Soccer America Archives

[GERMANY] A Munich tribunal dismissed Juergen Klinsmann‘s $130,000 suit against the newspaper Tageszeitung for depicting the Bayern Munich coach as a crucified Jesus in a photo montage under the headline “Always look on the bright side of life” (the song title from a Monty Python film). It ruled “It was not at all a real crucifixion,” but satire.

[ENGLAND] A week earlier, Liverpool played to a 4-4 tie with Chelsea that knocked it out of the UEFA Champions League. On Tuesday, the Reds tied Arsenal, 4-4, in a wild match that saw Gunner Andrey Arshavin score four goals and seemingly ended Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes.

[AMERICANS ABROAD] In his first season in France, Carlos Bocanegra will have a chance to win a trophy as Rennes moved into the final of the French Cup with a 1-0 win at Grenoble on Tuesday. The shutout was the fifth in five games — four against Ligue 1 teams — for Rennes, which earned a place in the French Cup final for the first time in 38 years.

[UNDER-17 CONCACAF CHAMPIONSHIP] The USA took a giant step toward returning to the Under-17 World Cup with a 5-0 win over Cuba on Tuesday in their opening Group A game at the Concacaf Under-17 championship in Tijuana, Mexico. John McInerney had two goals and two assists, while Luis Gil, the youngest player on the U.S. team, had a goal and two assists.

[SPAIN] Angel Torres, president of Spanish club Getafe, says Real Madrid’s defender Pepe should be suspended for at least 10 games for violently kicking Javier Casquero twice while the Getafe player was face down on the ground. In fact, 10 games would be lenient.

[MLS PREDICTION] The heaviest week of play so far this season in MLS starts Wednesday when Chivas USA plays at Toronto. Week 6 features a 10-match block of games that will require several teams to play their second and third matches in spans of seven or eight days, and one team to make one of its longest treks of the season. Twice.

[NSCAA] Jim Sheldon, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s first full-time employee, will retire as executive director, effective May 1.

[USL-1 TEAM OF WEEK] Miami’s Diego Serna as the USL First Division Player of the Week. the Colombian celebrated his return to South Florida with a goal and assist in the Blue’s 3-1 win over Cleveland. For the Team of the Week …

[MLS] Expansion club Seattle leads the league in attendance while the biggest disappoint is in Dallas, where Pizza Hut Park is drawing fewer than 10,000 per game. Leaguewide attendance is slightly down from last season’s 15,437 average at this point last year.

[MAKING A LIST] After five weeks, 12 rookies have played more than 200 minutes. Three rookies — Chris Pontius (D.C. United), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles) and Darrius Barnes (New England) — have played ever minute for their respective teams.

[MLS TEAM OF THE WEEK] Chicago’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco, 36, got his first start of the season and provided one of Week 5’s best performances. He helped 36-year-old teammate Brian McBride notch a pair against Kansas City. Ben Olsen, 31, who played just one game last season because of injury, has started four so far in 2009 and was the hero of D.C. United’s 1-1 tie with New England. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney picks the top performers from last week’s action.

[ENGLAND] The turf at the old Wembley Stadium was considered the model of the perfectly manicured surface. The turf at the new Wembley Stadium has been relaid five times and was called “laughable” after a weekend of FA Cup play.