Soccer America Archives

The NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament begins with first-round play Friday and Saturday. The 16 seeded teams move into action in the second round next Tuesday. The third round follows the weekend of Nov. 28-30. For the complete first- and second-round schedules …

SCOREBOARD: NJCAA Division I Men and Women

Defending champion Yavapai improved to 24-0-0 with a 3-1 win over Schoolcraft that moved it into the semifinals of the NJCAA Division I Men’s Tournament in Phoenix. Francis Khamis, Justin Meram and Gabriel Okito scored for the Roadrunners, who play Garden City of Kansas in Friday’s semifinals. The other semifinal pits Mercer County against San Jacinto. In the NJCAA Division I Women’s Tournament being played in nearby Chandler, Ariz., host Chandler-Gilbert faces top-seed Darton and Lewis & Clark of Illinois meets North Idaho in Friday’s semifinals.

Voting begins for U.S. Soccer Athletes of the Year

[AWARDS] U.S. Soccer has announced the finalists — six in each category — for its annual Athlete of the Year Awards – Male, Female, Young Male and Young Female.

Juventus unveils plan for new stadium

by Ian PlenderleithNovember 21, 2008

[ITALY] Juventus is to completely renovate the Stadio Delle Alpi and become the first Italian club to own its own stadium.

Crew’s Schelotto named MVP

[MLS] The Columbus Crew’s Guillermo Barros Schelotto became the second Argentine in three years to receive Major League Soccer’s top individual award when he was named the Volkswagen Most Valuable Player.

Donovan and Blanco strike loan deals

[MLS] After David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Cuauhtemoc Blanco will spend the offseason playing on loan to foreign teams. German champion Bayern Munich will have Donovan from Jan. 1 until the start of the MLS season in mid-March. Blanco will join Santos only for the Mexican league playoffs, which start this weekend with the first leg of the quarterfinals.

Angles abound for grand MLS Cup

by Ridge MahoneyNovember 21, 2008

There are too many variables to consider when assessing whether Columbus or New York holds the upper hand for their meeting Sunday in MLS Cup 2008 (TV, ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET). But when you examine the foreign influence, the young domestic talent and the old hands on both teams, one team clearly has an edge …

Soccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

“I was sort of unemployed, so that probably helped.”

— Sigi Schmid on why left his home in Southern California to take over the Columbus Crew in 2006. He led the Los Angeles Galaxy to three MLS Cup finals and had the team in first place in the Western Conference when he was fired in 2004. He returns to the Home Depot Center Sunday to lead the Crew against the New York Red Bulls in MLS Cup ’08. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Under-20 Women’s World Cup Scoreboard

Play continued Thursday at the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Chile, where Brazil knocked off defending champion North Korea, 3-2, in a thrilling match. Japan was a comfortable 2-0 winner over Canada’s team of U.S. collegians, while Norway beat Mexico, 2-1. In the tournament’s first route, Germany beat the Democratic Republic of Congo, 5-0. The USA resumes play Saturday when it faces Argentina in Chillan. For all the results and schedules …

Never Mind MVP, Schelotto Wants A Title

Major League Soccer’s 2008 MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto plays “a graceful game, full of nuance and surprise,” writes Shawn Mitchell. “A touch just so on a free kick. A dribble through a gaggle of defenders, off-kilter and off-balance, that ends how it started: Schelotto, head up, searching the field for the best way to get […]

Chasing The Priesthood Dream

“I feel blessed that the Lord allowed me to fulfill my dreams [as a soccer player] before pulling me into His plans for me. Not only is His will perfect, but His time is perfect as well. The timing of my call was meant to be exactly when it happened.” Former New England Revolution Chase […]

Arsenal’s Walcott Out For Three Months

“How can I stop meaningless friendlies? I can talk but I cannot do a lot about it. My opinion will not change the fixtures and I am conscious of that.” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger after learning that winger Theo Walcott will likely miss three months after dislocating his shoulder while training with the England team […]

Brazil Hands Portugal Worst Defeat For 50 Years

“I think we got carried away with the first goal and thought things would be easy, but after it was 1-0 the team fell apart. Some of the goals we conceded were pathetic, as was the lack of concentration. We started to stretch ourselves, concede space and this cannot happen, especially in a game against […]

South Africa Wins Fourth Successive Game

“It was very good result with strong performances in all the key departments and a big boost for our confidence. My nightmares are now turning into sweet dreams.” South Africa coach Joel Santana after his side’s 3-2 exhibition win over Cameroon, the next World Cup host’s fourth successive victory.

Blanco Loaned To Santos?

A Mexican paper has reported that Chicago Fire forward Cuauhtémoc Blanco will be loaned out to Mexico’s Santos Laguna for the MFL playoffs to replace injured forward and leading goal scorer Christian Benitez. But Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas says it’s not yet a done deal.

Report: Arsenal Targets Gazidis

MLS deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis is the latest target in Arsenal’s long search for a new chief executive, writes Charles Sale, quoting no sources whatsoever. Sale does point out, however, that Gazidis already turned down an approach from Manchester City for the same position because he did not want to relocate from Connecticut to England. […]

England’s New Confidence Comes From Capello

The withdrawal of so many first-choice players from both rosters had lead many to declare England’s friendly in Germany on Wednesday as meaningless, writes James Lawton. But “there can be no such thing when England visit the gaunt old stadium where Hitler used to strut and pose.” Following World Cup qualifying wins in Croatia and […]

Maradona’s Tentative First Step

"It is all very well creating a circus but what of the act?" asks Andy Hunter after Diego Maradona's coaching debut for Argentina in Scotland Wednesday, which ended in a 1-0 exhibition win. The answer was: a "tentative first step for a team with designs on a third World Cup in 2010, a giant leap […]

Schmid Wary Of Angel, Van den Bergh

Columbus Crew coach Sigi Schmid has spotlighted New York’s experienced overseas contingent as the main obstacle between the Crew and its first MLS Cup title. Colombian striker Juan Pablo Angel, with 16 goals this season, and veteran Dutch midfielder-forward Dave Van den Bergh, with eight, are his opponent’s key players, he tells Michael Lewis. “They’re […]

SCOREBOARD: NJCAA Division I Women

Top-ranked Darton College takes a 21-0-1 record into the NJCAA Division I Women’s Championship, which begins Thursday at Chandler-Gilbert Commnity College in Chandler, Ariz.

ON THE WEB: collegesoccer360.com

Like fivethirtyeight.com, which brought some clarity to the polls in the presidential race, collegesoccer360.com, the newest web site to cover women’s college soccer, provides an important overview to the national women’s scene.

SCOREBOARD: NCAA Division I Women

Play resumes in the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament with eight games this weekend. It begins Friday when No. 1 regional seeds Notre Dame and Stanford host unseeded Minnesota and Rutgers, respectively. For all the results and schedules …

SCOREBOARD: NCAA Division I Men

MORNING BRIEFING: USF and UNCG sneak in

by Paul KennedyNovember 20, 2008

San Francisco and UNC Greensboro, two legendary programs, sneaked into the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament. USF won the WCC (9-9-1 overall), while UNCG, the Southern Conference champion, is the only team in the men’s field with a losing record (8-11-2).