[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Porto, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Manchester United won their groups in Wednesday’s final night of action prior to the Champions League’s spring knockout phase.
Category: Story
Houston set for rematch with Atlante
[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] He isn’t saying he prefers SuperLiga to the Concacaf Champions’ League, but Houston coach Dominic Kinnear can’t help but get excited about playing Mexican teams in real competition. Five months after playing Atlante in the SuperLiga, Houston was matched up with the Mexican club for the CCL quarterfinals to be played next year. Houston hosts the first leg (Feb. 24-26) and faces Atlante in Cancun a week or so later.
Believing in the Beautiful Game
Juande Ramos is a pretty lucky guy. Direct from being a colossal flop with Tottenham in London, he returns to Spain and walks straight into what is arguably the top job in club soccer anywhere in the world — coach of Real Madrid.
Chelsea reserves beat young MLS squad
[MLS] Scott Sinclair hit a hat trick as a young MLS Select squad fell to the Chelsea reserves, 4-0, Wednesday in the second match of a three-match tour.
Cruz Azul vs. Toluca in Apertura 08 final
[MEXICO] Cruz Azul, which finished runner-up to Santos last season, hosts the first leg of the Mexican Apertura 2008 final against Toluca on Thursday (TV: Azteca America, 9 pm ET).
Edgar Castillo set to join Club America
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Edgar Castillo, a 22-year-old New Mexico product, is set to join Club America, Mexico’s most popular club along with Chivas Guadalajara, according to Mexican media, which reports the clubs are ironing out the details of his transfer. Castillo, who helped Santos Laguna win the Clausura 2008 title, arrived in Mexico at age 18.
Rio Tinto Cuts 14,000 Jobs
Mining company and Real Salt Lake stadium sponsor Rio Tinto is cutting 14,000 jobs globally to try and reduce its debt of $38.9 billion. The company announced Wednesday a 15 percent cut in its workforce, a halt to its expansion plans, and the sale of some assets.
Garber And Paulson Face Skeptical Portland
Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson and Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber faced “skeptical questioning” Tuesday at the first meeting of a city task force set up to examine Paulson’s idea of using $85 million in city-backed bonds to upgrade PGE Park to an MLS-grade venue and build a new baseball stadium. Group member Mark […]
Jolly Unsporting, Old Chap
An English FA Cup second round game Tuesday between fourth-tier Chesterfield and non-league Droylesden "witnessed one the most bizarre passages of play in its 137-year history," according to The Times. With the score at 1-1 after 79 minutes, Droylesden put the ball out of play after an injury to its striker Carl Lamb. When Chesterfield […]
Is It Ethical To Invest In Young Players?
The Hero Global Football Fund sounds like a noble endeavor, but in fact it is a group investing in young soccer players with a view to making a profit on their future sales, as David Conn explains. Although FIFA and the English Football Association have tightened their rules on third-party ownership of players in the […]
Spanish Press Critical Of Ramos Appointment
The Spanish media has greeted Real Madrid's replacement of Bernd Schuster with Juande Ramos with generally critical commentaries in the wake of the new coach's recent failed stint at Tottenham Hotspur. Daily sports paper Marca called out Real's president Ramon Calderon and sporting director Predrag Mijatovic, citing "the Kafkaesque sacking of Schuster" as "nothing more […]
Hildebrand Signs For Hoffenheim
http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/bundesliga/startseite/artikel/501521/
Faces Of Bigotry Made Public
"We want to send a clear message that abuse of this kind will not be tolerated and that we are taking robust action. I'd urge anyone who recognizes these people to contact us as soon as possible." Superintendent Neil Sherrington on 16 photographs the police has made public of Tottenham Hotspur supporters who were allegedly […]
Angel The Gold Standard, Says Agoos
"To me, Juan Pablo [Angel] is the gold standard of the designated player slot. We look for a player who is going to be a leader and have an impact on and off the field. Juan Pablo is that person. Throughout the league there's been a debate about how effective the designated player has been. […]
It’s Official: Sigi’s Gone
"I think the way things left off after the win in L.A. when Sigi brought us together seemed like a goodbye speech. It was very heartfelt and we all got the message." Columbus Crew forward Alejandro Moreno after his team officially confirmed that MLS Coach of the Year Sigi Schmid has parted ways with the […]
Ronaldo Proud Of Himself
"I'm proud of myself. This was never an easy fight at any moment and I'm winning. Corinthians believed in me, they have a fantastic project for 2009 and I'm very confident it will be a great year, although I know I will have a lot of difficulties at the start." Brazilian striker Ronaldo, 32, lauds […]
High School All-American boys and girls teams announced
The 2008 NSCAA/adidas Boys High School All-America Team included six repeat selections, all from fall programs: Brian Forgue (Downington West, Pa.), Andrew Wenger (Warwick, Pa.), Kevin Bick (St. Xavier High, Ky.), Jordan Cyrus (Norfolk Academy, Va.), Rafael Diaz (Morris Hills, N.J.) and Ben Newnam (East Forsyth, N.C.). The girls selections included Laura Heyboer, who earned her third high school All-American award for her play last spring at Unity Christian High School in Hudsonville, Mich., and was also selected to the NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division I All-America team for her standout season as a freshman at Michigan State. For all the boys and girls selections …
Development Academy Winter Showcase honor roll
Sixteen teams were perfect in their three games at U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy Winter Showcase in Lancaster, Calif.: U-17/18 teams Andromeda, Colorado Rush AS Monaco, D.C. United, FC Delco, Derby County Wolves, Greensboro Youth Soccer, Lonestar, Met Oval, Miami FC Kendall, Real Colorado, Richmond Strikers and U-15/16 teams CASL, Crossfire Premier, Empire United, Irvine Strikers, Los Angeles Galaxy. For all the results …
Texans perfect in National League girls play
The Dallas Texans Red, the defending national champions, won all four games in the under-17 girls division, making them the only team to win all four games in the U.S. Youth Soccer National League’s opening weekend of girls play in North Carolina.
U.S. Youth National League kicks off second boys season
The U.S. Youth Soccer National League kicks off its 2008-09 boys season with under-15, under-16 and (for the first time) under-17 play beginning Thursday at the Ross Stewart Soccer Complex in Dallas. Games are being held in conjunction with the Men’s College Cup in Frisco to provide greater exposure of these teams to collegiate and national team coaches. For the complete schedule …
OBITUARY: Youth soccer pioneer Frank Wall
Frank Hall, a member of the Washington State Youth Soccer Association’s Hall of Fame, died recently at the age of 73 after a battle with cancer.
GOAL OF THE YEAR: Quincy Amarikwa’s bike (VIDEO)
No player helped his stock more in his senior year than UC Davis forward Quincy Amarikwa. The Aggie star out of Bakersfield, Calif., finished with 15 goals, including a stunning bicycle kick against UC Santa Barbara that is surely the College Goal of the Year.
COACHING MOVES: Gettler resigns at Richmond
Jeff Gettler, the winningest coach in Richmond men’s soccer history, has resigned, ending his 14-year tenure with the Spiders.
MEN’S COLLEGE CUP: Wake seniors are back yet again
Of all the accomplishments defending champion Wake Forest has achieved this season — No. 1 ranking, top seed and the nation’s top offense — perhaps none is as remarkable as the fact that Jay Vidovich has six seniors projected to start in their third straight final four. Sophomores Ike Opara and Corben Bone may be Wake’s top pro prospects and junior Cody Arnoux is its leading scorer, but the heart of the team is the six seniors — defenders Lyle Adams and Evan Brown, midfielders Sam Cronin, Jamie Franks and Michael Lahoud and striker Marcus Tracy — who all started at College Cup ’06 and College Cup ’07 and are projected to start in Friday’s semifinal against North Carolina (TV, ESPN2, live, 5:30 pm ET).
LEADERS: NCAA Division I Men’s Scorers
With three assists in the 5-0 win over South Florida, Wake Forest’s Cody Arnoux moved into second place behind Akron’s Steve Zakuani in the race for the national scoring title. Arnoux, who trails Zakuani by five points, and Marcus Tracy are the only players among the top 10 leaders in points competing in the Men’s College Cup. For all the NCAA Division I leaders …
