North played South Korea in Seoul in a World Cup qualifier at the weekend, but with both teams already qualified for the next round, there was nothing at stake and the game ended 0-0. Perhaps more importantly, there were no diplomatic incidents. North Korea’s striker Jong Tae-Se, christened the ‘North Korean Wayne Rooney’ by […]
Category: Story
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Nasri, ‘Next Zidane,’ headed to Arsenal?
[TRANSFER TALK] According to his own website, Samir Nasri, often called the next Zidane, completed the switch from French team Marseille to Arsenal of the English Premier League. The young French international, who made two substitute appearances during France’s Euro 2008 campaign, announced the move Monday, claiming he signed a four-year deal with the London club. Reports on the transfer fee range from $24 million-$32 million.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Championships
Tuesday’s semifinal pairings at the US Youth Soccer Region II Championships in Rockford, Ill., include an U-19 showdown between youth teams representing MLS clubs Chicago and Kansas City. Scott Gallagher leads all boys clubs with five teams in the semifinals. On the girls side, Eclipse Select, the No. 1 team in the Soccer America Girls Top 25, has six teams still alive. FC Milwaukee Blue has six teams — two boys and four girls — in the semifinals. For all the semifinal pairings …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. Youth Soccer Region III Championships
Action continued Monday at the US Youth Soccer Region III Championships in Raleigh and Wilson, N.C., where quarterfinals took place in 10 divisions. Three boys teams and two girls teams from the local CASL program moved into the semifinals. Three boys teams and two girls teams from Dallas Texans Red also are still alive. For all the quarterfinal results …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Scurry absent from Olympic roster
Goalkeeping didn’t cost the USA the championship at last year’s Women’s World Cup, but it sure caused quite a storm, one that head coach Pia Sundhage has already addressed in naming her 18-player squad for the Olympic Games women’s soccer tournament this summer. The absence of Briana Scurry will briefly roil the waters of controversy once again yet down the road, the other tough decisions Sundhage had to make will have much greater effect. She’s had to replace veteran Kristine Lilly, who is taking time off to have a baby, and midfielder Leslie Osbourne and defender Cat Whitehill, who both suffered ACL tears in their left knees in the past month.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Bocanegra landing in France
[AMERICANS ABROAD] U.S. national team captain Carlos Bocanegra has signed with French First Division club Rennes. The defender underwent a physical Tuesday and inked a three-year contract. Bocanegra, whose pro career started with the Chicago Fire in 2000, leaves English Premier League club Fulham, for which he played 116 EPL games since January 2004.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Scoring, not staff changes, concern Clavijo
Rapids head coach Fernando Clavijo isn’t concerned with the departure from his staff of assistant coach John Murphy, who had worked with him together not only in Colorado but during Clavijo’s prior tenure with the New England Revolution. He is worried, however, about his team squandering scoring chances.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Is nothing sacred in Sao Paulo?
[OFF THE POST] Gun-point robberies are no rarity in Sao Paulo, whose crime situation is deemed “critical” by the Overseas Security Advisory and a majority of residents say they don’t feel safe when walking the streets. Even O Rei Pele – three-time world champion and an officially declared national treasure of Brazil – has fallen victim. In an incident made public on Sunday, Pele waited at a congested traffic light in the passenger seat of his car as 10 masked youths, armed with guns and pocket-knives, demanded he turn over his possessions.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
‘Since you beat us, join us’
[REF WATCH/EURO 2008] After English referee Howard Webb‘s stoppage time penalty-kick call against Poland yielded death threats blamed on a provocative statement from Poland’s Prime Minister, some Polish fans responded more civilly. They’ve started a drive to grant Webb Polish citizenship, which would disqualify him from ever reffing a Poland game again.
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Santino Speaks: Return from ‘Dark Place’
On June 3, about a week before he spoke publicly about his drug addiction to the Washington Post, D.C. United midfielder Santino Quaranta and I sat in the dugout at RFK Stadium. After being asked a few times to shed light on what he’d gone through — chronic abuse of opiates and the start of long road back — he agreed.
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Soccer on TV
Euro 2008 moves into the semifinal phase in the midweek and concludes with the final on Sunday. The first leg of the Copa Libertadores final is on Wednesday. In MLS’s Thursday night game, Houston hosts FC Dallas.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Toothless Toni Behind Italian Exit
There were few voices in the media lamenting Italy’s departure from the European Championships after its quarterfinal exit to Spain on penalties Sunday. The blame for its defeat was placed not just on the team’s dour, defensive tactics, but the failure of striker Luca Toni to score in any of Italy’s four games. Defender […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Russia Learns From Dutch Discipline
Russia’s Dutch coach Guus Hiddink engineered the demise of his native country in Saturday’s quarterfinal, illustrated by the willingness of his team to learn new methods, writes Martin Samuel. Russia’s improving performances and its 3-1 defeat of the much-fancied Netherlands destroys the myth that it is impossible for a national team coach to impose a […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
UEFA Wants Complete Control
The financial turnover of the European Championships is almost $2 billion, a 50 per cent increase over the previous tournament. And because the finals have become a “cash cow” for UEFA, European soccer’s governing body maintains strict control over all off-field aspects of the tournament by dictating events, rules and information, writes Peter Birrer in […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Galaxy Still The Entertainers
There were mainly low-scoring games in Major League Soccer this past week (only three out of nine games produced more than two goals), but the L.A. Galaxy, the league’s top scorers with 31 goals, continued to buck the trend by putting three past the Columbus Crew. It also conceded three to share the points, with […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
South Africa Out Of Next African Nations Cup
Euro 2008 co-hosts Switzerland and Austria were ill-equipped to compete with Europe’s best teams and were deservedly dumped out in the first round. It’s continuing to look as though 2010 World Cup host South Africa will suffer the same fate. South Africa will not participate in the next African Nations’ Cup, due to take […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
USA to face T&T, Cuba and Guatemala
[WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFYING] Trinidad & Tobago overcame a 2-1 deficit from its loss at home to Bermuda in the first leg of their Concacaf second-round series to win, 2-0, away in the second leg and advance in World Cup 2010 qualifying. The Soca Warriors, Guatemala and Cuba will join the USA in Group 1 of the semifinal round on Concacaf qualifying, which begins in August. The only unseeded teams to advance were Suriname (over Guyana) and El Salvador (over Panama with three goals in the last 20 minutes!).
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
World Cup 2010 Qualifying Results
Reigning Asian champion Iraq was knocked out of World Cup 2010 qualifying when it fell to Qatar, 1-0, on the final day of the semifinal round of qualifying in the Asian zone. For all the African and Asian qualifying results …
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Advice from The Crumpet: You Never Can Tell
Euro 2008 cannot seem to quite make up its mind — whether it’s going to upset all the logical assumptions, or whether it’s going to conform. The first three quarterfinals gave us the wrong winners — all three group leaders were beaten by the second-place finishers. How likely is that? But in the fourth game, some sort of order was restored when group D winner Spain saw off Italy. But that wasn’t right either, because Spain never beats Italy in a game that matters, hasn’t done so for 88 years.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Champions crowned at U.S. Youth Soccer Far West regionals
[YOUTH REGIONALS] Slammers FC won three girls titles at the US Youth Soccer Region IV championships in Honolulu. The So Cal Blues captured two girls championships. The Blues’ U-16 girls, the defending national champions, were the only team to successfully defend their regional title. For all the results in the knockout phase …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
EURO ’08: Spain ends the jinx of June 22
[SPAIN-ITALY REPORT CARD] Spain was the only group winner to avoid defeat in the quarterfinals of the European Championship, but it wasn’t easy.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
USL-1 Results
The first-place Vancouver Whitecaps had to settle for a 1-1 tie with visiting Miami FC in USL First Division action on Sunday night. For all the results and goal scorers …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
USA subdues feisty Barbados
[WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFYING] With not much at stake other than for a few players to get their first taste of World Cup qualifying, albeit a Caribbean stadium basking in a crowd of picnic proportions and mellow mood, the USA beat Barbados, 1-0, in Bridgetown to complete a 9-0 aggregate win in the two-match series.