Category: Story

The club vs. academy argument being had in youth soccer circles from the D.C. and northern Virginia area is, at least for now, being won by the side backed by the U.S. Soccer, as D.C. United's Under-17 team recently won its second SUM Cup in three years and made the U.S. Soccer Development Academy finals. […]

An old, but curious conversation has come out of Salt Lake City following the 2009 MLS All-Star Game and its climactic/anti-climactic (depending on who you ask, of course) penalty-kick shootout. According to the Deseret News, Real Salt Lake boss Dave Checketts "said he enjoyed the penalty-kick shootout so much in last week's MLS All-Star Game […]

There’s some serious talk being talked out of England today, and for his sake, Robinho better hope his expensive new teammates can walk the walk. Perhaps feeling like the spotlight had been stolen yet again by Xabi Alonso‘s signing on board at Real Madrid from Liverpool, the Brazilian forward boasted that with its own new […]

An overmatched defense, a veritable firing range of opposing shots, and a lopsided 4-0 loss in front of a soldout crowd cheering on FC Barcelona? Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller had been there, done that. "I had my ass kicked once 5-1 at Camp Nou (Barcelona's 97,000-seat home stadium), so I've seen it before," admitted Keller, […]

In an effort to temper the hysteria (and no doubt, tremendous relief) that the Mexican national team felt after finally snapping a winless streak on U.S. soil, head coach Javier Aguirre has come out to contain the renewed country-wide enthusiasm in El Tri. "In Mexico we're prone to throw ourselves on the floor after a […]

The season-long MLS success story that is Seattle Sounders FC still soldiers on, with substantial crowds still filing into Qwest Field despite a recent drop in play, and it’s in large part thanks to presence of superstar Freddie Ljungberg, whom Seattle Times columnist Steve Kelley calls “the perfect player, the perfect personality, exactly the right […]

As further proof of the extent of the global financial crisis, the Aug. 14 opening of the Argentine First Division's Apertura season has been suspended indefinitely by the Argentine soccer federation (AFA) as it seeks "a solution to clubs' massive debts," according to Reuters. "The executive committee of the AFA resolved unanimously tonight (Tuesday) that […]

The USA isn’t the only country out there actively and aggressively lobbying for attention to their bid for a World Cup that is almost 13 years away. “Far, far in the western-most corner of Asia, a tiny country is putting its nose up at the football establishment with a bid for the 2022 World Cup […]

You can train at altitude and in poor air conditions for weeks on end, you can pump your body full of supplements, and you can pipe in a recreation of the crowd noise to get used to the din, but when you step on the field at Azteca with the sun at its highest point […]

Nobody around Concacaf is looking for Mexico to rest on its laurels after serving up a humiliating 5-0 defeat to the USA in the Gold Cup final. While much of that squad was rewarded with call-ups for the Aug. 12 match at Azteca, captain Gerardo Torrado says they still know that they have a lot […]

Hoping to avoid the unfortunate scene this past March when all-night boozing at the team hotel followed by obscene gestures by Allan McGregor and Barry Ferguson from the bench during a defeat to the Netherlands resulted in lifetime bans for the veteran Scotland national team midfielders, officials have declared a ban on all alcohol surrounding […]

The tradition at FC Barcelona is “the sort of tale that historians love, the sort that spans centuries and weaves together past, present and future,” dotes the LA Times’ Grahame Jones, as the European champion is midway through its U.S. tour and meets the Seattle Sounders FC tonight at 10:30 pm ET on ESPN. Jones […]