“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)
[MLS] Real Salt Lake attained so much in 2008 – opening a new stadium, reaching the playoffs for the first time, reaching the Western Conference final – that the offseason should have been the time to savor those accomplishments and look forward to an even better 2009. Instead, the team and community rallied around Marcia Williams, wife of RSL attacker Andy Williams, in her fight against leukemia. She was diagnosed with the disease last May and this month will undergo aggressive chemotherapy, at the end of which she will need a bone-marrow transplant to have her best chance of survival. The search for a suitable match continues.
[MLS] Of the many needs being addressed by Galaxy coach Bruce Arena, left back has been one of the more problematic.
Mike Randolph played some of his 20 games there as a rookie in 2008, and veteran Ante Jazic, limited by injuries to 15 games, has been traded to Chivas USA. When the Galaxy signed U.S. international Eddie Lewis – who played his college soccer at UCLA — last year, his name was added to list of possibilities to anchor the corner.
[HEXAGONAL] The second U.S. home game of final round World Cup qualifying will take place at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn., April 1. The match against Trinidad & Tobago will be the USA’s third of the Hexagonal, following its Feb. 11 clash with Mexico and its March 28 game at El Salvador.
[OFF THE POST] After Wolverhampton Wanderers fell, 1-0, to Reading last week in the English second division, Wolves coach Mick McCarthy turned the postgame press conference into an R-rated affair.
“In the end we lost a bad third goal because of an individual error by the goalkeeper, but I’m not going to point the finger of blame at anyone for that.”
– Falkirk coach John Hughes’ version of sparing keeper Dani Mallo of blame after a 3-0 loss to Glasgow Rangers. (Irish Times)
[OFF THE POST] With his team stuck in the lower half of the English second division, Coach Nigel Clough decided that the inspirational quotes from famous athletes, politicians and philosophers that adorned the walls of the club’s training facility weren’t much help. He had them painted over and noted, “most of the players can’t read anyway.”
[HALL OF FAME] Coach Bruce Arena, widely considered the USA’s most successful coach for his achievements at the college, MLS and international level, finished first in voting among 2009 National Soccer Hall of Fame “Builder” candidates but failed to reach the 50 percent threshold needed for induction. Also, no “Veteran Players” tallied enough votes for 2009 induction.
[USA-MEXICO COUNTDOWN] Mexico goes into the Feb. 11 World Cup qualifier against the USA in Columbus, Ohio without a win over the Americans on U.S. soil since 1999, and El Tri has won just one of its last six games, but midfielder Antonio Naelson “Sinha” is expressing confidence.
[MLS] Toronto FC posted a much better record in 2008 than it did in its expansion season, and judging by the enthusiasm of coaches and players, another quantum leap is not out of the question.
[2018/2002 WORLD CUP] The 2018/2022 World Cup bid process officially began on Monday, and one of the two World Cups is surely the USA’s to lose. But there is no certainty in a much more sophisticated soccer world than the one that existed 21 years ago when the USA was awarded the 1994 World Cup.
[2018/2022 WORLD CUP] Sunil Gulati‘s first act as chairman of the USA Bid Committee was to announce the hiring of David Downs, President of Univision Sports since 2001, as its executive director. Gulati also announced the other initial members of the bid committee: U.S. Soccer CEO Dan Flynn, MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Phil Murphy, the former National Finance Chair of the Democratic National Committee.
[MLS] The track records of Designated Players took another hit last week when D.C. United and Marcelo Gallardo concluded negotiations to terminate his contract.
“We’re desperate to sign him and I will keep hoping until the last possible moment.”
— AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani, on David Beckham, who assisted on two goals in Serie A last weekend. Beckham’s cuurent loan deal from the MLS has him slated to return to MLS on March 9. (AFP)
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Clint Dempsey continues to be one of the few U.S. field players enjoying a good run with his foreign club.
[AMERICANS IN GERMANY] Landon Donovan was a 77th minute sub for Bayern Munich, which fell 1-0 at Hamburg SV. Michael Bradley played the full 90 for Borussia Moenchengladbach as his team suffered its league-high 13th loss of the season.
[AMERICANS ABROAD] U.S. Olympian Jozy Altidore, who moved from the New York Red Bulls to the Spanish La Liga’s Villarreal last summer, is going on loan to Spanish second division leader Xerez.
[ENGLAND] It looks like Liverpool, not Chelsea, will be Manchester United’s principal challenger in its title defense. Liverpool beat an uninspired Chelsea team, 2-0, on a pair of late goals by Spaniard Fernando Torres and kept itself within striking distance of leader United. The Red Devils, 1-0 winners over Everton, lead Liverpool by two points and Chelsea by five and have a game in hand on both teams.
[ITALY] With assists on two goals in AC Milan’s 3-0 win at Lazio on Sunday, David Beckham looks more and more comfortable on the Serie A club’s right wing, prompting Coach Carlo Ancelotti to add him to the roster for the upcoming UEFA Champions League series against Werder Bremen.
[GERMANY] The Bundesliga resumed as it left off with tiny Hoffenheim the surprise leader. Despite having lost top scorer Vedad Ibisevic, the former Saint Louis University star, for the rest of the season with a knee injury during the winter break, Hoffenheim brushed aside Energie Cottbus, 2-0, on Saturday.
[SPAIN] Nothing seems to stop Barcelona. Despite trailing at Racing Santander and having two players sent off, Barca still won, 2-1, on a pair of goals by sub Lionel Messi and extended its unbeaten streak to 20 games and its winning streak to nine games. Winner of six straight wins, Real Madrid still trails its archrival by 12 points.
[DIGICEL UNCAF CUP] Panama broke Costa Rica’s streak of three straight Central American championships with its first Digicel Uncaf Cup title, while Nicaragua qualified for the Gold Cup for the first time. Poor performances by El Salvador and Guatemala resulted in the ouster of their coaches.
[USA-MEXICO COUNTDOWN] Mexico received good news when captain Rafael Marquez returned to action ahead of schedule with Spanish leader Barcelona — and got sent off, meaning he’ll miss next weekend’s La Liga action and be rested for the World Cup 2010 qualifier against the United States on Feb. 11. Marquez was one of seven European-based players called up by Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson for the Hexagonal opener.
Lyon and Bordeaux remain separated by only one point at the top of France’s Ligue 1 standings after they both had to settle for ties at home. Rangers moved to within two points of Glasgow rival Celtic in Scotland, while Trabzon tied Sivas for the lead in the Turkey. For all the weekend results and updated standings …
[WPS] Women’s Professional Soccer announced plans for the playoffs of its inaugural campaign that include rewarding the winner of the regular-season championship with a bye into the championship game — and home-field advantage.
