[PHOTO] Bibiana Steinhaus, described by the German press as a pretty blond policewoman, is poised to become the first woman to referee in German men’s professional soccer. The 28-year-old, whose latest day-job assignment was shielding the G-8 Summit from anti-globalization protesters in Rostock, was promoted by the German soccer federation to the Second Division after six years of refereeing the men’s third division. Only two percent of Germany’s 80,000 referees are female. The only other female referee in German men’s pro soccer was Gertrud Gebhard, who lasted two games as a lineswoman in 1995.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
AC Milan and Inter tussle over Honduran Suazo
[TRANSFER TALK] Honduran David Suazo, arguably the best striker ever to come out of Central America, is involved in a tug-of-war between Italian clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan. Days after the 27-year-old Suazo was reported to have joined Serie A champion Inter from Cagliari, AC Milan said it had signed Suazo.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Arsenal FC and four other U-18 boys teams go 2-0 at Region IV championships
[REGION IV SCORES] Three-time defending national champion Arsenal FC was one of five teams to win their first two games in the under-18 boys division at the US Youth Soccer Region IV Championships at the Bettye Wilson Soccer Complex and the Kellogg Zaher Sports Complex in Las Vegas, Nev. Arsenal FC, based in Alta Loma, Calif., beat Washington champion Emerald City FC Green, 3-0, thanks to goals by former U.S. U-17 resident Ryan Peterman, Cal recruit Davis Paul and an Emerald own goal. Also 2-0 were hometown favorite LV Premier, Real of Hawaii, San Diego Surf White and Colorado Nike Rush. For Region Day II scores …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Three California clubs take two titles apiece at U.S. Club Soccer regionals
[U.S. CLUB REGIONAL CHAMPIONS] Three clubs won a pair of titles at US Club Soccer’s National Cup VI Region H championships in Modesto, Calif. Mustang claimed the Super Group Girls U17 and Premier Boys U14 championships, while California Rush Nike triumphed in the Super Group Girls U16 and Premier Boys U16 divisions and Portuguese Athletic Club was victorious in the Super Group Boys U12 and Premier Girls U12 brackets. Four teams repeated as regional champions: Santa Rosa United’s U15 Super Group Boys, Mount Hamilton Lobitos’ U17 Super Group Boys, San Juan Spirits’ U13 Super Group Girls and USA 17 Academy’s U14 Super Group Girls. Winners from each of the eight regionals advance to the 2007 National Cup VI Finals later this summer in Greensboro, N.C., and Burlington, N.C. For complete list of regional champions …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“If you want to win, you have to pay up to £100,000 [$200,000] a week to a player who can hardly read or write and he earns four or five million pounds [$8 or $10 million]. It’s crazy.”
— Mohamed Al Fayed, the chairman of English Premier League club Fulham. (BBC)
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Beckham Receives Fitting Panegyric in Spain
It’s a funny thing, perhaps, that David Beckham “in spite of winning so little, leaves Spain having won so much respect — from journalists, fans, dressing room heavyweights … and even from the manager who once vowed to never pick him again,” The Guardian’s Jack Rashleigh points out. Indeed, the praise Becks has received in […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
It Gets Tougher from Here for the USA
The consensus on the U.S. national team’s 2-1 quarterfinal win against Panama is that an uncomfortably frantic final six minutes marred what should have been an easy win. Coach Bob Bradley suggested that the lapse in concentration that led to Panama’s goal showed an immaturity that has to be stamped out if the U.S. hopes […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Don Garber Interview
In an exclusive interview with the Salt Lake Tribune, MLS Commissioner Don Garber casts a calm figure, discussing everything from David Beckham to the improvement of the product on the field to the ultimate direction of the league. So far, he says, the formula is working: broadcast deals are coming the league’s way, so are […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Lalas as the Anti-Beckham
David Beckham and L.A. Galaxy President Alexi Lalas make quite a pair: on the one hand you have a PR-friendly global superstar who just might be the king of understatement, and on the other, you have a loose-lipped, loudmouth of a soccer executive (in a convivial sort of way) who oozes exaggeration with every word. […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“There’s this delusion that if it’s English then it’s great. But a whole world exists outside of England. … You know, there’s no accounting for bad taste. The fact that a segment of the world worships an inferior product in the Premiership is their business.”
— Los Angeles Galaxy president Alexi Lalas lashes out at Brits who say David Beckham is “going into semi-retirement” by coming to MLS. Lalas added that “the Premiership has become so skilled in presentation. They took a page out of American football and now have Saturday Showdowns and Super Sundays. I love it. This is high-caliber marketing: taking an inferior product and improving it through packaging.” (The Guardian)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Jeremiah White helps AGF Aarhus to Danish top tier
Jeremiah White, a 25-year-old Pennsylvania product who played college ball at Wake Forest, helped AGF Aarhus clinch promotion to the top Danish league tier, the SAS Ligaen, with a 2-0 win over Kolding IF last weekend.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS STATS: Attendance hits 1 million mark
MLS’s Week 11 games drew crowds of more than 20,000 in Columbus, D.C., and Toronto as the season’s attendance surpassed the 1 million mark. The 72 games so far have drawn 1,107,199 fans for a 15,378 per game average. The three games that drew the 20,000-plus crowds all featured at least four goals, while the 19,225 at the Home Depot Center for Los Angeles’ clash with Real Salt Lake enjoyed a 3-2 home-team win. For complete MLS statistics …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS finally delivers goalfests
[VIDEO] Concerns about goalscoring in MLS were allayed somewhat in a high-scoring weekend (27 goals in six games), as excellent finishes punished errors, some large, some small. All goals, many say, stem from errors, but mistakes this season seem to be more costly, and forwards last weekend were especially efficient on breakaways. Are teams punishing defensive errors more ruthlessly?
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Real Madrid and Barcelona, what’s next?
After a thrilling La Liga campaign in which Real Madrid edged Barcelona for the title, presidents of both clubs were quickly forced to turn to the future. Madrid president Ramon Calderon must decide what to do with Coach Fabio Capello. Barcelona president Joan Laporta said his club will undergo an overhaul during the offseason. For all the details on the possible moves Real and Barca will make …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
W-League’s Lightning strikes twice against Ft. Wayne
[W-LEAGUE RESULTS] The Minnesota Lightning improved to 5-0-0 with two wins over Ft. Wayne (2-0 and 4-0) in 48 hours. Former Kansas University star Caroline Smith and Sarah Oligney, the former Horizon League Player of the Year at Wisconsin-Green Bay, scored in the 2-0 win over the Fever. Rising Northwestern senior Kelsey Hans and Smith both scored twice in the 4-0 win, which was played as part of a doubleheader with the USL-1 Thunder. For complete W-League results and goalscorers …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Piranhas remain unbeaten in inaugural PDL season
[PDL RESULTS] One of the surprises of the 2007 PDL season has been the Hampton Roads Piranhas (7-0-1), who shut out the Richmond Kickers Future, 1-0, on Sunday at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex for eighth shutout in eight games. York College junior Andrew Wheeler scored in the 75th minute for his team-high eighth goal of the season. Former U.S. U-17 residency camper Evan Newton, who now plays for Old Dominion, earned the shutout for Hampton Roads, which leads the Mid Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference by four points over the Virginia Legacy. For complete PDL results and goalscorers …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Arsenal FC opens with big win at Region IV championships
[REGION IV SCORES] Arsenal FC of Southern California continued its quest for a fourth straight national title in its age group with an 8-0 win over Utah’s Impact Black in the U-18 boys division on the opening day of play at the US Youth Soccer Region IV (West) Championships at the Bettye Wilson Soccer Complex and the Kellogg Zaher Sport Complex in Las Vegas, Nev. In one of the first upsets of the competition, local club LV Premier beat Cal South’s Valley United Blast, 2-0, in the U-15 boys division. The Blast has won the Region IV championships the past three years and won the national championship last year. For Region IV scores from Day 1 games .
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Univision’s broadcast of Thursday’s Mexico-Panama game delivers
Univision has been showing Mexico’s Gold Cup games for a reason. Rather than diverting the Tri’s first four matches to Galavision or TeleFutura, Univision aired them live. In the case of last Thursday’s primetime showing of Mexico-Panama, the game did a 20.1 household rating in the NHTI (Hispanic homes), delivering 2,343,000 Hispanic homes and 4,374,000 Hispanic persons 2+ for each average minute. Most impressive was the Gold Cup group match’s appeal to men 18-49. In that all-important demographic, the game drew 1,959,000 viewers, more than any other television program that evening on any U.S. TV network.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Argentine Season Ends with San Lorenzo on Top
Oh, yeah, the Argentine Clausura championship ended this weekend, too, as San Lorenzo celebrated the title — the 10th title in its history — it wrapped up a week earlier. San Lorenzo extended its lead over second-place Boca Juniors with a 2-1 win at last-place Quilmes. After falling behind in the first half, Osmar Ferreyra […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Red Bulls Defense Turns From Best to Worst
The New York Red Bulls have quickly gone from being the league’s best defense to its worst, conceding 11 goals in its last four games after starting the regular season with just four conceded in eight. Injuries have a lot to do with that, says Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer, as evidenced by the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Galaxy Emerges from Battle at the Bottom
It was crazy weekend in MLS, too: great games, dramatic finishes, and tons of goals, many of which were very, very high quality. Perhaps the biggest battle of them all came from league’s bottom two teams who were both desperately in need of a win. In the end, the Los Angeles Galaxy was able to […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
End it Like Beckham, Indeed
The Times’ George Caulkin waxes poetic about David Beckham’s last day at the Santiago Bernabeu, a place he’s called home for the last four years and where he had the rare opportunity of walking away as a champion in his final appearance. But Real Madrid, as ever, made tough work of their pre-ordained conclusion, beginning […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
End of an Era at Real, Barcelona
Those who don’t believe need only be strapped in front of a TV and forcibly subjected to the 6,840 minutes that made up the 2006-07 season for Real Madrid and Barcelona. Indeed, forget about luck, something far stronger-call it Fate-drove the Merengues’ to their first La Liga title in four years. Just ask Zinedine Zidane: […]
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Soccer on TV
Boca Juniors takes a 3-0 lead into the second leg of the Libertadores Cup semifinal on Wednesday (Fox Sports en Espanol). On Thursday, the USA faces Canada in the Gold Cup semifinals (Fox Soccer Channel & Telefutura) while Mexico clashes with Guadeloupe (Telefutura). ESPN2’s Thursday night MLS clash is Houston-Chivas USA.
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David Beckham and Roberto Carlos leave Real Madrid with league title
David Beckham and Roberto Carlos departed Real Madrid as champions on Sunday when the Merengues won Spain’s La Liga title for the 30th time with a 3-1 victory over Real Mallorca at the Bernabeu Stadium. Real Madrid finished tied with Barcelona, a 5-1 winner over Gimnastic Tarragona, but captured the tie by virtue of its advantage in the tiebreaker (head-to-head play).