So the Confederations Cup got itself moving — rather sluggishly — with a 0-0 tie, a scoreline that is now virtually traditional for opening games at international tournaments.
Category: Story
Dearth of home wins, not excess ties, plagues MLS
Real Salt Lake operator-investor Dave Checketts isn’t happy that so many MLS games this year are ending in ties, but he, like the rest of us, is powerless to do much about it.
Red Bulls’ Osorio Still Has Support Within Team
Speculation hovers silently over Coach Juan Carlos Osorio and the Red Bulls amidst the worst start in franchise history. Coaching positions at the club are historically volatile. In its 14-year history the club has had 11 coaches. This doesn’t bode well for Osorio. After a 4-0 defeat to the New England Revolution, the Red Bulls […]
Seattle’s Schmid Wants More Heart, Not More Chemistry
When asked about possible issues with team chemistry, Seattle Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid shot down those rumors. If anything, Schmid said, players are being too nice to one another. “I think our locker room is good. I think the guys get along with each other, and everybody has a good healthy respect for each […]
D.C. United’s Fred Content On and Off Field
Over the past year, D.C. United midfielder Fred has faced lots of adversity off the field. In December, Fred was in New Zealand on loan to Australian league club Wellington Phoenix when he heard his father had been killed in a car accident in his hometown of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. In late April, his daughter, […]
Manchester United Looks to Fill Void Left By Ronaldo
Sir Alex Ferguson has put together a list of potential summer transfer targets as he tries to fill the void created by the imminent $130 million transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid and the prospect of Carlos Tevez following Ronaldo out of Old Trafford. Manchester United’s first response will be to follow up its […]
German Clubs Grabbing New Coaches
Three German soccer clubs have announced a changing of the guard this week with the appointment of new coaches in Leverkusen, Hamburg and Frankfurt less than a month before training begins for next season. Brunno Labbadia is leaving Bayer Leverkusen for Hamburg, while Leverkusen signed 64-year-old coach Jupp Heynckes to a deal good until 2011. […]
U.S. Billionaire Makes Offer for Setanta
U.S. billionaire Len Blavatnik is offering $33 million in return for a 51% stake in the troubled Irish pay-tv channel Setanta. Access Industries, a private company owned by Blavatnik, said it had submitted a proposal to Setanta but gave no further details. In a statement, Access Industries said: “The Access proposal is subject to a […]
TV viewers ready for dress rehearsal
[CONFEDERATIONS CUP] The 2009 Confederations Cup is a dress rehearsal for the 2010 World Cup, allowing television viewers to get into next summer’s routine. Get ready for long lunches and weekend doubleheaders by following the Confederations Cup action from South Africa on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com, as well as on Spanish-language Univision’s family of network. For the complete schedule …
Favorite Spain looks to build on successes
[CONFEDERATIONS CUP] The Confederations Cup, which begins Sunday in South Africa, is a sneak preview of how the 2010 World Cup shapes up. Spain, which opens play on Sunday against New Zealand, is the early favorite to win the World Cup, having won Euro 2008 and boasting an embarrassment of riches, most notably a nucleus of players from the great Barcelona team that won the 2009 UEFA Champions Cup.
Numerical Rosters
[CONFEDERATIONS CUP] Americans fans will be familiar with many of the players at the Confederations Cup. Kaka of Brazil and Fabio Cannavaro of Italy are two former European and World Players of the Year competing at the Confederations Cup. New Zealand boasts six players who attended U.S. colleges and four of them are playing in MLS. For the complete numerical rosters of the eight entrants …
Tough foes present rare chance for U.S. players
[CONFEDERATIONS CUP] There should be more pressure on the U.S. national team to get results in the next two months, but there really isn’t. On Monday, Coach Bob Bradley’s men begin Confederations Cup play. As will be the case during the Gold Cup later this summer, determining which players will best serve the World Cup campaign will be of most interest.
MLS teams drawn into regional groups
[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls will open play in the 2009-10 Concacaf Champions League when they face Chalatenango of El Salvador and W Connection of Trinidad, respectively, in the preliminary round.
Sol aims for first series sweep
[WPS] The first-place Los Angeles Sol looks to complete a sweep of its three-game series with struggling Sky Blue FC when it travels to New Jersey on Saturday. For a look at all the weekend action …
Top-two East tussle highlights weekend action
[MLS PREDICTIONS] Teams bunched closely together in the standings — or by geography — highlight several matches during the 13th weekend of league play, with Eastern Conference leader Chicago hosting second-place D.C. United, and the Wizards and the Revs – two of four Eastern teams locked together with 16 points – set to play at CommunityAmerica Ballpark. For all of Soccer America’s predictions, as well as TV viewing information, and to see how we’ve fared so far this season. …
Largest transfer fees
[MAKING A LIST] Real Madrid has been the buyer in all four of the world’s most expensive transfer deals, the most recent being its purchases of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka for a combined $222.5 million.
Feedback: The Barcelona Approach; Tryouts
Soccer America readers comment on recent editions of the Youth Soccer Insider e-letter.
Italy’s New Jersey Boy Set to Face USA
Giuseppe Rossi left Clifton N.J., just before his 13th birthday to join the Parma youth system in Italy and pursue his dream of playing for the Italian national team. The United States invited him to training camp before the 2006 World Cup, but Rossi demurred, ignoring criticism that he was dismissive of American soccer and […]
Adidas Expects World Cup Sales Boost
Adidas AG, the world's second-largest sporting-goods maker, expects soccer sales to exceed 1.3 billion euros ($1.8 billion) next year as fans purchase jerseys, balls and footwear tied to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Adidas aims to use the World Cup to raise its leading share of the global soccer market to more than […]
Man United Accepts Real Offer For Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester United confirmed that it has accepted a world-record bid from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo after he once again asked to leave the club. An official Manchester United statement read, "Manchester United has received a world-record, unconditional offer of £80 million ($132 million) for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid. At Cristiano's request – who […]
U.S. Setting Up Friendly with Iran
The U.S. soccer team might go to Iran in November for the first match between the nations in almost a decade. USSF president Sunil Gulati said Wednesday the game could be held in Tehran on Nov. 14 or 18. The United States was upset 2-1 by Iran at the 1998 World Cup in France, then […]
Leonardo: ‘Pato and Pirlo Will Stay’
Brazil forward Alexandre Pato and Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo will not leave AC Milan to join their former boss Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, the Serie A club’s new coach Leonardo said on Thursday. “They are not moving from Milan,” Leonardo was quoted as saying by La Gazzetta dello Sport’s website. “They are both very important […]
PDL Guest Player Scores for FC Dallas in Friendly
FC Dallas got goals from Andre Rocha in the 21st minute and another from guest player Alex Fichera in the 60th minute to take a 2-0 victory against Costa Rican Primera Division club CS Herediano on Wednesday night at Pizza Hut Park in a "friendly" game that saw the visitors finish with just eight men. […]
Houston clubs merge academy program
Two major Houston youth clubs — the Dallas Texans-Houston Division and Texas Soccer Club — are joining forces to field USSF Academy teams.
U-17s expand player search
The USA won its group at the Concacaf Under-17 Championship in style to qualify for the 2009 Under-17 World Cup, but Coach Wilmer Cabrera isn’t content to work only with players from that team that he has in residency in Bradenton, Fla. Of the 40 players called into a training camp, beginning Sunday at the Players Development Academy in Somerset, N.J., are 14 players who have not been part of U.S. Soccer’s residency program. For the complete roster …
