U.S. national team and Toronto FC midfielder Maurice Edu could be on his way to Glasgow Rangers for $5 million, reports Steven Goff.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
German Bundesliga Preview
The 46th Bundesliga season kicks off this weekend amid an as yet unsettled row about TV rights, reports Raphael Honigstein. The German Competition Commission looked into the league’s six-year, $4 billion deal running from 2009-2015 and found it “unacceptable,” concluding that centralized marketing was a de facto cartel, and that a free-to-air highlights program must […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Four Olympians but not Adu called in by Bob Bradley
[WORLD CUP 2010] Red-hot FC Dallas striker Kenny Cooper and Freddy Adu are notable omissions on U.S. coach Bob Bradley‘s 17-man roster for the first World Cup qualifying game of the semifinal group round, Aug. 20 at Guatemala. Adu played in the USA’s first two qualifying games, the two-leg win over Barbados. Cooper has 13 MLS goals this season. Bradley will add one more player to the roster.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
A very expensive snort
[CRIME & PUNISHMENT] FIFA has ordered Romania striker Adrian Mutu to pay Chelsea $25.6 million in compensation for failing a drug test in 2004 by testing positive for cocaine.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS TV Schedule
Jeff Cunningham, who’s one goal shy of his 100th career MLS goal, could make his debut for FC Dallas, which he joined last week from Toronto, against Columbus, where he played in 1998-2004. … D.C. United aims to recover from its 4-1 loss to New York when it travels to Chicago. … West leader Houston hosts second-place Salt Lake. … Colorado looks for its second win in 10 games when it hosts Kansas City. … The league’s worst team San Jose (18 points) hosts its top club, New England (33 points). … New York meets Toronto FC on Sunday. For all of this week’s MLS action on TV and the standings and leading scorers. …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Bruce Arena attends Galaxy’s first post-Gullit game
The SuperClasico is supposed to be the most passionate rivalry in MLS, yet in some ways it played a reserve role Thursday night. With Bruce Arena in attendance at Home Depot Center in the luxury box used by Anschutz Entertainment Group president Tim Leiweke, Cobi Jones on the sideline making his debut as a head coach, and rumors swirling of Galaxy attempts to offload Carlos Ruiz to make room for U.S. international Eddie Lewis, the local teams played a sloppy yet riveting 2-2 tie.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“We play soccer like the Brazilians play Ping-Pong.”
— Li Weifeng, captain of China’s men’s national soccer team, which exited in the first round of the Olympic tournament with two losses and a tie. (New York Times)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Kasey Keller comes home
Nearly two decades after dazzling the local soccer scene as a phenomenal teenage soccer player, Kasey Keller is coming home. Discussions regarding Keller coming to MLS had run hot and cold for the past few years, but once the entry of Seattle Sounders FC into MLS became official last December, the only uncertainty boiled down to when, not if, Keller came aboard.
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Soccer on TV
The 2008-09 English Premier League and German Bundesliga kick off this weekend. There are six MLS clashes and Olympic soccer quarterfinals. For detailed information on Olympic soccer viewing, go to www.nbcolympics.com, where games are also broadcast online. In the MLS Thursday night game, Chivas USA hosts Los Angeles. The English Premier League season kicks off this weekend.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Europe’s Top Five Leagues 42.4 Per Cent Foreign
The news that Europe’s top leagues feature many foreign players is hardly going to stop the front page presses, but no doubt FIFA President Sepp Blatter will find the statistics useful in his ongoing crusade to try and contravene European Union employment laws. A study published Thursday by the Professional Football Players Observatory states that […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Revived New York Can Challenge For MLS Cup
How we sniggered last year when former RB New York Managing Director Marc de Grandpre said upon dismissing coach Bruce Arena that the expectation at owner Red Bull's HQ was nothing less than the MLS Cup. Now, says Pat Walsh, it may not be beyond the team to achieve that goal as early as this […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Salt Lake Hoping For Max Out Of Mathis
Clint Mathis is to try a second spell at Real Salt Lake, paperwork pending, the team's GM Garth Lagerwey has confirmed. Just as England coach Fabio Capello hopes that marriage will settle Wayne Rooney down, Lagerwey reckons that the birth of Mathis' first child on Monday will help steady the wayward career of the forward […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
S.A.’s World Cup Stadiums To Cost $257 Million More
The South African government announced Wednesday that the cost of staging the World Cup will rise by a further 2 billion rand ($258 million). The overall projected costs will rise from 9.6 billion rand (just below $1.25 billion) to 11.6 billion (around $1.5 billion). Deputy Finance Minister Jabu Moleketi said the figure covered “all infrastructure” […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Beckham On The Bus
L.A. Galaxy right-sided midfielder David Beckham is to appear on a London double-decker bus at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Steve McClaren’s Comedy Foreign Accent
Watch the video footage of a Dutch TV interview with new FC Twente manager Steve McClaren, the man with the personality of a wet winter Sunday in Detroit. Strangely, McClaren has adopted the accent of a foreigner speaking English. No Steve, this doesn’t mean you are now speaking Dutch.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
League Cup Draw, Round Two
Here’s the draw for round two of the English League Cup, the competition that no one wants to admit is 20 years past its sell-by date.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Colorado lands Cory Gibbs
[MLS] Struggling Colorado has signed defender Cory Gibbs, 28, a Florida product who started his pro career at age 21 in Germany, where he played for FC St. Pauli in the first, second and third divisions. Gibbs played one season in MLS, for FC Dallas in 2004, before returning to Europe, but has spent two years battling injury.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Olympic failure was in the cards for U.S. men
[RECAP] When Californian Michael Orozco made his Mexican First Division debut in 2006 at age 20, he was red-carded two minutes after he came off the bench. He recovered from the ignominious start to earn a starting spot in the San Luis defense, and after 32 appearances was called into the U.S. U-23 national team. On Wednesday, Orozco was red-carded in the third minute of the USA’s final Olympic group game, which it had entered minus two key players because of their card problems. For midfielder Michael Bradley it marked the second time in his short career that he was suspended for a key game in a major tournament.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Giants cruise in qualifying round
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Juventus, Barcelona and Arsenal look likely to reach the Champions League group stage after convincing first-leg wins in the third qualifying round. Juventus crushed Artmedia Bratislava, 4-0. Barcelona cruised past Wisla Krakow by the same score. Arsenal downed Dutch squad Twente Enschede, 2-0. American defender Oguchi Onyewu did not see action in Standard Liege’s scoreless with Liverpool.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS TV Schedule
The Los Angeles Galaxy’s first game under interim coach Cobi Jones is the Southern California derby against Chivas USA on Thursday night. It’s the third and final meeting of the season between the teams that share the Home Depot Center. The Galaxy defeated Chivas USA 5-2 and the teams tied the second meeting 1-1 in their earlier 2008 clashes. For all of this week’s MLS action on TV and the standings and leading scorers. …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“With everything that has gone on, there will be distractions. I’ve got to help those guys think about only one thing, and that’s about their play on the field. When you look at it, there have been changes from the top down through the coaching staff as well, but when it comes down to it, the players are the same.”
— Cobi Jones, interim head coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy, which on Thursday faces Chivas USA (ESPN2, 11 pm ET) in its first game since the departure of Coach Ruud Gullit and general manager Alexi Lalas. (Los Angeles Daily News)
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
The Futile Pipe Dream of Olympic Glory
The Olympic Dream — this distracting chimera that American soccer inflicts upon itself every four years — is over. Once again, it has ended in failure. A lot of time and money and effort has been spent — slap-bang, one has to notice, in the middle of the MLS season — and there is absolutely nothing to show for it.
Posted inSpecial Edition, Story
Guzan heads class
[NIGERIA-USA REPORT CARD] Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. players in their 2-1 loss to Nigeria on Wednesday …
Posted inSpecial Edition, Story
USA-Nigeria Men’s Coverage
Loss to Nigeria eliminates USA
Make that two kicks in the teeth for the U.S. men’s Olympic team, along with being booted out of the tournament in heroic yet heartbreaking fashion. Down a man for more than 90 minutes — counting stoppage time — courtesy of Michael Orozco’s wayward elbow shortly after kickoff, the U.S. succumbed to Nigeria, 2-1, to finish third in Group B at 1-1-1. With the U.S. trailing 2-0 in the 77th minute, Sacha Kljestan banged in a penalty kick to trim Nigeria’s lead in half, and in the final minutes Charlie Davies hit the crossbar with a header that could have propelled the U.S. into the knockout phase.
Posted inSpecial Edition, Story
Olympic Soccer TV Schedule
Soccer action resumes on Friday when the U.S. women face Canada in the quarterfinals. Complete soccer coverage is available on the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel and online at nbcolympics.com. Check with your television provider for the availability of the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel.