Bad boys. No, we haven't been holed up in Castle Limey watching tepid Will Smith action movies from the mid-1990s. Instead, we've been musing about the bad boys who are the subjects of the two biggest stories that have hit the headlines in the last couple of weeks.
I'm going out on a limb to predict the Red Bulls won't be as bad with coach Hans Backe in charge as they have been in the past.
Is the best form of defense a good offense? While Argentina's greatest concern ahead of the 2010 World Cup continues to be its vulnerable defense, head coach Diego Maradona is more than aware that if his team wants to be a force in South Africa, it needs to take full advantage of the abundance of talent it has up front.
More than once, Kansas City has been written off the MLS map. As of last Thursday, with men and machines moving dirt on a site destined to house a soccer stadium as part of a vast commercial development, it gets a real shot at success.
Less than eight weeks ago, after his team's 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea, the howls of frustration against Arsène Wenger reached a crescendo. It didn't help that, in addition to losing to Arsenal's North London rivals, the bile thrown at the Frenchman was accentuated by his continued stubbornness in persevering with youth and not spending big money like his rivals around him.
The failures of foreign coaches litter the annals of Major League Soccer like cigarette butts on the sidewalk outside a bar. Such luminaries as Carlos Alberto Parreira, Bora Milutinovic, Ruud Gullit, Frank Stapleton and Bobby Houghton have all come to America, struggled to find a groove within MLS' arcane rules and gotten out of Dodge as quickly as possible, leaving behind a club in turmoil and a chorus of tsk-tsking pundits.
"I'm like Rocky. I get hit again and again, but I don't go down." -- Juventus manager Ciro Ferrara
When people name their favorites for the World Cup, Brazil comes up every time. The Seleção conjures up images of excitement and artful soccer. With a record five World Cup titles, it's the most successful team as well, and is the favorite to add a sixth crown in South Africa in July.
It was a dejected Team Limey that curled up with its warm milks last Saturday night. The closest thing to a shock that day from the 23 FA Cup third-round knockout matches was third-tier Millwall holding second-tier Derby to a 1-1 draw at home. We were as bored as a monk's todger.
World Soccer's Dan Brennan caught up with Inter Milan and Cameroon star Samuel Eto'o on the eve of the African Cup of Nations. The prolific striker discussed his exit at Barcelona, his new role with Inter and Cameroon's chances to reclaim African glory.
Bad boys. No, we haven't been holed up in Castle Limey watching tepid Will Smith action movies from the mid-1990s. Instead, we've been musing about the bad boys who are the subjects of the two biggest stories that have hit the headlines in the last couple of weeks.
I'm going out on a limb to predict the Red Bulls won't be as bad with coach Hans Backe in charge as they have been in the past.
Is the best form of defense a good offense? While Argentina's greatest concern ahead of the 2010 World Cup continues to be its vulnerable defense, head coach Diego Maradona is more than aware that if his team wants to be a force in South Africa, it needs to take full advantage of the abundance of talent it has up front.
More than once, Kansas City has been written off the MLS map. As of last Thursday, with men and machines moving dirt on a site destined to house a soccer stadium as part of a vast commercial development, it gets a real shot at success.
Less than eight weeks ago, after his team's 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea, the howls of frustration against Arsène Wenger reached a crescendo. It didn't help that, in addition to losing to Arsenal's North London rivals, the bile thrown at the Frenchman was accentuated by his continued stubbornness in persevering with youth and not spending big money like his rivals around him.
The failures of foreign coaches litter the annals of Major League Soccer like cigarette butts on the sidewalk outside a bar. Such luminaries as Carlos Alberto Parreira, Bora Milutinovic, Ruud Gullit, Frank Stapleton and Bobby Houghton have all come to America, struggled to find a groove within MLS' arcane rules and gotten out of Dodge as quickly as possible, leaving behind a club in turmoil and a chorus of tsk-tsking pundits.
"I'm like Rocky. I get hit again and again, but I don't go down." -- Juventus manager Ciro Ferrara
When people name their favorites for the World Cup, Brazil comes up every time. The Seleção conjures up images of excitement and artful soccer. With a record five World Cup titles, it's the most successful team as well, and is the favorite to add a sixth crown in South Africa in July.
It was a dejected Team Limey that curled up with its warm milks last Saturday night. The closest thing to a shock that day from the 23 FA Cup third-round knockout matches was third-tier Millwall holding second-tier Derby to a 1-1 draw at home. We were as bored as a monk's todger.
World Soccer's Dan Brennan caught up with Inter Milan and Cameroon star Samuel Eto'o on the eve of the African Cup of Nations. The prolific striker discussed his exit at Barcelona, his new role with Inter and Cameroon's chances to reclaim African glory.
There's plenty on the MLS plate this January, with negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement slogging along and teams preparing for the MLS Player Combine that begins this weekend, and the SuperDraft to be hosted by expansion entry Philadelphia Jan. 14.
The first year of a new decade is upon us, and the stories that will unfold in 2010 will be vast. Soccer lovers around the globe are anticipating the World Cup, one of three that will be played in this new decade.
The assessment came from two illustrious sources: Fabio Capello and José Mourinho. The former, the England national-team boss, said Manchester United was not "the dominant war machine it was last year." And the latter, the "Special One," opined that, without the departed Cristiano Ronaldo, United was indisputably weaker.
PLAYER OF THE DECADE: Zinedine Zidane, France Zizou gets our Player of the Decade nod, barely beating out Ronaldinho, who also won two World Player of the Year awards this decade but didn't have anything approaching Zidane's longevity at the top of the global game. No player since Diego Maradona has provided as much joy to viewers who love the artistry of soccer. Case in point: France's stunning upset of Brazil in the 2006 World Cup quarterfinals, in which Zidane rediscovered his mojo on the game's biggest stage. (Bonus points for scoring the greatest goal of the decade in the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen.)
The fast-approaching New Year tends to bring a bit of nostalgia -- and indeed, soccer fans in the U.S. had a lot to commemorate in 2009. Whether you're a follower of the U.S. national team, Major League Soccer, the UEFA Champions League or all of the above, this past year provided a collection of drama that proved more boards are surfing the soccer wave than ever before.
World Soccer's Sid Lowe recently sat down with Real Madrid sporting director Jorge Valdano to discuss the club's reborn Galáctico policy under Florentino Pérez, the team's new signings, chasing Barcelona and soccer economics.
If he goes for the money, Houston Dynamo star Stuart Holden is already headed for Europe, even if he hasn't signed a deal.
Opinions on whom and what would make a good MLS coach vary as much as Lady Gaga's outfits. But suffice to say that every GM in the league is looking for someone who fulfills as many of the following criteria as possible: top-level coaching experience; a sympathetic understanding of that most enigmatic of creatures, the "American player"; a grasp of MLS' Byzantine rules; headline-grabbing celebrity; identification with one or more ethnic constituencies; and, of course, reasonable salary demands.
I'm not surprised that FIFA has decided not to increase the number of game officials for next year's World Cup, and I'm also not surprised at the narrow-minded vitriol generated in response.
On the evening of Sat., June 12, 2010, we expect to be holed up in Castle Limey with the drawbridge raised and defenses at full in an attempt to halt a baying mob of SI.com journalists, distraught at the U.S. national team's defeat to our mighty Three Lions.
I'm starting to hear the "S" word in talking to people about negotiations regarding a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Major League Soccer and its players. And that word has nothing to do with salaries, as in minimums or maximums or caps or anything else.
The gods of soccer smiled upon the United States for once on Friday, giving the Americans one of the most fortunate draws imaginable for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa (FULL DRAW).
During MLS Cup week in Seattle, much off-field buzz swirled about a possible Landon Donovan move to Europe, as if the Los Angeles Galaxy captain heading overseas in January during the next European transfer window was not only a foregone conclusion, but the best thing he could do at this point in his career.
Last weekend's English Premier League results had a season-defining air about them, with the destination of the trophy suddenly looking much clearer and the race for the remaining Champion League places looking more open than ever.
No team wins an MLS Cup without players cast off, dropped or ignored by other teams, and the 2009 champions are no exception. Several important contributors to Real Salt Lake's MLS Cup title arrived in Utah from other teams, and controversy accompanied a few of them -- most notably captain Kyle Beckerman, who was swapped by Colorado for Mehdi Ballouchy in July '07, not long after Jason Kreis had taken over the coaching duties at RSL from John Ellinger.
SEATTLE -- Bring up all the clichés you want: David over Goliath. Substance over style. Team over individual. They all fit Real Salt Lake, which outlasted the heavily favored Los Angeles Galaxy on penalty kicks Sunday night after a 1-1 draw and 120 minutes of last-man-standing soccer (RECAP).
Soccer star Thierry Henry became the villain of Dublin on Wednesday.
CARSON, Calif. -- When the Los Angeles Galaxy needed a deciding goal last Friday to send them to a sixth MLS Cup final appearance, neither of the team's biggest stars -- David Beckham nor Landon Donovan -- scored the winner in overtime against Houston.
SEATTLE -- Still dubious David Beckham is making an impact in this country? More than 40,000 tickets have been sold for Sunday's MLS Cup final between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake at Qwest Field (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Galavisión), with another 2,000 made available late in the week. That would mark the biggest crowd for MLS' season-capper in seven years and the third-biggest ever for a game not featuring the local team.
SEATTLE -- As the reborn Los Angeles Galaxy prepare to take on Real Salt Lake in the MLS Cup final on Sunday (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Galavisión), I can't help but think back to a scene in Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 13, 2008.
SEATTLE -- The Los Angeles Galaxy meet Real Salt Lake in the 14th MLS Cup final here on Sunday (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Galavisión), and I started the day off by meeting MLS commissioner Don Garber for breakfast in his hotel suite. The 52-year-old Garber, a former NFL executive, has been the MLS commish since 1999 and is widely expected to sign a contract extension in the next few weeks.
In ever-evolving Major League Soccer, the league's history could be split almost evenly in half. There was the first stage, from 1996 to 2004, when MLS was a fledgling, young and small league. Then, from '05 through the present -- the Expansion Era might be an appropriate name -- the league has gotten some solid footing and grown a bit.
If sources monitoring the Chicago situation are right, Denis Hamlett will soon join Preki in the unemployment line. Maybe if the Fire had reached the MLS Cup final, majority owner Andrew Hauptman would have been reluctant to cut him loose.
Don Fabio Capello has ensured that England already has booked its place at next summer's World Cup, and this weekend, the Three Lions are sunning themselves ahead of a showpiece money-spinner against Brazil in Qatar.
CHICAGO -- There are certain indubitable truths I believe in. For example, I believe peanut butter should be crunchy, ATM fees are crimes against humanity and Van Hagar never existed.
Having ties to a rich and powerful foreign club seemed like a built-in advantage for Chivas USA. The ability to acquire and develop young Mexican talent and having strong financial backing seemed like a great opportunity for the Southern California-based team to build a powerhouse in a relatively short amount of time.
If you're a Liverpool fan, you're probably pretty angry right now. You've won one game since September (albeit a pretty important one, against Manchester United), qualification to the knockout stage of the Champions League seems extremely improbable right now and you're sixth in the English Premier League, after finishing second last year.
When a popular and successful head coach moves on, the simple choice can be complicated for the replacement.
If his incredible two-goal display against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday was any indication, Atlético Madrid superstar Sergio Agüero could be on the path to recovery after a frustrating beginning to the 2009-10 season.
Where have all the wonder teams gone? There was a time -- perhaps there still is that time -- when the Serie A championship was totally dominated by the three superpowers: Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus. Not only has this trio won 26 of the last 33 league titles, it has also tended (at least one has) to utterly dominate the season, home and away.
Two key players in the MLS playoffs were instrumental in helping their teams in the first leg of their respective aggregate-score series this past weekend. Despite their contributions, though, they and their teammates know full well that come January, they won't return to their current clubs for the preseason, but instead will be with other teams in other countries.
With one playoff series underway (Houston and Seattle drew 0-0 Thursday night), we break down the remaining three series, all of which kick off this weekend:
Things are a little tight at the top of the English Premier League, and it's making people nervous. Only seven points separate the top seven teams, and the pack could further congest if Aston Villa, Manchester City and Arsenal win their games in hand.
For just the second time in MLS history, a team won the Supporters' Shield while compiling less than 50 points during the regular season. Columbus' 13-7-10 record was good enough to lock down the league's best regular-season record, but such a mark doesn't exactly compare well to previous Supporters' Shield winners.
Manchester United No. 1 Edwin van der Sar reflects on his career after receiving his award as ESM Goalkeeper of the Year.
One of Major League Soccer's most exciting playoff races in the league's 14-year history concluded last weekend as New England waited 79 minutes before a Jeff Larentowicz free kick broke the tie in Columbus and sent the Revs to their eighth straight postseason. With all playoff-bound teams accounted for, Free Kicks decided to do one final power rankings with a special bonus: input from one player per team in which he offers his best pitch why MLS fans should root for his club in the playoffs.
Four teams could have been into the playoffs with a victory; four came up short. It's too easy to cite a team's failures on the final weekend of the regular season as primary reasons it missed out on playoff action. So instead, here's a look on what transpired on the previous 31 weeks to create those no-tomorrow scenarios:
If you had told me before this past weekend that, of the six teams gunning for the final two MLS playoff spots, Real Salt Lake and New England would emerge as winners, I would've responded, "Yeah, and I have a date lined up with Keira Knightley on Tuesday."
They were young, mostly in their early 20s, mostly attached to teams virtually unknown on the world stage, such as the Albany Capitals and the Milwaukee Wave. Two had no professional affiliation at all because they were still college players.
The group stage of the 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League is over, and there are a handful of strange lingering sensations. The tournament won't resume until next year, and there's a sense of longing and impatience with that. It was an enjoyable spectacle for fans throughout CONCACAF; that the quarterfinals won't get underway until March is a bit disappointing.
We're halfway through the Champions League group stage, which means it's midterm report-card time for Europe's elite. In this evaluation, though, you don't get a straight grade -- you're on a curve based on how you've performed relative to expectations.
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
Whether or not Major League Soccer has let a potentially great head coach slip away with the departure of longtime New England Revolution assistant Paul Mariner back to his native England is open to debate, but what the league and this country have lost is a good chunk of institutional knowledge.
Team Limey was basking in an unfamiliar relaxed state leading up to this week's final round of World Cup qualifiers, as its beloved England team safely qualified at the beginning of September with two games to spare.
It has been an excellent year for rookies in Major League Soccer. Expansion has meant increased opportunities for young players. With smaller rosters, most teams demand more from their college products then they've done in the past. How did so many rookies get so much playing time in MLS this year?
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
ARLINGTON, Va. -- This was not how the U.S. soccer team had intended to follow up its newly won World Cup berth. This was not how rising-star forward Charlie Davies had hoped to become a trending topic on Twitter.
If you think Honduran defenders are losing sleep over the image of big Conor Casey marauding on goal like a freight train, try being this season's leading scorer in Major League Soccer. With 121 career regular-season goals, FC Dallas' Jeff Cunningham ranks second on the all-time list in MLS. But he readily admits he can't shake the vision of Casey, who's hot on his heels for this year's scoring lead.
If no news is good news, then it's tempting to conclude that good news is no news at all. Not when it's this familiar, anyway, because when it's this familiar, the extraordinary becomes ordinary.
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras -- You'd be forgiven for thinking you had traveled in a time warp back to the 1980s for the U.S.' big World Cup qualifier against Honduras here on Saturday night (10 p.m. ET, closed-circuit TV in English and Spanish).
MIAMI -- The U.S. could clinch a World Cup berth on Saturday night, and not many American soccer fans will be watching.
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
Brazil and Paraguay already booked their tickets for the 2010 World Cup, but six other teams are still in the running. There are only two automatic tickets left for South America, and one playoff berth against the fourth-place team from CONCACAF.
CARSON, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Galaxy weren't celebrating Friday's big victory too much, perhaps taking a cue from their coach, Bruce Arena.
In this early stage of the English Premier League season, experience has played a major role in two contrasting ways. The club at the top of the league is reaping the benefits of it, with Ryan Giggs flourishing for Manchester United. At the other end of the standings, judging by its current plight, rock-bottom Portsmouth hasn't taken heed of history.
From the outside looking in, most don't appreciate how hard it is to qualify for the World Cup from the South American region.
We knew it was coming sooner or later. Michel Platini, president of UEFA, had said as much. And now we're one step closer, after UEFA approved what it calls the "concept" of "financial fair play."
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
Back in 2007, a developmental milestone seemed to have been reached with respect to Major League Soccer's contribution to the U.S. soccer federation's progress. More than half of the 21 players named to the 2007 United States' U-20 World Cup roster came from the ranks of MLS. There were 11 in all based in the domestic league. Three more players were professionals with other teams overseas, making pro players a clear majority on the squad.
Unlike many foreign players who have come to America and promised much but delivered little, Darren Huckerby gave everything: his zealous commitment to team, his unquenchable daring to scorch opponents, his indomitable spirit, his puckish humor and ultimately, his health.
Manchester City's headline-grabbing 4-2 home win over Arsenal last weekend delivered more talking points than a double-bill Oprah healthcare special. City struggled to contain a probing, possession-heavy Arsenal offense. But on the break, the speed of Emmanuel Adebayor, Craig Bellamy and Shaun Wright-Phillips pierced a dispersed Gunners defense three times over a frenetic 10-minute second-half spell.
SANDY, Utah -- So who has been the standout for U.S. Soccer this past year? That's the question I need to answer, as my ballot arrived just this past week for the Honda Player of Year, voted on annually by the American soccer media.
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
It was just more than five months ago that Diego Maradona's reign in charge of Argentina seemed on the right track. After a couple of wins in friendly matches, he debuted in World Cup qualification with a conclusive 4-0 triumph at home to Venezuela.
This week, the European continental competitions -- the Champions League and the newly re-christened Europa League -- kick off, and I keep thinking of Allen Iverson.
Jump on the England bandwagon too soon -- as often happens -- and you're bound to be disappointed. But the numbers are hard to argue with: eight games in World Cup qualifying, eight wins; 31 goals scored, five conceded.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- There are times, when you sit and talk for more than hour with U.S. coach Bob Bradley, that you wonder if he's a sort of soccer version of Rain Man.
This isn't exactly what Arturo Alvarez pictured back when he was a speedy phenom dominating the soccer fields as a kid in Houston. But then again, realizing your lifelong dream never goes exactly to plan.
This isn't exactly what Arturo Alvarez pictured back when he was a speedy phenom dominating the soccer fields as a kid in Houston. But then again, realizing your lifelong dream never goes exactly to plan.
Deadly, lethal, prolific -- just a few adjectives often used to describe Team Limey's nightclub performances on a Saturday night. Back in the real world, these are apt descriptions of the elite goal-scorers discussed in this week's column. More specifically, we're looking at who we think will be donning the Golden Boot as the English Premier League's top scorer this season.
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
NEW YORK -- Stop the presses! The New York Red Bulls have won two games in a row. The last time they won consecutive games was in last season's playoffs, when they thumped Houston in the second leg of the quarterfinals and then snuck past Real Salt Lake in the semis to reach their first MLS Cup final.
It seemed if any Major League Soccer club were poised to claim the league's first victory aganst a Mexican club on Mexican soil in a competitive match, it was the Columbus Crew.
Even the proudest of Spaniards had to accept defeat; even the most enthusiastic La Liga cheerleaders were forced to pack away their pompoms. The warm glow of the European Championship success still endured -- but the national team was one thing, the nation's teams quite another. The lineup for the 2008-09 Champions League semifinals brought Spain crashing back down to earth.
Finally, the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League draw is done and we know who's playing who and when.
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
It's decided: Zlatan Ibrahimovic's new nickname is "Elite Status."
There was a time, not that long ago, that Arsenal was the standard for club management. Devoid of a wealthy backer willing to lavish (and lose) millions, it worked very much as a real business, year after year, breaking even or turning a small profit. When it came time to make some serious capital investments -- moving out of historic, but cramped, Highbury in favor of a new 60,000-seater at Ashburton Grove -- it did so intelligently, securing financing and building a comfortable, state-of-the-art stadium capable of generating substantial match-day revenue.
"I would like to think that I can be up there with the best players [in MLS], but who knows? ... That's what I'll be hoping for: not just to be the best player in the league, but to be one of the best teams in the league." -- David Beckham, May 2007
What do the following have in common: keeper Vincenzo Fiorillo (Sampdoria), fullback Francesco Renzetti (Genoa), center-half Giuseppe Bellusci (Catania), midfielders Fabio Sciacca (Catania) and Andrea Poli (Sampdoria), and strikers Abel Hernández (Palermo), Guido Marilungo (Sampdoria) and Alberto Paloschi (Parma)?
CARSON, Calif. -- For Jesús Padilla, life in Mexico was splendid. Since joining Chivas de Guadalajara as a 14-year-old, he said he was well-liked and got along great with everyone.
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
Here comes another round of international competition for three MLS teams, all of which aspire to lift the league trophy in November. Four-time MLS champion D.C. United and defending champ Columbus Crew open CONCACAF Champions League group play Tuesday against Honduran club Marathón and USL-1 upstart Puerto Rico Islanders, respectively. Houston, MLS Cup winner in 2006 and '07, plays Isidro Metapán of El Salvador Wednesday.
After a summer of increasingly intensive thumb-twiddling and hours spent aimlessly wandering the corridors of Castle Limey, the excitement is at fever pitch as the English Premier League season returns this weekend. Last week we gave you our predictions for the season, and this week we're taking a detailed look at the first couple of fixtures following the big kick-off.
He's listed by the U.S. Soccer Federation as 5-foot-7 (that's generous), 135 pounds (probably accurate). With that wispy frame, soft-spoken José Francisco Torres doesn't look like a guy who might symbolize the future of the U.S. national team. But that has nothing to do with why the U.S. isn't ready for the future.
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
Awaking from our slumber after one of those tedious biennial summers without a showpiece international tournament, it slowly dawned on us: the Premier League is back at last! With only one week before the world's pre-eminent league kicks off, we headed for Castle Limey to dust down the dungeon-sized supercomputer responsible for our EPL predictions.
As the popularity of soccer has grown in America, so has its professional soccer league. Yet there's as much trepidation about Major League Soccer as there is about just about anything else as economic crises disrupt the nation and the world.
Is German soccer in trouble? A German club hasn't won the Champions League in eight years, and success in the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League) has been few and far between as well. World Soccer chats with German national-team coach Joachim Löw, who explains the need for speed at the top level, not just in the legs, but in the mind, too.
Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |
© 2010 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
