Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story

Debutants Shine In EPL

by Soccer America

Looking at the best performances of the English Premier League’s opening day, Paul Doyle pinpoints Hull City’s Brazilian striker Geovanni, who scored in the newly promoted team’s 2-1 victory over Fulham. Spurned by Manchester City, where he was rarely used by previous manager Sven Goran Eriksson, Geovanni could turn out to be “the bargain of […]

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Friedel wins with new team; Fulham falls

by Soccer America

[AMERICANS IN ENGLAND] Goalkeeper Brad Friedel celebrated a 4-2 win with his new club, Aston Villa, over Manchester City in which Gabriel Agbonlahor hit a hat trick. Keeper Tim Howard fell with Everton. Fulham lost, 2-1, to EPL newcomer Hull as Clint Dempsey played the final nine minutes while Eddie Johnson was left out of the squad on the first weekend of the 2008-09 season.

Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story

The Dunga Style: Effective – but not Brazilian

by Paul Gardner

A weekend simply stuffed full of TV soccer, impossible to watch it all, both because of overlaps and because soccer-fatigue sets in sooner or later. Of the 16 games available over two days, the pick of the bunch, no doubt about that, was the first one, early on Saturday: the Olympic semifinal between Brazil and Cameroon. And, wouldn’t you know, this plum, this sure-fire barn-burner, turned out to be the worst game I saw.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

by Soccer America

“Well, we’re not at a stage anymore where there are moral victories in tournaments like this. We’re well past that. And so I think what’s really frustrating when I look at it is we didn’t lose to superior teams necessarily.”

— U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati on the U.S. men’s Olympic team’s first-round exit, after which Coach Peter Nowak said, “For me, they won a gold medal in this game [2-1 loss to Nigeria].” (SI.com)

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

MLS Results

by Soccer America

The San Jose Earthquakes, averaging less than a goal per game, exploded with a 4-0 win over New England, which entered the game as the league leader in points but gave up first place in the East with the loss, combined with Columbus’s win over Dallas. For MLS game summaries, scoring leaders and this week’s TV schedule. …

Posted inSoccer on TV., Story

Soccer on TV

by Soccer America

This week, 2008 Olympic soccer concludes with men’s and women’s semifinals, third-place matches and finals. The U.S. men’s national team continues its march toward World Cup 2010 with a qualifier in Guatemala. In the MLS Thursday night game, Los Angeles hosts Chicago.

Posted inSpecial Edition, Story

Olympic Women’s Soccer Scoreboard

by Soccer America

The Germans, like the Americans in their 2-1 win over Canada, needed overtime to subdue Sweden, 2-0 in their quarterfinal. Brazil knocked off Norway, 2-1, to set up the rematch between the teams that met in last year’s Women’s World Cup final, which Germany won, 2-0. Japan advanced to a semifinal clash with the USA with a 2-0 win over host China. For all the results and goalscorers …

Posted inSpecial Edition, Story

What They’re Saying

by Soccer America

“I had a plan, but I changed my mind because the players handled it very well. There was music in the locker room and happy smiles. They were ready to go. This team coached themselves in the locker room when it was raining outside. I am very proud of that.”

— U.S. women’s head coach Pia Sundhage on how her players handled a 99-minute rain delay during their 2-1 quarterfinal win over Canada.

Posted inSpecial Edition, Story

USA-Canada Women’s Coverage

by Ridge Mahoney

Dominant USA prevails in OT
Efficiency in the final third may have been lacking, yet still the U.S. women endured some nervous moments in their Olympic quarterfinal against rival Canada and prevailed, 2-1, in overtime. Angela Hucles and Christine Sinclair scored in regulation, which ended 1-1 after heavy rain and lightning forced play to be suspended for 99 minutes. Eleven minutes into overtime, substitute Natasha Kai — at least a tad offside when Shannon Boxx lofted a cross in her direction — stooped to head the ball past Canadian keeper Karina LeBlanc from point-blank range to provide the winning margin.

Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story

English Premier League Preview

by Soccer America

As the English Premier League kicks off on Saturday, there’s more money, more hype, and more expensive imported players than ever before. Yet even before a ball’s been kicked, everyone knows there are only four teams that can realistically hope to lift the title. Most bets will be on Chelsea or Manchester United, with Arsenal […]

Gift this article