Soccer America Archives

U.S. U-17 girls national team coach Kazbek Tambi will welcome 24 players on Friday as he works on cutting down his squad to 21 players for the inaugural Under-17 Girls World Cup being held Oct. 28-Nov. 16 in New Zealand. For the complete roster …

Development Academy kicks off

by Paul KennedySeptember 11, 2008

Schulz Academy, which finished third in the 2007-08 U.S. Soccer Academy’s U-16 Age Group, opened the 2008-09 season with a 2-0 win over Birmingham United and 0-0 tie with Atlanta Fire United.

MORNING BRIEFING: UCLA back at full strength

by Paul KennedySeptember 11, 2008

With its Olympians Lauren Cheney (USA) and Kara Lang (Canada) back in the starting lineup up front and Erin Hardy having returned to the backline, No. 1 UCLA looks tough to beat.

SCOREBOARD: Soccer America Women’s Top 25

This week’s top clash takes place Friday at Stanford, where the No. 3 Cardinal hosts No. 7 North Carolina at the Stanford/Nike Invitational. For this week’s Soccer America Women’s Top 25 results and schedules …

SCOREBOARD: Soccer America Men’s Top 25

Top-ranked Wake Forest opens ACC play Saturday against Clemson. In other ACC play, No. 8 Maryland hosts No. 12 Boston College. No. 4 Connecticut travels to No. 9 Saint Louis. For this week’s Soccer America Men’s Top 25 results and schedules …

MORNING BRIEFING: Major Georgetown turnaround

by Paul KennedySeptember 11, 2008

In 2007, Georgetown opened 1-5-0. This year, the Hoyas are 5-0-0 for the first time in a decade after picking up their fifth straight shutout victory of the season with a 1-0 win over Stony Brook on Wednesday.

TELEVISION: Women’s action begins on Fox Soccer Channel

The first of eight NSCAA Women’s College Games of the Week on Fox Soccer Channel will air Thursday when West Virginia hosts Kentucky. All eight games will air on Thursdays. For the complete schedule …

Soccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

“Becks told me to be a bit more greedy in the box, then afterwards he said I was probably too greedy!”

— Theo Walcott, 19, who started on the right flank for England against Croatia in place of David Backham and responded with a hat trick in a 4-1 win. Beckham was a late sub and earned his 105th cap. (AFP)

An above average performance

by Ridge MahoneySeptember 11, 2008

[USA-TRINIDAD & TOBAGO REPORT CARD] Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. players’ performance in their 3-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago on Saturday. …

What’s so bad about mushrooms?

[OFF THE POST] When Italian Fabio Capello took over at England, he banned junk food from the players’ diet. No burgers, potato chips or pastry. Fellow Italian Giovanni Trapattoni was less strict when he became Ireland’s coach – “I gave them carte blanche when it came to their diets” – but then he witnessed an eating habit that got his goat. “However, I saw the players eating mushrooms before a friendly, and I was stunned into silence for several seconds,” he said. “I then told them that mushrooms are banned on matchdays – both for breakfast and for dinner.”

USA sparks up against T&T

by Ridge MahoneySeptember 11, 2008

As several U.S. players mobbed Michael Bradley after he flicked in Landon Donovan‘s free kick to provide a 1-0 lead against Trinidad & Tobago Wednesday, longtime Donovan pal DaMarcus Beasley ran over to Donovan instead. Donovan barely grinned while acknowledging his friend and colleague of nearly a decade at all age levels of competitive play. Beasley wanted to frolic, but Donovan stayed focused, as did most of the Americans for most of this match.

MLS SCHEDULE: Revs look to rebound

The New England Revolution, in midst of a slump that has seen it win just once in its last six games after a strong start, faces Chivas USA on Thursday night. Chivas USA is on a two-game win streak, with both victories coming against Toronto. New England lost, 4-0, to Columbus last weekend. For the week’s MLS action on TV, standings, and leading scorers. …

World Cup 2010 Qualifying Results

Only six European teams — Greece, Spain, England, Ukraine, Lithuania and Italy — won both games on the opening week of World Cup 2010 qualifying. For all the results and goal scorers in Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania …

Mexico and Costa Rica also remain perfect

by Paul KennedySeptember 11, 2008

[WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFYING] Five of the six berths in next year’s Hexagonal could be decided as early as the next game of World Cup 2010 qualifying in the Concacaf zone. On Day 3 of the semifinal round, MLS players dominated the headlines.

A day for stunning results

by Paul KennedySeptember 11, 2008

[WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFYING] Wednesday produced a series of stunning results in World Cup qualifying in Europe. The day wound up with Brazil’s 0-0 tie against Bolivia that put more pressure on its beleaguered coach Dunga.

Support From The Grave

Bundesliga side SV Hamburg is to open up a 500-corpse capacity cemetery so that fans can be buried within sight of the team’s stadium. The cheaper option is to have their ashes interned in an official club urn.

E-Mail Reveals Threat To British Soccer Nations

Any assurance given by FIFA President Sepp Blatter to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales that their independence would not be threatened by a united GB Olympic team in 2012 would be non-binding for any of Blatter’s successors, according to a UK government e-mail released under the Freedom of Information Act.

Wanted: FIFA Schmoozer Supreme

Fancy a challenge? The English FA is seeking a chief executive to secure the country’s bid to become World Cup hosts in 2018.

New Offer For Gazidis?

Matt Scott speculates that Manchester City may make a new and more lucrative offer to lure MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis on board the freshly enriched club.

In The Stables With Michelle Akers

Dan Raley sought out former U.S. women’s national team star Michelle Akers in Florida, and found her busy being a mother to her three-year-old son, as well as rescuing abused horses and nursing them back to health. But she still has plenty to say about soccer eight years after leaving the game due to a […]

MLS Keeps Mining African Talent

After largely ignoring the continent for years, Major League Soccer teams have finally cottoned on that Africa offers a rich mine of soccer talent. Last week the franchise-in-waiting Seattle Sounders signed Gambian Sanna Nyassi, twin brother of New England’s Sainey, as its third player following Kasey Keller and Sebastien le Toux. Now D.C. United has […]

Wizards Bring Thompson Quickly Into The Fold

FC Dallas has made a number of surprising trades since Schellas Hyndman took over as coach mid-season, and many of the team’s fans think that striker Abe Thompson’s move to the Kansas City Wizards last week was more of a gift than a trade, writes Bob Luder. The Wizards, though, hope to cash in on […]

How To Grab The Soccer Headlines

Soccer in America fails to make the headlines not just because it’s still a minority sport at the top level, but because its main figures rarely say anything interesting about the game, writes Grahame L. Jones. Compare that with the rest of the soccer world, where positions of power are occupied by colorful characters […]

Jack Warner’s Love Letter To Roy Keane

FIFA Vice President Jack Warner has written a forthright letter, on FIFA-headed paper, to Sunderland manager Roy Keane following the withdrawal of the English club’s striker, Dwight Yorke, from World Cup qualifying action for Trinidad & Tobago against the USA. Warner, the Concacaf president who also acts as “special adviser” to the Trinidad & […]