Category: Story

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Benny Feilhaber, who turned 23 in January, has already made 15 U.S. national team appearances. He scored the 2007 Gold Cup winner and has been in Europe since 2005. But he’s now struggling for playing time at English Premier League last-place club Derby. Soccer America’s Mike Woitalla spoke with Feilhaber after his 27 minutes of action against Mexico last Wednesday.

University of Central Florida freshman Matt Luzunaris became the third U.S.-based player to sign with an Austrian pro club this winter when he signed with second division SC Schwanenstadt. Luzunaris had trained with first division Rapid Vienna before accepting an offer from Schwanenstadt. The Houston Dynamo’s Nate Jaqua and Joseph Ngwenya moved to Rheindorf Altach and Austria Kaernten, respectively. For all the winter overseas transfers involving Americans …

[MLS TEAM PREVIEWS] So many players stormed through the ranks of Toronto FC’s roster last season, more than a dozen played fewer than a dozen games. Those players who survived the 6-17-7 season and interminable stretches without scoring have emerged from the rubble to train under the gaze of ex-head coach and manager/director of soccer Mo Johnston, and his appointee, John Carver, of whom little is known and much will be discovered.

[DATEBOOK] The U.S. national team will play a pair of friendlies in Europe this spring, traveling to face Poland and Spain, which are preparing for the Euro ’08 finals.

[ENGLAND] Arsenal beat Blackburn Rovers on Monday to open a five-point lead over Manchester United with 12 games to play at the top of the Premier League after beating Blackburn Rovers, 2-0, at the Emirates Stadium.

[YOUTH] The U.S. under-20 women’s national team opened play at the Four Nations Tournament in La Serena, Chile, with a 1-0 victory over England on a goal from midfielder Teresa Noyola.

[AFRICAN NATIONS CUP] Egypt won the African Nations Cup for the sixth time when it beat Cameroon, 1-0, in Sunday’s final on a late goal by Mohamed Aboutrika. The Pharaohs are only the third team to successfully defend its title. Egypt won the first two competitions in 1957 and 1959 and Cameroon won back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2002.

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Chris Gbandi became the sixth American to sign with a Norwegian club during the offseason when the former Hermann Trophy winner signed with Adeccoligaen (second division) club FK Haugesund from FC Dallas. For all the winter overseas transfers involving Americans …

[MLS TEAM PREVIEWS] The Colorado Rapids have bet the bank on 2006 MLS MVP Christian Gomez, acquired from D.C. United in a deal that includes a guaranteed contract through 2009. Coach Fernando Clavijo isn’t so lucky. His contract expires at the end of the 2008 season, and the Rapids will have to show some significant improvement from the team that went 9-13-8, failed to make the playoffs and had the second-worst attack in MLS last season.

[U.S. WOMEN] U.S. women’s national team head coach Pia Sundhage has reduced her roster to 26 players who are training at the Home Depot Center to prepare for the 2008 Algarve Cup, which will be held March 5-12 in southern Portugal

[AWARDS] Michael Elster (boys) of Sutton (Mass.) Youth Soccer Club and Yon Struble (girls) of the Norcross (Ga.) Soccer Academy were the recipients of the 2007 US Youth Soccer adidas Competitive Coaches of the Year announced at the US Youth Soccer Awards Gala, held in conjunction with the 2008 US Youth Soccer adidas Workshop in Pittsburgh. For all the award winners …

[MLS] Traffic between MLS and Norway is flowing both ways. The transfer of FC Dallas defender Chris Gbandi to second division club FK Haugesund has finally been formally announced, while deals sending defenders Ramiro Corrales and Nat Borchers back to MLS are in the works.

[ITALY/VIDEO] Forget Alexandre Pato. AC Milan fans have a new darling: Alberto Paloschi. The 18-year-old Paloschi scored with his first touch in a Serie A game when he struck a superb goal to give Milan a 1-0 win over Siena.

[EUROPEAN RACES] On a day it marked the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash that killed 23 people, including eight United players, Manchester United fell to Manchester City, 2-1, to further threaten its title hopes. In Spain, Real Madrid extended its lead, while the top-of-the-table clash in Germany between Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich ended in a 1-1 tie.