Category: Soccer America Site

By Mike Woitalla in Hamburg In Saudi Arabia, the law bans alcohol, pork and pornography, and women aren't allowed to drive. In Germany, drinking in public is legal, major newspapers feature naked bodies on their front pages and policewomen drive patrol cars. ''It seemed pretty odd for the first few days,'' said Abdullah Alaraifi, a […]

USA-ITALY ANALYSIS By Ridge Mahoney in Kaiserslautern Tactical and personnel adjustments were made by the USA before and after kickoff of the Group E match against Italy played Saturday that ended 1-1, yet the primary changes were emotional, spiritual and psychological. An American team that had been overwhelmed by the Czech Republic, 3-0, this time […]

By Mike Woitalla in Hamburg It's not often that the United States produces a player like Pablo Mastroeni, an excellent defender with superb attacking skills. He was born in Argentina but immigrated to the USA with his family at age 4 and played his youth soccer in Arizona. His ball-winning ability, combined with a clever […]

USL First Division Wednesday, June 14 Montreal 4 (Gervais 20, Antoniuk 22, Ribeiro 65, Salles 90) Atlanta 1 (Buete 33). Thursday, June 15 Minnesota 1 (Alvino 47) Portland 2 (Kreamalmeyer 14, O Bullen 59). Virginia Beach 1 (Woods 69) Vancouver 2 (Jones 28, Alberts 57). Miami 2 (Romario 8, M Rodriguez 12) Toronto 2 (Pottinger […]

By Mike Woitalla Soccer America Executive Editor in Kaiserslautern Coach Bruce Arena said his team has practiced a lot of 10 against 11, but never nine against 10. Yet the USA managed the task successfully enough to tie World Cup favorite Italy, 1-1. ''I really respect our team for the way they dealt with it,'' […]

June 17 in Foxboro, Mass. New England 1 D.C United 1. Goals: Dorman (Twellman, Cancela) 86; Moreno (Filomeno) 44. New England — Reis, Heaps, Larentowicz, Parkhurst, Lochhead, Ralston, Dorman, Joseph, Cancela, Twellman, Brown (Wynn, 89). D.C. United — Perkins, Erpen, Boswell, Gros, Namoff, Adu, Carroll, Gomez, Simms, Moreno, Filomeno (Walker, 78). Yellow Cards: New England […]

U.S. coach Bruce Arena talked on Sunday about the refereeing at the World Cup: ''I don't think there's any consistency from one game to the next. As one example, a Brazilian player fouled another player 20 yards from the goal in their first game. No card. A U.S. player probably would have to serve six […]

It beats Ghana AND 1. Italy defeats the Czech Republic; or 2. Italy ties the Czech Republic 0-0 or 1-1 AND the United States beats Ghana by at least four goals; or 3. Italy ties the Czech Republic 2-2 or with a higher score AND the United States beats Ghana by five or more goals; […]

90 + 3 FULLTIME – ITALY 1 UNITED STATES 1 The exhausted Americans hold on for a point after playing most of the second half with nine men against 10-man Italy. 90 ACTION – Gilardino heads wide from a good position. 87 ACTION – Del Piero pulls the ball back across the box but Iaquinta […]

Australia heads into Sunday's Group F game against Brazil full of confidence. The Socceroos came from a goal down to beat Japan, 3-1, with three goals in the last 10 minutes and hold the Group F lead over Brazil on goal difference going into their second match. The teams are even in three previous meetings […]

Bizarre scenes in Kaiserslautern By Ridge Mahoney Soccer America Senior Editor in Kaiserslautern World Cup drama takes many forms, but seldom have two teams produced a match as unworldly as the 1-1 tie the USA and Italy played Saturday night at the Fritz-Walter Stadion. One own goal, two disallowed goals and three red cards added […]

By Mike Woitalla in Hamburg Hamburg's AOL Arena turned Latin American when Ecuador faced Costa Rica. Fans streaming out of the train station were greeted by young women distributing Costa Rican bananas they pulled out of red wagon with a sign, ''The Best Bananas in the World.'' Not to be outdone, representatives from the Ecuadorian […]

By Mike Woitalla in Hamburg Forward Hernan Crespo said he swore like hell when he heard Argentina's draw for this World Cup. Fans cried conspiracy, noting archrival Brazil had once again landed in an easy group. But the Group of Death is where the liveliest soccer has taken place. The Argentines, playing the tournament's best […]

Tony Stemberger, Milwaukee What went wrong? No hustle. No attack in the box. No creativity on set plays. No movement. No support. No defense. No coaching. No win. Tim Lenahan, Men's Coach, Northwestern University In 1998, I watched, in person, the most embarrassing moment in U.S. soccer history when the US lost to Iran in […]

Arlington, Va. Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike, 703 486-2345). Admission is free. Atlantic City Ri Ra Irish Pub (South Brighton Avenue & Boardwalk, 609-340-4000. Inside the Tropicana Casino & Hotel. Cincinnati McFadden's Restaurant & Saloon (19 East 7th Street, 513-621-6800). Houston Brian O'Neill's (5555 Morningside, 713-522-2603). Lewisburg, Pa. Damon's Grill Lewisburg (74 Walter […]

Traditional Region III powers Concorde Fire and the Clearwater Chargers won two titles apiece at the Georgia and Florida state finals, respectively, in the U-14 to U-19 divisions. Alabama BOYS Under 19 Under 18 American Jets Blue Under 17 Vestavia Steamers Under 16 Capital City Strikers Under 15 American Jets Blue Under 14 American Jets […]

Under-19 state champions were crowned in California. Headed to the Region IV finals are Arsenal FC (Cal South boys), Santa Rosa United (Cal North boys), Eclipse United (Cal South girls) and De Anza Force (Cal North girls). Alaska BOYS Under 19 Under 18 Under 17 NLSC Dynamo Under 16 Falcons Under 15 CISC Burn Under […]

Chicago Magic won three boys titles and one girls title in the U-14 to U-19 categories at the Illinois state championships. Illinois BOYS Under 19 Sockers FC Under 18 Chicago Magic Under 17 Chicago Magic Under 16 Sockers FC White Under 15 Chicago Magic Under 14 Chicago Wind National GIRLS Under 19 Windy City Pride […]

Founded in 1898, Beadling remains Pennsylvania WestÆs dominant club. It won 11 state titles at the Penn West championships. The U-19 Centennials won their eighth straight state championship. Connecticut BOYS Under 19 Beachside Under 18 West Hartford Under 17 South Central Under 16 South Central Under 15 West Hartford Under 14 Newtown GIRLS Under 19 […]

West Ham United has acquired 20-year-old American Jonathan Spector from Manchester United for 500,000 pounds ($900,000). Spector signed with United in 2003 after being part of the third class at the U.S. U-17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla. The Chicago Sockers product made eight appearances for Manchester United before joining Charlton on loan last season. […]

By Mike Woitalla in Hamburg The cover of the Hamburger Morgenpost consisted of the black-red-gold German flag covered with the headline, ''We're no longer embarrassed by these colors.'' The nation's largest circulation daily, Bild, announced on its cover that ''Black, Red and Gold is Cool,'' and compounded the good news for Germans with an adjacent […]

By Mike Woitalla in Dortmund His cigarette burned down dangerously close to his fluffy mustache as he glanced up at the Polish fans. They held cans of beers in their hands and shouted ''Polska, Polska'' whenever their brethren in white and red shirts moved into the dining car of the train headed to Dortmund. The […]

By Ridge Mahoney in Hamburg Having failed miserably to test a team that fielded three Italian Serie A players, the USA sets out Saturday to face at least 11 of them in a must-win match. Arguments regarding which domestic league is best normally revolve around Serie A, the English Premier League, and Spanish La Liga, […]

By Ridge Mahoney in Hamburg A final rehash of the Gelsenkirchen crunching will serve to examine the various spins put on the proceedings by the principals involved. Just about everybody but DaMarcus Beasley accepted a share of the blame for timid, sloppy play. Coach Bruce Arena pithily examined the teamÆs shortcomings, singled out a few […]

Each team has played its first game at the World Cup. Here's a look at who stood out over the tournament's first 16 games. TIM CAHILL (Australia). The second-half sub scored twice in the last six minutes as the Australia rallied from a goal down to beat Japan, 3-1, in their Group F opener. The […]