“I have absolutely no idea how they got hold of my number but some of the calls have made me sick to my stomach.
— Portsmouth striker Jermain Defoe, who has received death threats from Portmouth fans reacting to his expected move from the club to Tottenham, Manchester City or Juventus, which is reportedly offering a $29 million transfer fee. (BBC)
“I believe we will have Kenny [Cooper] for this year. All I know, we got an O.K. to count on Kenny for the season.” FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman says that the U.S. national team striker won’t be moving abroad just yet.
[SPAIN] A new year began as the last left off as Barcelona extended its unbeaten streak to 16 matches in La Liga with a 3-1 home win against Mallorca on Saturday.
Spanish referee Jose Manuel Barro Escandon sent off 19 players after a mass brawl in a game between Recreativo Linense and Saladillo de Algeciras in the Cadiz region. Linense was leading 1-0 when the fight broke out in the 54th minute. Escandon, who had already sent off one player, abandoned the game, went to his […]
[ENGLAND] Nottingham Forest is a shade of its former glorious self, fourth from the bottom in the second-level League Championship, but that didn’t prevent the former European Cup champion from pulling the biggest upset of the FA Cup weekend with a 3-0 win over Manchester City. For more on the FA Cup weekend and the fourth-round draw …
[WORLD CUP 2010] The notion that organizing the World Cup in South Africa is like organizing it anywhere else is pure fantasy as evidenced by the news that Jimmy Mohlala, a member of the Nelspruit venue organizing committee and an outspoken critic of corruption in stadium construction contracts, was murdered at his home Sunday night.
Fourth division Romorantin produced the biggest upset in the French Cup by beating Ligue 1’s Nancy on penalty kicks on Saturday. Porto took over the lead in Portugal following Benfica’s 2-0 loss to Trofense. For all the weekend scores and goal scorers …
“When I became president of Barcelona in 2003 it was a car with three wheels … Now it is a Ferrari with five wheels.”
— FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta tries to steer an analogy. (Futboltotal.com)
Landon Donovan arrived in Dubai, where Bayern Munich is holding its midseason training camp, on Sunday to begin his 75-day loan with the German power from the Los Angeles Galaxy. The 26-year-old said he hopes the loan leads to a long-term stay.
[U.S. SOCCER] Ten games in the final round 2010 World Cup qualifying are just part of the USA’s crowded 2009 schedule, which includes two major tournaments and a Jan. 24 home friendly to kick off the year.
[U.S. SOCCER] Coach Bob Bradley invited 25 players into the first U.S. national team camp of the year, including nine uncapped players and 10 players with 10 appearances or fewer. The squad convened Jan. 4 at the Home Depot Center to prepare for a Jan. 24 friendly against Sweden and to give Bradley a look at more candidates for the final phase of 2010 World Cup qualifying.
“It’s obviously a high point to be able to score against one of the best teams in the world. It’s the first time I’ve scored twice in a Premiership game. It rates up there near the very top (of my career). I mean, nothing is better than scoring in the World Cup [which Dempsey accomplished against Ghana in 2006], but it has to be up there because you don’t play against the best in the world, or play against the best competition, all the time.”
— Clint Dempsey on his two goals for Fulham in its 2-2 tie Sunday with Chelsea. (goal.com)
[INTERLIGA] The InterLiga, which kicks off on Friday, features eight of Mexico’s top clubs in search of two spots in the 2009 Libertadores Cup. Club America America and Guadalajara, which meet Saturday in an InterLiga clasico in Houston, used the break between the Torneo Apertura and the Torneo Clausura to load up on reinforcements. Among the players on the move in major deals were U.S. products Carlos Ochoa (Guadalajara) and Edgar Castillo (Club America), both now Mexican internationals. MLS players Francisco Mendoza (Guadalajara) and Diego Jimenez (UAG) are also expected to take part in the InterLiga. For all the key moves …
[MLS] Another highly-regarded college player has come back to MLS after failing to land a spot in Europe. Former Duke midfielder Michael Videira has signed with the New England Revolution following a six-month stint in Scotland.
[MAKING A LIST] The Houston Dynamo failed in its bid to sign Mexican Luis Angel Landin (loaned by Morelia to Cruz Azul), leaving Swede Freddie Ljungberg as the one foreign signing of note for the 2009 season. The only Americans who moving overseas are New England’s Michael Parkhurst and Toronto FC’s Hunter Freeman, who are headed to Scandinavia. For the all MLS player movement …
[FRANCE] For the third year in a row, France’s Ligue 1 showed a profit with its 20 clubs netting a profit of $35 million for the 2007-08 season.
[OFF THE POST] The second-round match between sixth-level Droylsden and fourth-level Chesterfield may go down as the strangest match in English FA Cup history. It took four games before there was a winner, Droylsden, and that was reserved when it was discovered that defender Sean Newton, who scored both goals in the 2-1 win, was ineligible. Before that, games were halted for fog and light failure, and the third match ended in a 2-2 tie when Chesterfield allowed a Droylsden player to score straight from the kickoff to make up for one of its players taking a ball put back in play following an injury and lobbing the Droylsden keeper.
“The funny thing is Rick and Griff get on very well. They even had a party over Christmas at which they exchanged shirts. But Rick is a very volatile person and I can’t condone what he did.”
— Stoke City manager Tony Pulis, on teammates Ricardo Fuller and Andy Griffin. Fuller slapped Griffin, the Stoke captain, after the latter failed to stop West Ham’s Carlton Cole for the equalizer in their EPL game on Sunday, Fuller was sent off by referee Michael Jones, and West Ham went on to win, 2-1. (Guardian)
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Clint Dempsey doubled his output for the season with two goals, including a last-gasp header, that gave streaking Fulham a 2-2 tie with Chelsea that put a dent in its London neighbor ‘s title hopes. Meanwhile, Tim Howard extended his shutout string to four games in Everton’s wins over Middlesbrough and Sunderland.
[MLS] The Columbus Crew lost Coach Sigi Schmid to the Seattle Sounders FC, but it has retained the stars of its 2008 championship team. First, MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto re-upped, and now Defender of the Year Chad Marshall has re-signed for the 2009 season.
[SERBIA] Neven Subotic, one of the most sought-after young defenders in the world, has informed U.S. Soccer that he will be switching allegiances and play for Serbia at the senior national team level. Subotic, who represented the USA at the 2005 Under-17 World Cup, joins the list of U.S. youth system products who have decided to represent a national team other than the United States at the senior level.
[HONDURAS] Kansas City Wizards rookie Roger Espinoza has been called up for the Honduran national team’s training camp that begins Thursday in Miami.
[ENGLAND] Liverpool was the big winner during the English Premier League’s abbreviated holiday program, defeating Bolton Wanderers, 3-0, and Newcastle, 5-1, to open up a three-point lead over Chelsea at the top of the standings.
[ARGENTINA] Boca Juniors won Argentina’s Torneo Apertura despite losing to upstart Tigre, 1-0, in the final game of a three-team playoff.
Play over the holiday weekend was limited to England, the Netherlands and Scotland. At the halfway mark, AZ is first in the Netherlands after its 1-0 win over NEC. In Scotland, Celtic moved seven points ahead of archrival Rangers with a 1-0 win at Ibrox. (Neither of Rangers’ Americans, DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu, dressed for the Old Firm derby.)
