In 2002, the World Cup order was thrown out of whack: no France, no Argentina, no Italy, and no Holland, which failed to even qualify for the finals. Instead, the likes of Turkey, Senegal, South Korea and the United States helped give some actual global balance to a tournament traditionally dominated by two South American […]
Category: Story
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
Section 1: Ronaldo’s goal — a third title
Now that Brazilian Ronaldo has the World Cup career scoring record, he says it’s time to concentrate on his main goal: win another World Cup title. Ronaldo’s first goal in Brazil’s 3-0 win over Ghana gave him 15 in his career, breaking the record he shared with German Gerd Mueller. “That [the record] was never […]
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
WOITALLA: Expecting thrills from final eight
By Mike Woitalla in Hanover Predictably, German tabloid Bild provided in-depth coverage of David Beckman vomiting on the field during England’s 1-0 win over Ecuador. Under the headline, “David Barfman,” Bild ran sequence photos of the incident accompanied by possible reasons why he lost his lunch. “Did he drink English beer instead of German beer?” […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
ITALY: Police investigate Juve manager's 40-foot fall
Police were investigating whether Juventus team manager Gianluca Pessotto made a suicide attempt when he fell about 40 feet from a window on the roof of Juventus' headquarters. Italian World Cup players Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluca Zambrotta flew to Turin on Tuesday to visit their former Juventus teammate, who was in stable condition at […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
MLS: Red Bulls fire Johnston
The New York Red Bulls fired Scotsman Mo Johnston as head coach and named assistant coach Richie Williams to coach the team on an interim basis until a new head coach is named. ôWe are a results-driven company,'' said Red Bull managing director Marc de Grandpre, ''and thatÆs what todayÆs decision is based on. Having […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
WORLD CUP: Measuring soccermania with boiling tea kettles
The National Grid, which operates British electrical lines, have been prepared for power surges known as ''TV pick-up'' as television viewers around Britain switch on tea kettles at halftime of England's World Cup matches. At halftime of Sunday's England-Ecuador game, fans caused the use of electricity to jump by 1,600 megawatts — the equivalent of […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
WORLD CUP: Last beating of the U.S. dead horse
By Ridge Mahoney in Hamburg (This will the final installment regarding the U.S. performance in Germany, replete with references to criticisms, valid and otherwise.) FORMATION. The 4-5-1 formation used primarily by Bruce Arena took a lot of abuse, of course, since a simplistic, knee-jerk reaction is to deride it as defensive. Well, it ain't. With […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
6. SOCCER ON TV: Your World Cup Viewing Guide
For all the week’s World Cup action and MLS games: https://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562137352
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
5. U.S. YOUTH SOCCER: Three defending champions move into Region II semifinals
Three 2005 regional champions advanced to the semifinals of the 2006 Region II championships: St. Louis SC (U-16 Girls), Eclipse Select (U-18 Girls) and the Chicago Magic (U-15 Boys). These teams outscored their opponents by a 59-8 score in round-robin play. For complete Region II semifinal pairings: https://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562137359
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
4. ITALY: Police investigate Juve manager’s 40-foot fall
Police were investigating whether Juventus team manager Gianluca Pessotto made a suicide attempt when he fell about 40 feet from a window on the roof of Juventus’ headquarters. Italian World Cup players Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluca Zambrotta flew to Turin on Tuesday to visit their former Juventus teammate, who was in stable condition at […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
3. WORLD CUP: Measuring soccermania with boiling tea kettles
The National Grid, which operates British electrical lines, have been prepared for power surges known as “TV pick-up” as television viewers around Britain switch on tea kettles at halftime of England’s World Cup matches. At halftime of Sunday’s England-Ecuador game, fans caused the use of electricity to jump by 1,600 megawatts — the equivalent of 640,000 […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
2. MLS: Red Bulls fire Johnston
The New York Red Bulls fired Scotsman Mo Johnston as head coach and named assistant coach Richie Williams to coach the team on an interim basis until a new head coach is named. “We are a results-driven company,” said Red Bull managing director Marc de Grandpre, “and that’s what today’s decision is based on. Having only […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
1. WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“I think it’s ridiculous. If I were him, I’d take a deep breath and think about what I say before I criticize anyone in American soccer.” — MLS commissioner Don Garber on U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena, who suggested that young American players needed to head to Europe to gain experience. (AP) “He can […]
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U.S. YOUTH SOCCER: Region II Semifinal Results
Three 2005 regional champions advanced to the finals of the 2006 Region II championships: St. Louis SC (U16 Girls), Eclipse Select (U18 Girls) and the Chicago Magic (U15 Boys). Semifinal Results Under-13 Boys Internationals 0 Carmel United SC 1 Naperville Lightning 1 Michigan Wolves 2 Under 14 Boys PSA Eagles 2 Chicago Wind Nationals 3 […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Totti Saves it for Italy
Gianluigi Buffon, Italy’s excellent goalkeeper, admitted that he couldn’t watch as Francesco Totti stepped up to take Italy’s last-minute penalty against Australia. “You see the play from the back and sometimes it’s a tragedy and it takes you back to (South) Korea and you think, ‘not again’.” But it was Totti who with ice in […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Ukraine Wins Battle of “Desperate Mediocrity” on Penalties
The International Herald Tribune called it a game of “numbing caution” and “desperate mediocrity,” as the Ukraine ended Switzerland’s World Cup on penalties. Switzerland now has the dubious distinction of being the first team to be knocked out of the finals without conceding a goal. Which is another way of saying they didn’t score enough. […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
As Women Watch World Cup in Record Numbers, Advertisers Miss Out
Apparently, women are watching the World Cup in record-breaking numbers, which is great for the game. The big losers are advertisers, Reuters UK says, who definitely geared their advertising for predominantly male audiences. “It’s a new phenomenon, which has been undervalued and underestimated,” said Maurice Levy, chief executive of Publicis Groupe, the world’s fourth-largest advertising […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Record-Breaking Ronaldo Sees Brazil Through
There’s a saying in soccer that “you’re only as good as your last game.” For international soccer stars, that saying can either be a scourge or a blessing. Barely two weeks ago, Ronaldo was fat, lumbering and in danger of losing his place on Brazil’s starting 11; today he’s one of the greatest strikers in […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Spain v France: Subplots Abound
Not that World Cup games need any added drama, but subplots always tend to spice things up. To the chagrin of the hapless Aussies, Italy and Francesco Totti in particular were able to exact their revenge on Guus Hiddink yesterday after Totti converted a 94th-minute penalty after a possible dive in the box from Italian […]
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
Section 1: Ivanov the Terrible fingers Dutch
By Paul Kennedy Managing Editor Soccer Ameica Russian Valentin Ivanov, the referee of Sunday’s controversial Portugal-Netherlands match, said it was nastiest game he had ever called. Speaking out for the first time since the match, the 45-year-old Ivanov, dubbed Ivanov the Terrible for his calls, told Russian daily Izvestia, “Probably, from the point of view […]
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
MAHONEY: Last beating of the U.S. dead horse
By Ridge Mahoney in Hamburg (This will the final installment regarding the U.S. performance in Germany, replete with references to criticisms, valid and otherwise.) FORMATION. The 4-5-1 formation used primarily by Bruce Arena took a lot of abuse, of course, since a simplistic, knee-jerk reaction is to deride it as defensive. Well, it ain’t. With […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
WORLD CUP: Parreira's Ghana ties
Tuesday's Brazil-Ghana game has special meaning for Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. It was in Ghana that Parreira, a fitness coach by training, worked as a head coach for the first time. He was only 24 in 1967 when he went to work in Ghana, on the recommendation of the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations. […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
WORLD CUP: France ready for high-flying Spaniards
By Paul Kennedy Managing Editor Soccer America Averaging 2.67 goals per game, Spain enters Tuesday's match against France in Hanover with the highest-scoring team at the World Cup, but the Spaniards haven't faced a defense as experienced as the Bleus' backline. All four starters won league championships in 2005-06: right back Willy Sagnol with Bayern […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
WORLD CUP: Heroes on a night of high comedy
By Ridge Mahoney in Nuremberg The first few words of the Portuguese national anthem are, ''Heroes of the Sea.'' There isn't an ocean anywhere near the Frankenstadion where a fascinating round-of-16 match took place Sunday, yet those who wore the Portugal colors will be feted as such after they outlasted the Netherlands, 1-0, on a […]
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
WOITALLA: Why Spain may finally prevail
By Mike Woitalla in Munich With each World Cup, the Spaniards search for a reason why things will turn out different. Spain entered the last seven World Cups as potential champion but never passed the quarterfinals. 2006 is the year, really, says the Spanish press. It has been citing 16th century French soothsayer Nostradamus‘ prediction […]