Category: Story

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Benny Feilhaber, one of the players who left the U.S. national team during the Gold Cup to return to his European club, continued his outstanding summer ball with perhaps his best game yet for Danish club AGF Aarhus. He finished off a brilliant maneuver with his first goal as a pro — the third goal in a 3-2 win at Randers Monday that gave it six points and first place in the 2009-10 Danish SuperLigaen after two rounds.

[OFF THE POST] During AC Milan’s 2-0 loss to archrival Inter in a World Football Challenge game last weekend in Foxboro, Mass., referee Jorge Gonzalez showed Ronaldinho a red card when he meant to display the yellow for dissent. Gonzalez quickly made the correction and there were laughs all around.

[WORLD CUP 2018/2022] U.S. President Barack Obama met with FIFA President Sepp Blatter Monday to discuss soccer, in particular the U.S. bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. Blatter reportedly joked that while Obama, who was presented with soccer balls for daughters and tried juggling a ball, wasn’t ready to make the U.S. national team that played Brazil in the recent Confederations Cup final, he could have made the team that lost to Mexico, 5-0, in the Gold Cup final …

[WPS] With the July 31 deadline approaching for all-star balloting, Saint Louis Athletica goalie Hope Solo led all players with her name on 35 percent of submitted ballots for the WPS all-star team that will face Swedish champion Umea IK at the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo., on Aug. 30. Other leaders, by position, are defender Heather Mitts, midfielder Lori Chalupny and forward Marta.

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] With the Concacaf Gold Cup out of the way, the confederation’s club competition resumes with three MLS teams and one USL entry involved in the Champions’ League preliminary round that consists of eight home-and-home series. The Columbus Crew and the Houston Dynamo begin play next month when the group stage kicks off. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney explains the path MLS and USL teams must take to be crowned champion of the region of North and Central American and the Caribbean.

Did the embarrassing 5-0 loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup final signal that the players Coach Bob Bradley tested in the tournament won’t be back for the remaining five World Cup qualifying games? Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney assesses the U.S. Gold Cup players and shows what the 23-man U.S. roster for the 2010 World Cup could like.

[MLS] Though it has struggled to finalize a stadium deal, the Houston Dynamo has done just about everything else right since joining MLS prior to the 2006 season when the league approved a move from San Jose. Its success on the field and at the gate has yielded hosting rights for the 2010 All-Star Game, as announced by Commissioner Don Garber Monday. “I don’t think that people really expected that Houston, Texas would be a strong, powerful and successful MLS market,” Garber said. “It’s turned out to be one of our best.”

[WPS] Allie Long scored what could prove to be one of the most important goals of the Women’s Professional Soccer season when the former Penn State and North Carolina star scored in the 89th minute to give the Washington Freedom to a 3-2 win over the Chicago Red Stars that moved it into a tie with Sky Bue FC for fourth place. The loss ended sixth-place Chicago’s slim playoff hopes.

[MAKING A LIST] You have to go all the way to the late stages of group play at the 1994 World Cup to find a day when there were three soccer crowds in excess of 42,000 for games played in the United States on the same day as there were on Sunday. Sunday’s crowd of 79,156 for the USA-Mexico Gold Cup final was the largest of the day but ranks only third for the month of July. There have been 18 crowds greater than 25,000 — eight for the Gold Cup, six for the World Football Challenge, two for MLS games and two international exhibitions.

[WORLD FOOTBALL CHALLENGE] Sunday was a big day for English club Chelsea. Captain John Terry confirmed he was staying at Chelsea, spurning an offer from Manchester City, and the Blues clinched the World Football Challenge with a 2-0 win over Mexico’s Club America before 57,229 fans at Jerry World — Jerry Jones‘ new Dallas Cowboys Stadium dubbed a stadium like no other in the world by Chelsea star Andriy Shevchenko.

[GOLD CUP] A sign of what was to come occurred in stoppage time of the first half, before a five-goal Mexican onslaught buried the USA in the Gold Cup final Sunday at Giants Stadium in front of a pro-Mexico crowd of 79,156. After a U.S. free kick, Mexico countered, and only Jay Heaps got back in time as Giovanni Dos Santos and Alberto Medina swept forward. Medina, who’d been threatening but hardly fearsome on the left flank, dragged his shot wide of the far post.