Soccer News

Freddy Adu and Victor Palsson don’t have much in common, other than their incredulous reactions to be dismissed withsecond cautions during the past two weekends of MLS play.

[REF WATCH] We asked “Preventive Officiating” author Randy Vogt for histake on the officiating of the Champions League final:

[VIDEO PICK] Chelsea became the first club from London to win Europe’s biggest trophy as it captured the UEFA Champions League with a shootout win overfavored Bayern Munich.

[AMERICANS ABROAD] On the same day he was called up to the U.S. national team for its upcoming series of matches, MichaelParkhurst assisted on the lone goal as FC Nordsjaelland won 1-0 at Clarence Goodson’s Brondby and claimed first place in Denmark’s SAS Ligaen. Anothercall-up, Herculez Gomez, didn’t play in the Mexican Torneo Clausura final as ...

Chelsea, I’d say, has written its own rules for what it takes to win a tournament. Or what it took to win this season’s Champions League.

[USA MEN] U.S. national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has added 11 additional players to the initial squad of16 that is training at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Juan Agudelo was included, while Kenny Cooper of the New York Red Bulls, who just traded Agudelo to ...

[SCOREBOARD] Amani Walker scored a goal and two assists to lead the defending champion Minnesota Stars to a 3-1win at the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers that kept them unbeaten after seven games. The Carolina RailHawks held first-place Puerto Rico Islanders to a 1-1 tie but remain winless in nine games. TheAtlanta Silverbacks are winless in eight games after their ...

[SCOREBOARD] The Rochester Rhinos’ bid for a USL PRO record and a seventh straight shutout win ended when they had to settle for a 1-1 tie with thelast-place Dayton Dutch Lions before more than 7,000 fans Friday night at Sahlen’s Stadium. The point was good enough to tie Rochester with Orlando City for first place. Yann Ekra ...

[WEEK 11] Despite playing with 10 men for more than 30 minutes, the New York Red Bulls tied a club record with their fifth straight win, coming frombehind to defeat the Montreal Impact, 2-1, on goals by Kenny Cooper and Dane Richards. For all the action …

[WEEK 11] Despite playing with 10 men for more than 30 minutes, the New York Red Bulls tied a club record with their fifth straight win, coming frombehind to defeat the Montreal Impact, 2-1, on goals by Kenny Cooper and Dane Richards. The defending champion LosAngeles Galaxy’s winless streak reached five games when it fell to Chivas ...

“We’re very sorry for the numerous fans.” — Manuel Bitschnau, tourism department director for the Austria’s Montafon region, after Spain announcedplans to charge fans 10 euros ($12.70) to watch its national team — without its Barcelona stars — train in the town of Schruns for Euro 2012. (Reuters)

Sunday action includes the Italian Cup final and the second leg of the Mexican final.

[THE PITCH] There I was, down on the ground, physically … emotionally. I had gone to practice early to get in a pre-practice meditation. I thought itmight be nice to get “my Ohm on” at the field.

[VIDEO PICK] The USA defeated Canada, 1-0, to win the 2012 CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championship for the second time. The five-game sweep in Guatemala Cityincluded a 5-0 win over Panama in the semifinals that qualified to the Americans for the 2012 Under-17 Women’s World Cup. With a record 12 goals, Summer Greenwas one of 10 ...

[AWARDS] The Elite Clubs National League announced the All-Event Teams from the third event in the 2011-2012 National Showcase Event Series, held thiswinter in San Antonio.

[ROAD TO ROCK HILL] Legends FC has won one state title (U-18s), finished second in another (U-14s) and has teams in the semifinals of two other upperage groups (U-17s and U-16s) at the Cal South National Cup girls competition being held this weekend at the Rancho Capistrano Soccer Complex.

[ECNL SPOTLIGHT] The Dallas Texans, first in the ECNL’s National Flight A with a 9-1-2 record, will attempt to make amends for their only loss of theseason when they face Solar Chelsea Sunday at Texas Women’s University. It’s the second-to-last game of the regular season for the Texans, whose only loss came Tuesday when Solar prevailed, 2-1, on

[RANKINGS] North Carolina’s Green Hope High School remained No. 1 in the NSCAA High School Girls Spring Rankings with a 22-0-0 record. Jenks (Okla.) HighSchool moved up two spots to No. 4. For the top 20 rankings …

My congratulations to Juan Agudelo on escaping the soccer confusion that reigns at the Red Bulls. It has been blatantly clear for about a year now that there was no future for Agudelo at the Bulls — a club that showed no evidence whatever of knowing what to do with a young player with Latin talent.

By all accounts, Bayern Munich is the favorite to win the UEFA Champions League final (TV: Fox Sports, Saturday, 2:45 pm ET, live).

A dozen players have been released by Bolton in the wake of its relegation from the Premier League, with U.S. internationals Stuart Holden and Tim Ream among those retained.

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo says comparisons between Barca’s Lionel Messi and him get old, but he thinks he’sthe best player at the moment.

Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque downplayed chances of Barcelona captain Carles Puyol returning for next month’sEuropean Championship.

Four months after announcing they had canceled the 2012 season but hoped to return in 2013, Women’s Professional Soccer’s owners called it quits on Friday.

“Normally, I would actually want the English team to win. I have played against many of the Chelsea guys, I know them, and you’re always friendly at least professionally with them. But this time, Iwant Bayern to win because it will put us into the Champions League slot for next season, which I think we deserve. Over 38 games ...

[EURO 2012 COUNTDOWN] Greece will take one of the oldest teams to Euro 2012 with Panathinaikos midfielder GiorgosKaragounis, AEK Athens forward Nikos Liberopoulos and PAOK goalkeeper Costas Chalkias, all 35 years old orolder, in Coach Fernando Santos’ preliminary squad of 25 players.

[WEEK 11] The San Jose Earthquakes can move back into a share of the lead with idle Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference with a win over the ColumbusCrew on Saturday. The first SuperClasico of the year will be held Saturday night as Chivas USA hosts the Los Angeles Galaxy. For all the action …

After days of speculation, former USA defender Danny Califf moved from Philadelphia to Chivas USA in exchange for midfielder Michael Lahoud and allocation money, and Chivas USA also sent defender Heath Pearce to New York to acquire U.S. forward Juan Agudelo.

[UEFA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Women’s pro soccer may be struggling in the United States, but it’s growing in Europe. A record crowd of 50,212 atMunich’s Olympic Stadium — more than any WPS team totaled for the entire 2011 season — watched Lyon repeat as the UEFA Women’s Champions League champion with a 2-0 win over ...

[DATEBOOK] The first-place Puerto Rico Islanders will travel to Carolina Saturday to face their old coach, ColinClarke, when they meet the RailHawks. In 2011, Carolina opened 5-1-1 and went on to win the regular-season title. This year, it’s 0-4-4 and tied for last place with the Atlanta Silverbacks,who are also winless. For all the action …

[CANADA] Players from six different MLS clubs — including 2011 MVP Dwayne De Rosario — are among the 22 playerscalled into Coach Stephen Hart’s upcoming training camp in preparation for Canada’s friendly against the USA on June 3 in Toronto and World Cup qualifiersagainst Cuba and Honduras. The squad includes players based at clubs in ...

[DATEBOOK] The Rochester Rhinos will try to make USL PRO history Friday night when they host the Dayton Dutch Lions at Sahlen’s Stadium. They tied theUSL PRO record held by the Richmond Kickers when they extended their winning streak to open the season to six games — all by 1-0 scores — last weekend. For ...

[DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY SPOTLIGHT] The Dallas Texans became the third squad to qualify for the 2012 Development Academy U-15/16 playoffs in their backyardwith a 6-1 victory over Andromeda FC.

[EL PORTERO ALLSTATE] Jimmy Camacho, a 16-year-old goalie from Riverside, Calif., was awarded “El PorteroAllstate” as the national winner of the “Good Hands” top goalkeeper award at the MLS Sueno 2012 competition.

[SUENO MLS 2012] Forward Armando Flores says winning Sueno MLS 2012 — the nationally televised soccer search —is only the first step in his dream to become a pro. The next will be to join Chivas USA’s academy program. He received an invite after winning the 2012 search.

[FOUR THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ...] Emmanuel Boateng, the 2011-12 Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year,grew up in Ghana in a house with no electricity and no running water, but he made the most of the opportunity given to him in 2009 to study abroad. He finished high school in three years and ...

Much of the buildup to Euro 2012 has focused on issues in Ukraine, but co-host Poland says its ready for the tournament, which kicks off on June 8.

When the Los Angeles Galaxy re-signed David Beckham for the 2012 season, fans accepted the possibility that the English star would miss part of the MLS seasonto represent Great Britain in the London Olympics men’s soccer competition.

Seb Coe, chairman of the London Olympic organizing committee, said there is no pressure on Team GB men’s soccer coach StuartPearce to pick David Beckham for the Olympics.

[U.S. UNDER-18 MEN] Eight pros — three in MLS and five with foreign cubs — were among the players called up for the U.S. under-18 men’s national team’strip to the 2012 Lisbon International Tournament May 23-26 in Portugal.

Liverpool received permission from Wigan chairman Dave Whelan to speak to Latics manager Roberto Martinez about the Reds’ managerial vacancy following thedeparture of Kenny Dalglish.

[MLS TRANSACTIONS] Juan Agudelo’s much-anticipated move out of New York has finally happened as the 19-year-oldstriker has been traded to Chivas USA in exchange for defender Heath Pearce, allocation money and future considerations. Red Bulls General Manager Erik Soler insisted the deal was at Agudelo’s request.

[MLS TRANSACTIONS] Juan Agudelo’s much-anticipated move out of New York has finally happened as the 19-year-oldstriker has been traded to Chivas USA in exchange for defender Heath Pearce and allocation money.

A total of 1,348,000 viewers — 992,000 for English-language coverage and 356,000 for Spanish-language coverage — tuned in for the U.S. television coverage of the final day of the Premier Leagueseason, a jump of 72 percent over 2011 final day viewing.

The family of England international Theo Walcott have vowed not to travel to Euro 2012 after voicing fears they may be targeted for racist abuse by hooligansin Ukraine.

[EURO 2012 COUNTDOWN] England has yet to play a game under its new coach, Roy Hodgson, and was already in the hotseat. Should he choose John Terry or fellow defender Rio Ferdinand or both for the 2012 European Championship? Inmaking his decision, Hodgson insisted that the decisions were based on their play and nothing else.

[EURO 2012 COUNTDOWN] England has yet to play a game under its new coach, Roy Hodgson, and he was already in thehot seat. Should he choose John Terry or fellow defender Rio Ferdinand or both for the 2012 European Championship? Inmaking his decision, Hodgson insisted that the decisions were based on their play and nothing else.

Jurgen Klinsmann weighs myriad factors as he ponders who to pick for a demanding run of five games in 17 days that include the first two 2014 World Cupqualifiers.

“Fortunately she was 22 and not 17 or 18. I actually carry a copy along with me. To be honest, I don’t look at it as she’s naked in there. I try to put that out of my mind. It doesn’t look naked.It’s really done very tasteful. I’m OK with it. In fact, I’m better with it than some ...

Jurgen Klinsmann weighs myriad factors as he ponders who to pick for a demanding run of five games in 17 days that include the first two 2014 World Cupqualifiers.

[SCOREBOARD] The Puerto Rico Islanders extended their lead in the NASL to four points with a 3-0 win over the winless Atlanta Silverbacks on Wednesdaynight. All three goals came in the second half, beginning with David Foley’s follow-up header of the penalty kick saved by Silverbacks goalkeeper Joe Nasco after defender Martyn Lancaster was shown a red card. ...

[SCOREBOARD] The Harrisburg City Islanders and Pittsburgh Riverhounds played to a 0-0 tie in their Keystone Derby, the lone midweek game in USL PRO. Forall the action …

[WEEK 11] D.C. United moved into a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids. Dwayne De Rosario and Hamdi Salihi both scored their third goals of the season for D.C. For all the action …

[VIDEO PICK] With the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League season about to conclude on Saturday when Bayern Munich and Chelsea meet in the final, it’s time tolook back on the goals of the season. Fox Soccer has compiled the top 10 goals from this season’s competition so far, and both Chelsea (Raul Meirelesand Ramires) and Bayern Munich ...

Timmy Chandler’s apparent decision to no longer represent the USA in international play isn’t the first time a player has turned down the opportunity to playfor the USA. Steve Davis at ProSoccerTalk looks back at the decisions of Giuseppe Rossi and Neven Subotic to turn down a chance to represent the USA.

Hertha Berlin has appealed its relegation to the Bundesliga 2 on the grounds that the second leg of its playoff with Fortuna Duesseldorf should be replayed because a double field invasion left itsplayers fearing for their safety.

Patrice Evra doesn’t lack for brashness. The French defender claims Manchester United will “easily” regain the English Premier League title from ManchesterCity, to which he says United handed the 2012 trophy.

Liverpool fired club legend Kenny Dalglish as manager on Wednesday in a dramatic statement that the club’s owners are not happy with the way the Reds haveperformed since they took over last year.

On Saturday, two clubs that have often boasted about their youth programs, meet in the decider of Europe’s most prestigious club competition, the UEFA Champions League. A look at the players whohelped Chelsea and Bayern Munich reach the final reveals just how successful they are in developing players.

On Thursday: the women’s European Champions League final, Copa Libertadores action and the first leg of the Mexican final.

[U.S. OPEN CUP] Eric Wynalda was in Munich to prepare for Fox’s broadcast of the UEFA Champions League final, butthe USASA team he coaches pulled the biggest upset in the first round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Cal FC beat the 2011 PDL champion Kitsap Pumas, 3-1. Three other USASA teams, the ...

“It was funny. Embarrassing, but funny. I’ll have to send him some long johns and some of the different pieces [from my underwear collection].” — DavidBeckham in response to President Barack Obama’s comments about the Englishman being a “rare man who can be that tough on the field and also have hisown line of underwear.” Obama was speaking ...

[WEEK 11] The Houston Dynamo played to another sellout at BBVA Compass Stadium, only this time it had to settle for a 0-0 tie with the Portland Timbers.The result moved the Dynamo into a three-way tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference but still left the Timbers in last place in the Western Conference. For all ...

The on-again, off-again saga of Timmy Chandler continues. For the second year in a row, the German-born defender has turned down a call-up to the U.S.national team.

[EURO 2012 COUNTDOWN] Mapou Yanga Mbiwa and Olivier Giroud of Ligue 1leader Montpellier were among the players on France national team head coach Laurent Blanc’s 26-player preliminary roster for Euro 2012.

[WEEKLY HONORS] Rochester Rhinos goalkeeper Kristian Nicht was named the USL PRO Player of the Week after heextended his shutout streak to six games with a 10-save performance on Saturday night against the Charleston Battery. San Antonio Scorpions forward PabloCampos and FC Edmonton central defender Paul Hamilton were named the NASL Players of the ...

The Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo reported Tuesday that a study by a FIFA consultant on the stadium construction or renovation program at the 12 World Cup 2014 stadiums pointed to variousdegrees “of risk” for arenas in Manaus, Cuiaba, Porto Alegre, Curitiba and Sao Paulo and no “margin for problems” at the stadium in the northeastern city ...

When MLS introduced an unbalanced schedule for the 2012 season, one of its objectives was to add more rivalry games like those in the Northwest.

Erina Yamane, who at 187 centimeters (6-foot-2) looks down on Japan’s senior men’s goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, has madethe cut for the Olympic soccer tournament, local media reported on Tuesday.

Dubbing them “the Miami Heat of soccer,” President Barack Obama welcomed players and staff from the MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy in the East Room of theWhite House Tuesday.

Not every game that a referee is assigned will be for teams whose ability is comparable to Barcelona or Manchester United. Over the course of a referee career, an official will be assigned games wherethe teams struggle to put three passes together.

[USA MEN] U.S. national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s initial squad of 16 players who will begin reportingTuesday for training at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., includes 14 foreign-based players and Nick Rimando and Kyle Beckerman from Western Conference leader Real Salt Lake. The most notable absentee is Timmy Chandler, whom Klinsmann

[USA MEN] U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann selected 16 players for an initial phase of training for a run of threefriendlies and two qualifiers that begins May 26. The expected addition of 13 players on Sunday narrows the odds for some of those players reporting to camp early.

[USA SPOTLIGHT] Jurgen Klinsmann is expected to announce on Tuesday the foreign-based players he is calling into acamp that also begins Tuesday in Orlando, Fla. The rest of the squad will be named Sunday after another weekend of MLS action. By the time the final cuts are made for the first of five games —three friendlies ...

[EURO 2012 COUNTDOWN] Young Benfica striker Nelson Oliveira, dubbed Portugal’s Eric Cantona, was among the 23 players called up by Coach Paulo Bento for Euro 2012 squad. For Portugal’s preliminary roster, as well as thosefor Sweden and the Czech Republic …

[MLS ATTENDANCE] The Montreal Impact drew 60,860 fans, a Canadian pro soccer record, for its 1-1 tie with the Los Angeles Galaxy at Olympic Stadium. TheHouston Dynamo sold out its opener at BBVA Compass Stadium with 22,039 fans on hand for its 1-0 win over D.C. United. For MLS team attendance rankings ...

[MLS IMPORTS WATCH] After two seasons in the Netherlands, where he made one appearance for PSV, one in Denmark and two in Vietnam, Lee Nguyen returned home to play in MLS. His first stop was Vancouver, where he lasted two and a half months before being waived. But he got his revenge when hescored his ...

The top three places are still held by Western teams, but Eastern Conference foes New York and Chicago have moved into the top five as the season nears the one-third mark of the season.

There’s MLS and German (promotion/relegation playoff) action on Tuesday.

Soccer America Classifieds connect soccer companies and organizations to America’s soccer community twice a week with listings of the latest soccer products, soccer programs, soccer jobs, and socceropportunities.

[WEEK 11] Three days after opening BBVA Compass Stadium, the Houston Dynamo is back in action at its new facility on Tuesday when it hosts the PortlandTimbers. As of Monday afternoon, fewer than 200 tickets remained for Tuesday’s game. The Dynamo also announced that its game against the Los Angeles Galaxy on May 26 is already a ...

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Bayern Munich captured the German Women’s Cup for the first time with a 2-0 win over UEFA Women’s Champions League finalist 1. FFCFrankfurt thanks to goals by American Sarah Hagen and German Ivana Rudelic.

Seeking to rebuild his squad after a second-place finish in the English Premier League, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is aiming to sign three starsfrom German champion Borussia Dortmund.

Raul confirmed that he has signed with Qatar’s Al Sadd, several weeks after announcing he would leave German club Schalke 04 at the end of the season.

Juventus beat Atalanta, 3-1, on Sunday to complete an unbeaten Serie A season and also break AC Milan’s record of 42 consecutive matches without defeat.

A day after helping Spanish club Malaga secure a spot in the UEFA Champions League next season, former Dutch international striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy hasannounced his retirement.

“Struggling to remember what happened last night. Woke up with a medal around my neck. Been told the party was deeecent. Memo to myself: Next time you’re Champion, drink less, dance more.” — Man. City captain Vincent Kompany after a night celebrating his club’s first title in 44 years. (Twitter)

The New York Red Bulls have charged into first place in the Eastern Conference despite the absence of injured Wilman Conde. The Colombian was in the newsthis past weekend, however, as he was arrested on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer.

If you watched the ManCity-QPR game yesterday, you saw one of the most extraordinary games you’re ever likely to see.

[EUROPE GOLEADORES] Lionel Messi, who won the Spanish La Liga scoring title with a record 50 goals, is one of several high-scoring Argentines in2011-12 European league play. ... Dutchmen won scoring titles in Germany, England and the Netherlands. Cristiano Ronaldo finished second in Spain while hitting a milestone of his own.... For leading scorer updates from Europe’s ...

A dramatic rally earned Manchester City the Premier League title, and fluctuating scorelines played out a tense relegation battle for American viewers, yet such are incompatible with pro sports inAmerica.

[MLS GOLEADORES] Kenny Cooper scored twice for the New York Red Bulls in two Week 10 victories move into a tie for second-place among MLS leadingscorers. For the latest on the Golden Boot race …

“I was bracing myself to get hit and Dax [McCarty] played it smart and didn’t hit me. But I was off balance at that point because I was bracing to get hit. Then when I went down I wasn’tcomplaining to the ref or complaining to anyone. I just wanted to get right back up and the next thing I ...

[VIDEO PICK] In one of the most dramatic endings ever to an English Premier League title race, Manchester City got goals from Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero in stoppage time and beat QPR, 3-2, to edge Manchester United for its first championship in 44 years on goaldifference. For video of Aguero’s goal …

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Tim Ream started for Bolton Wanderers in its 2-2 tie at Stoke City that was not enough tostave off relegation from the English Premier League. Brad Friedel’s Tottenham clinched fourth place and a berth in UEFA Champions League qualifying nextseason with a 2-0 win over Fulham, which was playing without Clint Dempsey, who finished ...

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Herculez Gomez’s expected call-up to the U.S. national team will have to wait as Santos ralliedwith two goals in the last four minutes from teammate Oribe Peralta and tied Tigres, 2-2, to move into the final of Mexico’s Torneo Clausura againstMonterrey in a replay of this year’s Concacaf Champions League final. Gomez played the last ...

[SCOREBOARD] The Rochester Rhinos made it six straight shutout wins when they defeated the Charleston Battery on Saturday night at Blackbaud Stadium infront of 3,819 fans. Danny Earls scored the lone goal a day after Conor Chinn’s goal gave the Rhinos a 1-0 win atthe Charlotte Eagles. Orlando City swept Barracuda FC in Antigua to remain in first ...

[CONCACAF UNDER-17 WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP] Finally, someone figured how to shut down Summer Green, but the U.S.star, who scored 12 goals in her first four games, still delivered a team-high fourth assist with a nifty back-heel on Amber Munerlyn’s goal that gave theUSA a 1-0 win over Canada in the Concacaf U-17 Women’s Championship final Saturday in ...

[SCOREBOARD] The first-place Puerto Rico Islanders held on to their lead with a 2-0 win over the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers. In a rematch of last year’sfinal, the Minnesota Stars remained unbeaten with a 2-1 victory over the winless Carolina RailHawks. The expansion San Antonio Scorpions moved into third place with their third straight win, 2-1decision at the Tampa ...

On Sunday, seven Fox and two ESPN networks will be showing live coverage of the final day of the English Premier League season, including the Man City and Man United games that will determine thechampion. There’s also a battle for the third and fourth UEFA Champions League berths among Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle United. ... MLS ...