Wednesday night’s 2-1 loss to AC Milan in the Champions League final must have been a bitter pill for Liverpool and its manager, Rafael Benitez, to swallow. Probably the better team in a game where Benitez’s tactics dominated the flow (or lack thereof), Liverpool did a far better job of neutralizing Milan’s attack on Wednesday […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
RSL Trades Cunningham for Eskandarian, a Draft Pick and Cap Room
Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis had to do something. Winless in his first three matches as a rookie coach and coaching the only team left in MLS still without a victory, Kreis decided to trade star striker Jeff Cunningham to Toronto FC in exchange for fellow striker Alecko Eskandarian and a 2008 first-round draft […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
How Much Soccer is Too Much Soccer?
How much soccer is too much soccer? From my perspective as a sports medicine specialist, I know when a player has played too much when various types of “overuse” injuries start appearing.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Inzaghi delivers for Milan in Champions League final
Filippo Inzaghi repaid AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti for his faith in him by leading Milan to a 2-1 victory over Liverpool Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League final. At 33, Inzaghi was considered washed up, having scored just two goals this season for Milan in Serie A, but he matched that total with two goals in the final to give Milan its seventh title in Europe’s most important club competition.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Article 22033
“Alecko Eskandarian is in shock. Just found out I got traded from TFC to Real Salt Lake. Definitely did NOT ask for this so I’m pretty devastated right now.”
— Alecko Eskandarian, breaking the news of his trade from Toronto FC to Real Salt Lake on his facebook.com page before the trade was even made public
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Santos knocks Club America out of Libertadores Cup
Brazilian clubs Santos and Gremio and Colombian champion Cucuta are first three teams through to the semifinals of the Libertadores Cup. Santos came from behind on Wednesday against Mexico’s America to win the second leg of their quarterfinal series, 2-1, and win by the same score on aggregate. Goals by Tcheco and Teco gave Gremio a 2-0 win over Uruguay’s Defensor Sporting to even their series, 2-2, and the Brazilian club went through on penalties, 4-2. Cucuta, playing in the tournament for the first time in its 47-year history, twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 tie at Uruguayan club Nacional on Tuesday and win, 4-2, on aggregate.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Fizzling Fire needs a spark
[TV PREVIEW] If ever a team looked in desperate need of a Designated Player, it’s the Chicago Fire. Stuck in a three-game losing streak, Chicago takes on Red Bull New York (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2) at the Meadowlands Thursday without Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who is playing for Club America in the Mexican League finals and Copa Liberatadores. He won’t be available until mid-June at the earliest.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Rongen to take 16 U-20 players for Canada training camp
U.S. under-20 national team coach Thomas Rongen will take 16 players to a training camp May 30-June 6 in Canada as part of the team’s preparation for the upcoming Under-20 World Cup. The USA will face Canada twice during the camp, which will be the final camp before Rongen names his 21-player roster for the Under-20 World Cup and provide the USA with a first-hand look at their two Group E venues in Montreal and Ottawa.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Arsenal clears first hurdle in bid for fourth national title in a row
[REGION IV YOUTH CHAMPIONS] Arsenal FC began its quest for an unprecedented four straight US Youth Soccer national boys championships in its age group with a 2-0 win over CRSC in the final of the Cal South U-18 division. Arsenal FC, which moves on to the Region IV finals June 18-24 in Las Vegas, got a scare in the semifinals, where it needed overtime to beat the San Diego Surf, 3-1. The Surf won the U-17 and U-16 Cal South boys titles. The U-14 Slammers made it three Cal South titles in a row with a 1-0 win over the So Cal Blues in the final. The Slammers won all seven games in the state cup by shutout. They also won the U-15 and U-16 girls divisions. For Region IV state-by-state champions …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
CASL Elite goes 6-for-6 in North Carolina
[REGION III YOUTH CHAMPIONS] CASL Elite won all six North Carolina boys divisions that will send teams to the Region III finals in Oklahoma City June 28-July 4. CASL Spartan Elite won North Carolina state titles in the U-19, U-16 and U-14 divisions. In Florida, Kendall Soccer Alliance (U-19 and U-16 boys) and Tampa Knights FC (U-17 boys and girls) were multiple winners in the higher age groups. For Region III state-by-state champions …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Team Ohio and Ohio Premier win big at state finals
[REGION II YOUTH CHAMPIONS] Team Ohio won five boys divisions at the Ohio South championships. On the girls side, Ohio Premier won four titles and had two teams finish second. For Region II state-by-state champions …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
FC Delco cleans up in Eastern Pennsylvania
[REGION I YOUTH CHAMPIONS] Three FC Delco boys teams going to the Region I championship won titles at last weekend’s Eastern Pennsylvania finals. The U-15s followed up on their Region I Premier League title with a 3-0 win over Lower Merion Velez in the EPYSA final. The U-17 Dynamo III needed double overtime to overcome LDC, 2-1. The U-14 Roadkill lead YMS, 4-0. The U-14 Girls Force won the first State Cup of the 2007 season for FC Delco on Saturday by beating Vincent United, 3-1. For Region I state-by-state champions …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
OFF THE POST: Hard time for hard-up soccer fan
“I tried to take the satellite dish because I wanted to see the Champions League final,” an Italian man told the judge, who showed little sympathy and sentenced the foiled thief to six months in jail and fined him $500. The 46-year-old explained that the Italian Alps near his home in Lecco blocked the terrestrial signal told. But his attempt to remedy the problem by heisting the satellite dish from a campsite went awry when the owner of the campsite restaurant heard him as he tried to detach the equipment.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Rumors Swirl Over Reds Ahead CL Final
If the British press wants to see Liverpool win Wednesday’s Champions League final (and you suspect that most would), it’s certainly not done the Reds any favors with the endless speculation about who’s going where in the offseason. Talk all you want about Man United, Carlos Tevez, Jose Mourinho and any of the other countless […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Why Milan Shouldn’t Be in Athens
Technically, there can be no question that AC Milan’s Rossoneri deserve to be in Wednesday’s Champions League final. Driven by the superb midfield trio of Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Kaka, the man who would undoubtedly be crowned this year’s World Player of the Year award if Milan wins, the team has only gotten better […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Construction Delays Add to Red Bulls Woes
Things are going far, far smoother for the Red Bulls on the field than they are upstairs in management. After rather limply dismissing the club’s second-worst season attendance average on Tuesday, there came more bad news from Red Bulls managing director Marc de Grandpre, according to a New York Daily News report. The club’s 25,000-seat […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Poor Form Could Cost Dynamo Players International Spots
By any measure, it’s been a poor start to the season from MLS defending champ Houston Dynamo. A 2-4-1 record is bad enough, but the fact that Houston has netted just four goals and been shut out in five of the seven games is a worrying sign for Coach Dominic Kinnear. What happened to Brian […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Balancing what beckons Beckham
Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas, talking on his cell phone at the Denver airport waiting for a connecting flight to Los Angeles, is wary of loading too many exhibition matches onto his team’s schedule. Lalas was returning from Minneapolis, having concluded negotiations for his team to feed off the frenzy that will hit these shores in another month or so. Still, playing at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Oct. 10 against an opponent to be named later makes sense
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
OFF THE POST: Bad word ousts high school team
In Iowa high school soccer, Waterloo West’s boys season came to an abrupt end because of its goalkeeper’s expletive, which was deemed red-card worthy by the referee, according to the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Keeper Alex Frank cursed when he gave up a corner kick. Iowa High School Athletic Association rules dictate that a team is disqualified from postseason play if it collects four red cards during the season. Frank’s ejection made it a quartet for the Wahawks and meant a forfeit in the regional game against Dubuque Senior while they were leading, 2-1.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
D.C. United gets Chivas rematch in Copa Sudamericana
D.C. United, which was invited to take part in the Copa Sudamericana by virtue of its third-place finish in this year’s CONCACAF Champions Cup, will enter the Copa in the round of 16 and face Mexico’s Chivas Guadalajara. It was Chivas that eliminated D.C. United in this year’s Champions Cup semifinal (3-2 on aggregate). In 2005, D.C. United was the first MLS team to participate Copa Sudamericana. It lost in the round of 16, 4-3 on aggregate to Universidad Catolica of Chile.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“The feeling you get before doing a piano concert and the feeling before refereeing a big match are about the same, actually. You don’t quite know what awaits you, but you prepare yourself in the anticipation that everything will turn out all right on the night.”
— Herbert Fandel, the German concert pianist who will referee the European Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool FC in Athens on Wednesday. (uefa.com)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Mo’ Deals In Toronto: Esky for Cunningham
Not all great goalscorers, or great players, think alike. Real Salt Lake has sent striker Jeff Cunningham to Toronto in exchange for Alecko Eskandarian and TFC’s first-round 2008 SuperDraft pick. Despite scoring 94 goals in his MLS career, Cunningham has bounced among several clubs, and his quirky personality doesn’t mesh well with that of Coach Jason Kreis, who has not wavered from the no-nonsense approach that enabled him to set a league record – since tied by Jaime Moreno – of 108 goals. Let’s just say Kreis didn’t ask to wear No. 108 on his jersey this season before deciding to retire and take over as head coach.
Cunningham’s jersey number last year (76) and this season (90) refer to his goalscoring totals. (He’s netted four this year).
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Clarke takes over as Puerto Rico coach
Former FC Dallas coach Colin Clarke has been named the head coach of the USL-1’s Puerto Rico Islanders, replacing Toribio Rojas, who will remain with the Islanders to work in their youth program.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Liverpool-AC Milan, the protagonists
Liverpool and AC Milan meet Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League final in Athens. The game is a repeat of the 2005 final Liverpool won on penalty kicks after the Reds trailed, 3-0, at the half. Here’s a look at some of the key figures in this year’s final.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
AC Milan given edge over Liverpool in the remake
[TV PREVIEW] Six months ago, no one would have expected Liverpool and AC Milan to be meeting Wednesday in Athens in a remake of their 2005 UEFA Champions League final thriller. Liverpool and Milan had gone so far as to schedule a friendly game in Milan for their respective reserve teams. That game, of course, has been canceled as their “A” teams square off in the 2007 UEFA Champions League final. AC Milan began the 2006-07 season in crisis as it was slapped with an eight-point penalty for the 2006-07 Serie A season because of its role in the widespread Italian match-fixing scandal. Liverpool, for its part, was never in the hunt for the English Premier League title. But as has so often been the case in recent years, the finalists were allowed to concentrate on Europe’s top competition without the distraction of a domestic title race.