Category: Story

“He was probably the best player that day and if it had not been for his impact the result could have been totally different. He did not have a nerve in his body and he was an inspiration to us all. He was a sensational little player with great touch and vision. I am very sad and shocked by the news.”
— Bobby Charlton on England teammate Alan Ball’s performance in England’s 4-2 overtime win over West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final.

Pachuca won the CONCACAF Champions up for the second time when it beat Guadalajara, 7-6, on penalty kicks after they played to a 0-0 tie in overtime Wednesday night in the second leg of the final. The first leg of the all-Mexican final ended in a 2-2. After 120 minutes without a goal in the […]

By Ridge Mahoney Executive Editor Any team that can leave its leading goalscorer of the previous season on the bench and win, 3-0, while launching nearly twice as many shots as its opponent should probably be taken seriously. Kansas City (2-1-0) did beat up on expansion Toronto FC (0-3-0) in its home opener Wednesday night, […]

THURSDAY NIGHT PREVIEW FC DALLAS- NEW YORK (ESPN2, 8 pm ET/7 pm CT) After winning back-to-back games at home, the unbeaten Red Bulls return to the road, where they face FC Dallas in a matchup of conference leaders. It’s a battle of MLS’s best offense against its best defense. FC Dallas has scored seven goals […]

Alan Ball, the youngest member of England’s 1966 World Cup championship, has died of a heart attack at the age of 61.

“I [reacted] the same way I’ve always come back from things, like whenever people say I’m not up to the job. I proved to him I am a professional. I think he said, ‘How can he be committed to the team when he’s signed to someone else?’ But I proved I am committed; it doesn’t matter if I’m going. I’ll still go flying into tackles and try and win something with this team.”
— David Beckham

Manchester United will take a 3-2 lead over Italy’s AC Milan to the San Siro Stadium for next Wednesday’s second leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal series after coming back from 2-1 down at halftime to win Tuesday thanks to two goals from Wayne Rooney, the second on stoppage time. Manchester United led at […]

The U.S. U-16 national team rallied from two goals down to beat the Czech Republic, 3-2, Tuesday at the Ballymena Showgrounds in the second game of the 2007 Ballymena International Tournament in Northern Ireland. Dersu Abolfathi, Ryan Finley and captain Kofi Sarkodie scored for the USA to move into first place in Hroup B and […]

U.S. U-17 boys national team coach John Hackworth named  his 20-player roster for the CONCACAF Under-17 Group B Qualifying Tournament April 28-May 6 in Kingston, Jamaica. All but one of the players selected are currently in in U.S. Soccer’s Under-17 Residency Program based in Bradenton, Fla. Defender Tommy Meyer, who was formerly in Residency for […]

Efforts to launch a women’s pro league in the spring of 2008 received a boost when ownership groups from Boston and New York/New Jersey announced their intentions to join investor groups from six other cities. “The signing of these two new markets is an important milestone,” said Tonya Antonucci, the CEO of the Women’s Soccer […]