Posted inSpecial Edition, Story

What They’re Saying

“Those guys are my boys. They played so hard tonight and you can’t even express your feelings in the right way right now. For me, they won a gold medal in this game tonight. Of course, in the soccer world we still have to move on. There are a lot of things we can improve at the international level, but we’re going in the right direction. For those boys to play like that, it was quite a journey. The last five minutes with 50,000 people chanting ‘U-S-A’ was quite a feeling. … I’ll cherish this moment forever.”

— U.S. men’s coach Peter Nowak after his team was eliminated from the Olympic tournament with a 2-1 loss to Nigeria.

Posted inYouth Soccer Reporter, Youth What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

“It’s rare for a whole team of Sierra Leoneans to go abroad and come back. It goes to show what Sierra Leone can do when it puts its mind to it. We have managed to stick a feather in the cap for the country.”

— Kweku Lisk, legal adviser to Sierra Leone youth club, FC Johansen, the first African team to compete in the 27-year history of the Mittnorden Cup. Swedish Honorary Consul Arne Johansen vouched for the club, made up of underprivileged children, many of them orphaned during the country’s savage 1991-2002 civil war. His support prompted Sweden to lift its ban on on issuing visas to Sierra Leonean athletes. FC Johansen finished second in its age group. (Reuters)

Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Reporter

Fall Far West Regional League Entrants

While regional leagues have been part of the soccer scene in Regions I-III for several years, Region IV struggled to get a competition off the ground. But this fall Region IV has attracted many of the region’s top clubs that are competing in under-14 to under-18 boys and girls divisions over five weekends. For all the Fall Far West Regional League entrants …

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Joe Cole could ride merry-go-round

[TRANSFER TALK] Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has a plethora of options available to him in the midfield. At his disposal are Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Michael Essien, Deco, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Florent Malouda and John Obi Mikel. That embarrassment of riches is leaving Joe Cole feeling a little nervous about his role in the team.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Olympic bracket works in U.S. women’s favor

[RECAP] All’s well that ends well. The USA, which began the Olympic women’s competition with a 2-0 loss to Norway, ended up winning the group. The USA’s 4-0 win over New Zealand combined with Japan’s 5-1 victory over Norway moved the Americans into Friday’s quarterfinal against Canada. Instead of facing the possibility that they would have to face Brazil and Germany in the next two rounds, Pia Sundhage‘s women avoid the 2007 Women’s World Cup champions and runners-up before the gold-medal game.

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