Category: Story

Its teams may not be able to buy a win in Concacaf Champions League play, but at least Major League Soccer is earning higher grades for its gender diversity employment practices. v A report card issued Wednesday by the Miami-based University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport gave MLS a C+ […]

More Bad Decisions Ahead For Newcastle?

The daily online editorial at the U.K. soccer monthly ponders the wisdom of Newcastle United possibly taking on former England and Barcelona manager Terry Venables as its short-term manager. The troubled north-eastern wannabe giant, knocked out of the League Cup Wednesday by the Premier League’s bottom side Tottenham, has also been contemplating a sale to […]

Cervi On Verge Of Celtic Deal

U.S. goalkeeper Dominic Cervi, who turned down the Chicago Fire to try for a career in Europe instead, has completed a second trial at Scottish champions Celtic and is reportedly close to signing a three-year deal.

Qatar Petroleum Signs Sponsorship Deal With AFC

Qatar Petroleum has signed a four-year, $10 million deal with the Asian Football Confederation, giving the Qatar company main sponsorship rights to the 2011 Asian Cup and AFC Champions League competitions until 2012.

FIFA Fines Croatia For Racist Abuse

The Croatian Football Association has been fined a paltry $28,000 by FIFA for the racist abuse its fans aimed at England striker Emile Heskey during a World Cup qualifier in Zagreb earlier this month.

NAIA: NSCAA/adidas Rankings

Rio Grande claimed the No. 1 spot in the NSCAA/adidas NAIA men’s rankings following Auburn-Montgomery’s 6-2 loss to Indiana Wesleyan. Unbeaten and untied Martin Methodist remained No. 1 in the NSCAA women’s rankings. For the NSCAA/adidas NAIA rankings …

MORNING BRIEFING: Wake Forest gets scare

by Paul KennedySeptember 25, 2008

Freshman Luke Norman‘s goal in the 23rd minute was the only goal No. 1 Wake Forest scored on Wednesday night, but it was good enough for a 1-0 victory over Appalachian State at Spry Stadium.

SCOREBOARD: Soccer America Men’s Top 25

No. 1 Wake Forest travels to No. 3 Maryland Friday in one of the most anticipated matches of the season (TV: Fox Soccer Channel, live, 8 pm ET). No. 2 Connecticut also plays at No. 6 St. John’s. For this week’s Soccer America Men’s Top 25 results and schedules …

MORNING BRIEFING: Hagen is downright scary

by Paul KennedySeptember 25, 2008

This is quickly becoming the year of the freshman. The women’s ranks have seen an influx of high-scoring forwards, led by Sarah Hagen of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who leads all freshmen with 11 goals.

SCOREBOARD: Soccer America Women’s Top 25

With conference play heating up in many parts of the country, Thursday becomes a big night in women’s soccer. Thursday matchups include Florida State-Virginia and Duke-Boston College. A non-conference match to watch: Santa Clara-UCLA. For this week’s Soccer America Women’s Top 25 results and schedules …

Brazilians dominate women’s international draft

by Paul KennedySeptember 25, 2008

[WPS] Four of the first five selections in the initial WPS International Draft were Brazilians. The Bay Area team selected former W-League star Formiga with the No. 1 pick. FIFA World Player of the Year Marta was taken by Los Angeles with the No. 3 pick. Daniela (St. Louis) and Cristiane (Chicago) were also taken in the first round.

Gijon ravaged by seven-goal Real Madrid

by Ian PlenderleithSeptember 25, 2008

[SPAIN] Anything Barcelona can do, Real Madrid can do better. After the Catalans scored six at the weekend at bottom side Sporting Gijon, Real showed no pity and smashed the same team for seven at the Bernabeu.

Catania is Serie A’s early surprise package

by Ian PlenderleithSeptember 25, 2008

[ITALY] Juventus was held at home by visitors Catania Wednesday in a refreshingly open game on an evening of few surprises in Serie A. Both Milan sides scraped wins by single-goal margins.

SoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story

Horror Tackle Sends Another Player to Hospital

by Paul GardnerSeptember 25, 2008

Well, well, now here’s a surprise. On Tuesday evening, Middlesbrough’s Austrian midfielder Emmanuel Pogatetz committed an awful studs-up foul! On the receiving end of this shining example of how Pogatetz believes soccer should be played was Manchester United’s young Brazilian Rodrigo Possebon, who was making his first-team debut for the club. He ended up in the hospital where initial fears that he might have suffered a broken leg were happily proved to be wrong.

Adu’s first Monaco start ends with loss

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Freddy Adu finally earned his first start with French club Monaco, but it ended in defeat as it fell to defending champion Paris St. Germain, 1-0, in the round of 32 of the French League Cup. In English League Cup action, Brad Guzan made his debut for Aston Villa, which fell at home to QPR, 1-0.

Packing heat at youth soccer games

[OFF THE POST] A Pennsylvania woman who had been bringing her loaded handgun to her 5-year-old daughter’s soccer games and practices has had her concealed-weapons permit revoked by the Lebanon County sheriff.

D.C. downed; USL remains undefeated

by Ridge MahoneySeptember 25, 2008

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] There was a silver lining to D.C. United’s latest defeat in international play. The Montreal Impact outshot Mexico’s Atlante but settled for a scoreless tie at home to keep USL clubs undefeated the regional championship.

Ref Goes Red-Card Crazy

Red-card happy referee Dan Austin sent off six players in an English non-league game at the weekend, a new British record. Austin stayed in his locker room for an hour following the eighth-tier game between Worthing and Chipstead in Ryman League Division One (South), played in front of 174 fans. He also showed eight yellow […]

Possebon’s Leg Not Broken After ‘Horror Tackle’

Manchester United’s teenage Brazilian midfielder Rodrigo Possebon fortunately suffered no fracture after a ‘horror tackle’ from Middlesbrough’s Austrian defender Emanuel Pogatetz in Tuesday’s League Cup game at Old Trafford. United manager Alex Ferguson, however, remains incensed by the challenge. Pogatetz was shown a straight red card for the foul.

Fan Violence Follows League Cup Clash

It was just like the early 1980s. Sky Sports News showed footage late Tuesday of police wading into soccer fans with batons following the south Wales derby between Swansea and Cardiff in the English League Cup. Cardiff fans claim the police left them sandwiched between two sets of home fans and failed to evacuate the […]

Keep Muzak Out Of Soccer Grounds

“Some clubs… persist in the belief that you can fill an atmospheric void with muzak, giant foam hands, comedy hats and the infernal clack-clack of those damned rubber clappers. The self-proclaimed ‘best league in the world’, which prides itself on the authenticity of its unique matchday ‘event,’ is prepared to cheat, to give the level […]

T&T Calls Up Sunderland Duo

Trinidad & Tobago has called up Sunderland players Dwight Yorke and Carlos Edwards for three games next month, including two World Cup qualifiers. Sunderland manager Roy Keane’s recall of Yorke before the country’s game against the USA in Chicago earlier this month sparked a lively exchange between Keane and FIFA vice president Jack Warner.

Leiweke Wants To Change The Rules Again

“The man who brought the ‘Beckham Rule’ to Major League Soccer now wants to change it in a dramatic fashion,” writes Grant Wahl. L.A. Galaxy president and CEO of the Anschutz Entertainment Group Tim Leiweke thinks that Designated Players should no longer count against the salary cap. Regardless of their salaries, DPs currently count as […]

Carver Ready To Fall On His Sword

Toronto FC coach John Carver put his future on the line Tuesday, and challenged his players to do the same over the course of the regular season’s final five matches, writes Dean McNulty. Carver said he wouldn’t blame the club for sacking him if the team doesn’t make the playoffs. The English coach was still […]

Eriksson Settling Down Nicely In Mexico