By any account, it’s been a bad year for Andriy Shevchenko. One of the highest-rated players in the world less than a year ago, Sheva arrived at Chelsea last summer with huge expectations on his $60 million shoulders. Indeed, it must be hard after such a poor season to be constantly reminded of one’s astronomical […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Dissecting West Ham’s Tevez-Mascherano Mess
BBC Sport takes an in-depth look at the complicated and controversial ruling by the English Premier League over West Ham United’s breach of rules in signing Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano from a group of third-party investors. Incidentally, there is nothing explicitly illegal about signing a pair of players whose economic rights are owned by […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
New Red Bulls youth boss hails from former USSR
New York Red Bull has named Armen Simoniants, who hails from the former USSR and has coached in USA for more than a decade, as its Youth Academy Director. He succeeds Giovanni Savarese, who headed the club’s hailed youth development program from 2005 until last March. Simoniants is the president of New Jersey-based United Soccer Master Course, an “international association of professional soccer educators.” He coached the MetroStars reserve team in 2000-03, has been a New Jersey ODP coach, and most recently coached Moldovan club FC Olympia Beltsy. Soccer America talked to Red Bulls technical director Jeff Agoos about the hiring.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
OFF THE POST: The high price of garlic in Japan
The J-League has suspended Kazuki Ganaha six games for shooting garlic up his veins (more or less). Ganaha used an intravenous drip to take a non-banned substance to combat cold symptoms. The supplement shot that is reportedly popular among Japanese athletes is known as a “garlic shot.” But any kind of intravenous infusion is banned by FIFA and, as of this season, the J-League.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS departures, absences raise questions
Just about one month into the season several prominent players are missing from MLS rosters, some by design, some not. Ridge Mahoney reports on new Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis’ prompt dismissal of its Panamanian striker and how MLS should treat Amado Guevara’s flight from Chivas USA.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
World Cup prostitute trafficking to Germany overestimated
Prior to the 2006 World Cup, Germany’s policy of legal prostitution came under fire from groups predicting the tournament would spur a trafficking of women from other nations, especially eastern Europe, forced into prostitution work during the month-long tournament. Media widely reported estimates of the trafficking of 40,000 foreign women. But the International Organization for Migration reports only five confirmed victims. “The estimate of 40,000 women expected to be trafficked was unfounded and unrealistic,” said the 48-page report.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Article 3409
“Chelsea and Liverpool are the clearest, most exaggerated example of the way soccer is going: very intense, very collective, very tactical, very physical, and very direct. But, a short pass? Noooo. A feint? Noooo. A change of pace? Noooo. A one-two? A nutmeg? A backheel? Don’t be ridiculous. None of that. The extreme control and seriousness with which both teams played the semifinal neutralized any creative license, any moments of exquisite skill.”
— Jorge Valdano, Argentine 1986 World Cup winner as a player and former Real Madrid coach and sporting director, wasn’t impressed with how Liverpool advanced to the Champions League final. (The Guardian)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Carolina teams head prep rankings
[HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS] Greenville (S.C.) High School and Apex (N.C.) High School are the top ranked boys and girls teams in the latest NSCAA/adidas High School Spring Rankings.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Mexico’s Club America battles on two fronts
[TV PREVIEW] It will be a busy week for Mexican giant Club America. It began Tuesday night in Santiago, Chile, where the Eagles fell to Colo Colo, 2-1, in the second leg of their Libertadores Cup series but moved into the quarterfinals with a 4-2 aggregate win. America returns home for two games in the quarterfinals of Mexico’s Torneo Clausura.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Schellscheidt calls in 36 players for U-14 program
[U.S. U-14 BOYS ROSTER] Head coach Manny Schellscheidt has called in 36 players for the U.S. under-14 boys national development program May 12-19 at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center at The Home Depot Center.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. U-15 girls head to Home Depot Center
[U.S. U-15 GIRLS ROSTER] U.S. U-15 girls head coach Tad Bobak has called in 24 players, all born in 1992, as the youngest of the USA’s five youth national teams holds a camp May 19-25 at the Home Depot Center.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Valdano Attacks Mourinho, Benitez Tactics
Jorge Valdano, a legend with Real Madrid and Argentina, has launched a scathing attack directed at Liverpool’s Rafael Benitez and Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho, who are “ruining” soccer in his opinion. In a column appearing in the Madrid daily La Marca, the former World Cup winner accuses both managers of mistrusting talent because of their own […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Time to Name Bradley U.S. Coach
“Time’s up Mr. Gulati!” exclaims Paul Gardner in his latest New York Sun column. And he’s right: it’s May already, the month when U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati said he would make a decision as to who will coach the U.S. national team-presumably through South Africa 2010. It’s a decision that “has been delayed […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
EPL Sues Google for YouTube Infringement
The English Premier League, the most prominent and powerful league in world soccer, headed a list of plaintiffs that filed suit against Google’s YouTube last Friday for copyright infringement. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the EPL and music publisher Bourne Co. jointly sued the online video provider, […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
The EPL’s Top 10 Worst Signings
ESPN Soccernet’s Norman Hubbard compiles a list of the top 10 worst transfers in the English Premier League this season. It betrays little suspense to cut right to the chase: Hubbard rates Chelsea’s Andriy Shevchenko the worst transfer of the 2006-2007 season. It’s true, four goals and six assists for $60 million is a terrible […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
MLS Players Union Looks for DP Windfall
Do rising tides lift all boats? It depends: if you’re talking about Major League Soccer and the mean rise in player salaries, this has been brought on by a handful of players signed under the new designated player rule, most notably David Beckham, who’s base annual salary is $5.5 million for the five years he’s […]
Posted inSoccer America Magazine, Story
Tapping Into a Gold Mine
Major League Soccer is finding ways and means to exploit the rapidly growing Hispanic sports marketplace while it steadily grows and improves its own product.
Two years ago, a pair of international soccer games were played simultaneously in Southern California. Staged less than 30 miles apart they, in effect, took place on different worlds, so vastly different were the cultures they attracted and the atmosphere they generated.
Posted inSoccer America Magazine, Story
Chivas USA Project, Year 3
The departures of head coach Bob Bradley, striker Francisco Palencia and midfielder Juan Pablo Garcia aren’t the only changes at Chivas USA. The club is reaching deeper into the Mexican-American community with programs and promotions as it strives for greater success on the field.
Posted inSoccer America Magazine, Story
The Latino Equation
How far has American soccer come in providing opportunities for young Latino players?
Financially, it’s a struggle,” says Paul Walker, the founder and president of Southern California youth club Barcelona USA. “But I come from the point of view of being the underdog. I don’t know why, it’s just the way I grew up. I took on all challenges.”
Posted inSoccer America Magazine, Story
U.S. Talent Heads South
Mexican pro clubs and Mexico’s national team program have started plucking talent from the USA.
Edgar Castillo is 20 years old and he just bought a house. A year ago, he made his Mexican First Division debut with Santos Laguna. This season, he starts at left back.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS STATS: Standings, top scorers, attendance & scoring average
MLS STATISTICS (through May 6) STANDINGS Eastern Conference Team W-L-T PTS Kansas City 4-1-0 12 New England 3-1-2 11 New York 3-0-2 11 Chicago 3-1-1 10 Columbus 1-1-3 6 D.C. United 1-3-1 4 Toronto FC 0-4-0 0 Western Conference Team W-L-T PTS Houston 2-2-1 7 Colorado 2-2-1 7 FC Dallas 2-3-1 7 Chivas USA 2-3-0 […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS Golazos
[VIDEO] Goals by Dwayne DeRosario, Jose Burciaga, Jeff Larentowicz, Christian Gomez and Chris Brown are this week’s MLS Sierra Mist Goal of the Week candidates.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
AMERICANS ABROAD: Bradley, Castillo in playoffs
In the Netherlands, Heerenveen (Michael Bradley) finished in fifth place, which is good enough for a UEFA Cup spot but also puts it into the playoffs for Champions League qualification. Heerenveen faces Ajax Amsterdam in the first-leg of the semifinal qualifying playoffs on Wednesday. In Denmark, Nat Borchers scored in Odd Grenland’s 2-1 loss to Viking. In Mexico, Edgar Castillo and Santos Laguna’s first-leg quarterfinal game against Pachuca will be televised on Azteca America at 7 pm ET. Last weekend in Chile, Chase Hilgenbrinck was named man of the match for his 90 minute effort for Nublense in its 1-1 tie with Cobresal.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Beckham, Blanco, Angel & Reyna are top earners
The MLS Players Union’s publication of the league’s players’ salaries for the 2007 season reveals that after Englishman David Beckham‘s $6.5 million in guaranteed annual income, the league’s top earners are Chicago’s Mexican forward Cuauhtemoc Blanco $2.7 million, New York’s Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel $1.6 million, and New York’s Claudio Reyna, who is the highest paid American in the league at $1.25 million.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Article 3387
"The reason that we published the numbers was the hope that it creates upward pressure on salaries. We hope Beckham can create that upward pressure. I don’t want to overstate the influence of one player but it helps. Average salaries have been increasing in the past year."
— Bob Foose, the executive director of the MLS Players Union, which has made public the MLS players’ salaries. David Beckham, at $6.5 million per year in guaranteed income, is tops, earning is more than 50 times the average for the league. (Reuters)