Soccer America Archives

“I could not be more proud of my players and how we did in this competition.  Before this tournament nobody had ever heard of the Puerto Rico Islanders, and we made it to the semifinal. I’m disappointed with the performance in the penalties but I don’t think the elimination was a failure. Nobody could have […]

“You have to think the last goal was one we could not afford to lose. It was a terrible goal to give away when you are 2-1 up and seeing the game out.  It is a difficult job now, not made any easier when they tell you no British team has won in Porto.  But […]

“I am very determined to go the extra step this year and win the trophy.  That burning [disappointment] I suffered last year will live with me forever.   The one way I can make that pain ease a little bit is to win this trophy. I can do that with the manager we have in charge […]

“Absolutely false. As most of them are, I might add.” An always chipper Bruce Arena, putting the kibosh on a recent report connecting 35-year-old Italian international Christian Vieri with the L.A. Galaxy and undoubtedly trying to avoid more unnecessary drama involving a high-profile player with Italian ties.

If the world’s best female soccer player scores two goals in the tiny township of Bridgewater, N.J. (population: approximately 45,000/game attendance: 6,053), does anybody hear it?  That’s more or less the question put forth by Goal.com’s Andrea Canales, who wonders whether WPS, despite featuring a player like Marta that “legitimizes WPS as the highest echelon […]

When the Seattle lost the Supersonics but gained the Sounders FC, fortunately for the city’s sports fans one thing remained in place: the well-practiced pipes of play-by-play announcer Kevin Calabaro, who is “as much an icon in the Seattle area as majestic Mount Rainier,” writes goal.com’s John Zielonka. Not wanting to follow the NBA franchise […]

Tempted by offers to play overseas, Toronto FC goalkeeper Greg Sutton is the rare pro athlete that decided to follow the road less traveled, choosing family and country over potential fame and fortune to remain in North America, where he has carved out a solid career and without which he wouldn’t have met his wife. […]

With regular Rangers midfielders Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor serving a two-week suspension after a pair of controversial off-field incidents (a drunk/disorderly bout followed by obscene gesture from the bench) while representing the Scotland national team last week, it looks like it’s time for young Maurice Edu to step into a starting role once occupied […]

“Perez has not been elected president of Real and cannot therefore make any moves.  In any case, I’m certain that if one day Florentino wanted to sign Kaka he would come directly to me. Hence, I am calm.  Kaka is not for sale and Florentino will eventually realize this.”  AC Milan VP Adriano Galliani, dismissing […]

“It is not mind games. I think it maybe is that he is a little bit scared [of us]. I do not have a problem with United. Clearly one of us, either Chelsea or us, will end up focusing just on the Premier League after this.  I think Sir Alex [Ferguson] will be supporting Liverpool […]

“We’ve always produced outstanding players, but for whatever reason, we’ve only once come up with a truly great team. And let’s not forget how small we are compared to the habitual winners, the Brazils, Italys, Germanys and even the Argentinas of this world. Looking at it from this perspective, our record of two runners-up finishes […]

“All these players are robbed as a matter of course by this club. They are always outside what is normal in terms of etiquette. They go to the parents and give them money and important jobs. These are boys who come from poor families. The families base their choices on economic interests.  It’s not moral. […]

Diagnosed with Crohn’s disease while still in high school, defender Devon McTavish has been living with the illness for eight years, but it “hasn’t stopped him from becoming an established member of both D.C. United and the greater Washington, D.C. community.” Building on a “quiet,” “under the radar” college career at West Virginia to a […]

It wasn’t too long ago when Wayne Rooney made a name at age 16 by scoring “to end Arsenal’s 30-match unbeaten run and make him the Premier League’s youngest scorer.” Nor was it long ago that a 17-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo “also made a dazzling United debut off the bench against Bolton Wanderers six years ago.”  […]

There have been a lot of promising young Brazilian strikers to come through and grab worldwide headlines, but one name has been all but forgotten amid happier tales of Romarios, Ronaldos, Ronaldinhos and Robinhos.  Goal.com’s Sulmaan Ahmad digs up memories of a star that shown bright before fading away into obscurity (Jardel) in relating the […]