Forget the hoopla surrounding the Fire’s courtship of Marcelo Salas, says the Daily Southtown’s Nick Firchau, the best move Chicago coach Dave Sarachan made last week was the introduction of the young Brazilian William Oliveira, who scored one and assisted one in a 3-2 home win against the Columbus Crew. On the heels of a […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Bad Luck, Poor Finishing Plague Galaxy
The L.A. Galaxy failed to score again Saturday night, drawing 0-0 at home against D.C. United. And to make matters worse, Landon Donovan, the team’s best player, now reports for international duty and may not return for more than six weeks. Frank Yallop’s men have now gone a dismal 220 minutes without scoring (310 minutes […]
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Games on TV
This week’s live televised soccer action kicks off on Tuesday with Brazil‘s friendly against Turkey (Fox) and Mexico‘s friendly against Paraguay (Telemundo). Then there’s European Championship qualifying, Libertadores Cup semifinal action, the Gold Cup kickoff (the USA opens on Thursday) and MLS’s Wednesday & Thursday night games. Montreal takes on Portland in USL’s Friday night game. The weekend brings more Gold Cup and MLS action, and the Spanish La Liga title race, with Gol TV providing Barcelona and Real Madrid games.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. newbies and vets shine against China
This one can be encapsulated rather easily: effective and at times dominant, the USA pasted an inferior Chinese team, 4-1, Saturday and scraped away some rust in its only run-up match for the Gold Cup. No Landon Donovan, no Taylor Twellman, no Brian Ching, no Eddie Johnson, yet still the U.S. scored four goals by four different players. A sloppy equalizing goal blasted high into the net by Zhang Yaokun in the 15th minute sprinkled some nervousness onto a starting 11 featuring debutant Sacha Kljestan and four other players with five or fewer caps. Yet two of those with just a few caps, Michael Bradley (his fifth) and Benny Feilhaber (third), controlled much of the match in midfield, and Kljestan set up Feilhaber for the go-ahead goal with a lobbed ball Feilhaber looped over keeper Chen Dong and over the goalline just before charging Chinese defenders could reach it. Ridge Mahoney reports from San Jose, Calif., on the U.S. rout of China …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
REPORT CARD: Feilhaber shines in U.S. rout of China
Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. players’ performance in their 4-1 win over China …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Eddie ‘Hat Trick’ Johnson lights up MLS
Eddie Johnson downed New York with his second consecutive hat trick, Houston rallied to take the Texas shootout against Dallas, Chicago stopped a five-game winless skid by beating Columbus, and the cross-country clasico between D.C. and LA ended goalless. Ridge Mahoney recaps all this weekend’s MLS action …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“David Beckham‘s return to form, first for Real Madrid and now for England, has inevitably led to people questioning the wisdom of him signing to play not-so-major-league football in the home of Mickey Mouse.”
— Former England star Gary Lineker chimes in from the home of Benny Hill and Mr. Bean. (Sunday Telegraph)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
England holds Brazil to tie with assist from Beckham
David Beckham celebrated his return to the England national team with an assist on a patented cross as England played to a 1-1 tie with Brazil Friday in the first full international match at the new Wembley Stadium.
The return of Beckham 10 months after being dropped from the England team by Coach Steve McClaren was the highlight of a subdued game that saw both goals come in the second half.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Tragedy strikes after African Nations Cup qualifiers
An African Nations Cup qualifier played as a symbol of the new peace in Ivory Coast was overshadowed by tragedy at two other venues. Twenty-two people, most of them Togolese sports officials returning from an African Nations Cup qualifier, were killed when a passenger helicopter exploded and crashed on Sunday at Sierra Leone’s main international airport. The crash came a day after a stampede killed 12 people and injured more than 40 as fans left a stadium in the Zambian copper mining town of Chililabombwe, where Zambia had just beaten Congo, 3-0, in a key Group 11 match. For complete African Nations Cup qualifying results …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Boca loss moves San Lorenzo closer to Argentine title
A goal by Ruben Ramirez with three minutes remaining in the game gave struggling Colon to a 2-1 win over Boca Juniors on Sunday and left San Lorenzo on the brink of Argentina’s Torneo Clausura title. San Lorenzo tied Argentinos Juniors, 1-1, on the road on Saturday and now has a four-point lead with two games to play. It has not won an Argentine title since 2001.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Copenhagen soccer party ends in madness
So much for Scandinavian calm! A wild Euro ’08 qualifier between Scandinavian neighbors Denmark and Sweden ended in confusion as the game was abandoned in the 89th minute when a fan attacked German referee Herbert Fandel after he awarded the visiting Swedes a penalty when Dane Christian Poulsen punched Markus Rosenberg in the penalty area. Fandel didn’t see the incident but awarded the penalty kick and red carded Poulsen after consulting his assistant. Before the Swedes could take the penalty to break the 3-3 tie, a fan attacked the German referee, who also handled the UEFA Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool. Several Danish players stepped in between the attacker and Fandel, who immediately blew the whistle and walked off the field. The fan, only identified as a 23-year-old man from Ostebro, was arrested.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Inzaghi saves Italy from embarrassment
[EURO ’08 QUALIFYING WRAPUP] Filippo Inzaghi, the hero of AC Milan’s recent UEFA Champions League triumph, saved world champion Italy from embarrassment as his two first-half goals were barely enough to give the Azzurri a 2-1 victory over the Faeroe Islands in Saturday’s Euro 2008 qualifier. The win was good enough to move Italy into second place in Group B behind France, which beat Ukraine 2-0, but the Azzurri came in for harsh criticism in the Italian press. For complete Euro ’08 qualifying results and goalscorers …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. U-20s crush Canada, 4-1, in Ottawa
The U.S. U-20s are sure making its hard for Coach Thomas Rongen to make his final selections for the Under-20 World Cup, which begins later this month. With a lineup featuring several players on the bubble, the USA crushed Canada, 4-1, on Sunday afternoon at Ottawa’s Frank Clair Stadium, a U-20 World Cup venue. Andre Akpan, Preston Zimmerman, Johann Smith and Sal Zizzo all scored for the USA, which concludes its two-game trip to Canada with a rematch Wednesday in Kingston.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Battle of USL-1 leaders ends in 0-0 tie
[USL RESULTS] The USL-1 top-of-the-table clash between first-place Vancouver and second-place Montreal ended in a 0-0 tie on Friday. The Whitecaps maintained their three-point lead over the unbeaten Impact with the tie in a game played before 12,103 spectators at Claude-Robillard Sports Complex. For complete USL-1 and USL-2 results and goalscorers …
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Wake-Forest recruit Bone heads Parade All-America team
Wake Forest-bound Corben Bone heads the 2007 Parade All-America High School Boys Soccer Team. Bone has starred for Dallas club Solar since 2001. Solar teammates Cameron Brown (who will attend North Carolina) and Kaoru Forbess (a junior who moved to the Dallas area from Arkansas) are also Parade All-Americans. For the complete 2007 Parade All-America High School Boys Soccer Team …
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Canada calls in four U.S.-based collegians for U-20 matches
Four U.S.-based collegians remain in contention for berths on host Canada’s team for the Under-20 World Cup, which will begin later this month in six Canadian cities. Forwards Tosaint Ricketts (Wisconsin-Green Bay) and Alex Elliott (Portland) and defender Michael D’Agostino (Kentucky) were among the players named for Canada’s two-game series against the U.S. U-20s June 3-6. Goalie David Monsalve spent part of the 2006 season with NAIA power Mobile.Canada invited 21 players to the two-game series.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Notre Dame’s Hanks stars with U.S. U-21 women
Kerri Hanks, the 2006 Soccer America Women’s Player of the Year and Hermann Trophy winner, scored to give the U.S. under-21 women’s national team a 1-1 tie with German Second Division club TuS Cologne. Hanks had also scored in a 5-2 win over Essen-Schonebeck two days earlier. The U-21s opened with a 4-1 win over Gutersloh.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
BYU men earn spot in U.S. Open Cup
A college team has qualified for the first round of the 2007 U.S. Open Cup. Brigham Young University, which plays in the amateur PDL, hosts the California Victory of the USL-1 on June 14 in a first-round match at BYU South Stadium. With nine returning starters, the Cougars are expected to challenge for the PDL’s Northwest Division title. Going into Friday’s game at Ogden, BYU is in first place with a 4-1-0 record. The Cougars clinched their Open Cup berth with a 3-1 win at the Spokane Spiders last Saturday.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Busy Transfer Market Opens; Chelsea Signs Pizarro
The transfer season is only just underway, but there’s already been a flurry of activity, much of it involving Bayern Munich. As expected, center midfielder Owen Hargreaves completed his switch to English champion Manchester United. The German giant responded by adding 30-year-old Luca Toni of Fiorentina to its strike force. Later, Claudio Pizarro, who was […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Nine Soccer Players Make International 20 Rich List
An unprecedented nine soccer players appear in this year’s Sports Illustrated’s International 20 list of the top earning non-American athletes. And while European-based soccer players don’t tend to earn as much as the best players in sports like tennis, auto racing or MotoGP, past performance and image seem to count more than current achievement, when […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
FIFA: Agents’ Pay in England ‘Immoral’
Thursday’s Deloitte report on the finances of English soccer also revealed the vast amount clubs pay agents for player transactions. Last year, English clubs paid agents nearly $100 million in commissions, up approximately $20 million from the previous year. Upon reading the report, FIFA President Sepp Blatter called agents’ compensation-which can be over 10 percent-“immoral,” […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Guppy Impressed with Salas Tryout
Chicago Fire President John Guppy showed up at the press conference beaming, after Chilean legend Marcelo Salas completed his first highly publicized workout with the Chicago Fire on Thursday. The 32-year-old Salas accepted an invitation from Guppy to train with the Fire with the possibility of securing a contract. ”He’s obviously in good shape,” Guppy […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Latin American Backlash to FIFA Altitude Ruling
Several countries in Latin America are protesting FIFA’s decision to ban games at altitudes above 2,500 meters or 8,200 feet above sea level. In Bolivia, where the capital La Paz sits at nearly 12,000 feet, President Evo Morales said the ban was “not only a ruling against Bolivia, but against the universality of sport.” Said […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
East leaders, Texas rivals meet in MLS action
[TV PREVIEW] An clash of two of the Eastern Conference leaders and a Texas showdown in the West highlight the ninth week of MLS play. A few teams have already lost players to international duty and many more will join the U.S. team on Monday, so this will be the last chance for coaches to field their strongest squads for quite a while.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
USA a strong favorite against struggling Chinese
The USA’s friendly on Saturday against China in San Jose (8 pm ET/5 pm PT, live on ESPN2 and Galavision) will be its final warmup before this summer’s Gold Cup and Copa America. The Chinese are prepping for the Asian Cup in July, and will also meet the Los Angeles Galaxy (June 5) and Colorado Rapids (June 10) on their U.S. tour. On May 16, China fell 1-0 to Thailand in what was its first loss to a Southeast Asian team in nearly two decades — a defeat that almost got Coach Zhu Guanghu fired.