Category: Soccer America Daily

[MLS AWARDS] A goal scored by a goalkeeper — Red Bulls’ Danny Cepero vs. Columbus – is among the five finalists in MLS Goal of the Year Voting. Fans will pick between his 80-yard free kick and strikes by Cuauhtémoc Blanco (last year’s winner), Geoff Cameron, Will Johnson and Robbie Rogers.

[UNDER-17 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP] Winner of the inaugural competitions at the Women’s World Cup in 1991, Women’s Olympic Soccer in 1996 and Under-19 (now Under-20) Women’s World Cup  in 2002, the United States is in position to make it 4-for 4. Kazbek Tambi‘s girls came back from a goal down in the last half hour to beat Germany, 2-1, Thursday night and move into the final of the first Under-17 Women’s World Cup Sunday against North Korea in New Zealand.

[USA] Coach Bob Bradley dipped deeply into the ranks of the vanquished to pick a preliminary squad of 19 players for next week’s World Cup qualifier against Guatemala in Commerce City, Colo., Nov. 19. Teams that missed the MLS playoffs – including Colorado, Toronto FC and FC Dallas – as well as those eliminated last weekend in the conference semifinals fill most of the slots.

[MLS] The Columbus Crew has already won three prestigious awards in the 2008 postseason yet for one of those so honored the most important trophy is yet to be handed out. Coach of the Year Sigi Schmid guided the Crew to the Supporters’ Shield with a league-best record of 17-7-6 by melding a myriad mix of talents and personalities, and extracting performances like that of Chad Marshall, named 2008 Defender of the Year after finishing the 2007 season on injured-reserve following several concussions

[U.S. SOCCER] Landon Donovan was voted 2008 Honda Player of the Year, winning the award for a record fifth time. Donovan, of the Los Angeles Galaxy, was MLS’s leading scorer in the 2008 regular season with 20 goals. He also played nine games for the U.S. national team, scoring three and notching five assists during a year that saw the USA advance to the semifinal round of 2010 World Cup qualifying.

[MLS AWARDS] The Columbus Crew’s Sigi Schmid was named MLS Coach of the Year and San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Darren Huckerby won the Newcomer of the Year Award.

[EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES] Soccer America provides the latest on employment opportunities for soccer-related positions. They include college coaching opportunities, as well as jobs in pro soccer, youth soccer, the soccer industry and television.

The United States faces Germany in the semifinals of the Under-17 Women’s World Cup Thursday in Christchurch, New Zealand (kickoff: 1 am ET; Wednesday 10 pm PT). In the first game of the doubleheader at North Harbour Stadium, North Korea faces England. For all the results and schedules …

[SPAIN] Despite a hat trick from Raul, Real Madrid was dumped out of the Spanish Cup by third division club Irun.

[ENGLAND] A young Arsenal team impressed again in the League Cup, beating a full-strength Wigan Athletic 3-0. Manchester United edged QPR thanks to a late penalty from Carlos Tevez.

[OFF THE POST] Bayern Munich’s Argentine defender Martin Demichelis denied rumors that he injects Botox into his lips before games. “It’s laughable,” Demichelis told BILD newspaper. “I don’t have an earring, any piercings or tattoos. And yet I am supposed to be using Botox?”

Landon Donovan is training for 10 days at Bayern Munich to stay fit, according to Bayern coach Juergen Klinsmann. But some German media have called his visit a trial and speculate that he could be a replacement for unhappy striker Lukas Podolski, the subject of winter transfer rumors.

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Massachusetts product Charlie Davies, 22, scored both of Hammerby’s goals in a 5-2 loss at Norrkoping on the final day of the Swedish 2008 First Division season, giving him 14 goals to tie him with Helsingborgs IF’s Henrik Larsson for fourth place among the Allsvenskan’s leading scorers.

[MLS] The Colorado Rapids scheduled a press conference Tuesday to name their new head coach, which to the surprise of no one is interim head coach Gary Smith, who moved up from his position as assistant coach when Fernando Clavijo resigned in late August.

[MLS AWARDS] Jair Marrufo, one of the U.S. Soccer’s four full-time referees in the program launched last year, has been named 2008 MLS Referee of the Year. Kermit Quisenberry was named the MLS Assistant Referee of the Year.

[OFF THE POST] A Bolivian Libertadores Cup qualifying game between Aurora and Wilstermann featured a players vs. police brawl that ignited after a dozen officers took to the field to remove red-carded Aurora defender Eduardo Zenteno. His teammates’ battle against the cops, summoned after Zenteno delayed his departure, included karate kicks and corner-flag swinging.

[ENGLAND] Ipswich Town midfielder David Norris was fined by his club for celebrating a goal with a handcuff gesture that was interpreted as a dedication to his former teammate Luke McCormick, who is serving a prison sentence for killing two boys in a drunk-driving car accident on the way home from Norris’ wedding in June of 2007.

[ARGENTINA] River Plate battled back from a three-goal deficit to claim a draw in Diego Simeone‘s final game as coach.

[MLS] Dane Richards (New York Red Bulls) and Yura Movsisyan (Real Salt Lake) were the highest-rated players based on the grades of Soccer America editors during the MLS quarterfinals that concluded Sunday.

[AMERICANS IN GERMANY] Defensive midfielder Michael Bradley returned to Borussia Moenchengladbach’s starting lineup after coming off the bench last weekend and helped Gladbach win its first road game of the season. The 2-0 victory over Arminia Bielefeld moved Gladbach out of the relegation zone. Steve Cherundolo and Neven Subotic, however, suffered losses with their Bundesliga teams.