[Q&A] U.S. under-20 coach Thomas Rongen had just a few days to reflect on his team’s showing at the U-20 World Cup, in which the Americans lost in overtime to Austria, 2-1, Saturday in the quarterfinals. Before leaving Wednesday to join the U.S. teams at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Rongen spoke with Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney about whether any of his players are ready for the full national team, what American defenders are lacking, Freddy Adu’s progress, and how this quarterfinal elimination compared with the 2003 loss …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Lightning strikes twice on the road
[W-LEAGUE RESULTS] The Minnesota Lightning remained unbeaten with road wins over the Chicago Gaels (2-1) and West Michigan Firewomen (1-0) over the weekend. Kelsey Hans had the winning goal in the win over West Michigan, her sixth goal in six games. For complete PDL results and goalscorers …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
BYU has commanding lead in PDL’s Northwest Division
[PDL RESULTS] BYU, the only college team represented in the PDL, improved to 12-1-1 with a 2-1 win over Northwest Division rival Ogden on goals by Tyson Miller and William Fellows on Saturday. The Cougars lead second-place Tacoma by eight points. For complete PDL results and goalscorers …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. U-17s open with win in Belgium
The U.S. U-17 boys national team beat Belgium’s Club Brugge, 3-1, as part of its10-day tour of Belgium and Germany. Alex Nimo, Abdusalam Ibrahim and Jared Jeffrey scored for the USA. For the complete U-17 roster …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. men and women open with wins at the Pan-American Games
The USA beat Venezuela, 2-1, on a last-second goal from Stanford-bound Bobby Warshaw in its opening game of the men’s soccer competition at the Pan-American Games. The U.S. U-20 women’s national team has taken control of Group B in women’s soccer with a 7-1 win over Paraguay and3-1 victory over Panama.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Majority of Top 20 boys clubs in U.S. Soccer Academy
The number of clubs accepted to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy for its inaugural 2007-08 season has reached 47 with the addition of 16 clubs announced Monday. U.S. Soccer, which is launching the boys U-16 and U-18 league as an extension of its national team program, has reviewed more than 100 applications and announced “only a limited number of remaining spots are available” for the first season. Of the clubs accepted so far, 14 are ranked among Soccer America Magazine’s 2007 Top 20 Boys Clubs. The latest group of clubs to be accepted includes California’s Arsenal SC (No. 3 in Soccer America rankings) and Irvine Strikers (16), Missouri’s Scott Gallagher (8) and Florida’s Schulz Academy (19).
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Foreign clubs head en masse to the USA
The World Series of Football — the four-team tournament in which David Beckham is scheduled to debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy against Chelsea on Saturday — is just one of several tournaments involving foreign clubs being played in the United States. In the next two weeks, 30 clubs representing 14 countries are scheduled to play on U.S. soil. Mexico leads all countries with no less than 13 clubs are playing games here. Six other foreign clubs were here last week.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
California leads with five Academy clubs
[LIST] The first 47 clubs accepted to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy represent 22 states and the District of Columbia. California has the most clubs so far, with five, followed by Florida, Illinois and New York, with four each. U.S. Soccer coaches will be selecting qualified clubs for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Clubs on a rolling basis until Aug. 1. For a state-by-state list of the Academy’s clubs. …
Posted inGrassroots Soccer Biz, Story
4 Steps For Effective Board Meetings
Soccer administrators across the country will be overjoyed to learn that board meetings don’t need to be drawn out, pointless affairs. Soccer organizations are realizing that four simple steps can dramatically improve the effectiveness of their board meetings.
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Soccer on TV
The 2007 MLS All-Star Game pits the league’s all-stars against Scottish champion Celtic on Thursday. David Beckham is set to make his Los Angeles Galaxy debut on Saturday in a friendly against Chelsea. Also this week, the final phase of the U-20 World Cup.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Three EPL Clubs Raided By Police
Early on Monday, police raided the offices of three prominent British clubs: Newcastle United and Portsmouth of the England’s Premier League and Glasgow Rangers of the Scottish Premier League. The raids were not connected to Lord Stevens’ ongoing inquiry into illegal transfer payments, but they are believed to be part of a wider investigation into […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Dynamo Break Records Despite Draw
The Houston Dynamo may have dropped two points against Toronto FC at Robertson Stadium on Sunday, but things still look pretty comfortable for the 2006 MLS champs, still first place in the West, three points ahead of FC Dallas. At the moment, no one can score on the Dynamo: Its 0-0 draw against TFC was […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Copa Avoids Politics — Sort of
Here’s a testament to how great this summer’s Copa America was: for three weeks, Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, who’s nearly ubiquitous in his country, suddenly wasn’t the center of attention. Says the Guardian’s Joel Richardson, “Football had edged Chávez, and politics, out of the limelight. Almost.” CONMEBOL (the South America soccer federation) was impressed with […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Shoddy Defending Marks U-20 Exit
For all the talk of fighting spirit and well-crafted chances, Ken Pendleton of USSoccerPlayers says that poor defending was “the biggest problem” for the U.S. U-20s — not to mention the senior national team. The U-20s were dumped out of the World Cup quarterfinals by a more organized Austrian team. And it wasn’t just Austria’s […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Becks to Make Few L.A. Appearances
We’ve heard scores of pundits argue as to whether David Beckham’s MLS crossover will be a success or failure. To no one’s surprise, it’s been a particularly hot button issue in Hollywood, which Victoria and Becks started calling “home” just last week. However, the Carson Daily Breeze points out that for soccer fans in the […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Luck and fatigue finally catch up to Americans
[U-20 WORLD CUP] Two consecutive overtime matches took a severe toll on the U.S. under-20 team, which battled all the way but couldn’t summon the moment of magic or the ounce of luck they needed to stay alive in the FIFA U-20 World Cup. An early goal by Jozy Altidore, his fourth of the tournament, brought the USA a 1-0 lead Saturday but it conceded an equalizer just before halftime and in overtime, down to 10 men, succumbed to a second goal that swept Austria into the semifinals with a 2-1 win.
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OFF THE POST: Japan coach brings interpreter to tears; befuddles press
After Japan played Qatar to a disappointing 1-1 tie in the Asian Cup, Japan’s Bosnian coach Ivica Osim railed into his players, calling them a bunch of amateurs, and so on. But just some of the rant got through to the team, because translator Zen Chida broke into tears midway through the tirade. Then on the eve of Japan’s game against Vietnam, Osim told the members of the media, “Stop asking me about rabbits!”
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New York plunges with loss to Revs
[MLS WEEKEND REPORT] In not many leagues can a team fall from first to fourth just by losing a game, but that’s what befell Red Bull New York when beaten, 1-0, at home by New England, which leapfrogged to the top spot. Also bypassing NYRB were Kansas City, a 1-0 winner over Real Salt Lake, and D.C. United, which squandered a 3-0 lead at home to end up tied at 3-3 with FC Dallas. Out West, Chivas USA tightened its grip on third place by ending the Crew’s six-game unbeaten streak, 2-1. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney reviews all the MLS weekend action …
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Chelsea launches U.S. youth partnership with Disney
Chelsea has entered into a four-year partnership with the Walt Disney Company in which the English Premier League club becomes the official professional soccer club of Disney’s Wide World of Sports and presenting sponsor of the Disney Soccer Showcase Series youth tournament.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Chelsea-Club America friendly in California draws 47,329
A crowd of 47,329 at Northern California’s Stanford Stadium watched English Premier club Chelsea down Mexico’s Club America on Saturday. John Terry notched the winning goal in the 84th minute. On July 21, Chelsea faces the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center in what is set to be David Beckham’s Galaxy debut .
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“We came here to rescue the self-esteem of the Brazilian supporter — the worker [who] leaves home early in the morning and comes back at late night and whose only satisfaction is when Brazil wins.”
— Brazil coach Dunga after his team’s 3-0 win over Argentina in the Copa America final. (Reuters)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Brazil shocks Argentina, 3-0, in Copa America final
Brazil shocked archrival Argentina, 3-0, on Sunday in the final of the Copa America to repeat as South American champion. Argentina was heavily favored, having scored 16 goals in its first five games and beaten Uruguay (4-0) and Mexico (3-0) in the knockout phase, but Brazil stunned the crowd in Maracaibo, Venezuela, with the precision of its counterattacks.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Surging Timbers take over USL-1 lead
Forward David Hague recorded Portland’s first hat trick of the season in a 4-1 over the California Victory on Sunday. The win puts the Timbers into sole possession of first place in the USL First Division with a record of 9-2-3. Two days earlier, rookie forward Bryan Jordan scored his fourth goal of the season as the Timbers defeated the Victory, 1-0, in front of 6,332 at PGE Park. Portland recorded its fourth consecutive shutout matching a franchise record set earlier in the season. For complete USL results and goalscorers …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Chicago Fire knocked out of the Open Cup by expansion USL-1 Carolina
The defending champion Chicago Fire became the fourth MLS team to fall in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup when the USL-1 expansion Carolina RailHawks knocked it off, 1-0, on Sunday night in front of 4,485 fans at SAS Stadium in Cary, NC.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Argentina moves into driver’s seat at U-20 World Cup
Argentina is the firm favorite to win its sixth Under-20 World Cup after edging highly touted Mexico, 1-0, in the quarterfinals on Sunday in Ottawa. Argentina meets Chile, a 4-0 winner over Nigeria in overtime, in one semifinal. Austria, which upset the USA, 2-1, in overtime, faces the Czech Republic, which eliminated European champion Spain in a shootout after their game ended 1-1.