“We’re desperate to sign him and I will keep hoping until the last possible moment.”
— AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani, on David Beckham, who assisted on two goals in Serie A last weekend. Beckham’s cuurent loan deal from the MLS has him slated to return to MLS on March 9. (AFP)
[MLS] The track records of Designated Players took another hit last week when D.C. United and Marcelo Gallardo concluded negotiations to terminate his contract.
Lyon and Bordeaux remain separated by only one point at the top of France’s Ligue 1 standings after they both had to settle for ties at home. Rangers moved to within two points of Glasgow rival Celtic in Scotland, while Trabzon tied Sivas for the lead in the Turkey. For all the weekend results and updated standings …
This morning U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati will officially inform FIFA that the United States is eager to stage a future World Cup – two World Cups, in fact, those of 2018 and 2022, though it knows it can only get one of them.
[USA-MEXICO COUNTDOWN] Mexico received good news when captain Rafael Marquez returned to action ahead of schedule with Spanish leader Barcelona — and got sent off, meaning he’ll miss next weekend’s La Liga action and be rested for the World Cup 2010 qualifier against the United States on Feb. 11. Marquez was one of seven European-based players called up by Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson for the Hexagonal opener.
[DIGICEL UNCAF CUP] Panama broke Costa Rica’s streak of three straight Central American championships with its first Digicel Uncaf Cup title, while Nicaragua qualified for the Gold Cup for the first time. Poor performances by El Salvador and Guatemala resulted in the ouster of their coaches.
[SPAIN] Nothing seems to stop Barcelona. Despite trailing at Racing Santander and having two players sent off, Barca still won, 2-1, on a pair of goals by sub Lionel Messi and extended its unbeaten streak to 20 games and its winning streak to nine games. Winner of six straight wins, Real Madrid still trails its archrival by 12 points.
[GERMANY] The Bundesliga resumed as it left off with tiny Hoffenheim the surprise leader. Despite having lost top scorer Vedad Ibisevic, the former Saint Louis University star, for the rest of the season with a knee injury during the winter break, Hoffenheim brushed aside Energie Cottbus, 2-0, on Saturday.
[ITALY] With assists on two goals in AC Milan’s 3-0 win at Lazio on Sunday, David Beckham looks more and more comfortable on the Serie A club’s right wing, prompting Coach Carlo Ancelotti to add him to the roster for the upcoming UEFA Champions League series against Werder Bremen.
[ENGLAND] It looks like Liverpool, not Chelsea, will be Manchester United’s principal challenger in its title defense. Liverpool beat an uninspired Chelsea team, 2-0, on a pair of late goals by Spaniard Fernando Torres and kept itself within striking distance of leader United. The Red Devils, 1-0 winners over Everton, lead Liverpool by two points and Chelsea by five and have a game in hand on both teams.
[AMERICANS ABROAD] U.S. Olympian Jozy Altidore, who moved from the New York Red Bulls to the Spanish La Liga’s Villarreal last summer, is going on loan to Spanish second division leader Xerez.
[AMERICANS IN GERMANY] Landon Donovan was a 77th minute sub for Bayern Munich, which fell 1-0 at Hamburg SV. Michael Bradley played the full 90 for Borussia Moenchengladbach as his team suffered its league-high 13th loss of the season.
“I thought about it a lot, and it was the right amount of money and security [with United]. Another thing is, I have a good situation here. I think a lot of guys go from team to team looking for a good situation, for things like playing time, enjoying where they’re living. I’ve obviously had […]
“His [David Beckham‘s] agent is here in Milan. He will first speak with him and then we will meet him ourselves. The good feeling between our club and David is absolute but you all know the situation.” AC Milan Vice President Adriano Galliani reports on the latest installment of the L.A. Galaxy midfielder’s seemingly inevitable […]
“It’s definitely more relaxed than last year. It helps to have had the kind of season we had last year. That’s not being slack, I don’t think, but I have no doubt once we get closer to the start of the season, things will be a bit more serious.” Columbus Crew’s “gritty, grinning Scotsman” Adam […]
“A very rare find. As organized as youth soccer is now, we might not see that again.” Houston Dynamo Director of Youth Development James Clarkson on the team’s 18-year-old generation adidas signing Felix Garcia, who grew up playing soccer in the streets and parks of Laredo, with the benefit of avoiding soccer clubs and their […]
The Cyprus Football Association says that talks with the breakaway Turkish Cypriots to unify soccer on the ethnically divided island have collapsed. The CFA said Friday it considers the matter “over” after the Cyprus Turkish Football Association turned down a FIFA- and UEFA-brokered deal on ending its decades-old exclusion from international soccer.
Well worth reading in full, Kaveh Solhekol‘s entertaining guide to the worst aspects of the modern game includes a rant about modern squad numbers: “Remember the days when the best player was No 10 and goalkeepers were No 1? Not any more. Thanks to someone at the Premier League watching an American football game, players […]
Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill will be pleased that so many people still underestimate his side’s chances of winning the Premier League title this season, writes Kevin McCarra. In fact Villa’s ambitions “are so often overlooked that the team are clandestine contenders,” he says. But Villa is only a point behind Liverpool and Chelsea, […]
When Chelsea’s Ivorian forward Salomon Kalou celebrated scoring against Middlesbrough on Wednesday, his post-goal choreography in tandem with compatriot Didier Drogba could, it seems, be interpreted in one of two ways. Either he was showing his admiration for WWE wrestler John Cena, or he was making a statement in support of the Ivory Coast political […]
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said Friday that soccer’s world governing body will reject joint bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups if there are other single-country bids with “certain guarantees,” according to the Spanish news agency Efe, citing comments by Blatter at a press conference in Asuncion, Paraguay. If true, this would already […]
Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan‘s price tag has proven to expensive for Glasgow Celtic, reports Ronnie Cully in an “exclusive.” He writes that Major League Soccer has “placed a price tag of around £2.5m [$3.6 million] on the 23-year-old. It is understood extra payments based on appearances, plus a substantial sell-on clause, would be […]
The German Bundesliga kicks off the second half of its season on Friday when Bayern Munich travels to Hamburg SV and Landon Donovan could make his Bayern debut. In Saturday EPL action, U.S. keeper Tim Howard faces his old team, Manchester United. The final round of the U-20 South American Championship begins on Saturday. The UNCAF Cup semis are on Friday and the final on Sunday.
Gee, what a shock, David Beckham getting injured his just his third Serie A game on loan with AC Milan. Serves him right.
[REF WATCH] West Brom coach Tony Mowbray has accused English Premier League referees of being too “pally” with stars – citing that they call popular players by their first names: “It’s almost as if refs want to be friends of the stars.”
