Category: Story

[MLS PREDICTIONS] The second half of the MLS season officially starts during the weekend, as Friday’s match represents the exact midpoint – game No. 113 of 225 – of the 2009 campaign. Many of the matchups are even: Chicago and Colorado face off with identical 5-3-6 marks; only a tie separates Columbus and D.C, which both have – like Chicago and Colorado – five wins and three ties; and the Galaxy and Revs also separate by just a point as .500 teams with very different records. For all of Soccer America’s predictions, as well as TV viewing information, and to see how we’ve fared so far this season. …

[GOLD CUP] Concacaf has allowed the USA to add seven players to its 23-man Gold Cup roster because the USA played in the Confederations Cup, which ended June 28 with the USA’s 3-2 loss in the final to Brazil. Only 18 players may dress for a game. The seven players, all of whom saw Confederations Cup action, can join the team at any time during the tournament. Among the additions is Jozy Altidore, who scored for the USA in its 2-0 semifinal upset over Spain.

[GOLD CUP] All 25 Gold Cup games will be broadcast live on U.S. television. Fox Soccer Channel will provide live coverage of the three U.S. first-round games against Grenada, Honduras and Haiti as well as one game from each of the knockout rounds (involving the USA if it advances). All games will air on one of the Spanish-language networks, Univision, Galavision or TeleFutura. For the complete Gold Cup television schedule …

[GOLD CUP] Many believe that Shalrie Joseph would have been a fixture in midfield for the U.S. national team if he chose to play for his adopted homeland. Instead, the New England Revolution star leads Grenada in its first appearance at the Gold Cup, beginning with a game against the USA on Saturday in Seattle.

[LIBERTADORES CUP] Thanks to a pair of goals by Wellington, Cruzeiro tied fellow Brazilian club Gremio, 2-2, in their semifinal second leg to advance to the final 5-3 on aggregate. Cruzeiro will face Argentina’s Estudiantes in final.

[GOLD CUP] On the face of it, the task for the U.S. national team is simple: Start off defense of your Gold Cup title with a Fourth of July match in Seattle against one of the smallest nations in Concacaf. Except that things work differently in Concacaf, and though the days of guest competitors from other confederations and the wrong national anthems being played are things of the past, hopefully, just a few days before the tournament began came news of a curious development.

[GOLD CUP] For five teams, including the USA, the 2009 Gold Cup is a brief interlude between the year’s most important competition — the final stage of World Cup 2010 qualifying. Here’s how the USA’s four Hexagonal opponents are approaching the Concacaf championship.

[U.S. OPEN CUP] A rivalry born in the North American Soccer League and renewed in various forms turned another page Wednesday in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Seattle, formerly a fierce foe of Portland in the NASL as well as more recently in the A-League and United Soccer Leagues (USL), topped the Timbers, 2-1, at PGE Park in Portland.

[WPS] The Chicago Red Stars snapped a nine-game winless streak — the longest in Women’s Professional Soccer’s short history — and did it dramatic fashion, becoming the first team in WPS history to come from behind to win a game with a 2-1 over Washington

[MLS] A year after helping Maryland win the 2008 College Cup, Rodney Wallace finds himself contributing significant minutes (1,336 in 16 games) to a resurgent D.C. United. This Costa Rica native, who moved to the USA at age 9, has chipped in two goals and three assists. Get to know the 21-year-old in this profile by Soccer America’s Bryan Alvarez that covers on- and off-field experiences.

[TRANSFER WATCH] Former great Zinedine Zidane has left his first mark on Real Madrid since returning to the club as a senior advisor. On his recommendation, the Spanish club shelled out almost $50 million to sign 21-year-old forward Karim Benzema, who like Zidane was born and raised in France to Algerian immigrants.

[MLS] Though many teams are stretched for roster openings and salary-cap space, moves are inevitable with the opening of the domestic transfer window July 15 and the passing of the June 30 contract guarantee date. Several teams have already waived and signed players, and in a rather curious move Red Bull New York traded allocation money to Colorado in exchange for goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul. Soccer American’s Ridge Mahoney looks at key player moves around the league. …

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Tim Hankinson, who has coached in MLS, the USL and the collegiate ranks and whose globetrotting has taken him to Iceland and Guatemala, is off to India to coach Goa’s Salgaocar FC, which won promotion to the 2009-10 I-League First Division.

[U.S. OPEN CUP] Houston succeeded on two fronts Wednesday by playing a lot of its reserves while beating the USL-1 Austin Aztex, 2-0, in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.