“Just ignoring it as much as I can. I think that’s the way you have to deal with these things, because when it happens sometimes it can become a distraction not for myself but the team.”
— David Beckham, who’s confronted heckling fans twice since his return to MLS this season and was fined $1,000 by the league. Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy host Barcelona in a friendly on Saturday (Fox Soccer Channel, 11 pm ET.) (Goal.com)
[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Leave it to the worst team in Major League Soccer to extract some respectability for MLS from the first leg of the preliminary round. The Red Bulls, welded to the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 2-15-4 record, scored a pair of deflected goals to come out of the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella with a 2-2 tie against W Connection of Trinidad & Tobago Thursday.
[MLS] After four years at UCLA, Mike Zaher joined MLS in 2008 and had a stint with D.C. United before settling in nicely with the San Jose Earthquakes. Get to know the 23-year-old in this profile by Soccer America’s Bryan Alvarez that covers on- and off-field experiences.
Freddy Adu had his first training session of preseason with Benfica today. As the U.S. international doesn’t know if he will be part of the plans of Coach Jorge Jesus, he wants to impress his new boss. Adu has kept followers abreast of his status on his Twitter page. He writes: “I am not 100 […]
Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has reportedly handed in a transfer request while speculation continues over a possible move to Real Madrid. Liverpool has so far refused to lower its price tag on the Spain midfielder, in the region of $49.5 million. But Alonso's stated intentions could affect his transfer price. Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has […]
Scottish club Hearts has some bills to pay, or it will be forced into bankruptcy. The club confirmed today that HM Revenue and Customs has launched a petition at the Court of Session because of the club's unpaid debts. The club issued a statement on its website to assuage fears of over its debts. It […]
Kendall Jagdeosingh scored the lone goal in the second half to give the Puerto Rico Islanders a 1-0 win over MLS club Toronto FC in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions' League preliminary round Wednesday. Jagdeosingh rounded Toronto goalkeeper Stefan Frei in the 68th minute to finish easily for the Islanders, semifinalists in last […]
The MLS All-Stars outshot Everton, 21-6, but could beat Everton's American keeper, Tim Howard, just once. Howard, the top goalkeeper for the U.S. national team, made six saves for the match – several of the spectacular variety – and three more in the shootout. He was a nearly unanimous choice for MLS All-Star Game MVP. […]
In theory, All-Star games are supposed to be exhibitions of flair, talent and goals. But that's not the way Wednesday night's game played out between the MLS All-Stars and Everton FC. "This was a real game," the Los Angeles Galaxy's Landon Donovan said. "You could tell by the way they were playing. There were a […]
Bomb disposal experts removed a live hand grenade from the garden wall outside the home of former Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish. Simon Lewis Ignacio, 28, of Lee Park Avenue, Belle Vale, and Carl Higgins, 29, of Helston Green, have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder. They are due to appear at Liverpool Crown Court […]
“Dear david beckham, I kno u heard about my shaq vs show, anyway u will never score a goal on me, I challenge you lil man. … dnt make me tweet to 2 million people that yur scared of shaq, u betta respnd, if u scared get a dog.”
— Basketball star Shaquille O’Neal uses his Twitter account and shows off his command of the language to court David Beckham onto his reality TV show. (Goal.com)
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Oguchi Onyewu‘s preseason with AC Milan didn’t get any better after his appearances in losing performances with his new club in the USA. After the central defender came on as a 64th minute substitute for Alessandro Nesta at Bayern Munich, AC Milan conceded three more goals in a 4-1 loss.
[MLS] An All-Star Game is a spectacle, and as such the wisdom of using penalty kicks to decide an exhibition does make some sense, since entertainment is the first priority. Fans at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, ran through the gamut of emotions, facial expressions and gestures, and most of them left disappointed at the result. As bizarre as it might have seemed for Everton players to step up to the penalty spot after playing 90 minutes in a friendly, at least a few – and not the least, U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard – got it right. After a 1-1 tie in regulation, Howard saved three shots as Everton took the shootout, 4-3, to end a five-match winning streak posted in All-Star action against foreign teams.
[OFF THE POST] After referee He Zhibiao ejected three Tianjin FC players in its 3-1 loss to Beijing in a third-round Chinese Cup He had to run to safety.
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Young American Eric Lichaj has earned starts in back-to-back games for English club Aston Villa at right back at the Peace Cup in Spain.
[MEXICO-USA] Mexico coach Javier Aguirre rewarded El Tri’s heroes for the 5-0 dismantling of the USA in the Gold Cup final, calling up all but two starters for the Aug. 12 showdown with the USA in World Cup 2010 qualifying. Barcelona star Rafael Marquez was one of eight players in the 20-players squad who played last season in Europe. The Chicago Fire’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco was also recalled for the game at Azteca Stadium.
[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] After a spectacular 6-1 thumping of Montreal in June that captured the Nutrilite Canadian Championship and with it a spot in the Concacaf Champions League, Toronto FC players and Coach Chris Cummins emphasized how important it was for them to represent Canada and do well in the regional club competition. But TFC left itself a huge task by losing the first leg of its two-match preliminary series, 1-0, to Puerto Rico Islanders Wednesday at BMO Field.
[WPS] Abby Wambach‘s second-half goal gave the Washington Freedom a 1-0 win over the visiting Boston Breakers that propelled it into third place ahead of the Breakers and eliminated last-place FC Gold Pride from playoff contention.
[TELEVISION WATCH] Former U.S. national team star Eric Wynalda, replaced by former teammate John Harkes as the lead color person on ESPN2’s MLS coverage, will be returning to the air as Nick Webster‘s co-host of Fox Football Fone-In, replacing the controversial Steve Cohen.
It’s the guys at Concacaf — not the Americans — who have most reason to feel aggrieved at Mexico’s 5-0 walloping of the USA in the Gold Cup final.
U.S. Soccer’s annual under-14 girls identification camp has kicked off at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona, Calif., with 101 under-14 girls gathered for a week of training and games at the camp headed by U.S. Soccer national staff coach Mike Dickey. For almost all the players, this is their first introduction to the national team program. For the complete list of players in camp and their club affiliations …
The U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships will be played in Kansas for the first time when the 2010 championships will be held in Overland, Park, Kan., following regional play at sites in Barboursville, W.Va., Beavercreek, Ohio, Baton Rouge, La., and Albuquerque, N.M. For all the 2010 venues and dates …
The USA dropped a 2-1 decision to Denmark in its opening game of the U-18 Elite division at the 2009 Milk Cup in Northern Ireland. A goal by Virginia-bound Will Bates was all the Americans could muster after conceding two goals to the Danes in the first half hour of the game.
The U.S. under-20 men’s national team beat Argentine club CA Tiro Federal, 2-0, and defeated Uruguay in a shootout in its first two games at the Copa Ciudad de Rosario in Argentina.
Teams from eight different states claimed boys titles at U.S. Club Soccer’s National Cup VIII Finals at the Hampton Roads Soccer Complex in Virginia Beach, Va. North Carolina’s Jamestown SC Jammers Gold was the only club with multiple teams playing in Tuesday’s championship.
