Category: Story

The Chelsea tenure of Jose Mourinho, the “Special One” as he once famously referred to himself, is now over. Let the speculation begin as to who will succeed him. According to Rivals DM, former Chelsea player Didier Deschamps heads the list of possible replacements. Deschamps, who coached Juventus to the Serie B title last season, […]

Inter Stunned in CL Opener

One of the more shocking results of the Champions League first round was the loss that Italian champion Inter Milan suffered at the hands of Turkish club Fenerbahce. More shocking, perhaps, than the 1-0 result was the fact that Inter’s usually dangerous attack force of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Suazo and Dejan Stankovic remained quiet for […]

WWC: Neutralizing Smith the Key to U.S. Victory

ESPN’s Graham Hays says the key to victory for the U.S. women’s national team against England on Saturday is containing Kelly Smith, one of the world’s best strikers. Both Argentina and Japan failed in that regard as Smith grabbed a pair of goals in each game. However, the U.S. could take a page from Germany’s […]

Virginia’s Barlow brothers are reunited — on the field

by Paul KennedySeptember 20, 2007

[PROFILES] What a difference a year makes. The 2006 season was a largely forgettable one for Virginia’s Barlow brothers, Jeremy and Neil, but they have recovered to lead the fourth-ranked Cavaliers to a 5-1-0 start. Both are starting in midfield, and Neil Barlow scored the first goal in a 2-1 comeback victory over Campbell on Wednesday, his third goal of the season.

Struggling Duke and Maryland earn tough wins

[WEDNESDAY ACTION] ACC men’s powers Duke and Maryland rebounded from disappointing losses on Saturday to record wins against tough non-conference foes — tuneups for their big showdown on Saturday night in Durham. No. 17 Duke (4-2-0) needed a penalty kick by Mike Grella in the 79th minute to escape with a 2-1 win over South Carolina. Sophomore Drew Yates scored his third goal of the season to lead No. 18 Maryland past Old Dominion, 1-0.

Creighton’s Dacy sidelined for rest of season

[INJURY] Creighton star Byron Dacy‘s comeback bid was short-lived. The junior forward will miss the remainder of the season due to a torn left ACL he suffered during the Bluejays’ exhibition match against Ohio State on Aug. 18. He came back to play two minutes against UCLA on Sept. 8 and played 19 minutes off the bench last Saturday against Loyola Marymount, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime for Creighton, ranked No. 8 in the country.

Zimmeck ranks among Tribe leaders

[PROFILE] Claire Zimmeck is following in a long tradition of William & Mary women’s greats. Coming off sensational freshman and sophomore seasons, she has been on a tear in the first month of her junior campaign. Zimmeck’s hot streak continued when she scored the winning goal in No. 24 William and Mary’s 2-0 victory over Albany on Wednesday evening — the fourth straight game she has scored the winning goal.

BYU women remain unbeaten and unscored upon

[STREAK] BYU’s shutout string was extended to 662 minutes when the No. 16 Cougars beat Utah rival Weber State, 2-0, on Wednesday night in Ogden. BYU (6-0-1) is the only Division I women’s team in the nation not to have allowed a goal all season.

Portland is undeterred by injuries and Women’s World Cup call-ups

[FOCUS] Women’s World Cup call-ups and injuries have depleted Portland, but the No. 3 Pilots have run off three straight shutout victories since losing senior Rachael Rapinoe with an ACL tear 11 days ago in their 1-0 defeat to Purdue.

Penn State women catch fire against Bucknell

[WEDNESDAY ACTION] No. 19 Penn State exploded for five second-half goals to beat Bucknell, 5-1, on the road in a battle of regional women’s rivals. Senior Aubrey Aden-Buie scored two goals. Transfer Melissa Hayes assisted on three goals, and sophomore Katie Schoepfer got the gamewinner, scoring in her third straight game. Ashley Myers and Jessie Davis also scored.

REF WATCH: Ten-game suspension

Punishing refs for wrong calls hit the news last month when English Premier League referee Rob Styles was banned for one game and relegated to the lower divisions for mistakenly calling a penalty kick against Liverpool that gave Chelsea a 1-1 tie. In Ecuador, the hammer came down even harder. Carlos Vera was handed a 10-game suspension for his performance in the Guayaquil derby between Barcelona and Emelec. Vera was suspended for arriving late for the game and for erring on what is one of soccer’s most difficult calls.

UEFA Champions League Results

Slavia Prague won in its UEFA Champions League debut, beating Steaua Bucharest, 2-1. For all Champions League results and goalscorers …

FIFA forced to move Wednesday’s Women’s World Cup games to Thursday

There was more fallout from Typhoon Wipha that hit the East Coast of China on Wednesday. After Wednesday’s Women’s World Cup games in Shanghai were postponed from Wednesday to Thursday and moved to Hangzhou, FIFA moved the group finales originally set to kick off in Tianjin at the same time as the Shanghai games from Wednesday to Thursday.

Rijkaard praises much-needed Barcelona goalfest

by Paul KennedySeptember 20, 2007

[CHAMPIONS LEAGUE REACTION] Barcelona took some of the pressure off its coach, Frank Rijkaard, with a thoroughly deserved 3-0 win over Lyon in their UEFA Champions League opener on Wednesday night at the Nou Camp Stadium. Rijkaard had a lot to be pleased about, beginning with Thierry Henry‘s first goal since joining Barcelona from Arsenal. Rijkaard tried to downplay the substitution of Ronaldinho, who had another quiet game for Barcelona.

Mourinho, Chelsea’s ‘Special One,’ abruptly quits

by Paul KennedySeptember 20, 2007

Three years after Jose Mourinho arrived at Chelsea in a blaze of glory, he quit quietly. Having just led FC Porto to the UEFA Champions League, he delighted reporters at the press conference introducing him as Chelsea manager in 2004 by talking about himself. “Please don’t call me arrogant,” said the Portuguese coach, “but I’m European champion and I think I’m a special one.” Special he was with his flair for the dramatic, concluding with his shocking exit on Wednesday night.

A goal for the ages

by Mike WoitallaSeptember 20, 2007

[SPORTSMANSHIP] In English League Cup play on Tuesday, Leicester City allowed Nottingham Forest to take the ball from the opening kickoff and score without opposition. Leicester City came back to win, 3-2, in what was a replay of the match last month that was abandoned at halftime because Leicester player Clive Clarke suffered a heart attack. Forest was leading, 1-0, when the original match was abandoned, but that goal did not carry over into the replay.

Beasley’s Rangers wins Champions League opener

by Paul KennedySeptember 20, 2007

DaMarcus Beasley became the first American player to play for two different clubs in the UEFA Champion League when he came on in the second half of Glasgow Rangers’ 2-1 victory over German champion VfB Stuttgart before almost 50,000 fans Wednesday night at Ibrox.

Real and Galaxy serve up a tasty tie

by Ridge MahoneySeptember 20, 2007

Forget about the playoff implications of Wednesday’s night Real Salt Lake-Los Angeles showdown. They’re aren’t any and never were any, save for the mathematical madness of possible points accrued minus potential points squandered by bubble teams multiplied by variance in the number of games to be played. Playing for pride and next year’s contracts, and a nice and noisy crowd of 24,633 given fair and sufficient warning of David Beckham’s absence, the Gals and Real swapped penalty kicks and golazos to end up tied, 2-2.

Fire in Big D: should be a good one

by Ridge MahoneySeptember 20, 2007

[TV PREVIEW] Since taking over the Fire, head coach Juan Carlos Osorio’s team has posted a 4-2-2 record and edged into the playoff octet. To stay there it will need better performances in its last six games, as no team chasing a postseason spot has a tougher schedule.

Soccer Business Insider, Story

Pick-up Games and The Soccer Project

Soccer is unique among sports in the world because pick-up games happen in every corner of the globe.

Jozy’s the One

As Freddy Adu continues to be neglected in Lisbon (the 18-year-old wasn’t included in Benfica’s traveling squad to face AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday), the calls to include another promising youngster in the cautionary category of America’s Next Big Thing are mounting. Yes, we’ve heard all about the pitfalls of over-hyping the […]

MLS Bucks Incumbent Coaching Trend

ESPN Soccernet’s Steve Davis extends kudos to Major League Soccer for (sort of) shirking the American professional sports tradition of recycling “marginally successful managers and coaches.” Davis says the practice has plagued American baseball, basketball and football for decades, preserving the “expedient choice” instead of blooding new guys who are often “relegated to assistant roles.” […]

Wenger: Improved Fabregas Recalls Platini

The English Premier League season is little more than a month old, but Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas is already looking a good bet for PFA Player of the Year. Yes, it’s extremely early days, but Fabregas has already beaten his goals tally from last year, scoring five times in all competitions in just seven appearances, […]

Platini Asks EU to Abet Champions League Reforms

Speaking of Platini, the UEFA President on Wednesday called on the European Union to support him in his attempt to reform the Champions League, warning regulators that clubs such as Manchester United and Liverpool represent “a serious threat” to the future of European soccer. Reuters intercepted a letter addressed to the EU’s 27 leaders, in […]

Real Europe’s Most Valuable Soccer Brand