With his stint in Germany coming to a rather unceremonious end, Landon Donovan looks to be back in the USA by early next week, giving him just under two weeks to get re-acclimated to L.A. life (although that may only take lunch at Rubio’s and a walk down the Redondo Beach pier) before the Galaxy’s […]
Category: Story
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Saving Grace for Dynamo Backup Goalie Deric
In a feel-good story about “growth, discipline and the amazing healing power of the second chance,” the Houston Chronicle’s Richard Justice, um, chronicles the turnaround tale of Dynamo backup goalkeeper Tyler Deric. Signed by Houston as part of their Academy team, Deric’s MLS career was quickly derailed when a significant lack of commitment caused coach […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Maradona Confident, Committed to Attacking
Former on-field legend Diego Maradona is committed to similar success just off the field as the new coach of the Argentina, speaking out Thursday to TyC TV to defend his credentials and praise both the players and former Argentina coach and current general manager Carlos Bilardo. “I have proved to myself that I can lead […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Cepero Back For More
While he enters the 2009 season as the Red Bulls incumbent keeper, having been between the posts for the last six games of a season that ended with an unlikely appearance in the MLS Cup final, 23-year-old Danny Cepero “doesn’t expect the starting job to be handed to him on a silver platter,” writes Michael […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Beckham Deal Being Signed Today?
"There is a great probability that Beckham will stay at Milan until June. I am very optimistic. All that is missing is a signature and we need to iron out a couple of things. In any case we are almost there. We are on the right track and the signature could arrive in a few […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Kobe Meets Marta at Lakers-Sol Love-In
"Watching her play, the way that she plays with such passion, such energy, such a love for the game, and so much creativity, I found myself being glued to the TV set. There were three things I wanted to accomplish last summer when I was in Beijing. One was to win a gold medal. Two […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Hiddink Will Start Cole Following Arrest
"I do not want to overact on this situation. Ashley [Cole] will be in the squad for tomorrow. He has publicly apologized about his conduct and behavior to the police officer, and it is a rather private matter. We have internal discipline, and this is to be considered internal. I have spoken firmly with him […]
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Soccer on TV
Fulham with Clint Dempsey square off against Manchester United in England’s FA Cup. Also on Saturday, Bayern Munich aims to end its slump when it faces Hannover 96 (with Steve Cherundolo)
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
MLS braces for backlash of Beckham departure
The share-loan agreement between AC Milan and MLS regarding David Beckham will generate not a ripple effect, but rather a shockwave of changes and adjustments.
Still, don’t expect Beckham, nor AC Milan, to directly bear the brunt of financial burdens his departure will impose. The majority of the costs instead will be borne, and balanced, by those entities soon to be without him.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Chelsea players get Guus-ied Up
[OFF THE POST] Since Dutchman Guus Hiddink took over as Chelsea boss, he intensified the fitness regime, restricted cell phone use on the training grounds, cracked down on tardiness, and demanded that the players wear Armani suits during team travel.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Sounders bond on Argentina trip
[MLS] Team-bonding and good competition are two reasons MLS coaches take their teams on foreign trips during preseason. Such jaunts occasionally involve adjusting and adapting to changing circumstances dictated by weather and other factors, and on the final game of its Argentine tour Seattle encountered both a tough opponent and unexpected circumstances.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
English star swears at cops
[CRIME & PUNISHMENT] Chelsea and England defender Ashley Cole‘s evening started off admirably. He and teammates attended a fundraiser for two children’s charities with more than 300 charity workers. It ended with an arrest for drunkenly insulting police that resulted in a three-hour drunk-tank stint and a $113 fine.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Santos comeback stuns Montreal [VIDEO]
[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Once every few years, soccer surpasses the limits and boundaries of rationale, and skews into the seemingly impossible. It happened again Thursday in Torreon, Mexico, just as it did six years ago in San Jose, when the original MLS Quakes rallied from a 4-0 aggregate deficit to beat Los Angeles, 5-4, in the MLS playoffs. By the same aggregate, and a similar scenario, Santos Laguna overturned a 4-1 deficit.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
USA kicks off against Young Boyz
[CONCACAF UNDER-20 CHAMPIONSHIP] The U.S. U-20 national team, coached by Thomas Rongen, meets Jamaica on Friday in Trinidad & Tobago to kick off its quest to qualify for the 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Rongen’s squad 20-man squad includes nine professionals, six of which play in MLS and three European-based players.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Kristine Lilly closes deal with Boston Breakers
[WPS] The world’s all-time leader in national team appearances with 342, two-time World Cup and Olympic champion Kristine Lilly came to terms on a multi-year contact with the Boston Breakers of Women’s Professional Soccer, which kicks off its inaugural season this spring with seven teams.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
U.S. U-20s Aim for 7th World Cup Trip
The Thomas Rongen-coached U.S. U-20 men’s national team will be trying to secure its seventh consecutive FIFA U-20 World Cup appearance when it kicks off the eight-team CONCACAF qualifying tournament in Trinidad & Tobago with a group match vs. Jamaica on Friday. The USA will go on to face Group A opponents Honduras on March […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Brazil’s Ronaldo Returns To Action
Playing in his first professional match in Brazil since 1994, Ronaldo returned to the field in the 68th minute of an opening round Brazilian Cup clash with Itumbiara, helping Corinthians hold on to a 2-0 win and advance in the tournament. It was Ronaldo’s game since undergoing surgery after a knee injury suffered with AC […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Man City Owner Wants Messi and Maradona
Manchester City board member and self-proclaimed Argentina aficianado Dr. Sulaiman Al-Fahim continues his quest to bring overnight success to the long-struggling EPL side, this time setting his sights on Barcelona’s 21-year-old midfield maestro Lionel Messi, as well as Diego Maradona in what would equate to a General Manager role. “I do not know if Maradona […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Colombian Club Tries to Shed Cocaine Past
“Colombian soccer champion America de Cali are first to admit cocaine dollars had a hand in their sporting heyday. But after years of paying the price, they’re trying to wipe the slate clean,” writes Reuters’ Helen Popper in an inspiring report on the team’s (and the city’s) efforts to make a new name for themselves […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Liverpool Sale to Kuwaitis in Doubt
Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillette are having a hard time convincing an investor consortium from Kuwait that the English Premier League team is worth the $625 million that the two American businessman have valued it at. According to an ESPN Soccernet report, consortium spokesman and possible investor Abdulla Al-Sager admitted that ongoing negotiations […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
A Call for Diversity in Anti-Racism Committees
br> "The people who are collected together to judge racist incidents maybe don’t attach a priority to it. Their own education as human beings is not sufficient to be sensitive to racism and firm enough against it. What is important is to have people with different horizons in the corridors of power.” Former French international […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
‘EPL More Difficult Than it Looked on TV’
“I watched the matches that were broadcast in Russia whenever possible. But to tell the truth, it seemed less difficult on TV. Only now do I understand how dynamic and hard the soccer is here. Now I would like to score as soon as possible. Everybody expected me to score in my very first match […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
France Tells Italy, ‘No Thanks’
“We are going there to win and we are going for it alone. France, a great soccer nation with 2,500,000 registered footballers, must go it alone in this conquest. There is a common desire of everyone in soccer [in France] to do it and do it alone.” French soccer federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes, emphatically (albeit […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
When the ‘Bad Guys’ Win?
At a PACT (Parents and Coaches Together) presentation last year, one of the parents asked a very pointed question: “Why do the bad guys always win?” It was a difficult question, one which kept PACT presenters discussing possible answers for over a year.
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Donovan’s Return a Big Plus for MLS
This is an unfortunate moment for MLS. With David Beckham quietly trashing the league, either directly or implicitly, every time he opens his mouth, with Landon Donovan letting it be known that he’d prefer to play in Germany, with FC Barcelona withdrawing its bid for a Miami franchise, the league’s image (at least in the eyes of foreign observers) has been suffering.