The Columbus Crew’s 11-6-4 record, tied for the best in MLS this year, is the result of coach Sigi Schmid’s “soccer mind and his eye for talent,” writes Michael Arace. That’s why he deserves a new contract. “He has completely overhauled the team in three years,” Arace says. “Of the 30 men on the Crew’s […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Will St. Louis Be Priced Out Of MLS?
St. Louis’ bid to land a Major League Soccer team “looks to be entering the home stretch,” Tom Timmermann reports, but he qualifies the statement by adding “again.” The deadline is mid-October, and prime mover Jeff Cooper, who heads an investment group that has proposed a stadium, housing, office and retail space complex in Collinsville, […]
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
TELEVISION: FSC to air eight women’s clashes
Fox Soccer Channel will broadcast the Women’s College Game of the Week in conjunction with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The eight games will all be broadcast on Thursdays, beginning with the Sept. 11 match between West Virginia and Kentucky.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
MORNING BRIEFING: Milwaukee beats up on Big Ten foes
For the second time in less than a week, Wisconsin-Milwaukee beat a Big Ten opponent. Nicole Sperl scored on a penalty kick in the 88th minute to give the Panthers a 4-3 win over Ohio State in a wild game in Milwaukee. AND: Hawaii-LBSU barnburner and new Virginia keeper.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
SMALL COLLEGES: Previewing the men’s favorites
Favorites Franklin Pierce (NCAA Division II) must overcome heavy losses, Middlebury (NCAA Division III) will again be led by goalie Brian Bush (623 scoreless minutes and counting), and Azusa Pacific (NAIA) must overcome the loss of Steven Lenhart, now with MLS’s Columbus Crew. For a look at the top five teams in each of the three small college divisions …
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
TELEVISION: FSC men’s coverage kicks off Friday
Fox Soccer Channel will again air men’s college action in conjunction with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The 12-game schedule begins with Friday’s match between No. 11 UCLA and No. 4 Maryland from the Home Depot Center.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
CONFERENCE WATCH: Men’s Preseason Polls
NCAA Division I men’s conference polls are out. For the preseason conference ranking of your favorite D1 program …
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
MORNING BRIEFING: Injuries wipe out UCSB’s backline
Six minutes into UC Santa Barbara’s exhibition against Westmont, senior defender Kyle Kaveny fractured his left ankle, and last week junior midfielder C.J. Cintas broke his left foot during practice. Both are lost for the season. AND: ODU’s injury loss and colleges take on pros.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
England likely to lose Gerrard for two qualifiers
[WORLD CUP 2010] Midfielder Steven Gerrard, who played in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Standard Liege on Wednesday to earn Liverpool a spot in UEFA Champions League group play, is scheduled for groin surgery that will likely force him out of England’s two World Cup qualifiers next month.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Bundesliga set to earn more than Italian Serie A
[GERMANY] According to a study by the StageUp sport business research firm, the Germany Bundesliga is likely to over take the Italian Serie A as the world’s second richest league. First is the English Premier League, whose revenues for the 2008-09 are estimated to be $3.5 billion.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
FC Dallas’ new midfielder sidelined
[MLS] Dutch midfielder Victor Sikora, whom FC Dallas signed earlier this month, will be sidelined for four to six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. He suffered the injury during his second start for Dallas, a 1-1 tie with Kansas City on Saturday.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MAKING A LIST: WPS head coaches
Jorge Barcellos, who coached Brazil to second place at the 2007 Women’s World Cup and the silver medal in the 2008 Olympic women’s soccer competition, is headed to Women’s Professional Soccer, where he will serve as the St. Louis head coach. Dallas and Los Angeles have yet to hire coaches with only weeks to go before the first player selections take place for the WPS’s 2009 launch.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
USL-1 teams fare better than MLS counterparts
[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] The USL-1’s Puerto Rico Islanders accomplished what MLS teams failed to do on three occasions — get a result at Costa Rican club Alajuelense. Their 1-1 tie in Alajuela on Wednesday night and the Montreal Impact’s 1-0 win over Nicaragua’s Real Esteli before a sellout crowd of 13,034 fans left the two USL First Division sides unbeaten in Concacaf Champions League qualifying a night after both MLS teams, Chivas USA and New England, lost.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“We’re absolutely convinced that we have the right man for the job and that we’re heading in the right direction. We have absolute patience. I’m not worked up all. I’m completely calm. We drew 10 times last year and we ended up champions by 10 points.”
— Bayern Munich president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge delivers a vote of confidence to Coach Juergen Klinsmann after Bayern started the Bundesliga season with two ties. (Reuters)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Firsts for Cyprus and Belarus
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Barcelona (surviving without Olympic gold-medalist Lionel Messi), Liverpool (needing a goal in the 118th minute to beat Standard Liege and its American star, Oguchi Onyewu), Arsenal and Juventus all won as expected their Champions League qualifying series, while upstarts Aalborg (Denmark), Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyprus) and BATE Borisov (Belarus) qualified to enter Thursday’s group stage draw in Monaco.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Del Bosque tells Serbia, ‘Hands Off Bojan’
Spain national team coach Vicente del Bosque has warned Serbia off attempting to lure teenage star Bojan Krkic to play for Serbia. Krkic’s father is Serbian, his mother Catalan, and he was born and raised in Spain.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Vidic Not Keen On The Manchester Rain
Manchester United central defender Nemanja Vidic has said that he would not want to stay in England long term because of the Manchester rain, and because all people do in the evening is watch TV. Well what do you expect when it’s raining outside?
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Kljestan Awakes Dutch Interest
An unnamed Dutch team is interested in signing Chivas USA’s midfielder Sacha Kljestan after his displays for the U.S. Olympic team.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Manchester City Borrowed Millions From Former Chairman
Former City Chairman John Wardle has loaned the team a total $12 million over the past year, reports David Conn, raising new doubts about the financial stability of the team’s owner, the Human Rights Watch-condemned former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
The Connection Between Liu Xiang And The U.S. Soccer Team
Columnist Dan Oshinsky has been trying to work out the U.S. equivalent to China’s first Olympic track and field gold medalist, Liu Xiang. And then he came up with an answer — the men’s national soccer team. Liu shattered for the Chinese “the stereotype that they cannot compete in any sprint-type event. Chinese regard him […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Rangnick Vindicated By Hoffenheim’s Early Lead
Ten years ago, Ralf Rangnick, at that time coach of German second division leaders SSV Ulm, was mocked by the German soccer establishment after he appeared on German TV to explain how his team had succeeded by using a flat back four and zonal marking. The Germans still believed in the sweeper system, despite no […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
St. Louis Hires Brazilian WNT Coach Barcellos
The St. Louis women’s team due to start play in Women’s Professional Soccer next spring has hired Brazilian women’s team coach Jorge Barcellos to be its coach and general manager. “We’ll have a special look to the team with a lot of skill and creativity on the field,” promised Jeff Cooper, the team’s owner. “He […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Vide The Obscure
D.C. United’s new holding midfielder Joe Vide wasn’t supposed to be there. Not at D.C., who signed him up during an injury crisis after he was waived by San Jose, and not on the edge of the penalty area in a scoring position against the Colorado Rapids last weekend. But his left foot shot handed […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Schelotto The King Of The Assist
In the early days of Major League Soccer, assists were handed out to players like goody bags at a toddler’s birthday gig. Nowadays, a pass has to “unlock” the opposition defense to qualify as an assist, writes Shawn Mitchell, and this season it’s clear who is the chief locksmith — Columbus Crew’s Argentine playmaker, Guillermo […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Reporter
Disney all-stars take fourth at Chelsea youth tournament
The Disney Soccer Showcase under-16 all-stars, chosen from players competing at the 2007 Disney’s Soccer Showcase, finished fourth in Chelsea Academy’s inaugural youth cup near London.