[MAKING A LIST] Foreign nationals and foreign-born players dominated the German Bundesliga scoring charts. Of the players who ranked in the top 10 in First Division scoring, all but one was born abroad, including Germany national team strikers Kevin Kuranyi (born in Brazil) and Miroslav Klose (born in Poland). The only German-born player was 22-year-old Stuttgart sensation Mario Gomez, born in Riedlingen to a Spanish father and German mother.
Category: Story
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Defending PDL champion Michigan opens with two wins
[PDL RESULTS] The defending PDL champion Michigan Bucks opened their 2007 season with a pair of shutout wins. Khelli Dube scored twice and Nate Jafta scored a goal and added an assist in the 4-0 win over West Michigan. Doug DeMartin and Dube scored in the 2-0 win over Cleveland. St. Louis, Long Island and Carolina are the only teams that are 3-0-0.
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Whitecaps rally to down Seattle in W-League opener
[W-LEAGUE RESULTS] The Vancouver Whitecaps needed goals from Canadian internationals Jodi-Ann Robinson and Sophie Schmidt to overcome Seattle, 2-1, before 1,819 fans in their 2007 W-League opener. Erin Redwine had given Seattle the lead in the 25th minute.
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D.C. United gets back to basics
Despite posting a 31-17-16 regular-season record in 2005 and 2006 while playing the most skillful soccer in MLS, United hasn’t returned to MLS Cup. United 2007 again features a glittering array of attackers – Christian Gomez, Jaime Moreno, Fred, Luciano Emilio – yet last Saturday it beat Toronto, 2-1, with the bedrock basics it had drifted away from: hard tackles, tenacious defending, fierce marking.
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Subotic becomes youngest American to appear in Bundesliga
[MAKING A LIST] Neven Subotic, an 18-year-old defender who represented the USA at the 2005 U-17 World Cup, became the youngest American to play in the German Bundesliga when he debuted for Mainz last weekend in a 5-2 loss to Bayern Munich. Subotic, a native of Bosnia, was discovered by the U.S. U-17 coaching staff playing pickup soccer in Bradenton, Fla. The youngest previous Bundesliga debut by an American came from Jovan Kirovski (age 20 in 1996 for Borussia Dortmund). Subotic’s appearance against Bayern came with Mainz already doomed to relegation to the Second Division for the 2007-08 season. He was one of six Americans to see German First Division action this season.
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MLS Statistics (through May 20 games)
The New York Red Bulls drew another meager crowd (10,321) last weekend and has the second lowest attendance average. Bottom is Kansas City, which like New York is averaging fewer than 10,000 per game. New England’s Taylor Twellman didn’t connect in a 1-0 win over Houston, but remains atop the leading scorers’ list with six strikes. Trailing him are four players with four goals, Ken Cooper (FC Dallas), Maykel Galindo (Chivas USA), Clint Mathis (New York) and Chris Rolfe (Chicago). Mathis, who scored in the 4-0 tout of Columbus, has already scored twice as much as he did all last season for Colorado. In 2005, he scored three times for Real Salt Lake. For up-to-date MLS standings, schedules, leading scorers, attendance and goal-scoring averages …
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Tevez Future Uncertain
Where or where will Carlos Tevez be next season? Chelsea is interested, so is Real Madrid, and there isn’t a thing West Ham United, his current, uh, employer, can do about it. Tevez representative (and part-owner, incidentally) Kia Joorabchian is set to meet this week with West Ham chairman Eggert Magnusson to discuss the player’s […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Red Bull Reserves Down Columbus
Following a series of decidedly poor performances, an undermanned New York Red Bulls side put together a comprehensive team effort to blow by the Columbus Crew at home on Saturday. Regulars Claudio Reyna, Ronald Waterreus and Hunter Freeman were all injured, while 17-year old Jozy Altidore was at his high school prom, but in the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Falling Debris Forces Emergency Repairs at BMO Field
Three MLS games into BMO Field’s much-lauded existence, and Toronto FC owner Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment already had to make emergency repairs. Before TFC’s 2-1 loss at home to D.C. United, several bolts and fasteners snapped, though MLSE removed the debris and Saturday’s match ended up going off without a hitch. It was the club’s […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Hargreaves Departure Caps Bad Year for Bayern
To the surprise of no one, Owen Hargreaves will be moving to Old Trafford this summer from Bayern Munich. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been chasing the player for nearly a year now, and Hargreaves himself stated his desire to join the club. Bayern President Franz Beckenbauer said Hargreaves would move to the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Sheva’s American Dream
During a press conference in which he reflected on his first season at Chelsea, Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko told reporters he’d like to play in Major League Soccer one day. “Soccer is growing in the US and I would like to be a part of that,” he said. “I played there last summer against the […]
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Soccer on TV
AC Milan faces Liverpool in the European Champions final on Wednesday (ESPN2, 2:25 pm ET). Fox Sports en Espanol provides the Libertadores Cup second-leg quarterfinal action. Thursday Night MLS action pits New York against Chicago. Club America faces Pachuca in the two-leg Mexican league final, but television coverage is yet to be finalized.
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AMERICANS ABROAD: Hannover misses chance for UEFA Cup
In Germany, Hannover 96 (Steve Cherundolo, 90 min.) missed a chance to clinch a spot in the Intertoto Cup, a path to the UEFA Cup, when it lost, 3-0, to FC Nuremberg. Kamani Hill was a 75th sub for Wolfsburg in its 2-0 loss to Werder Bremen. Wolfsburg finished three points above the releagtion zone. In the Second Division, Munich 1860 finished the season with a 2-2 tie with Erzgebirge Aue and in eighth place. Munich’s Gregg Berhlater went the full 90 while Josh Wolff was out injured. Wolff joined the team in midseason and played 10 games, scoring twice and assisting twice.
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Revs and Dallas are first to five wins
[VIDEO] Defending champion Houston suffered through another shutout defeat as the Revs prevailed on a Shalrie Joseph goal. Juan Pablo Angel got his first MLS points in a Red Bull rout. FC Dallas extended its Western Conference lead by downing Real Salt Lake, for which Freddy Adu got his first goal. The clasico in Southern California featured a Landon Donovan goal. Jaime Moreno scored a milestone goal for D.C. United in Toronto. Colorado’s not doing it in its new home. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney recaps the weekend’s action
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Chelsea completes cup double with FA Cup victory over Man. United
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was left wondering what if after the Blues won the English FA Cup final with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United Saturday in overtime of the first final at the new Wembley Stadium. Didier Drogba‘s goal in the 116th minute decided the game and denied United a league and cup double. Drogba’s goal was his 33rd of the season. The Ivorian scored Chelsea’s two goals in the League Cup final victory over Arsenal and finished the Premier League season as its top scorer with 20 goals.
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EPL’s Chelsea and United plot for next season
As the FA Cup final dropped the curtain on the 2006-07 season for Chelsea and Manchester United, they began to consider plans for the 2007-08 season.Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is looking to sign three new players — a defender, midfielder and a striker — for the coming season. In addition, he wants to tie up captain John Terry (the subject of rumors he wants to leave) and midfielder Frank Lampard (able to move to the club of his wishes — Barcelona? — for a set fee of $16 million under FIFA’s transfer guidelines) to long-term contracts. Meanwhile, Manchester United is reported to have reached a transfer agreement with Bayern Munich for Canadian-born England midfielder Owen Hargreaves, Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer said on Sunday.
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Mexico calls up Blanco for summer tournaments
[GOLD CUP ROSTER] Mexico included Chicago Fire signee Cuauhtemoc Blanco in its preliminary squad of 28 players for the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the Copa America on Friday. Hugo Sanchez will take 23 players to each of the tournaments, his first major tests as national team coach. Barcelona star Rafael Marquez is expected to skip the Gold Cup but will play at he Copa America.
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Cruz Azul kicked out of Mexican playoffs
Pachuca reached the final of the Mexican First Division’s Torneo Clausura playoffs by forfeit when semifinal rival Cruz Azul was expelled from the competition for using Salvador Carmona in the first leg of the semifinals on Thursday after being informed Carmona had been handed a lifetime ban for doping Wednesday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. Pachuca, which won the first leg, 3-1, away faces Club America in the final. With a second-half goal by Ismael Rodriguez, America beat archrival Guadalajara for its second 1-0 victory and advance to the Mexican First Division finals, 2-0, on aggregate.
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Romario finally gets his 1,000th goal
Former Brazil striker Romario finally scored what he said was the 1,000th goal of his career by converting a penalty in Vasco da Gama’s 3-1 over Sport Recife in the Campeonato Brasileiro on Sunday. Celebrations and interviews held up the match for 16 minutes after the 41-year-old Brazilian great sent Sport goalkeeper Magrao he wrong way, Romario’s tally includes goals scored in youth team, friendly and testimonial games, but doubts about his milestone failed to dampen the celebrations.
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Stuttgart claims Bundesliga title with late-season surge
VfB Stuttgart completed a late-season surge with a 2-1 victory over Energie Cottbus on Saturday that extended its winning streak to eight games and secured the young team the 2007 German Bundesliga title. The title was the fifth for Stuttgart, which moved ahead of long-suffering Schalke 04 on the second-to-last week of the season. For a few brief moments, it looked like Schalke might get the miracle it needed to capture its first Bundesliga title. Stuttgart trailed Cottbus after Sergiu Radu‘s deflected shot beat Timo Hildebrand in the 19th minute, but goals from Thomas Hitzlsperger on a brilliant long-range shot in the 28th minute and Sami Khedira‘s goal in the second half took Stuttgart its first Bundesliga title in 15 years.
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Real Madrid wins another squeaker thanks to Roberto Carlos goal
For the third straight league game, Real Madrid pulled out a last-gasp victory, beating Recreativo Huelva, 3-2, on Sunday to maintain its edge over Barcelona in the race for Spain’s La Liga title. With Barcelona cruising to a shocking 6-0 win at Atletico Madrid — the worst defeat at home in Atletico history — Real Madrid looked to be in trouble when it blew a 2-0 lead at Recre. With three games left, Real and Barcelona are tied with 69 points, but Real Madrid has won the tiebreaker (better head-to-head). UEFA Cup champion Sevilla remained just two points further back with a 2-1 comeback win at Deportivo Coruna.
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Vancouver remains unbeaten in USL-1 with 3-1 wins over Victory and Rhinos
[USL RESULTS] The defending champion Vancouver Whitecaps remained unbeaten in the USL First Division with 3-1 victories at California on Saturday and at home against Rochester in a rematch of last year’s playoff final on Sunday. Cuban Eduardo Sebrango scored two goals against the Victory and once against the Rhinos. Vancouver (5-0-2) leads Montreal (3-0-2) and Atlanta (3-2-2) by six points.
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Porto’s Dragons extend Portuguese dominance of big three
[MAKING A LIST] Porto won repeated as Portuguese league champion when it beat Desportivo Aves, 4-1, at home on Sunday to edge Sporting by one point and extend the domination of Portugal’s big three. Porto, Sporting and Benfica have won all but two Portuguese league titles since 1946. Belenenses (1946) and Boavista (2001) are the only other teams to win a league championship. Only nine teams have a team other than Porto, Sporting or Benfica even in finished in the top two
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Chivas Gets a Shirt Sponsor
Chivas USA on Thursday became the fifth MLS team to have a company name adorning the front of its jersey. For an undisclosed fee, Mexican paint manufacturer Comex purchased the right to have its logo splashed across the front of the club’s red and white striped jersey. Real Salt Lake (Xango), Toronto FC (BMO), the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Cole: FA Cup Still the One
It’s all eyes on England this weekend for the so-called “dream” FA Cup final between Premier League champion Manchester United and Chelsea, the team it dethroned. For many industry pundits, the FA Cup final has been a competition on the wane over the last several years, as bigger clubs tend to focus their attention elsewhere […]