[MLS] Sainey Nyassi‘s quick pace has added a new dimension the New England Revolution’s attack. The 19-year-old Gambian midfielder has made 17 appearances (15 starts) for the Revs in 2008. Get to know Nyassi in this profile by Soccer America’s Bryan Alvarez that covers on- and off-field experiences.
Category: Story
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Soccer breaks attendance record at 2008 Games
[OLYMPICS] Men’s and women’s soccer games at the 2008 Olympic Games drew a total attendance of 2.14 million, making soccer the biggest draw at the Games and setting a record for soccer attendance at the Olympics. USA-hosted Olympics in 1984 and 1996 held previous soccer attendance records. For Olympic soccer attendance history. …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Turf war looming at BMO?
[MLS] Canada coach Dale Mitchell has added his voice to a growing chorus of those who don’t like the artificial surface at BMO Field, and his isn’t the only voice that’s getting louder and louder. The issue is fast becoming a cause célèbre north of the border and might soon boil over to immerse Toronto FC, its operator-investor Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the Canadian Soccer Association, the City of Toronto, and the local Canadian Football League team, the Argonauts.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Big win for Castillo’s Santos
[AMERICANS IN MEXICO] Defender Edgar Castillo has played the full 90 in all of Santos’ five Apertura 2008 games this season, including Sunday’s 5-3 win over Chivas Guadalajara.
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Crowded schedule muddles playoff chase
To the perplexing task of predicting which MLS team is best suited to running the gauntlet of playoff matches that determine the league champion can be added yet another variable: attrition from yet another competition.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Small Will Be Raucous In Philadelphia
Two busloads of Philadelphia soccer fans made the trip to RFK Stadium Saturday to taste the MLS atmosphere ahead of the 2010 season, when its own team will start play. John Smallwood was impressed by the D.C. United fans and the noise they made, but not by the old stadium, looking forward instead to the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Team GB Has Simple Lesson For English Soccer
The success of the British Olympic team in Beijing serves up a simple lesson for English soccer, writes Sam Wallace. If you want to create a sporting elite, you have to root out the underperformers and let the country’s best athletes train together. Chelsea and Manchester United both boast impressive youth academies, but because […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Bullish New York Brimming With Self Belief
The New York Red Bulls played reigning MLS champion Houston on Sunday “like a team on a mission,” writes Angela Daidone, and the Dynamo “could do nothing to stop them” as they powered to a 3-0 win. A new confidence on the team was evident from the players she spoke to after its third successive […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Toronto Latest Team Waiting For Ruiz Return
Toronto FC is not the first MLS team to have been kept waiting for Guatemalan striker Carlos Ruiz’s return from international duty. Its new signing from L.A., rumored to be less than happy at being placed with a team that plays its home games on artificial turf, is taking care of some business in Los […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Top Teams Must Move Before Deadline
After just two game days in the English Premier League, it’s already clear to Paul Doyle which clubs need to do some hasty recruitment before the transfer window closes. “Without significant movement over the next seven days,” he writes, “the transfer window will come down like a guillotine on the ambitions of sides such as […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Canadian Coach Unhappy With BMO Field
Following last week’s disappointing 1-1 home tie with Jamaica, Canada coach Dale Mitchell is pleased his side will not be playing on the artificial surface at Toronto’s BMO Field again this year.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
A Champions League Of Our Own
Steve Davis previews the CONCACAF Champions League, kicking off this week.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Shaping Up For The Eredivisie
Leander Schaerlaeckens looks forward to the Dutch season and rounds up the multitude of off-season coaching changes.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
College Soccer Reporter resumes daily frequency
MEMBER ALERT. Soccer America’s College Soccer Reporter has resumed its daily (Monday-Friday) frequency during the college season. The Soccer America Men’s Preseason Top 25 will appear Tuesday, while the Men’s Preseason All-American selections will appear Wednesday.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
MORNING BRIEFING: Rough start for Greg Ryan
Two days after watching the U.S. women’s national team do in the Olympic gold-medal game what it couldn’t do 11 months earlier with him in charge — beat Brazil — Greg Ryan began his new job as head coach of the Michigan women’s team. The result? A 7-0 loss at Notre Dame.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
POLLS: Soccer American Women’s Top 25
There was little movement in the Soccer America Women’s Top 25 following an opening weekend of play during which most teams played one game. No. 1 USC got a scare at San Diego but prevailed, 1-0, thanks to junior Marihelen Tomer‘s overtime goal. No. 5 Florida State, which the Trojans beat in last year’s Women’s College Cup final, has twice postponed its game against UCF — now scheduled for Monday — because of nearly 10.5 inches of rain Tropical Storm Fay dumped on the Tallahassee area since early Friday afternoon. For this week’s Soccer American Women’s Top 25 rankings and last week’s Soccer American Women’s Top 25 results …
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
MORNING BRIEFING: Festival atmosphere
The men’s regular season doesn’t begin until Friday, but preseason games are taken seriously. About 7,000 fans showed up at the annual National Soccer Festival in Ft. Wayne, Ind., to watch the showcase match of the three-day tournament — Indiana’s 3-0 win over North Carolina.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
SMALL COLLEGE: NSCAA/adidas Preseason Men’s Polls
Franklin Pierce (NCAA Division II), Middlebury (NCAA Division III) and Azusa Pacific (NAIA) are ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA/adidas Preseason Men’s Polls. For all the rankings …
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
SMALL COLLEGE: NSCAA/adidas Preseason Women’s Polls
Tampa (NCAA Division II), Wheaton of Illinois (NCAA Division III) and Martin Methodist (NAIA) are ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA/adidas Preseason Women’s Polls. For all the rankings …
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Soccer on TV
CONCACAF Champions League begins on Tuesday. Italian Serie A kicks off this weekend. There is a full slate of MLS action this weekend starting on Friday. Fox Soccer Channel’s men’s college coverage starts with a UCLA-Maryland clash.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Beasley denied winner; Adu makes French debut
[AMERICANS IN EUROPE] Freddy Adu, fresh off Olympic duty, made his French Ligue 1 debut as a 86th minute sub for Monaco in its 1-1 tie with Caen. DaMarcus Beasley, who played in Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier, appeared to have scored a stoppage-time winner for Glasgow Rangers but the effort was called offside (TV replays suggest the call was a bad one) in a 1-1 tie with Aberdeen. Steve Cherundolo, ejected in midweek action for the USA, took little time to get another card when he returned to Germany. Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic helped keep Bayern Munich winless after two games in a 1-1 tie in Dortmund. For more on American performances in Europe. …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. keepers beaten from spot; Fulham upsets Gunners
[AMERICANS IN ENGLAND] For the second week in a row, Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel was beaten from the penalty spot. Last week, Villa still managed a 4-2 win over Man City but on Saturday it fell, 3-2, to newly promoted Stoke City, whose last top-tier win came 23 years ago. Everton’s Tim Howard was beaten from the spot late in a 2-1 win over West Brom. Clint Dempsey was a 77th minute sub in Fulham’s 1-0 upset of Arsenal.
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Deja Bruce
There was a decidedly familiar air to Bruce Arena’s words as he made his first move at the Galaxy: “Unfortunately … in order to bring Eddie [Lewis] to the Galaxy we were required to make salary budget space available and our only available option was to move Carlos [Ruiz] …”
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Deco delivers again for Chelsea
[ENGLAND] Some questioned whether the diminutive Brazilian-born Portugal international Deco had the makeup to play in the English Premier League, but he has been key to Chelsea’s early success in the English Premier League and will later seek a third UEFA Champion League title with a third team.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Cleveland wins its first USL-2 title
An own goal by former MLS SuperDraft No. 1 pick Steve Shak gave the Cleveland City Stars the early lead and they went on to defeat the Charlotte Eagles, 2-1, and win the 2008 USL Second Division championship. For more on the USL-2 and all its 2008 award winners …