[U.S. OPEN CUP] A rivalry born in the North American Soccer League and renewed in various forms turned another page Wednesday in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Seattle, formerly a fierce foe of Portland in the NASL as well as more recently in the A-League and United Soccer Leagues (USL), topped the Timbers, 2-1, at PGE Park in Portland.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Galaxy adds ‘Eski’ to its attack
[MLS] The Galaxy isn’t waiting for the arrival of David Beckham to accelerate its playoff pursuit.
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Estudiantes books final spot
[LIBERTADORES CUP] Mauro Boselli scored twice to give Argentina’s Estudiantes a 2-1 win at Uruguay’s Nacional and a 3-1 aggregate victory, booking a place in the final against one of the two Brazilian clubs, Gremio or Cruzeiro, which settle their semifinal series on Thursday.
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Keita and Delicate are honored
[USL TEAMS OF THE WEEK] Guinean Mandjou Keita, who helped the Portland Timbers extend their franchise-record unbeaten streak to 12 USL-1 games Sunday with two goals in a 4-0 victory over the Montreal Impact, and Richmond’s Matthew Delicate, who scored both goals for the Richmond Kickers in a 2-1 victory at Pittsburgh, earned the USL First Division and Second Division Player of the Week honors, respectively. For the USL-1 and USL-2 Teams of the Week …
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Dynamo downs Austin in Texas clasico
[U.S. OPEN CUP] Houston succeeded on two fronts Wednesday by playing a lot of its reserves while beating the USL-1 Austin Aztex, 2-0, in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
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Hankinson headed to India
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Tim Hankinson, who has coached in MLS, the USL and the collegiate ranks and whose globetrotting has taken him to Iceland and Guatemala, is off to India to coach Goa’s Salgaocar FC, which won promotion to the 2009-10 I-League First Division.
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Red Bulls, Rapids & Revs make moves
[MLS] Though many teams are stretched for roster openings and salary-cap space, moves are inevitable with the opening of the domestic transfer window July 15 and the passing of the June 30 contract guarantee date. Several teams have already waived and signed players, and in a rather curious move Red Bull New York traded allocation money to Colorado in exchange for goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul. Soccer American’s Ridge Mahoney looks at key player moves around the league. …
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Zidane gets his man for Real Madrid
[TRANSFER WATCH] Former great Zinedine Zidane has left his first mark on Real Madrid since returning to the club as a senior advisor. On his recommendation, the Spanish club shelled out almost $50 million to sign 21-year-old forward Karim Benzema, who like Zidane was born and raised in France to Algerian immigrants.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“There’s a sense of urgency. We know the clock is ticking and that there are fewer and fewer games left. We can do the math in our head. It’s not very hard. It’s a very difficult task, to be quite candid. We have to turn it around and turn it around fast.”
— Red Bull New York sporting director Jeff Agoos reveals he’s aware of the club’s woes. The Red Bulls, last year’s MLS runner-up, has won just twice and has a league-low 10 points from a league-high 18 games. (MLSnet.com)
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Rising Star Profile: D.C. United’s Rodney Wallace
[MLS] A year after helping Maryland win the 2008 College Cup, Rodney Wallace finds himself contributing significant minutes (1,336 in 16 games) to a resurgent D.C. United. This Costa Rica native, who moved to the USA at age 9, has chipped in two goals and three assists. Get to know the 21-year-old in this profile by Soccer America’s Bryan Alvarez that covers on- and off-field experiences.
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MLS Should Shut the Door on Open Cup
Here we go again. It’s open Cup time. Ho hum, ho hum, ho hummm. No, you guessed it, the mention of the Open Cup has not set my nerves vibrating uncontrollably, nor raised my adrenaline to burn-out levels.
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Backline: Rick Davis-American Cosmo Heads AYSO
When Rick Davis was in high school, he told his father he planned to be a professional athlete. "That's great," said his dad. "Someday you'll get a real job." Richard Sr., a physician, was right on both counts. Rick Davis had a great career as a pro soccer player and eventually got a "real job." […]
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MLS: Cubans Find Home
Of the many soccer players who have taken on the risks of defection, forward Maykel Galindo and midfielder Osvaldo Alonso have established themselves as valuable MLS players and done their nation proud.
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Americans Abroad: Making An impact
Americans continue to celebrate success of various degrees in foreign leagues. We look at 11 who stood out during the 2008-09 season, including young Marco Vidal, the latest Mexican-American whose career required a move south of the border.
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Women’s Professional Soccer: Success Stories
Brazilian Marta and Englishwoman Kelly Smith came with big reputations, but other foreigners have also had an immediate impact in Women’s Professional Soccer. Indeed, their success is credited with elevating the level of play in WPS to at least what it was at the height of the WUSA. Here’s a look at five foreign stars:
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Youth Beat: AYSO-The Volunteer Model Lives On
In an era when so much of youth soccer has become profit-driven, the 45-year-old American Youth Soccer Organization continues to provide low-cost play for children thanks to its steadfast belief in volunteer coaches.
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Americans Abroad: Maurice Edu’s Wild Ride
Sidelined for the summer by a knee injury, U.S. midfielder Maurice Edu has some time to reflect on a wild ride that has taken him from college soccer to the U.S. national team and Scotland in less than three years.
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MLS: Preki’s Thinking Game
The eight-time MLS All-Star is in his third season as head coach of Chivas USA, where he draws on his playing experiences in Europe and the United States to aid his quest for an MLS Cup title.
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World Cup Qualifying: USA’s Recurring Problems
A propensity to concede early goals plagued the U.S. again during its two Hexagonal matches in June, and an overall sluggishness in transition is one facet of the team’s game that needs to be improved between now and the 2010 World Cup.
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New FIFA Rankings Put Brazil No. 1, USA Climbs
Brazil has ended Spain's one-year reign as the world's top soccer team and the United States moved up two spots to No. 12. The FIFA rankings released Wednesday reflected the recent Confederations Cup tournament in which Brazil rallied for a 3-2 victory over the USA in the final. Brazil rose four spots, gaining No. 1 […]
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Ronaldo Officially Madrid Property
Manchester United has confirmed Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Real Madrid and the player will be presented to the fans on Monday. The $132 million fee for the 24-year-old has been paid in full. United boss Alex Ferguson paid tribute to the departing winger. "Everyone here wishes him well in his future career," Ferguson told the […]
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Copa Libertadores Semis Up For Grabs
Excitement has been building across South America this week with the approach of the the second legs of the Copa Libertadores semifinal games. Estudiantes and Cruzeiro made home advantage count with first-leg victories last week over Nacional and Gremio, respectively. But both series look far from over. Estudiantes will be without Juan Sebastian Veron, an […]
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USA Permitted to Call Up Seven More For Gold Cup
Concacaf has ruled that the United States national team will be permitted to call up seven more players to its Gold Cup roster, taking the total to 30 players. The ruling allows any team playing in both the Confederations Cup and the Gold Cup to use an additional seven roster spots to cope with the […]
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Revs Lose On and Off Field
In some ways, the New England Revolution entered its Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup third-round match against the Harrisburg City Islanders in a no-win situation. A win would have put the Revs through to the next round but added yet another midweek game to an already crowded July calendar. A loss would leave the depleted […]