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Soccer Source Saturday Summary: Bayern, Barca Beaten, Battered
2007-11-10 22:41:00
The sixth and seventh-ranked teams in Soccer Source's Top 25 both lost today, as #7 Bayern Munich finally fell from the ranks of the unbeaten and #6 Barcelona went down again on the road. The Bavarian side got clobbered at VfB Stuttgart, losing 3-1 in a game that was decided at halftime. Mario Gomez completed a brace at minute 42 to put the defending Bundesliga champs up 3-0. It was an impressive victory for Stuttgart, who have quietly charged up to eighth place in the Bundesliga. Bayern's lead is now a single point, after Werder Bremen shellacked Karlsruhe (it's pronounced Karls-rooh) 4-0. Hamburg and Schalke tied 1-1 in the other top game of the day.Barca, ranked sixth in the top 25, also played a disappointing game at Getafe and went down 2-0. The Catalan side have not won a Liga game on the road since Sept. 29, and that was to sorry Levante, who are so terrible they're probably even worse than Derby County. It's early still, but Barca does not scare me right now.There was one othe ...
Soccer  Source 

Spector (May Have) Scored First Premiership Goal
2007-11-10 17:16:00
Starting in midfield instead of his customary role at right back, Arlington Heights, Ill., native Jonathan Spector appeared to score his first career goal in the English Premiership. I didn't watch the game (thanks to not having GolTV, boohoo) but footballstats.telegraph.co.uk described it as a left-footed strike from the center of the penalty box into the bottom right corner of the net. Alas, other media credited as an own goal (ironically to fellow American Eddie Lewis). I'm still trying to figure out what the "official word" is and will of course update this entry as soon as I find out.Update: The Premiership's official site does not appear to have reached a consensus on this either. The match report credits Spector with a goal in the intro but later says "Spector's strike looked to have been blocked by Eddie Lewis, only for his fellow American to fall over the ball and send it over the line." So, uh, which one is it? I'm still trying to find out. Will check back with my progress. ...
Premiership 

Soccer Quote of the Day, Nov. 10, 2007
2007-11-10 15:37:00
"I've told the players we need to win so that I can have the cash to buy some new ones."--Chris Turner, Peterborough United manager, before the 1992 League Cup quarterfinal.I think they lost that game to Middlesborough, 1-0, after previously ousting Premiership sides Liverpool and Wimbledon in prior rounds. I'm getting this (and the photo) from the club's rivals.net page. ...
Soccer 

I Want My GolTV!
2007-11-10 14:31:00
A few years ago, Fox Soccer Channel offered a cornucopia of live action from the top leagues in Europe and Latin America. My how times change. This morning, when I went to turn on the TV, I got...nothing? Yet at this very moment, Premiership and Bundesliga teams were in action on GolTV, which, as a New York City-based hostage subscriber to Jim Dolan's Time Warner Cable I can't get even if I were to pay extra for it (trust me, I've tried).As I write this, GolTV is showing the Hamburg vs. Schalke clash live and in its entirety. Later, GolTV subscribers get the other top Bundesliga game of the day (Stuttgart-Bayern) and Spanish league action (Getafe vs. Barcelona and Valenci vs. Murcia). All live. Me? I get the replay of an FA Cup match between Leeds United and Hereford. Oh, and FSC just did a deal to broadcast the Friday night Major Indoor Soccer League game of the week!Okay, okay so FSC is also showing Liverpool vs. Fulham live at noon and they have Serie A games as well. (You might als ...

Jozy Altidore Called Up To National Team
2007-11-09 17:15:00
New York Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore will be part of the 17-man U.S. national team roster that faces South Africa in Johannesburg Nov. 17, according to a statement by the club. The complete U.S. roster will be finalized following this weekend's matches in Europe and MLS with players reporting to camp on Nov. 12 in Johannesburg.This is the first time that the 18-year-old has been called up to the senior side, but he has previously competed at the U.S. U-17 and U-20 levels and this summer took part in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada.Jozy is the first Red Bulls player to be capped by his national side since...I don't even know when. Anybody know? ...
National  Team 

Soccer Quote of the Day, Nov. 9, 2007
2007-11-09 08:18:00
"There's no in between; you're either good or bad. We were in between."--Gary Lineker ...
Soccer 

Who To Replace Arena? Predict The Next Red Bulls Coach And Win!
2007-11-09 05:18:00
Okay, so all I'm giving away is a blue Red Bulls T-shirt. Better than nothing, innit? More importantly, this gives you bragging rights forever and ever if you do manage to call it.Simply post a comment with who you think will get the job (and if you like, why you think he'll get it) and you're in the running. The winner will be decided when an announcement is made. If nobody manages to get it right? Then nobody wins! But there are only so many coaches out there with the necessary resume. This franchise has a history of some pretty famous ones, while not having a history of very much else (other than abject failure, perhaps). ...
Coach  Predict  Replace 

Look Who IS Available To Coach The Red Bulls
2007-11-09 00:49:00
Not Ruud Gullit, obviously, who was just hired by the L.A. Galaxy but an old friend who needs no surname: Bora. I can't spell his last name anyway. Milutinovic. There it is. Copied and pasted that. He's apparently been fired by the Jamaican Football Federation where he has plied his trade for the last year. So say numerous media reports.So whaddya say, Bora? Fancy another go-round with the New York area MLS franchise? It's got a new name now and new ownership. You might even do better this time. ...
Coach 

Friday Footy Links A Day Early
2007-11-08 17:39:00
With Ruud Gullit-to-L.A. Galaxy talk swirling, Soccer Insider's Steven Goff takes a look at how foreign coaches have fared in MLS and finds they haven't done very well. The comparison is fraught with issues, however, as Goff excludes the likes of Steve Nicol, Frank Yallop, Thomas Rongen, Steve Morrow and others who might appear to qualify as foreign. He defines "foreign" in this context as "guys who had little working knowledge of MLS and came to coach." I guess Nicol's two games as interim player-coach in 2000 qualifies as substantial working knowledge? And what about all the U.S.-born coaches who had just as little "working knowledge of MLS" (whatever that is) as these "foreign" guys, but who ended up successful managers? Whatever, I suppose the point is that maybe foreign coaches aren't all they're cracked up to be. It is true that Gullit's managerial record to date has not been very impressive. Then again Joe Torre's managerial record was not very impressive either before he was hi ...
Links 

Soccer Quote of the Day, Nov. 8, 2007
2007-11-08 11:05:00
"The ball is like a woman, she loves to be caressed"--Eric Cantona ...
Soccer 

America Stun Millos In Copa Sudamericana Semis
2007-11-08 03:39:00
I promised must-see TV. Did you really think I'd lie? Okay, so the first half wasn't much to write home about. For about an hour, in fact, Club America looked to be in almost complete control of the game. They had a comfortable 2-0 lead and only passive resistance from their Colombian hosts. The partisan crowd, who had been boisterous until America scored the first goal in the 25th minute, had fallen pretty silent. Millonarios looked a lot more like the (barely) middle-of-the-table club they are in their domestic league than the guys who had ousted Sao Paulo and Colo Colo from the tournament. Their defending was particularly horrific. America could (and probably should) have scored another.Things changed in minute 61. Gerardo Bedoya struck a brilliant freekick from just outside the 18 yard box that left America's keeper Guillermo Ochoa flatfooted. Then the Colombians hit the post. At minute 68, Jonathan Estrada (I think it was him) took advantage of a mixup between Ochoa and two defend ...
America 

Champs League: Man U, Arse First Teams To Advance To Round of 16
2007-11-07 23:36:00
Despite only managing a scoreless draw at Slavia Prague, Arsenal were able to join Manchester United as the first teams to advance into the UEFA Champions League round of 16. Man U. made quick work of Dynamo Kiev, winning 4-0 at Old Trafford. The Red Devils victory opened the door for AS Roma to advance as well, but the Italian side only managed a 2-2 draw at Sporting Lisbon (and were fortunate to make off with the point, as the equalizer came on an 89th minute own goal by Anderson Polga). Roma can settle matters if they manage just one point in their last two games (at hapless Kiev on Nov. 27 and home to Man U on Dec. 12) or if Man U beats Sporting at Old Trafford in the next round. This means the dreaded Man U visit to Roma next month will in all likelihood be a meaningless affair.Elsewhere, Inter Milan are all but through, with a five point advance on third place. Ditto Sevilla, who turned in an impressive victory at Steaua Bucharest thanks to a brace by Renato. Barca are also in th ...
Champs  League  Teams 

Reyna Takes Inaugural RBNY Least Valuable Player Award
2007-11-07 21:36:00
This poll closed on Monday and I had every intention of posting an update with the results before a certain coaching change distracted me. Anyway this shouldn't come as a huge surprise seeing the huge lead he had going into the final day of polling, but Claudio Reyna has won the inaugural New York Red Bulls Least Valuable Player award. Congrats, Captain America!Reyna took 81 of 203, or nearly 40% of all votes cast. Markus Schopp was a distant second, taking 37 votes, which corresponds to 18.2% according to my math, which is probably wrong so take it with a grain of salt. Chris Leitch (28 votes, or 13.8%), Kevin Goldwaith (27, or 13.3%) and Ronald Waterreus (23, or 11.33%) followed in close succession. Santino Quaranta's 12 votes corresponded to about 5%. Hunter Freeman (3 votes), Jon Conway (2), Dane Richards and Seth Stammler (1 each) and the elusive "Other" (9 votes) completed the ballot. ...
Award 

Tonight's Must-See TV Will Be Broadcast In Spanish Only
2007-11-07 19:33:00
Today's biggest game is not taking place in Barcelona or Manchester or Lyon, but in Bogotá, Colombia while most of UEFA will be fast asleep. I am of course referring to the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana semifinal, where Millonarios host Mexico City's Club America (8:15pm EST, Fox Sports en Espanol).The Mexican side are favored to advance but face a daunting task: Millonarios have previously upset Brazilian champion Sao Paulo and Chile's Colo Colo at the Nemesio Camacho. Still, if anybody can deal with playing at Bogotá's altitude (2640 meters, or 8661 feet above sea level) it's a team from Mexico City, which is 2,240 meters, or 7,349 feet above sea level. (Or maybe those extra 400 meters really will make a difference? No clue).Los Aguilas' most famous player right now is probably Guillermo Ochoa, the starting goalkeeper for Mexico's national side. Ochoa is said to be on his way to Man United, perhaps as early as January. Other stalwarts on Club America include Argentine midfield ...
Broadcast 

Maurice Edu, Preki Win MLS Accolades
2007-11-07 17:53:00
Toronto F.C.'s Maurice Edu was named Major League Soccer Rookie of the Year, with Chivas' Preki taking Coach of the Year honors, the league announced today. Preki, who earned his coaching stripes as an assistant to current U.S. men's national team coach Bob Bradley, is no stranger to MLS awards, having won its MVP award twice (the only player to have done so). It's the second year in a row a Chivas USA coach has won the award (Bradley won last year). The win puts Edu in pretty prestigious company, as a list of past recipients demonstrates:2007: Maurice Edu - Toronto FC2006: Jonathan Bornstein - Chivas USA2005: Michael Parkhurst - New England Revolution2004: Clint Dempsey - New England Revolution2003: Damani Ralph - Chicago Fire2002: Kyle Martino - Columbus Crew2001: Rodrigo Faria - MetroStars2000: Carlos Bocanegra - Chicago Fire1999: Jay Heaps - Miami Fusion1998: Ben Olsen - D.C. United1997: Mike Duhaney - Tampa Bay Mutiny1996: Steve Ralston - Tampa Bay MutinyOnce again, the Soccer Sou ...

G-14 Expansion Off The Table
2007-11-07 15:41:00
The G-14's expansion plans have been shelved, according to this story by the Guardian. As previously reported here and elsewhere, the group (which, despite its name has 18 members) was planning to expand to 40 clubs in 23 countries. Representatives of the 40 clubs were to meet with G-14 brass in Brussels next week to discuss their plans. Yet now, "Uefa has effectively outflanked the G14 by inviting leading clubs, including Chelsea who are not G14 members, to join the UEFA Strategy Forum," says the Guardian story. As a result, the G-14 will be relaunched as an independent organization that will work with, not against UEFA. So much for a new era in club soccer. We may still see a permanent-type of Champions League at some point, but it will probably have to operate within UEFA. No word on how any of this affects the G-14's lawsuit against FIFA over its "use" of players in international tournaments. ...
Table 

Soccer Quote of the Day, Nov. 7, 2007
2007-11-07 13:11:00
"The only way we will be going to Europe is if the club splash out and take us all to EuroDisney."--Dean Holdsworth, speculating on his chances of success at Wimbledon.Did they ever play in Europe? I thought they might have made it once or twice in the mid- to late-90s... ...
Soccer 

French Soccernet Site Does Feature Story On MLS
2007-11-07 04:32:00
ESPNsoccernet.fr, the French-language affiliate of ESPNsoccernet, just did an interesting piece on Major League Soccer. There are currently two French nationals playing professional soccer in the U.S.: Chivas USA forward Laurent Merlin, whom you may have heard of, and Sébastien Le Toux, whom you probably haven't. Le Toux just finished a six month contract with USL's Seattle Sounders. I'm not going to translate the whole article but thought I would pass on the gist:The story repeats the familiar refrain of how MLS doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of the past (NASL), which has led the league to impose limits to its growth such as the salary cap and designated player rule. This is the main reason why MLS is not yet an attractive destination for European players.Interestingly enough, the story predicts this is due to change. It quotes Michael Wiesenfeld, Merlin's New York-based agent, who anticipates MLS will add a second designated player in time for the start of the 2008 season. ...
Site  Story 

Nothing Settled From Tuesday Champions League Games
2007-11-06 22:52:00
Matchday Four's first batch of games failed to provide conclusions in the UEFA Champions League group stage, as both teams that could have advanced with victories only managed ties. Both Chelsea and Real Madrid were in the driver's seat but both played to scoreless ties on the road--Chelsea at Schalke 04 and Real at Olympiakos. Olympiakos' goalkeeper, Antonis Nikopolidis, was apparently the man of the match for the Greek side, according to uefa.com's report of the game. If you watched Euro 2004 at all you'll be well aware of Nikopolidis and his skills. Olympiakos were short several key defenders, but Real still weren't able to put one past Nikopolidis.The most shocking result from today was without a doubt Liverpool's 8-0 drubbing of Besiktas, a team they lost to a fortnight ago. In the other game in that group, FC Porto continued their unbeaten ways, dropping Olympique Marseille. Porto now "control their own destiny" (don't you love that phrase) and only need to win one of their last ...
Champions  Champions League  Games  League  Settled 

CL Update: Man U, Arse, Real, Can Clinch Knockout Stage Births With Victories
2007-11-06 19:02:00
Real Madrid, Manchester United and Arsenal all "control their own destiny" in their UEFA Champions League groups and can clinch spots in the knockout stage with wins this week. Marseille, Roma, Chelsea, Sevilla and either Barca or Rangers can join them if they win their games and have another result go their way:Arsenal advance if they beat Slavia Prague (what are the chances of that?) because they would then a lead of at least seven points over the third place team with two games remaining.Man U are in an identical predicament (first place, nine points from three games and a three point lead over the second-placed team in the group) and advance with a victory over Dynamo Kiev tomorrow.Real advance if they win at Olympiakos because that automatically gives them the tie breaker over the Greek club (Real won their first meeting). The other two teams in the group, Lazio and Bremen, play each other today and are far enough off the pace that only one of them can pass Real if the Spanish clu ...
Stage 

The Day After: Arena Gossip In High Gear
2007-11-06 15:10:00
The soap opera surrounding Bruce Arena's dismissal/resignation is in full effect. Shifty comments from New York Red Bulls Managing Director Mark de Grandpre in yesterday's conference call are one likely cause, but the local media have really picked up and run with it. I really have to give them credit for excellent reporting that has supplied soccer fans with a steady stream of inside information they couldn't get elsewhere.BigAppleSoccer.com reports "anarchy in the locker room," including Arena's falling-out with Claudio Reyna and Ronald Waterreus. Ives tells us that Jeff Agoos is well-liked in Salzburg and could become the team's next coach. Ives also speculates that Reyna could get the job.The news of Arena's departure was picked up by worldwide media as well: ESPN, The Guardian and German soccer rag Kicker were just some of the places I saw the headline. ...
Gear  Gossip 

Parkhurst Wins MLS Defender Of The Year, EJ Comeback Player
2007-11-06 14:49:00
Amid all the hullabaloo over Bruce Arena's resignation/dismissal, it was easy to miss a pair of individual player awards MLS handed out yesterday. New England's Michael Parkhurst was named MLS Defender of the Year (there is some corporate sponsorship attached to all of these awards but I'm not going to bother with that. Maybe if Visa pays me to I will) and Kansas City's Eddie Johnson won the Comeback Player of the Year accolade.The league's choices are consistent with those of MLS fans, as gauged by polls taken on this Web site. Parkhurst received 66% of votes, significantly more than the other nominees (Chivas' Claudio Suarez received 22% and Houston's Eddie Robinson 11%). Johnson (44%) edged Frankie Hejduk (38%), with Pat Noonan a more distant third (16%) in the comeback player category.There was a third award handed out yesterday, for MLS Referee of the Year. That went to Brian Hall. Asked for their opinion on this category in the days leading up to MLS' announcement, 95% of respond ...
Comeback 

Soccer Quote of the Day, Nov. 6, 2007
2007-11-06 12:36:00
"I've never wanted to leave. I'm here for the rest of my life, and hopefully after that as well."--Alan Shearer, on his loyalty to Newcastle. ...
Soccer 

De Grandpre: Mutual Decision Was Mine Alone
2007-11-05 20:39:00
Let the speculation derby begin! We may never know what really happened between New York Red Bulls Managing Director Mark de Grandpre and Bruce Arena that led to the latter's abrupt departure earlier today. Was he fired? Did he quit? A conference call with de Grandpre certainly did not clarify matters. At one point, de Grandpre said he and Arena had "agreed mutually that this was the best decision" before later saying "this decision was mine alone and that was it." The most shocking thing to me was that de Grandpre by his own admission did not discuss the matter with any of the players. "I would never talk to the players about this," he said. Also the folks in Salzburg had no input "whatsoever" in the decision.It gets weirder: Asked what Arena needed to do to keep his job, de Grandpre replied that "the expectation we set forth was to win the MLS Cup. We fell short." Would reaching the final have been sufficient? Nope. "Reaching the final would not have been good enough with the resourc ...
Decision  Mutual 

Breaking News: Arena Quits Red Bulls
2007-11-05 19:13:00
This just in: New York Red Bulls Head Coach Bruce Arena has resigned, according to a statement by the team. It looks like he was actually fired, but details are still a bit nebulous. I will look into this and report back with my findings.Update: Managing Director Marc de Grandpre is hosting a media conference call at 2:30pm. I'll be on that, day job-permitting. ...
Breaking News  News 

Inaugural Blogger Q n' A: From College To The Pros
2007-11-05 18:03:00
Like many soccer fanatics, Soccer Source is painfully clueless when it comes to the college game. With all the pro leagues to pay attention to, there simply isn't much time left for sleeping and eating and working a day job, much less following an entirely different niche of the sport. Yet many of these players will be drafted into MLS next year, and some have already featured on various youth national teams. What's more, the college season is entering its most crucial period (conference playoffs followed by the NCAA tournament) right now. What's a soccer blogger to do to get caught up? Easy. Interview somebody who knows a thing or two about the subject! My search for experts led me to Bonji, a Denver-based blogger who runs From College to the Pros, which focuses on young U.S. players and pays close attention to the NCAA. For anybody interested in up-and-coming soccer talent, particularly U.S. talent, From College to the Pros is a terrific resource. Bonji started following college socc ...
Blogger  College 

Bundesliga Team To Take MLS Tour Next Summer?
2007-11-05 17:00:00
A German Bundesliga team could embark on a 2008 summer tour of the U.S. that would involve exhibition games against Major League Soccer teams, reports kicker.de, the Web site of Germany's famous soccer publication. (Don't bother clicking on the link if you don't read German). This would be part of the nebulous partnership that MLS and Germany's Deutsche Fußball-Liga (or DFL, the administrative arm of the Bundesliga) signed this March.Kicker also reports that several Bundesliga teams will be traveling to Asia the week before Christmas to lay the groundwork for further DFL marketing: Borussia Dortmund is heading to Indonesia and Arminia Bielefeld and Energie Cottbus to China (I imagine they'll have their work cut out for them, as neither club is exactly a household name even in Europe). Apparently, the idea behind the December trip is that the DFL will have the continent to themselves--as opposed to the summer months, when everybody and their mother is over there playing exhibition tour ...
Summer  Team 

Poll Update: Last Chance To Vote For MLS Defender, Comeback Player
2007-11-05 13:17:00
Major League Soccer is due to announce the Defender and Comeback Player of the Year award winners today. Soccer Source has been holding its own reader poll on these and other (indeed, all) individual player awards. We even include one for the best referee, a topic readers unequivocally could care less about; 94% of votes in that category went to "who cares? They all suck" instead of to one of the refs who were nominated.But on to the awards readers might actually care about: New England's Michael Parkhurst is leading the Defender of the Year category with 62% of votes, followed by Chivas' Claudio Suarez (25%) and Houston's Eddie Robinson (12%). In the Comeback Player of the Year category, Colombus' Frankie Hejduk and Kansas City's Eddie Johnson are neck-and-neck with New England's Pat Noonan a more distant third, but still within striking distance. A little over four hours remain until polls close.Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year will be announced Wednesday, with Soccer Source' ...
Comeback  Poll  Vote 

Soccer Quote of the Day, Nov. 5, 2007
2007-11-05 13:07:00
"If I walked on water, my critics would say it is because I can't swim."--Berti Vogts ...
Soccer 

The World's Top 25 Clubs, Nov. 5, 2007
2007-11-05 06:09:00
And we're back. A crazy week with lots of action, including games where teams from last week's Top 25 faced off and, more often than not, tied. But not all ties are equal, as we shall see:1. (2) Inter Milan. Their tie at Juventus was the right outcome from the balance of play, according to ESPNsoccernet.com's report of that top-of-the-table clash in Serie A. A tie that moved them to the top spot in the rankings, where they displaced Arsenal. This despite the fact that both teams won and drew twice this week? Yes. Arsenal was playing at home and came closer to losing their game to Man U. (trailing twice) than Inter came to losing theirs at Stadio Olimpico. And Juventus hadn't given up a goal at home since Sept. 16. The Nerazurri also beat Genoa 4-1 at midweek, who might not be an elite squad but are at least in the top flight, unlike Sheffield Wednesday, whom Arsenal beat in their midweek game. Oh yeah, I was also sick of staring at Arsenal in the top spot and my friends at NYSpurs were ...
Clubs