a measure of its Guadalajara tradition by signing a forward born in that city.

[MLS/USL] The second day of play at the Carolina Challenge Cup separated its four participants into the haves and the have-nots. Toronto FC and Real Salt Lake won their second games of the competition Wednesday and will face off for the tournament title on Saturday.

[MLS] A league that has been beaten over the head dozens of times at the ballot box, city council meetings, and legislative sessions is perhaps one vote away from adding another Northwest city to its lineup. The five-member Portland City Council votes Wednesday on a proposed agreement between potential MLS operator-investor Merritt Paulson, who owns the USL-1 Timbers soccer team and minor-league baseball Beavers, and the city to renovate PG&E Park, currently the Beavers’ home, into a first-class soccer facility and build a new baseball park downtown near where the NBA Trailblazers play.

[CONCACAF UNDER-20 CHAMPIONSHIP] While its archrival, Mexico, was unceremoniously dumped from the tournament, the USA got the job done and qualified for the Under-20 World Cup for the seventh straight time, defeating El Salvador, 2-0, in Tuesday’s group finale despite finishing with only nine players.

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Real Madrid has won nine European Cup titles, more than any other club, but that’s all ancient history as the Merengues have failed to get past the first round of the knockout phase for the last five years. Its latest exit was the result of Tuesday’s 4-0 thrashing at Liverpool — its worst defeat in the history of the Champions League. Chelsea, Bayern Munich (with a record aggregate victory) and Villarreal (2-1 winner at Panathinaikos) also advanced.

[MLS] Jon Conway and Jeff Parke, who  tested positive for a banned substance and were suspended by MLS in October for 10 games, will be able to train with their teams once the MLS regular season begins next week.

Three games in the UEFA Champions League will be broadcast live on cable — Barcelona-Lyon, Manchester United-Inter Milan and Roma Arsenal. For all of television details …

Three days after David Beckham came to terms with MLS to stay on loan at AC Milan until July before rejoining the Los Angeles Galaxy, he twisted his ankle in practice.

[2009 GOLD CUP] Concacaf will hold the 2009 Gold Cup in 13 different U.S. cities — a record for a continental championship and once less than the 14 different Spanish cities that hosted games for the 1982 World Cup, a record for an international championship hosted by a single country.

[MLS] If “uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” as the king himself utters in “Henry IV, Part II,” the word hasn’t been passed to members of the Columbus Crew.

[MLS] The four U.S. Open Cup play-in matches for MLS teams have been finalized with the pairing of Real Salt Lake and expansion club Seattle, to be hosted by the Sounders at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila on April 28.

Five of the eight round-of-16 games in the UEFA Champions League will be broadcast live on cable. Action includes Tuesday’s second legs between Liverpool and Real Madrid at Anfield and Juventus and Chelsea in Turin. For all of television action …