Soccer America Archives

How quickly things turn in the world of post-scandal Italian soccer. Gianluigi Buffon is not leaving Juventus, if you believe his agent, and neither are Pavel Nedved or Alessandro Del Piero. But don’t expect to see David Trezeguet, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Patrick Vieira, Emerson, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta or Lilian Thuram playing for the bianconeri next […]

Columnist Robert Steinbeck is proud to say he can appreciate the best any sport has to offer, with one little caveat. Soccer just doesn’t cut it for him, and he says he tried particularly hard during the World Cup to be turned on, but alas, nothing. However, it’s less interesting that we have yet another […]

La Marca reports that Real Madrid have agreed a fee of 14 million euros for Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Speculation across Europe is rife that the deal will close tomorrow, despite a hard-line stance by Sir Alex Ferguson and United officials that Ruud’s transfer would require a hefty sum. The latest reports are that neither club […]

As expected, the four Italian teams found guilty of match-fixing will begin an appeals process on Saturday. On July 14, a sports tribunal found Juventus, Fiorentina and Lazio guilty of conspiring with match officials to rig matches in the 2004-05 season. As a result, these teams have been relegated to Serie B and deducted a […]

Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United received a boost when a refinancing program was unveiled that should free up some cash for the high profile English club. Ferguson is the only manager of the top four English clubs who has yet to make a significant summer signing. In fact, with Van Nistelrooy set to leave […]

U.S. soccer needs Jurgen Klinsmann to replace Bruce Arena as national team caoch, writes Grant Wahl of SI.com. “It’s not too complicated, really,” says Wahl. “By showing the door to manager Bruce Arena — who was denied his wish of remaining for a third four-year term — Gulati is saying that he’ll find a better […]

If Colombia put forth a formal bid to host the 2014 World Cup, then the South American soccer confederation (CSF) didn’t know anything about it. CSF spokesman Nestor Benitez said his organization still considered the Brazil confederation the only candidate to host the tournament. “Brazil is unquestionably the only candidate for the 2014 World Cup,” […]

Now that central midfielder Michael Ballack and strikers Andriy Schevchenko and Salomon Kalou are headed to Stamford Bridge, it would appear that Chelsea has a glut of midfieldersespecially wingers. There certainly won’t be room for Joe Cole, Arjen Robben, Damien Duff and Shawn Wright-Phillips next season, as Chelsea’s starting lineup will likely be further squeezed […]

The exodus of former Juventus stars to clubs across Europe continues. Italy’s World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro is the first to go, having reportedly signed with Real Madrid, according to the Guardian. Gianluigi Buffon looks set to be next; the 28-year-old goalkeeper has been linked with Arsenal, but his agent said he would prefer […]

As Ruud Van Nistelrooy prepares to pack his bags for somewhere, possibly Real Madrid, one of Manchester United’s old guard has gotten back on the comeback trail. Old Trafford legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, out for three seasons with knee problems, slotted home twice against the Orlando Pirates during opening game of Manchester United’s pre-season tour […]

Juventus is headed for “financial meltdown” unless it receives a huge cash infusion from private investors over the next few years, a football finance expert told ESPN Soccernet. The Turin club last week was stripped of its Scudetto titles for the past two seasons after it was revealed that Juventus played a central role in […]