“At the moment Milan are more important to me than the money. I want to think about football first and about my career. It’s important for me to be allowed to stay at Milan permanently so I can have the chance to play regularly and to be part of England’s World Cup 2010 squad. I haven’t spoken to the Galaxy yet, but someone is doing this on my behalf. I am really hoping that a deal can be reached.”
— David Beckham. (Il Corriere Dello Sport/Goal.com)
[USA-MEXICO COUNTDOWN] There wasn’t all that much suspense regarding which of the European-based players would be selected by Coach Bob Bradley for the Hexagonal opener against Mexico Wednesday in Columbus. So the inclusion of Jozy Altidore, who just went on loan to CD Xerez, and the exclusion of Freddy Adu, stuck on the bench while on loan to Monaco from Benfica, is notable for Adu’s notoriety, but not at all surprising.
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Seven of the 13 foreign-based players on the U.S. roster for Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier against Mexico saw action for their clubs last weekend. Among those who hit the field were Landon Donovan at Bayern Munich and midfielder Jose Francisco Torres, who helped Pachuca to a 3-1 win at Club America in Azteca Stadium.
[HEXAGONAL COUNTDOWN] Costa Rica’s bid to qualify for the World Cup finals for the third straight time begins Wednesday when the young Ticos host Honduras at Saprissa Stadium. Coach Rodrigo Kenton has almost completely made over the team from the one that played at the 2006 World Cup finals.
[SPAIN] Barcelona and Real Madrid ran their winning streaks to 10 and six games, respectively, with victories over the weekend. Barca’s 3-1 win over Sporting Gijon at Camp Nou left it 12 points ahead of Real Madrid, which had edged Racing Santander, 1-0, on Saturday.
[GERMANY] A week after falling out of the lead it shared with surprise Hoffenheim, Bayern Munich moved to within one point of the Bundesliga lead with a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund thanks to two late goals by Miroslav Klose a day after Hoffenheim was held to a 1-1 tie at last-place Borussia Moenchengladbach.
[ENGLAND] Manchester United recorded its 13th straight shutout when it beat West Ham United, 1-0, in London on Ryan Giggs‘ superb goal on Sunday. The victory kept United two points in front of Liverpool, with a game in hand. The Reds had sneaked past Portsmouth, 3-2, on Saturday in a game they were in danger of losing.
[U.S. WOMEN] U.S. women’s national team coach Pia Sundhage called up an all-WPS team of players, 18 in all, for the 2009 Algarve Cup, which will be played March 4-11 in southern Portugal. Five players weren’t members from last year’s Olympic gold-medalist team.
[HEXAGONAL COUNTDOWN] Four years ago, Trinidad & Tobago qualified for the World Cup for the first time after finishing fourth in the Hexagonal and then beating Bahrain in a playoff. The Soca Warriors hope to do better and claim one of the three automatic berths from Concacaf to the 2010 World Cup. They hope to steal three points in San Salvador on Wednesday when they face El Salvador, a team in shambles.
Women’s Professional Soccer has released the schedule for its inaugural season. Each team will play a 20-game regular-season schedule with 10 home games and 10 away games.
[MLS] Official word came Thursday that San Jose has signed former USL-1 player Cam Weaver to its attacking contingent. Weaver, 25, is a native of Washington state who won USL-1 Rookie of the Year honors and tied for the league lead in scoring three years ago.
[MLS] Chivas USA confirmed that its 2008 team MVP, midfielder Sacha Kljestan, will be back for the 2009 season after testing the waters in Europe with a week-long trial at Glasgow Celtic in January.
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[USA-MEXICO COUNTDOWN] Mexico captain Rafael Marquez, who just two weeks ago was expected to miss El Tri’s World Cup qualifying against the USA in Ohio because of a muscle strain, scored on a free kick in Barcelona’s 2-0 Spanish Copa del Rey first-leg semifinal win over Mallorca. Marquez is one of seven European-based players called up by Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson for the Hexagonal opener.
“I really didn’t have the opportunity to see the full context of his comments. However, we have been evaluating the situation. We are going to do in the end whatever is best for the Galaxy. There is always a contingency plan for everything. … At the end of the day we are going to do what we think is best for our team and continue to try to build the team to be a playoff contender.”
— Los Angeles Galaxy coach Bruce Arena on David Beckham‘s comments indicating he wants to stay with AC Milan instead of returning to MLS. (AP)
[USA-MEXICO COUNTDOWN] While Mexico is plagued by injury problems and suspensions, many of the Americans playing abroad are struggling with their foreign clubs going into next Wednesday’s Hexagonal opener against Mexico. For an update on the U.S. foreign legion. …
[AMERICANS ABROAD] DaMarcus Beasley, who hasn’t seen league action for Glasgow Rangers since Dec. 6, scored in a 2-2 tie with AC Milan in a friendly on Wednesday. Beasley’s American teammate Maurice Edu, who has played only one league game since joining Rangers last summer, notched an assist. David Beckham played the first 45 minutes for Milan.
[MLS] During a training session at the Oakland Coliseum Wednesday, Quakes general manager John Doyle tried not to confirm that midfielder Bobby Convey is headed to San Jose. He succeeded, and failed, at the same time.
“I don’t know. AC Milan rang up yesterday with the same question. They’re obviously doubtful whether the Galaxy would let both go. But if I know my Americans, it probably comes down to the price.”
— Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge upon being asked whether he could imagine the Los Angeles Galaxy allowing both Landon Donovan to join Bayern and David Beckham to sign for AC Milan. And German clubs don’t consider price when their players are courted? Bitte! (fcbayern.de)
[AMERICANS IN ENGLAND] Goalkeeper Brad Guzan, Brad Friedel‘s understudy at English Premier League club Aston Villa, was called into action and made one fine save as Villa downed second division Doncaster, 3-1, in a fourth-round FA Cup replay. Everton’s Tim Howard, whom Guzan backs up with the U.S. national team, celebrated 1-0 win over Liverpool.
[MLS] There’s about a month to go until David Beckham is due back from his loan spell at AC Milan, and he continues to publicly declare his preference to stay where he is. “I have expressed my desire now to stay in Milan and hopefully the clubs can come to some agreement,” he said to Reuters news service Wednesday after playing for Milan in a friendly with Glasgow Rangers.
[HEXAGONAL PREVIEW] Coming off a strong semifinal round, where it won its group ahead of Mexico, Jamaica and Canada, Honduras certainly has demonstrated it has the talent to claim one of the three automatic berths from Concacaf to next year’s World Cup finals in South Africa, but the Catrachos, hit hard by injuries and suspensions, open the Hexagonal Wednesday with a tricky match at Costa Rica on Saprissa Stadium’s artificial turf.
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Bayern Munich has added Landon Donovan to its European Champions League roster while Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said the club will decide in the next few weeks whether to pursue a long-term deal with the American.
[USA-MEXICO VIEWING] Have you made your plans to watch the USA-Mexico game Wednesday in Columbus (TV: ESPN2, Univision, live 7 pm ET)? Here are soccer viewing establishments across the country where you should be able to watch the game with fellow U.S. supporters.
[MAKING A LIST] FC Gold Pride of Women’s Professional Soccer signed its first foreigner when 30-year-old Brazilian Formiga, a veteran of four Women’s World Cups and four Olympic tournaments, agreed to a one-year contract. Formiga was the first overall draft pick at the WPS International Draft. Of the seven WPS teams, only the St. Louis Athletica has not concluded a deal with one of the foreigners to which it holds WPS rights. For all the foreign signings …
“My wife cringes every time someone calls me Sir Alex or calls her Lady Cathy. She says to me: ‘I don’t know why you accepted it in the first place.'”
— Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson reflects on his knighthood, bestowed on him by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999. (The Times)
